Internal Modems with linux support - Conexant HSFi CX11252
Ever since we started our pc sales and services division we have been trying to get a system with 100% linux supported hardware. One of the pieces which had been the stumbling block till now had been the internal modem. We had tried all the internal modems available in the Trivandrum local market and we had failed, ... well not all. We have found the missing link!
We recently tried out the WeP (Wipro e-Peripherals) Spider 56K V.92 PCI Modem with the Conexant HSFi CX11252-412 0610y1DB chipset (PCI ID 14F1:2F30 - from running lspci from Linux). This modem is supported in Linux and it costs only around Rs. 375. Up till now we were hesitant in offering to install linux on PCs with internal modems because of the dreaded unsupported winmodem issue. No longer so. New PCs are seldom bought with an internal modem but there are quite a lot of people with PCs who still depend on dialup as their primary means of accessing the internet. So this has opened up a whole new market for us and Linux. The Conexant HSFi CX11252 driver installation is pretty straigtforward and is given below
Setting up Conexant HSFi CX11252 on Linux
Linuxant.com provides drivers for modems with conexant chipsets. They provide two versions of the driver one is a fully free version and another is the paid version. The fully free version works perfectly fine but the modem speed will be limited to 14.4kbps. The paid version costs only around 19$ and those of you who can afford it should just go ahead and buy it. Linuxant is following a model that should be a good example for other driver development companies and hardware manufacturers.
The driver installation has been simplified through an easy to use installation program. The installation is available at http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/downloads-installer.php.
Just download the application and follow the instructions. If you are already connected to the internet through a DSL or a Cable modem connection or through your LAN then the installer will automatically detect your chipset and settings and download the required driver and install it for you. Otherwise you will have to download the driver from http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/full/downloads.php and set it up manually using instructions in the following page http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/install.php.
