Digital Subscriber Line - Typical Setup

Typical Setup

On the customer side, the DSL Transceiver, or ATU-R, or more commonly known as a DSL modem, is hooked up to a phone line. The telephone company (telco) connects the other end of the line to a DSLAM, which concentrates a large number of individual DSL connections into a single box. The location of the DSLAM depends on the telco, but it cannot be located too far from the user because of attenuation, the loss of data due to the large amount of electrical resistance encountered as the data moves between the DSLAM and the user's DSL modem. It is common for a few residential blocks to be connected to one DSLAM.

When the DSL modem powers up it goes through a sync procedure. The actual process varies from modem to modem but generally involves the following steps:

1. The DSL transceiver performs a self-test.
2. The DSL transceiver checks the connection between the DSL transceiver and the computer. For residential variations of DSL, this is usually the Ethernet (RJ-45) port or a USB port; in rare models, a FireWire port is used. Older DSL modems sported a native ATM interface (usually, a 25 Mbit/s serial interface). Also, some variations of DSL (such as SDSL) use synchronous serial connections.
3. The DSL transceiver then attempts to synchronize with the DSLAM. Data can only come into the computer when the DSLAM and the modem are synchronized. The synchronization process is relatively quick (in the range of seconds) but is very complex, involving extensive tests that allow both sides of the connection to optimize the performance according to the characteristics of the line in use. External, or stand-alone modem units have an indicator labeled "CD", "DSL", or "LINK", which can be used to tell if the modem is synchronized. During synchronization the light flashes; when synchronized, the light stays lit, usually with a green color.

Modern DSL gateways have more functionality and usually go through an initialization procedure very similar to a PC boot up. The system image is loaded from the flash memory; the system boots, synchronizes the DSL connection and establishes the IP connection between the local network and the service provider, using protocols such as DHCP or PPPoE. The system image can usually be updated to correct bugs, or to add new functionality.

The accompanying figure is a schematic of a simple DSL connection (in blue). The right side shows a DSLAM residing in the telephone company's central office. The left side shows the customer premises equipment with an optional router. This router manages a local area network (LAN) off of which are connected some number of PCs. With many service providers, the customer may opt for a modem which contains a wireless router. This option (within the dashed bubble) often simplifies the connection.