adsl modem directly connected to hub

[M.W.Chang]

I am more interested in the technical software detail of how to make
that diagram work. do I need extra linux packages? which how-to would
cover that? Connecting a adsl-modem to a hub and have the server remote
controlling it over the hub beats my basic understanding of internet
connection sharing.

I suppose the adsl-modem must be quite intelligent it it's to be able to
talk to a hub...must it also have router function? In that case, I
misunderstood... 

Kevin O'Gorman wrote:
> With a basic ADSL setup, you probably don't get static IPs, so you
> get one each time you connect.  Perhaps multiple machines can get
> one apiece.  This depends on the ISP.  Some of them register your
> MAC addresses, and won't allow this.  However, you can replace the
> hub with one of the commercially available Cable/DSL routers and
> get the same effect without the ISP being able to tell.  I got
> one by Linksys (because it also helps secure Windoze systems) from
> Office Depot for under US$100.