help me build a modem pool
Mort
server advertising and need a reality check. I would like to start
with 10 dial-up lines and be able to expand to 60. All advise and
comments regarding architecture, operation, and specific equipment
appreciated.
Email: mo...@xap.com
or post here
(or direct me to a better newsgroup)
Thank you.
Bob Zwarick
>I am building a dial-up modem pool. I have been looking at terminal
>server advertising and need a reality check. I would like to start
>with 10 dial-up lines and be able to expand to 60. All advise and
>comments regarding architecture, operation, and specific equipment
>appreciated.
I'd be interested in watching the responses myself.
----
R. M. Zwarick
------------------------------------------------------------
"One cannot, as a matter of principle, know the present in all it's detail."
------------------------------------------------------------
Wolfgang Henke
: I am building a dial-up modem pool. I have been looking at terminal
: with 10 dial-up lines and be able to expand to 60. All advise and
: comments regarding architecture, operation, and specific equipment
: appreciated.
Mort and Bob,
many ways lead to ROME. Here is just one of them. A popular terminal
server around here is the Livingston Portmaster. The smallest has
10 ports and cant be expanded. There is also a 10 port version which
can be increased to 20 up to a maximum of 30 ports. These boxes support
all popular protocols, like host device emulation, SLIP/CSLIP/PPP and
are flash-ROM based with lifetime software updates and support included.
Livingston support can telnet into your box and configure it once you
are on the net. Port speeds up to 115,200 baud are supported.
Modems to go with it should be rack mounted. For example ZyXEL U-1496E
are available as rack for under $300 per card. 16 to a rack. If you are
bold you jump to 28,800 bps already and use Microcom Deskporte FAST
racks for about $450 per card. If you are patient and on the premises
next to your modems, you can use more economical external units, like
the AT&T Dataport, Digicom Scout+, Multitech MT1932ZDX or USR Sportster.
If you are less budget constrained and must emphazise reliability,
the world is wide open and the options are many. For $800 per card you
may wish to consider ATT Compheres for example of the USR Total
Control System.
Again, there are many other good products available, which can do a
similar or better job as well. If you would like more info, please send
email or access our www server.
Wolfgang
--
Wolfgang Henke <wolf...@whnet.com>
http://www.whnet.com/wolfgang/
James Carlson
|> In <2vul32$q...@baird.xap.com>, mo...@xap.com (Mort) writes:
|> >I am building a dial-up modem pool. I have been looking at terminal
|> >server advertising and need a reality check. I would like to start
|> >with 10 dial-up lines and be able to expand to 60. All advise and
|> >comments regarding architecture, operation, and specific equipment
|> >appreciated.
|> >...
|> I'd be interested in watching the responses myself.
Our Annex 3 communications server would fit that bill. It's
configurable from 8 to 64 serial ports with full modem controls (CTS,
RTS, DTR, DCD and DSR) on every port. Each serial line card (up to 32
ports) has its own processor (an Intel 80376, which is an embedded
version of the 80386), and there's a separate processor on the
motherboard. These line cards do front-end processing for using
networking protocols.
It supports SLIP, CSLIP, PPP, ARAP (optional) for dial-up lines, with
active RIPv2 and packet filtering (also optional) and dial-on-demand.
IPX will be available in September. On the network side, it supports
TCP/IP (with telnet, rlogin and tn3270), AppleTalk and LAT. If you have
a Unix host, we have a host-based security system based on a proprietary
encrypted RPC (remote procedure call) mechanism which makes security
configuration quite flexible.
Drop a line to sa...@xylogics.com for more information, or contact
annex-...@xylogics.com with technical questions.
--
James Carlson <car...@xylogics.com> Tel: +1 617 272 8140
Annex Software Support / Xylogics, Inc. +1 800 225 3317
53 Third Avenue / Burlington MA 01803-4491 Fax: +1 617 272 2618
Hansang Bae
>|> In <2vul32$q...@baird.xap.com>, mo...@xap.com (Mort) writes:
>|> >I am building a dial-up modem pool. I have been looking at terminal
>|> >server advertising and need a reality check. I would like to start
>|> >with 10 dial-up lines and be able to expand to 60. All advise and
>|> >comments regarding architecture, operation, and specific equipment
>|> >appreciated.
>|> >...
>|> I'd be interested in watching the responses myself.
If you choose a Xyplex model, make sure it's the one that can do Modem
Control *AND* hardware flow control at the same time. Our model
(1500/1800s?) can only have 1meg of memory, can do modem control *OR*
hardware flow control. So we have to use Modem control and Software
flow control. With much tweaking, we can get reliable uploads, though
not very efficient for the server. It will load its parameter files via
tftp (or lat), or from a floppy if it has one.
Hansang Bae --------------------------------------------------------
| hb...@unomaha.edu | Data Communication EAB 013C |
| hb...@cwis.unomaha.edu | Voice: (402) 554-3769 FAX: (402) 554-3475 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph Becker
>>In article <2vv47g$t...@sundog.tiac.net>, bo...@kirwaido.trystero.com (Bob Zwarick) writes:
>>|> In <2vul32$q...@baird.xap.com>, mo...@xap.com (Mort) writes:
>>|> >I am building a dial-up modem pool. I have been looking at terminal
>>|> >server advertising and need a reality check. I would like to start
>>|> >with 10 dial-up lines and be able to expand to 60.
>If you choose a Xyplex model, make sure it's the one that can do Modem
>Control *AND* hardware flow control at the same time. Our model
>(1500/1800s?) can only have 1meg of memory, can do modem control *OR*
>hardware flow control. So we have to use Modem control and Software
>flow control. With much tweaking, we can get reliable uploads, though
>not very efficient for the server. It will load its parameter files via
>tftp (or lat), or from a floppy if it has one.
Most of the Xyplex server that are sold today have the 8-wire interface that
supports HW Flow Control & Modem Control simultaneously. All our standalone
servers (800 and 1600 series) do, except the 1820 model (the only unit that
self-loads from Floppy Disk). The Network 9000 chassis-based comm server has
an I/O modules that supports this (the 723) and modules that do not (the 721
and 724). The older 4000 and 5000 chassis have server cards that have this
support, namely the MJ-8 and 2120 8-port card, but the 16 port cards and the
other 8-port cards do not support it.
Ralph Becker
Xyplex Customer Support [Tech. Support hotline 800-435-7997]
rbe...@sup.xyplex.com or 71174...@compuserve.com
Tin Le
>Mort (mo...@xap.com) wrote:
>: I am building a dial-up modem pool. I have been looking at terminal
>: server advertising and need a reality check. I would like to start
>: with 10 dial-up lines and be able to expand to 60. All advise and
>: comments regarding architecture, operation, and specific equipment
>: appreciated.
>
>
>Mort and Bob,
>
>many ways lead to ROME. Here is just one of them. A popular terminal
>server around here is the Livingston Portmaster. The smallest has
>10 ports and cant be expanded. There is also a 10 port version which
>can be increased to 20 up to a maximum of 30 ports. These boxes support
>all popular protocols, like host device emulation, SLIP/CSLIP/PPP and
>are flash-ROM based with lifetime software updates and support included.
>Livingston support can telnet into your box and configure it once you
>are on the net. Port speeds up to 115,200 baud are supported.
I will second Wolfgang's recommendation for the Livingston Portmaster.
They are very nice boxes. Very easy to setup, reliable, and has all
the features you would want. I am using the older model, a PortMaster 2
(as opposed to the newer PM2e), and it has work wonderfully for me.
I believe the prices are also quite reasonable.
Tin Le
--
Tin Le | CBMSW Archive on Wuarchive.wustl.edu
t...@tlc.engr.sgi.com | Submissions to cb...@Saigon.COM
Moderator of comp.binaries.ms-windows | Questions to cbmsw-...@Saigon.COM
Ray Williams@DSSW
Dial 1-800-422-7022 and ask for Tech Support or sup...@lantronix.com.
I have no affiliation other than being a very satisfied customer. Ray
Keith Smith
>I am building a dial-up modem pool. I have been looking at terminal
>server advertising and need a reality check. I would like to start
Yea, Terminal servers suck.
Here's why in a nutshell:
Data from a terminal on a T/S to a cpu under telnet:
Terminal --> T/S --> TCP/IP Packet --> Ethernet MAC --> TCP/IP Packet ->
^System(s) loading begins here
Target System Kernel -> telnet demon -> pty -> termio/asy kernel
routines -> ttyp -> application
Same data with a CPU BUS card (like digi EISA C/X)
Terminal -> C/X -> termio/asy kernal routines -> application.
^ System load begins here.
Left off time accross the BUS although sending an empty TCP/IP packet
(say with 1 or 2 chars in it) from the NIC to the CPU is much less
efficient than a memory mapped port.
Not to mention the load if the ethernet or whatever is running anything
ELSE besides the terminal server. If you dedicate an entire E-net for
JUST Terminal servers it's better but you still waste all that CPU
translating and packetizeing.
>with 10 dial-up lines and be able to expand to 60. All advise and
>comments regarding architecture, operation, and specific equipment
>appreciated.
I would suggest SCO or SVR4 on a 486/66/100 or Pentium based EISA setup,
with 32-64MB of RAM, and a Digi EPC/X. Very fast, with low character
latencies, make it excellent for interactive work, as well as uucp style
connections, or non-windowed file transfer. Use NFS for remote file
access, and you let your dial-in cpu act as a firewall if need be.
If money is no object, I would use rack mount MultiTech modems with all
the monitor snivel gear, Otherwise I would buy 2834's or 1432's and
just stack them to the ceiling, with wall bar outlets for the
transformers.
--
Keith Smith aka Digital Designs ke...@ksmith.com
5719 Archer Rd. Free Usenet News and Internet Mail Services
Hope Mills, NC 28348-2201 All 28K/14K Modems (910) 423-4216/7389/7391
Somewhere in the Styx of North Carolina ... 14K-V.32/28K-V.34/28K-V.34