April 1998

Advanced Computer Communications
340 Storke Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
Ph: 805-685-4455
Fx: 805-685-4465
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.acc.com

Price: $1,295

The jungles that make up the deepest heart of the central African continent are twisting and intimidating, presenting a formidable obstacle to even the most intrepid of travelers. The information superhighway too, can be seen as a tangled web, preventing another type of intrepid traveler from easily reaching their destination. The Congo Voice Router can carry a telecommuter or small-business manager a long way through the jungle that is the information superhighway. This product, from Advanced Computer Communications, lets users connect a single PC or an entire LAN to the home office or the Internet while keeping half of an ISDN line free for faxes, e-mail, Web surfing, file transmission, or voice calls.

Although Congo debuted in January 1995, the product we received shipped with software version 9.5, dated to August 1997. Version 9.8 shipped as of December, and includes more in-depth CTI capabilities; version 9.5 has only a basic address book. But that’s a sidebar — the product itself has only minor changes.

INSTALLATION/DOCUMENTATION
The Congo is roughly the size of a videocassette. Lightweight and sturdy, the product has two analog telephone jacks, a P/S 2-style serial port, two RJ-45 network jacks, an A/C power port, and a simple toggle switch. One network port goes to the ISDN line; the other goes toward a PC or a LAN hub. Physical installation of the router is simple. One nice touch is that the serial cable and two network cables are included, so unless your computer has something other than a male 25-pin serial connector (or if your ISDN provider calls for RJ-11 jacks), there’s nothing extra to buy.

Configuring the software is somewhat more complex. There are two options: Set up through a Web-based utility that is read into your browser from the Congo’s IP address, or setup using a serial cable connection, the included Express Access software, and communications software such as Windows 95’s HyperTerminal or ProComm Plus. We found the Web-based method simple and intuitive. An online help manual (this is more comprehensive than the printed version) is also included. The online help includes links to a glossary whenever it introduces a technical term, and there’s even a beginner’s guide to shopping for ISDN access. Surprisingly, there’s no link to ACC’s corporate Web site.

The "products" section of that site tells us that the Congo can be "…installed, fully configured, and connected to the network within minutes." Even with the user-friendly Web Wizard, this isn’t the case, and when initiating a setup using HyperTerminal, it’s simply not so. The command-line setup option affords system administrators more customization, but following along with the step-by-step printed documentation felt more like taking an algebra exam. The latter method is better suited for experts who want to customize their setup and who want to avoid the slower GUI of the "Web Wizard." Either method works in the end.

FEATURES
The Congo’s features include:

• TCP/IP, IPX with unlimited device support.
• Up to 10 remote connections.
• Demand IPX RIP/SAP.
• PPP and multi-link PPP.
• ISDN (Q.921/Q.321).
• DTMF and pulse dialing.
• Dial-on-demand.
• Data compression.
• Security features including PAP, CHAP, Calling Line ID.
• Telnet, Zmodem.
• 10BaseT interface.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Changes that we’d like to see for the Congo include upping the number of analog phone jacks from two to four, and a simplified version of the cable-setup option. Two phone jacks may be sufficient for a telecommuter, but what about the SOHO? Many of these users have at least two phones dedicated to voice calls, plus separate fax and modem lines. The Web-based configuration menu can be a challenge, but considering the flagship product’s $1,295 price tag, Wizard setup option, and simple physical installation, it’s a worthwhile purchase.