September 1998

Cayman Systems
100 Maple Street
Stoneham, MA 02180
Ph: 781-279-1101; Fx: 781-438-5560
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.cayman.com

Price: $1,085.00

RATINGS (0-5)
Installation: 5
Documentation: 4
Features: 4
GUI: 3
Overall: A-

The Cayman 2E 500H extends network and Internet connectivity to small corporate offices and home offices, and with minimal configuration and effort. A dual Ethernet Internet access router with an integrated 8-port hub, the Cayman 2E 500H provides shared LAN access to a single high-speed WAN device, such as DSL and cable modems that have Ethernet interfaces.

The Cayman 2E 500H turns high-speed DSL and cable modems into shared LAN devices. One Ethernet port supports PCs and Macs on the LAN, the other Ethernet port plugs directly into the high-speed modem. The Cayman 2E 500H uses version 4.2 of Cayman System’s network operating software with Swift-IP. Swift-IP integrates bridging, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), NAT (Network Address Translation), and DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) to allow all the users in an office to connect to the Internet using a single IP address. This sharing of connectivity reduces costs for the small office and simplifies maintenance for the service provider.

INSTALLATION/OPERATIONAL TESTING
Configuring the Cayman 2E 500H was straightforward. We set the IP address of the computers connected to the router to 192.168.1.x, where x is a value between 1 and 253, and we set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. A client install disk is included to allow an administrator to download software updates to the Cayman 2E H, which we installed on a Windows 95 machine.

We connected some Windows 95 machines with static IP addresses to the Cayman 2E H, though we could have used DHCP for automatic IP assignment. We opened Internet Explorer and typed in "cayman-2e-h" in the URL box, as the manual instructed. However, we could not connect to the Cayman router. We decided to use a RS-232 cable and connect via Hyperterminal to see what was happening. We double-checked the default IP address settings, but everything was set correctly.

We then tried the IP address in the URL box, but that also failed to connect. Next, we tested to see if we could "ping" to the IP address, and that actually worked. We thought it a bit strange that we could ping to the IP address, but were unable to browse to the IP address, since the Cayman router has a built-in Web administration capability. We figured it had something to do with the network protocols, so we double-checked everything.

Still, everything seemed to be set up correctly. So, on a whim, we disabled the Microsoft Proxy Client on the PC, which is used for our corporate Internet access. Sure enough, disabling Microsoft Proxy Client did the trick, since we could now browse to the Cayman 2E 500H from Internet Explorer and Netscape. (We think a warning about these types of software conflicts with the Cayman router should be put into the Cayman documentation.)

We should point out that the Cayman 2E 500H’s Swift-IP functionality combines support for the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Domain Name Service (DNS) protocol, and Network Address Translation (NAT) to eliminate the hassle of assigning, configuring, and managing IP addresses. We tested using both DHCP and static IP addresses (disabling DHCP), and both performed flawlessly in routing Internet traffic from Ethernet Port A to the clients connected to the eight ports on Ethernet Port B.

We should also mention that Cayman 2E-500H’s Swift-IP technology makes the Cayman 2E 500H the only device on the small office LAN visible to the outside world. This basic firewall capability helps protect the small office Ethernet network from security breaches, which might otherwise be instigated by unauthorized users on the backbone Ethernet or the Internet.

DOCUMENTATION
The manual (pamphlet, actually) was brief, but it sufficed to help us get up and running very quickly. The only shortcoming of the printed manual was that pages 3 and 4 probably should be reversed. Page 3 explains how to setup and connect to the Cayman router using a Web browser, and page 4 explains how to setup your computer’s network settings to be able to connect to the router. Problem is, you can’t connect to the Cayman router until the computer’s network settings are set up first. We knew right away that the instructions were out of sequence, but we suppose a novice could have been led astray.

The product also has an HTML-based help resource which loads HTML files installed onto your local hard drive. We found the HTML-based help to be well organized and very helpful.

FEATURES

• Works with all popular analog modems at speeds up to 230.4K, and with all digital modems, including 2B ISDN, RS-232 asynchronous, and V.35 synchronous modems.
• Provides full-featured, high-speed TCP/IP routing between two Ethernet interfaces.
• Provides a good option for connecting a small-office network to an Internet-access device, such as an xDSL modem or a cable modem.
• Allows administrators to segment a workgroup LAN in an enterprise network, or to connect a small-office network to an Ethernet backbone in a multi-tenant building.
• Combines (via Swift-IP) protocols such as DHCP, DNS, and NAT to provide automatic IP address assignment and management. Providing Internet access is as simple as connecting a PC, Macintosh, or Unix workstation to the Ethernet LAN.
• Allows monitoring and management from any standard Web browser, via embedded Web server technology.
• Supports Telnet-based management, SNMP monitoring, and remote downloading of software upgrades.
• Combines with Swift-IP (via cost-effective Ethernet-to-Ethernet routing) to allow an entire small-office network to share one Internet address and one Ethernet port on the building’s backbone hub or switch.
• Provides basic firewall capability (via Swift-IP’s NAT feature) by shielding internal IP addresses on the small-office LAN from view by nodes on the backbone Ethernet or the Internet.
• Supports CHAP, RIP, ICMP, and HTTP.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
The printed documentation could have warned us about incompatibility with Microsoft Proxy Client, as well as the minor issue with the installation sequence being reversed on pages three and four. Those are our only complaints about the product.

CONCLUSION
This product features basic firewall capabilities and supports all the appropriate standards (such as PPP, TCP/IP, NAT, and DHCP). We were most impressed with the product’s very simple installation, as well as the HTML-based on-screen help. Cayman Sys-tems, by combining Swift-IP capabilities, ease of installation, browser-based management, two Ethernet ports, and an eight-port hub, all in one package, offers a great product for both service providers and small offices.