October 2000

This month's roundup highlights some of the industry's newest bridges and routers for voice and data transfer. If you are saddled with the responsibility of deploying or maintaining your communication systems, this roundup may be an asset to you. There is a good chance there is a lot of stress on your computing network. Internet, voice, data, et. al. must be supported by the fragile spiderweb of servers, cables, and several ounces of silicon we call a network. If you are sending or receiving voice and data over your communications network, bridges and routers may take some of the strain off of your network. Making the most of a short supply of communication lines is key to everyone (especially those smaller enterprise customers) wired into a telecommunications system. The implementation of bridges and routers greatly reduces the amount of voice and data information bottlenecks, which affords a highly efficient communications solution. Explore the offerings in this month's roundup to possibly find a new outlook on network data transfer. Do some research. Contact these vendors, either by phone or by visiting their Web sites. Armed with the proper knowledge, you'll be ready to purchase the best and most appropriate solution for your needs. Settle for nothing less.
- Mike von Wahlde

Bridge And Routers For Voice And Fax

FaxJack III / PDF-2
Viking Electronics
1531 Industrial St.
PO Box 448
Hudson, WI 54016
715-386-8861
Viking Electronics offers several products to anyone requiring a single line to shoulder multiple data/phone devices. The FaxJack III allows your fax or modem to share a line, providing automatic faxes a direct route to your fax machine. For multiple needs, the PDF-2 allows a solitary line to be shared by up to four devices, ideal for POS terminals, cash registers, credit card machines, faxes, et al. The PDF-2 automatically determines which device is to receive incoming calls, via monitoring, transparent to incoming callers, of fax CNG tones, modem carrier tones, and touch tones.

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Internet PhoneJACK/Internet PhoneCARD
Quicknet Technologies
520 Townsend Street, Suite D
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-864-5225
A hardware-based, H.323 compliant, telephony application providing G.723.1, G.711, G.729a, and Truespeech audio compression hardware that works in conjunction with your favorite Internet telephone software, the Internet PhoneJACK, and its wireless cousin the Internet PhoneCARD, work with a standard telephone or a speaker/microphone combo to provide Internet phone services free from the limitations of your sound card. Your ICQ number will now become your personal phone number, and can be dialed directly from your phone. Now you can play Doom while in a IP conference call between Tokyo and Germany, just remember to turn the sound down.

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Metrolink WB880
Wintelecom Technology, Inc.
4F, 3000-5, Doksan-Dong Keuchon-G
Souel, Korea 153-010
882-807-0278-891-0347
This second-generation wireless networking tool offers 25 Mbps speeds in order to provide a backbone to wireless public networks. The Metrolink was designed to link remote sites, multiple buildings, and individual homes that reside within 30 miles of the device when equipped with proper antennas and accessories. Casual Fridays can now be wired in from the front porch.

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Phonebridge
MHL Communications
6481 Belleview Drive
Columbia, MD 21046
410-964-9885
MHL is offering users the flexibility offered by a normal telephone to place and receive Internet phone calls with Phonebridge. Interfacing your computer's sound card and a standard telephone, you may substitute the telephone for your desktop microphone and speakers whenever you pick up the phone. Phonebridge forgoes specific software or hardware, allowing the user the choice of most any Internet phone software.

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Passport 8600 Routing Switch
Nortel Networks
One Brunswick Square
Atrium, Suite 100
Saint John, NB E2L 4V1 CANADA
800-4-NORTEL
The Passport 8600 routing switch delivers wire-speed switching and routing over copper and optical media. The Passport 8600 supports a high-performance Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching architecture that delivers between 50 Gbps to 128 Gbps scalable bandwidth and supports Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Packet-over-SONET and ATM interfaces. Available in either a six- or 10-slot chassis, the Passport 8600 is used in campus and building backbone networks, as well as Service Provider metro applications, in which higher performance routing or MAN connectivity is required.

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ObjectSwitch Server
Kabira Worldwide
One McInnis Parkway
San Rafael, CA 94903
415-446-5000
Acting as a central host environment, ObjectSwitch integrates process, data, application design, and network mediation into one holistic product. The ObjectSwitch uses centrally Shared Memory, which enables multiple users access to memory-speed data transfer. The architecture employs high-speed cached memory, multiple CPUs on a single server, and potentially multiple integrated servers. Service mapping is controlled by the user, making application and data routing truly personalized. Utilizing open protocols and standard tools, the Design Center provides flexibility in an ever-changing world.

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VX-Series Broadband Multimedia Apps Platform
Ridgeway Systems and Software Inc.
9600 Great Hills Trail, Suite 150W
Austin, TX 78759
512-502-1775
Designed for telecommunications companies, service providers, and large corporations, the VX-Series supports multimedia-enabled calling servies to anyone with a telephone, PC, and an Internet connection. Based on an open platform, the VX-Series can deploy services with a high real-time and streaming content, including video, voice, and data. For large enterprises, the VX series eliminates the need to upgrade their own CPE.

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SpanNet 2500
Multiprotocol Bridge Router
Eastern Research
225 Executive Drive
Moorestown, NJ 08057
800-337-4374
Connecting your LAN to WAN and routing messages throughout the network can all be managed from either a local or remote terminal with the SpanNet series of multiprotocol bridge routers. Running on software designed specifically for use with SpanNet, firewall protection, IPX, and TCP/IP are all easily interfaced in order to optimize the WAN link performance. Each model comes with one WAN port, but can be upgraded to include a second WAN interface, which can be used as a second primary link. Data compression, Automatic Redundant Link, and Priority Filtering are used to optimize the performance of the WAN link.

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SwiftCOR Carrier Class Terabit Routers
Ironbridge Networks
Hayden Woods Corporate Center
55 Hayden Avenue
Lexington, MA 02421
(781) 372-8000
Featuring a scalable architecture that can handle trillions of bits per second in traffic -- nearly ten times the capacity of today's gigabit routers, SwiftCOR is Ironbridge Networks new line of carrier-class terabit routers, featuring scalable architecture ideally suited to the needs of telecommunications providers and ISPs. This scalability, combined with SwiftCOR's virtual-backbone router technology, enables service providers to build a next-generation Internet virtual infrastructure.

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Vanguard 6435 and 6455 Access Routers
Motorola, Inc.
8220 E. Roosevelt
Scottsdale, AZ 85257
888-637-9501
Flexibly designed to handle the consolidation of multiple serial protocols with voice and LAN traffic over dedicated or switched connections, and meeting the demands of WAN applications, these new multiservice access routers from Motorola interoperate without costly reinvestment in multiple pieces of equipment. Running on the newly developed Vanguard Applications Ware, and delivering QoS, IP, and gatekeeper functions, the 6435 allows the ability to connect to a 10 or 100Base-T Ethernet network with up to six serial applications, multiple LANs, or aggregate analog voice ports, while the 6455 offers an even higher density and an increased functionality.

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HomeLINE
Farallon
3089 Teagarden Street
San Leandro, CA 94577-5720
510-346-8000
Anywhere you have a standard telephone jack, Home-LINE allows plug-in ease for Mac and/or PC home networking. Even cable/DSL modems or hubs can be quickly installed to instantly create a network over your existing phone lines. HomeLINE comes with all the hardware and software needed to get started, with no need to install new wires or network hubs. HomeLINE eases the SOHO/telecommuter networking issues, allowing shared printers and Internet access.

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OfficeConnect Modem
3Com
5400 Bayfront Plaza
Santa Clara, CA 95052-8145
800-638-3266
3Com offers this plug and run LAN modem that acts as a dial-on-demand router complete with an integrated 4-port Ethernet hub and two analog phone ports which give multiple users access to the Internet or other remote locations over a single ISDN line. With promised Ethernet transfer speeds of up to 10 Mps, and throughput from the LAN onto the 128 Kbps ISDN connection to reach effective speeds up to 512 Kbps, bottlenecks and slowed performance are a thing of the past. Now UNIX Jane, Macintosh Jim, and PC Joe can all share printers and exchange files quickly. Everyone can share the same ISP account, as well.

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Wireless Bridge WB-10 PRO.11
BreezeCOM
5858 Edison Place
Carlsbad, CA 92008
760-517-3100
Boasting up to a seven-mile range and up to 256 stations and a data rate of three Mbps, the WB-10 PRO 1.1 bridge is transparent to network protocols and applications, and provides wireless connectivity of remote Ethernet networks to the central access point. Antenna diversity and DSP modem ensure robust communications. Plug-and-play connectivity make this a great wireless option.

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D3232 IDSL DSU
Netopia
2470 Mariner Square Loop
Alameda, CA 94501
510-814-5100
Automatically configuring itself as either a DSU or an Ethernet Bridge, the D3232 IDSL DSU offers a cost-effective manner to upgrade to a T1 or DDS connection to IDSL. The Netopia D3232 IDSL DSU can be configured to connect from one to four IDSL lines using DSL bonding (IMUX) to offer bandwidth up to 576 Kbps.

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Network Extension's XL-4000 FastCopper+
Tut Systems
5964 West Las Positas Blvd.
Pleasanton, CA 94588
925-460-3900
The XL-4000 FastCopper+ is designed especially for connecting LANs and workstations in a commercial campus environment. When used as a transparent bridge, FastCopper+ automatically filters local packets to reduce local traffic. When implemented as a static IP router, the XL-4000 is configured for intelligent packet transfer. Campus-networking issues such as low speed rates and network congestions are now history.

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Cisco uBR924 Cable Access Router
Cisco Systems
170 W. Tasman
San Jose, CA
800-553-6387
Serving as a fully integrated router and DOCSIS 1.1 standard-based cable modem, the uBR924 offers integrated VoIP, VPN, and router functionality. Providing high-speed Internet access, telephone, and fax connectivity, and secure, high-speed access to the LAN or intranet, the uBR924 is designed to deliver feature-rich broadband access to telecommuters, SOHOs, and branch offices. The uBR924 allows connectivity of telco line for telephone lifeline support in the event of cable outage. Firewall protection provides the LAN security against outside attacks.

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InnoVox
Voyant Technologies, Inc.
1499 West 121st Avenue
Westminster, CO 80234.
888-447-1087 or 303-223-5000
+44 (0) 208 876 4504 (for Europe)
Voyant's latest technology is embodied in the recently released "InnoVox" server. Consisting of hardware, firmware, and software, the InnoVox server is the building block for all future application development at Voyant. Using multiple DSPs in order to provide up to 480 lines per platform or well over 500,000 minutes per day, in the near future, a single InnoVox platform can allow a service provider to offer PSTN, VoIP, and streaming connections all with a single, scalable system.

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BEFSR41-The EtherFast 4-Port Cable/DSL Router
Linksys Group
17401 Armstrong Avenue
Irvine, CA 92614
949-261-1288
A great option to connect several PCs to a broadband network connection, the BEFSR41 EtherFast Cable/DSL Router acts as the only externally recognized Internet device on your LAN. By using its EtherFast 10/100 4-Port switch, network connections are considerably sped up. Compatible with all standard Internet applications, and providing firewall protection, the BEFSR41 will support up to 253 users on one network. With only one purchased IP address, there is money leftover for Friday bagels for the entire staff!

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FlowWise IMS 800
FlowWise Technologies
2480 North First Street, Suite 180
San Jose, CA 95131
408-474-0385
Serving as a backbone router to a WAN and allowing continual operation of in-place routers, and automatically configuring to system requirements, the IMS 800 provides relief to networks suffering a bandwidth bottleneck. Utilizing eight Fast Ethernet ports, it promises true wire-speed routing and switching. AutoRoute works with all conventional routers, including Cisco, Nortel, 3com and many others. Once installed, the IMS takes on the jobs of the internal router, while the conventional router takes on the WAN traffic.

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Symphony Cordless Ethernet Bridge
Proxim
510 DeGuigne Drive
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
800-229-1630
The Symphony will have your networks wirelessly-whistling harmoniously. The score is easy -- if you have an external cable modem, external DSL connection, or an ISDN router, the Symphony Cordless Ethernet Bridge allows you to connect all your computers on one network. Symphony creates a cordless 1.6 Mbps Ethernet local area network (LAN). Networking is a song. Symphony plug-and-play Windows 95 and 98 adapters and the Symphony Composer Installation Wizard guided three-step process make it simple.

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ROUTERmate-T3 CSU/DSU
And Smart Jack Monitor
Osicom
2800 28th Street, Suite 100
Santa Monica CA 90405
888-674-2668
Providing Out-of-Band WAN Management to leased line, frame relay or ATM circuits is a snap with the ROUTERmate-T3. This device can function as a standard CSU/DSU or as a pass-through network monitor. It supports enterprise MIB, MIB II, and T3 MIB, which allow the ROUTERmate-T3 to be controlled and configured via SNMP.

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