July 1998

Microcom 808

Compaq Computer
1025 N. Freeway
Houston, TX 77037
Consumer Direct: 800-888-0220
Product Info: 800-345-1518
Web site: www.compaq.com/products/networking
/access/808/index.html

Price: $899.00. Compaq estimates users may also pay $79.00 for eight 10Base-T NICs, $152.00 for a one-time ISDN installation, and, over the course of a year, $649.35 for an ISDN acount and $965.16 for an ISDN line, for a total of $2,745.11. Compaq projects users could save $4,305.83 by accounting for the costs involved in a modem-based solution. Compaq's numbers for such a solution are as follows: $1,567.60 for eight 56K modems, $1,995.20 for eight analog ISP accounts, $2,839.68 for eight analog lines, $141.50 for the POTS installation, and $354.96 for annual services.

RATINGS (0-5)

Installation: 5
Documentation: 5
Features: 5
GUI: 4
Overall: A

The Microcom 808 Integrated Access Device is a great product for small to mid-size corporations looking to add ISDN connectivity to either the Internet or another branch office. The Microcom 808 includes an IP Router for intelligent management of data traffic, ISDN-BRI interface for high-speed WAN connectivity, a fully manageable eight-port 10Base-T hub for LAN connectivity, two analog (POTS) interfaces to support telephony devices over ISDN, a single 10Base-2 interface for legacy Thinnet LANs, and an expansion port for scalability.

INSTALLATION
Installing ISDN is notorious for being difficult, but with Compaq's Microcom 808, we had no problems at all. The product includes a configuration manager that features a search utility, and this utility scans the network for Microcom 808 devices. The product also features a guided configuration, which is an advanced yet user-friendly and graphically rich wizard for setting up the ISDN router.
This wizard was so easy to use that we actually forgot we were configuring an ISDN device, something that is typically a chore to set up. The configuration wizard also performed loopback testing and other verifications to make sure we entered the correct parameters. Another part of the configuration wizard let us set up the DNS and DHCP parameters. This part of the installation, like all the others, was very easy.

DOCUMENTATION
To get off to a brisk start with any product, it helps to have a good "getting started" reference. Fortunately, with the Microcom 808, the getting started reference card was very good indeed. It included a schematic of the Microcom 808, with lines pointing to each of the product's components. It was so clear, it made connecting the ISDN, power, and network wires practically idiot-proof. The getting started reference card also featured step-by-step instructions on connecting the hardware, setting up the TCP/IP settings (including gateways, subnet mask, and DNS), and setting up the router for DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).

The product's manuals were just as user-friendly. They featured diagrams of computers, the LAN, the ISP, the WAN, as well as the cable connections. It was always clear where the ISDN router sat in relation to all of these network elements.

Overall, the manuals were so easy to follow that it seemed as though the documentation had been written for the nontechnical consumer as opposed to an IS person. This is probably no accident. Compaq is aiming this product not only at corporations, but at the small office/home office (SOHO) market.

FEATURES
The Microcom 808 is quite scalable. By simply attaching the Microcom 212 Expansion Hub to the 808's expansion port, you can obtain an additional 12 fully manageable 10Base-T ports. In addition, as bandwidth needs increase, the Microcom Stac Compression Module can be added to provide aggregate throughput up to 512 Kb/s.

The Microcom 808 security features include IP routing, Profile-Based Packet Filtering, and PAP/CHAP Authentication to protect valuable business data from unauthorized access. In addition, support for PPTP allows users to establish an IP Tunnel for secure communication over the Internet to a remote site.

Compaq Netelligent Management Software (CNMS) is included with the Microcom 808 Integrated Access Device. CNMS is a SNMP network management tool for a Windows 95 or Windows NT environment. CNMS supports fault, performance, and configuration management in all Netelligent products.

Other features include:

• High speed. The Microcom 808 uses ISDN-BRI (Basic Rate Interface) for WAN connectivity. It also uses two 64-Kb/s B (bearer) channels and a single 16-Kb/s D (data) channel for signaling.
• PPP LCP negotiation with ISPs. This feature involves support for unnumbered IP, which allows users who do not have a full IP network behind their gateway to make ISDN connections to Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
• DHCP or static IP addressing.
• RIP routing protocol.
• Eight 10Base-T network ports.
• A three-year warranty.
• An integrated console port. This port provides access to a router CLI (Command Line Interface).

OPERATIONAL TESTING
Using Compaq's Microcom 808 router simplifies administration and reduces costs by allowing a group of users to share a single ISP account, and with software features like Bandwidth on Demand, Dial on Demand, and IPX Spoofing, ISDN and Internet charges are decreased all the more. In addition, support for analog telephony devices over ISDN results in cost savings by eliminating the need for up to two analog (POTS) lines.

We tested the router's functionality, and it performed flawlessly. We found the monitoring utility in the configuration manager to be particularly useful. It includes icons to display which phones are off-hook, the total number of calls, the line condition, and other various settings. The Microcom 808 performed as advertised, allowing multiple users to share a single ISP connection, or two ISP connections, when utilizing the second ISDN channel.

CONCLUSION
You could say ISDN routers are a dime a dozen. There are, after all, so many competing products out there. However, the Compaq Microcom 808 does present several compelling advantages, including an extremely easy configuration, excellent documentation, a great feature set, support for all the appropriate standards, and an affordable price. We really enjoyed the ease of installation and the excellent documentation. Each of these is rare these days. Overall, we were very pleased with the product, and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to add Internet access over ISDN, particularly small offices.