[Regarding these articles from May...they were linked to all the recent ones I posted, and I don't recall seeing them here, so I decided to post them anyway]
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May 5, 1997 10:00 AM ET
T-1 is bridge to new generation of RAS -- Corporate users increasingly rely on ISPs for remote access
zdnet.com
By Michael Surkan, PC Week Labs
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ÿWhy invest in costly remote access equipment, and maintain it, when users can get to the corporate LAN by dialing a local ISP?
The prevalence of Internet service providers has rendered unworkable the old remote access design of modem banks, with their hundreds of power cords, serial cables and phone lines.
During the last couple of years, virtually every remote access product vendor has introduced high-end servers capable of handling T-1 line connections. Without such a high-end server, these vendors might be locked out of the RAS (remote access server) market altogether.
But an increasing number of midsize companies are relying on the Internet alone for remote access needs, while progress with packet encryption and tunneling standards is making the Internet an appealing option even for larger firms.
The handwriting seems to be on the wall: Within the next few years, as standards and compatibility issues work themselves out, ISPs will play the dominant role in remote access provision.
Until then, these midsize remote access boxes, no larger than a file drawer, provide a capable and relatively cost-effective solution for corporate use, handling hundreds of simultaneous phone calls with nothing more than three or four external cables.
Improvements in management software, with SNMP agents, give these high-density remote access servers even greater manageability. (See review of one of these servers, MultiTech Systems Inc.'s CommPlete) zdnet.com
Remote access servers are also starting to move away from proprietary software, requiring vendors to keep up with the latest link protocol standards, such as Point-to-Point Protocol and Bandwidth Allocation Control Protocol.
The controllers in new switches from vendors such as U.S. Robotics Corp. and MultiTech, in fact, are nothing more than PCs on a card that can be loaded up with standard network operating systems. Not only does this approach reduce the manufacturer's development costs, but it can let customers work in familiar environments. |
