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To: Sector Investor who wrote (850)	1/7/1998 2:10:00 PM
From: Maverick	Respond to of 1629

EdgeNet plans to add Ascend's MAX 48-port 4048 RAS Users Like Reliability By Kristina B. Sullivan December 31, 1997 9:02 AM PST PC Week Buyers' Guide Although companies use remote access servers in vastly different ways, one issue remains constant: reliability. Whether it's an ISP using a RAS with thousands of ports or a small business saving money on telephone lines by concentrating modem usage, a product's ability to securely connect users to the network is of utmost importance. Of course, companies supporting hundreds or thousands of remote users require much higher port densities than smaller sites. Features such as remote configuration with a Web browser, support for T-1 and ISDN lines, and call logging are also key to larger installations. For its Internet access service, SNET (Southern New England Telephone) uses 3Com Corp.'s Total Control Remote Access Concentrator to provide 6,576 ports of 56K-bps modems and 230 ISDN ports to its customer base. This month, the company will roll out a VPN (virtual private network) service over the same remote access server. "From day one, the DSP [digital signal processing] technology [in 3Com's RAS] has made it fairly easy to upgrade to the latest modem standard without a hardware swap-out," said Dave McPhail, manager of network operations for SNET, based in Meriden, Conn. Another key feature is the product's manageability. "We can remotely monitor and troubleshoot using their Total Control Manager software," said McPhail. In addition, SNET has developed its own Web-based network monitoring software. The remote access server's VPN support also allows SNET to offer this capability to its customers. "Using 3Com-modified [Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service] and frame relay gateway cards, we can establish a secure tunnel to provide our customers with a secure, private, dedicated [VPN]," McPhail said. "This is the only product we've found that does this type of tunneling that is customer-, router- and vendor-independent."

To: Sector Investor who wrote (850)	1/7/1998 2:13:00 PM
From: Maverick	Respond to of 1629

Edgenet, Part II One drawback to the 3Com RAS is that software upgrades must be done separately to each modem shelf, something that 3Com has promised to change. "We have 137 modem shelves, so upgrades are cumbersome. We hear that 3Com is developing a server that will automatically upgrade all the shelves in the network with the press of a key," McPhail said. Another ISP (Internet service provider), EdgeNet Internet Services, of Kingston, R.I., uses Shiva Corp.'s LANRover access servers to provide 360 ports running ISDN and 56K-bps modems for its 5,000 customers. The reliability of the servers is their most important feature. "Once the LANRover access servers were up and running, we didn't have to touch them anymore," said Jeff Thompson, vice president of operations for EdgeNet. Another important feature for ISPs is call logging. Information such as caller ID, call duration and call origin can be tracked by the LANRover access servers. "We can find out where people are calling from and use the logging to support billing," said Thompson. Although less than 10 percent of its customers are currently using 56K-bps modems, Thompson expects that figure to increase as 56K standard equipment is released. As EdgeNet expands its service to 20 cities in the United States this year, it plans to add Ascend Communications Inc.'s MAX 48-port 4048 remote access servers to its configuration, so as not to rely on a single RAS supplier. Easy to use and manage Users requiring fewer ports typically cite ease of use as a key ingredient in a RAS. Simple management functions and control over user access rights are also important features. Applied Systems Inc., for example, is about to increase the number of ports it supports through two remote access servers from 24 to 48, to handle traveling sales people and trainers. The two most important features provided by RAScom Inc.'s RAServer 2000 and RAServer 2500 RASes are remote control and remote node, said John Welsch, technology adviser for Applied Systems, an insurance software developer in University Park, Ill.

To: Sector Investor who wrote (850)	1/7/1998 2:15:00 PM
From: Maverick	Respond to of 1629

Edgenet, Part III "We use remote node for E-mail access, and remote control lets users work as if they are in-house on the network," Welsch said. The RAServer 2500 is used in conjunction with a Citrix Systems Inc. WinFrame server, which can run up to 16 different remote node sessions. Since RAServer runs on Windows NT, it provides simple management capabilities without requiring the network manager to learn a new operating system. "The way ports are managed under NT is phenomenal," said Welsch. Previously, Applied Systems relied on stacked PCs with modems for its remote access needs. Centralizing this function with a RAS provided a smaller footprint in the company's computer room and boosted performance for end users. RAServer also allows Welsch to control which network resources people can access. "RAServer is able to discriminate among different users and give them an assigned IP address that provides more control over which services people can access," he said. Hunting for open lines n an even smaller network, PBX data recorder manufacturer Western Telematic Inc. employs the Perle 833 remote access server from Perle Systems Inc. of Westmont, Ill. Two of the eight available modem ports on the Perle 833 are used to support 10 users dialing out to the Internet, as well as allowing salespeople to dial in to the corporate network. "Instead of purchasing an outside line from the phone company for every user and putting a modem in every computer, we purchased a [RAS] and share two modems," said Bob Holmes, network administrator for Western Telematic Inc., in Irvine, Calif. Holmes praised the Perle 833's hunt capability. "If there are several modems attached and one is busy, it automatically goes to the next available modem," he said. In addition, each port can be dedicated to a certain type of modem or configured for use by certain users, he said.

To: Sector Investor who wrote (850)	1/7/1998 2:18:00 PM
From: Maverick	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1629

Edgenet, Part IV Outsourcing remote access In another RAS installation, the remote access servers are located at a third-party site. BankBoston has outsourced its remote access requirements to Westinghouse Communications, in Pittsburgh. Mobile employees of the Boston-based bank gain access to their corporate network using Attachmate Corp. RLN Access Servers and Remote LAN Node software. "All of the servers are housed in Pittsburgh," said Julie Reed, staff development manager for the bank's technical service center. "In a cost analysis, the pricing was pretty much the same [as having the equipment in-house], but we did not need to allocate the resources on this end." Westinghouse Communications provides similar remote access services to other customers, allowing them to share modems while guaranteeing security through dedicated RASes. For this application, the product's reliability is paramount. "We've been using Attachmate for a couple of years," said Bob Drombosky, a senior engineer with Westinghouse. "Once we set it up, it runs by itself." Contributing Editor Kristina B. Sullivan can be reached at kristina_sullivan@zd.com. Shiva's LANRover access server. RAScom's RAServer 2500.