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Date:      Wed, 2 Aug 2000 15:15:15 -0500 (CDT)
From:      Joe Greco <jgreco@ns.sol.net>
To:        forrestc@imach.com (Forrest W. Christian)
Cc:        freebsd-isp@FreeBSD.ORG, francis@usls.edu
Subject:   Re: Cyclades Z series vs. Cisco 2600
Message-ID:  <200008022015.PAA87442@aurora.sol.net>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0008021237570.17073-100000@workhorse.iMach.com> from "Forrest W. Christian" at "Aug 2, 2000 12:46:18 pm"

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> > Basically a Cisco 2600 is a dinky little router with very few overall
> > resources.  It has a nice 1U form factor that makes it attractive for
> > tight locations, and of course it's got fewer moving parts than a PC.
> > I'm guessing that you can get 16-port serial modules for it, although
> > I don't know...  but if the modules can do 230,400 I'd be impressed,
> > and I'm fairly sure that the unit would be saturated trying to handle
> > a few dozen busy ports.
> 
> Technical specs:  A 2600 has a 50MHz RISC CPU.  You can get either 16 or
> 32 port serial cards which are capable of up to 134.4kb/s.  If you need
> the 2600 for other things (such as your connection to the internet) then
> this might be just what the doctor ordered.   However, I think it might
> not be the best solution.
> 
> Have you considered picking up a used Pormaster 2?  You can get a 30 port
> version for less than 500 regularly on Ebay.   I have used these heavily
> over the years and as far as terminal servers go I really don't think you
> can go wrong with one of these.

Beware the PM2, they are relatively low performance.  They can handle a
full load of V.34 modems without undue suffering, but beyond that are mainly
useful for things like monitor stands.

They're pretty good for doing serial console stuff for stupid equipment like
Cisco routers, Total Controls, etc., but for any smart bit of equipment like
a BGP speaker or a server, I'd much prefer to have a FreeBSD based terminal
server for the logging capabilities.

They also don't allow things like ssh, so you should use them on a secured
network or a secure serial line.
-- 
... Joe

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Greco - Systems Administrator			      jgreco@ns.sol.net
Solaria Public Access UNIX - Milwaukee, WI			   414/342-4847


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