Abstract

Testing Dial-Up Routers: Close, but No Cigar

This June 1994 Data Communications lab test, conducted by Kevin Tolly of The Tolly Group and David Newman of Data Communications, evaluated dial-up routers designed to connect remote offices and branch LANs over switched WAN services. The article examined whether these products could serve as a lower-cost alternative to dedicated leased lines by using ISDN, switched 56Kbit/s service, PSTN modems, frame relay, and other dial-up WAN options for on-demand LAN-to-LAN connectivity.

The lab invited 11 vendors to participate. Six vendors supplied products for testing: Cayman Systems, Gandalf Technologies, NEC America, Rockwell Network Systems, Telebit, and 3Com. The test focused on practical deployment issues rather than simple packet forwarding. Areas evaluated included LAN and WAN interface support, routed and bridged protocol support, filtering, spoofing, bandwidth-on-demand, automatic hang-up behavior, security, callback, password protection, remote management, configuration tools, and documentation.

The results showed that dial-up routing was a promising but still-maturing technology. The strongest products could establish useful remote LAN connections and reduce WAN costs, but the lab found that success depended heavily on how well each product controlled unnecessary traffic. Ordinary LAN protocols could generate background broadcasts, keepalives, and service advertisements that would cause dial-up links to connect or remain active unnecessarily. As a result, spoofing and filtering were critical technical features. Products also varied widely in their ability to add or drop channels, enforce idle-time disconnects, authenticate users, and manage multiple protocols across intermittent WAN links.

Rockwell Network Systems’ NetHopper NIP received a Data Communications “Tester’s Choice” designation for its breadth of LAN and WAN options, multiprotocol support, and practical routing features. Telebit’s NetBlazer 40 also received a “Tester’s Choice” designation for its strong feature set, WAN flexibility, and routing capabilities. Both products showed that dial-up routing could be viable for serious branch-office use, although configuration still required knowledgeable administrators.

The other tested products reflected different design priorities. Cayman’s GatorAccess MP emphasized menu-driven setup and support for IPX and AppleTalk environments. Gandalf’s LANline 5225i focused on ISDN and switched-service connectivity, with useful bandwidth-management features. NEC’s Dr. Bond-S targeted economical ISDN connectivity and WAN aggregation, but was more limited as a general-purpose enterprise router. 3Com’s AccessBuilder, from 3Com’s Personal Office Division, provided remote-office connectivity and 3Com-style management, but the lab found it better suited to narrower use cases than broad, multiprotocol LAN-to-LAN routing.

Overall, the article concluded that dial-up routers were close to becoming a practical enterprise tool, but had not yet fully delivered on the promise. The biggest technical challenges were not basic connectivity, but management, interoperability, security, protocol handling, and cost control. For organizations willing to configure the products carefully, dial-up routers could provide useful branch-office connectivity and WAN backup. For less technical environments, however, the category still required simplification before it could become a mainstream replacement for leased-line networking.

Solutions Tested

Cayman Systems — GatorAccess MP
Gandalf Technologies — LANline 5225i
NEC America — Dr. Bond-S
Rockwell Network Systems — NetHopper NIP
Telebit — NetBlazer 40
3Com Personal Office Division — AccessBuilder