You might consider one of the new "line share devices" that have
recently become available Viking, CMP, LSD, and several others make
them. They allow a group of modems to share a "pool" of lines similar to
a PBX but much cheaper and simpler, they also cause no speed degradation
as the "switchpoints" are relays. CMP's looks like the most bang for the
buck allowing 12 computers and/or other devices to share up to 4 phone
lines, wholesale price is $195.00
They work best when using dedicated modem lines however they can also be
set up to share lines with your 308, most units also will automaticaly
direct incomming calls to a preassigned port.
On Thu, 23 Aug 2001 00:18:32 -0700 Ramon Alino <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Thanks for all your wisdom. This thread has really been quite
> enlightening. However, I owe some of you an explanation with
> regards to my
> setup.
>
> I have the house wired with Cat-5 for both phone and Ethernet
> connections. There are six networked computers at home. We
> presently have
> 3 phone lines and usually 2 to 3 concurrent users accessing the
> Internet
> via modem. We normally try to keep the "main" phone line open for
> incoming/outgoing voice calls, with the other 2 lines being fair
> game for
> both voice calls and modem access.
>
> Unfortunately, cable and DSL are presently not options in our area.
> I've
> looked into ISDN, but with minute-by-minute charges, it's far too
> expensive
> compared to fixed-cost local, toll-free analog phone lines.
> Satellite
> access might be another option to explore, but it's another
> additional
> overhead to consider.
>
> I understand the concept of shared resources in a network. However,
> I
> would like to retain the functionality of the PBX, namely the
> ability of
> people and computers to access an available phone line, while
> boosting
> Internet access speed, without breaking the bank. Right now, for
> our
> needs, we're perfectly happy if we're surfing at 50kb.
>
> I'm particularly intrigued by Richard Patterson's idea of sharing
> one modem
> over the network and Bob Bruskin's use of the STICK, a device which
> I
> believe is quite similar to the fax-detection device I already have
> hooked
> up to the 816. As a matter of fact, I unplugged the fax machine and
> hooked
> up the modem to this device and it worked quite well (it boosted the
> modem
> speed), while simultaneously solving the problem of making sure
> voice calls
> and modem access don't conflict with each other.
>
> Nevertheless, it would be interesting to find out what your
> experiences
> have been with "modem sharing". One thing to note is that I access a
>
> remote host computer through VPN. We have 3 operating systems at
> home,
> namely Windows 95, 98 and 2000. Windows 2000 came with a new
> computer
> which refuses to communicate with older computer running Windows 95
> which
> has the VPN software installed, which is a completely another story.
> But
> with Microsoft networking being as reliable as it is, my conclusion
> has
> been that resource sharing, for a modem anyway, could be shaky.
>
> I presume that, given my circumstances, I would be better off
> purchasing
> dedicated STICKs for each of my phone lines, thereby allowing each
> Internet
> user access to a dedicated modem. This would set me back by about
> $300.
>
> And then again, some of you may have more elegant or inexpensive
> solutions
> now that you better understand my setup.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ramon
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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NOTHING!
-Edmund Burke-
Chris Snyder KD4 OGD Cosby, Tn.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Stop the madness...vote LIBERTARIAN
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