[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
At 07:15 AM -0700 06/20/2003, Jim wrote:
Yes. On both counts. IPNR works well. A real hardware router works better (and is cheaper.)
Less expensive: yes. Especially when being sold for under manufacturing cost (eg: LinkSys' promotion last summer).
One could ask why Sustworks hasn't lowered the price of IPNR. How much does a CD cost these days? It is a mature product. ;-)
Cheaper: yes. But that's a quality issue. :)
I ran IPNR for, literally, years. Run on a dedicated 6100/60. Like I said, it worked well. It was also a continuing expense. Based on my energy bill from last year compared to this year, IPNR was costing me about $15/mo. compared to the little router I have now.
Easier to configure: yes. With so many fewer features, they better be easier to configure!
Features? The D-Link that I use does DHCP and NAT. It also allows me to firewall by packet, address or port. Allows a DMZ machine. While IPNR has more "features," one has to ask oneself, "What features will I actually use?" If I wanted raw "features", I'd be using Unix, not Mac.
Better: no. LOL.
A Mac is "better" than a PC, right? Why? Simplicity. More is not always better.
Beyond being feature-poor, these low-end off-the-shelf "home" products are slower than IPNR on an ancient PM 7100/66. They are limited as to the number of client computers they'll support. And most have difficulty doing their basic NAT routing tasks while maintaining sustained throughput at "cable modm" speeds. And worse, they respond to such loads not by slowing down, but by locking up...
Yeah, the DI-704 is limited. To 253 addresses. NAT is limited to 32 machines. I have a fairly extensive home network, but, at most, there are ten devices that the router has to deal with and typically, just four. (Two systems, a bridge and the modem.)
As far as locking up at cable modem speeds; reread my original post. "I'm on dialup, so I use a D-Link DI-704." At 56k, I'll never see it locking up due to packet flooding. And broadband is coming to my part of the world maybe never.
In my situation, the savings provided by running an 800ma wall wart well outweigh the expense of running a 210w 6100. ($15/mo. difference @ .09/kwh) Purchase price? $90 for IPNR vs. $40 for the router. (Which, BTW, are selling on Ebay these days for ten to twenty bucks.)
Rather than just counting 'more features', the savvy sys admin looks at the whole picture. What do I need? What can do what I need? What reliability do I require? What is the total cost-of-ownership? It may be that a bottom-of-the-line hardware router meets the requirements. It may be that IPNR is the intelligent solution. Perhaps one needs a couple Cisco 7000 series routers backing a 6500 series switch (the $200k solution).
Running the numbers, a dedicated 'home/small business' router was the solution FOR ME. Your situation may be different. If so, your solution may be different as well. Prior to purchasing any solution, define the requirements then purchase the solution for *your* requirements.
For me, IPNR was a good interim solution while waiting for hardware routers to become 'home' type devices. IPNR's upside was its ability to run on existing equipment and its cost at the time. It's downside, which became apparent over the years I used it, was the recurring energy expense, the necessity for a dedicated routing machine and the requirement to add software to the darkside machine for network compatibility. At this point, a low end hardware router is the correct solution for my needs.
As always, YMMV.
Jim
(Disclaimer: I am neither a wholesaler nor a retailer of either Sustworks or D-link products. My financial interest in this thread is limited to the cost of the recycled electrons necessary to continue the discussion. My advise is worth exactly what you are paying for it and should be treated as such. Remember what RAH said: "TANSTAAFL.")
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