I have the direct comparison at work with Ascend Max 4000/TNT, USR TC (HiPER
and old Quad/NetServer) and i got a PM3 for doing some hobby ISP things.
3COM/USR has by FAR the BEST modem code. I dont like their E1/NetS/NMC/Modem
splitting but the HiPerArc and HiPerDSP are great.
Ascend has the best configuration/code management for big networks.
RADIUS configuration for DIALOUT location on reboot and/or request.
Easy configuration dumping/restoring via TFTP... I get a replacement
box up and running in <5 Minutes with ALL configurations etc. They
have known performance problems at 4xE1 on a 4000 so you may only
put 2 on it (TNT has similar problems).
The PM3 is a small handy thing and in comparison is very cheap. The
ComOS needs a complete redesign to keep up with current NetWorkManagement
needs (Remote configuration etc) but the modem code seems to be the worsest
of all the above.
BTW: USR has the same problem currently with support for the old NetServer.
No feature requests and bugfixes get through same with the PM3 currently.
So i think ill go for an used Max4k.
Flo
-- Florian Lohoff flo@mini.gt.owl.de +49-5241-470566 - To unsubscribe, email 'majordomo@livingston.com' with 'unsubscribe portmaster-users' in the body of the message. Searchable list archive: <URL:http://www.livingston.com/Tech/archive/>