Re: (PM) looking for opinions - PM3 (fwd)

Tim Tsai (tim@futuresouth.com)
Mon, 15 Feb 1999 14:04:29 -0600

I have managed USR TC's before and I absolutely hated it. However from
the customer's perspective the modem code is what they encounter first
and a clean connect *might* be worth the additional hassle of dealing
with USR both product and company wise. Personally I'd rather Lucent
improve the PM3.

Also we have POP's all over the place and it's not practical to have
both PM3 and USR in all the POP's.

Tim

On Mon, Feb 15, 1999 at 01:34:08PM -0600, Tony Harris wrote:
> You have to look at the USR discussion groups as well.
>
> The quad digital modems are VERY solid.
>
> The hyper DSP and hyperARC stuff has MANY problems - they just released a
> different set of code to help fix stability issues.
>
> The famous phrase that I have seen in MANY places recently really holds
> true - "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" - there
> were several USRTC users that are talking switching to PM3's and PM4's
> discussing all of the "great success lucent/livingston" boxes have. All
> boxes have problems - you only see them more when you only use one box.
>
> I now have a USRTC and a PM3 - I have the USRTC for multiple reasons, one
> to compare (it's an older unit with quad modem cards w/ X2/V.90) its quality
> and reliability, but also to support the modems that don't work well with
> the PM3 - whether it be the V.90 issues, or the fact that someone comes
> along with an X2 modem (yes, in my area there are a LOT of KFlex AND X2 - by
> having both supported we are really covering the field - many people here
> don't want to go thru the hassle of upgrading). I have had problems with
> certain modems and disconnects, etc. with my PM3, but I have had a nightmare
> getting my USRTC up and running - aside from being on the phone with Tech
> support for over 2 hrs - it is much more complex.
>
> Plus - instead of one nice neat upgrade (ie: going from OS 3.8 to 3.8.2) -
> you have to download 1 for the NMC, 1 for the netserver, 1 for the modems
> and another for your pri card - now yes, you may only need just the NMC to
> be upgraded, BUT you have to go check the magical compatibility chart to see
> if the new version of software is going to break everything else - at least
> with the PM3 (and PM4) you get one package with everything, and you don't
> have to worry if the code that handles authentication can talk to your
> modems or not.
>
> But, all is well now, and everything is working on my end - but either way,
> I will still have a PM, and a TC in my future - just so I can cover both
> nightmares of modems.
>
> -Tony
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tim Tsai <tim@futuresouth.com>
> To: PortMaster Users <portmaster-users@livingston.com>
> Date: Monday, February 15, 1999 10:28 AM
> Subject: Re: (PM) looking for opinions - PM3 (fwd)
>
>
> >For me, what I'd really like is better feedback on what Lucent is doing
> >about the modem/line padding issue.
> >
> >The LT Winmodem is getting new releases on a regular basis - too bad the
> >PM3 doesn't enjoy the same support. My question is why isn't the same
> >resources on the LT Winmodem being put into making the PM3 modem code
> >better? The LT Winmodem has turned into one of the best modems out there
> >(especially with the Digital Impair Learning code recently). I can't
> >say the same about PM3 modem code.
> >
> >I will admit that I myself started to look at TC datasheets recently.
> >If 3COM have OSPF support and they didn't have such crappy support policy
> >(and that I don't hate 3COM in general :-), I might be replacing our 10
> >or so PM3's right now. It is still tempting as we are changing our
> >marketing direction and I don't think we can deal with the growth in
> >customer support issues due to modems alone with the PM3. Our experience
> >shows that the TC handle crappy modems/lines much better in general.
> >
> >I am also on the USR list, etc. I do still think that the TC has a lot
> >less modem issues.
> >
> >Lucent, do you know how frustrating it is to be a staunch PM3 support
> >for two years and yet the modem situation still isn't resolved?
> >
> >Tim
> >-
> >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/>
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