Cisco squeezes routers

*Cisco squeezes routers; complete remote office card combines router, file-server functions. (PC Week Netweek) (Cisco Systems AccessPro PC Card)(includes related article on trade-offs between h
PC Week Sept 12, 1994 v11 n36 pN1(2)
PC Week Sept 12, 1994 v11 n36 pN1(2)

Cisco squeezes routers; complete remote office card combines
router, file-server functions. (PC Week Netweek) (Cisco
Systems AccessPro PC Card)(includes related article on
trade-offs between hubs and routers)

by Blakeley, Michael

Abstract
Cisco Systems Inc's $1,995 AccessPro router is a compact network
router on an ISA card that lets network administrators combine
file-server and routing functions in one box without degrading
performance. Tests show that it can compete effectively against both
software and low-end dedicated routers, although it is less expandable
than some other products and costs only slightly less than Cisco's own
Cisco 2500 dedicated router. Installation and setup are easy, with the
card using the bus for power and COM-port emulation. The configuration
Builder 1.1 software package is a GUI configuration tool that is much
easier to use than Cisco's standard command line but is somewhat
lacking in scope. The AccessPro is available in three software
configurations; the tested Enterprise configuration includes full support
for all industry-standard protocols. Performance matches that of the
Cisco 2500.

Full Text
Cisco Systems Inc., the stodgy IBM of the router world, broke its
typecasting Sept. 1 when its $1,995 AccessPro PC Card began shipping.

The compact ISA-card router enables corporate network administrators
to combine routing and file-server functions in one box with no
performance penalties.

PC Week Labs believes that the AccessPro router will compete with both
low-end dedicated routers such as the Cisco 2500 and the Wellfleet
Communications Inc. Access Node and software routers such as Newport
Systems Solutions Inc.'s LAN2LAN/MPR and Eicon Technology Corp.'s IP
Router for Windows NT. The AccessPro is less expandable than offerings
from Newport and Eicon and only slightly less expensive than the Cisco
2500, but its contents offer a unique value for some corporate sites.

The AccessPro isn't an ISA WAN card -- it's a complete Cisco 2500
router on a full-length ISA card. The ISA bus is used only as a power
supply and a console interface, so no CPU cycles, RAM, or even interrupt
requests need be reserved for the router.

Cisco developed the AccessPro card as part of a 1993 agreement with
Microsoft Corp. to provide a card-based router for Windows NT
environments.

The AccessPro will function with any ISA-compatible bus, including
NetWare servers and desktop PCs.

We tested a card with an Ethernet port, but according to Cisco officials,
Token-Ring ports will be available in October. AT&T is reportedly
working on a Micro Channel implementation of the card.

Installation and setup

It took us only a moment to open up a Compaq Computer Corp. desktop
PC, insert the AccessPro card, and close the lid. The installation proved
equally easy with a Compaq ProLiant server.

The AccessPro uses the ISA bus for power and for COM-port emulation.
DIP switches on the card select emulation of COM1 through COM4, which
allowed us to configure the AccessPro in a desktop Windows PC or in a
Windows NT server by using the Terminal accessory.

The card also sports an RJ-45 external serial port for dumb terminal
connections. This could be useful in NetWare remote offices, where the
AccessPro card may reside in a PC that doesn't have ready access to
terminal-emulation software.

Externally, the AccessPro must be connected to a LAN via its RJ-45 LAN
port. The AccessPro is equipped with a single WAN port, using Cisco's
new high-density WAN plug.

Once we completed the hardware installation, we used the Windows
Terminal accessory to connect to the AccessPro, set passwords, and
configure IP.

Although Cisco's ease of configuration has steadily improved with each
release of software, the command-line interface is still daunting for a
novice.

Management

PC Week Labs examined a beta version of Cisco's Configuration Builder
1.1 as part of this review. It can't yet replace the command line, but
Configuration Builder might ease management woes for corporate router
administrators.

Configuration Builder is a vast improvement over Cisco's command line,
and sports a better interface than Wellfleet's similar Site Manager
product. However, both Wellfleet and Cisco need to extend their
utilities' scope.

Neither utility can install a router from scratch -- they can only talk to
a router that already knows basic information such as its IP number and
enabling password. Also, neither utility helps in troubleshooting or
shows the current status of the router.

Until Configuration Builder ships, corporate sites will have to make do
with Cisco's traditional command-line interface, the complexity of
which depends on the AccessPro configuration you purchase.

Like the rest of Cisco's router line, the AccessPro is available in three
software configurations. Naturally, more features cost more (as much as
$3,495 for the Enterprise feature set).

The Enterprise software, which PC Week Labs tested, includes Cisco's
full support for industry-standard networking protocols, including
standards such as IP and IPX, as well as the less-common WAN
technologies, IBM protocols, and Digital Equipment Corp.'s Local Area
Transport. Corporate sites that need only IP, IPX, AppleTalk, and DECnet
can settle for the desktop set, while IP-only shops get a bargain with
the IP set.

Part of each software set is Cisco's broad support for SNMP. Cisco
implements MIB (Management Information Base) 2 support plus a private
MIB available over the Internet at ftp.cisco.com.

Performance

Because the AccessPro is essentially a Cisco 2500 sized to be contained
on a full-length ISA card, PC Week Labs expected its performance to
match that of the 2500. Predictably, like its older sibling, the
AccessPro does a fine job of routing between one Ethernet LAN and one
WAN.

For a remote-office router like the Cisco AccessPro or the Wellfleet AN,
PC Week Labs believes that performance is now a requirement. Any
successful product will route full WAN bandwidth to the Ethernet, so
performance testing becomes a pass/fail test. The AccessPro passes.

PC Week Labs installed the AccessPro PC card in a Compaq Computer
Corp. ProLinea 486/33 system equipped with 8M bytes of RAM. We
connected the AccessPro to a Cisco Systems Inc. 4000 router via a
simulated 56K-bps line. Using an Alantec Corp. PowerBits
network-diagnostic unit and testing scripts by Scott Bradner of Harvard
University, we flooded the 56K-bps Point-to-Point Protocol link
between the two routers with IP and IPX packets, at various packet
sizes.

Corporate buyers can now put multiple hub and router cards into the
same chassis with a file server or use traditional separate chassis. Here
are some trade-offs to consider:

Management. Does the card provide bus-based communications and
management? Although these features consume bandwidth on the server,
they can make administration and setup easier. Most hub and router
cards, however, require their own independent connections. If you put a
hub card and a router card into your NetWare server, you'll need two very
short cables -- one from the server NIC to the hub, the other from the
router to the hub, even though they reside in the same box.

Real estate. If you have a lot of empty slots in your servers and no extra
space in your racks or closets, go with card products.

Power consumption. Does the server's power supply have enough juice? A
multiport router card may burn 25-50 watts. This alone won't drain the
battery, but what else is drawing power off the bus?

Fault tolerance. With card products, you can cheaply put everything on
uninterruptible power supply. However, all the hubs and routers have to
go down whenever you need to add drives or network interface cards to
the server.

Price. Some card products will be cheaper because the vendor saved the
price of a chassis and power supply. Others will be more expensive than
their stand-alone brethren, reflecting redesign and miniaturization
costs.

Type: Hardware Review
Evaluation

Company: Cisco Systems, Inc.

Product: Cisco Systems AccessPro (Bridge/router)

Topic: Evaluation
Bridge/Router

Record# 16 240 402