Re: Rack Modems

[Leslie Mikesell <les@Mcs.Net>]

> Does anyone have any experience with "rackmount" modems and HylaFax? 
> I'm getting ready to install a 16-line fax server with HylaFax and a 
> Cyclades 16 port PCI board. The entire install went great and I'm now 
> getting a few modems together for testing. Using US Robotics 33.6 fax 
> modems is working fine, but I can only imagine what my computer rack 
> is going to look like with all these modems, cables and power lines 
> hanging off it?

There are about 3 styles of rackmounts.  One is just a prettier
box with a single power supply for essentially the same modem
that you would use individually. Each modem has its own serial
connection and no central management.  Another is a 'managed'
rack where there is a central network connection through the rack
but each card still has it's individual serial port and phone
connection.  The high end takes a network connection and a T1
and splits the sessions out internally, but these are normally
used for dial-up network connections.

Even the first kind tends to cost much more than individual modems
partly because they are not mass-market items and partly because
most vendors only make their high-end product in a rackmount style
but it may be worth it to reduce the clutter. 

 Les Mikesell
   les@mcs.com