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FlowPoint provides a Windows-based GUI that let us configure every aspect of the router without requiring us to revert to the command-line interface. We set our ISDN link information, added link destination information, fine-tuned our Multilink PPP/CHAP connections and added static routes to multiple dial-up host sites. Other vendors, such as Develcon and Cisco, provided GUI interfaces, but these applications didn't let us fully configure and manage the router. Their interfaces seemed to be less sophisticated, allowing only the most basic configurations, such as ISDN link and dialing to a specific site. We couldn't set such advanced features as link optimization or static routing. FlowPoint's management interface enabled complete router configuration, but wasn't as powerful as Ramp Networks' WebRamp Entre WIZ GUI configuration. WebRamp provided better link monitoring and troubleshooting tools and let us more fully control the POTS interface behavior upon receiving incoming telephone calls.

In our tests, FlowPoint 123's sole weakness was its limited firewall functionality. Its only packet-filtering ability was a hard-coded routine that discards incoming WAN packets that have the same IP address as a local LAN. This mechanism prevents spoof attacks to some extent, but it doesn't let you design any custom filters for further security or for limiting traffic. Most of the other routers we reviewed had sufficient packet-filtering functionality and programmability. The FlowPoint 123 did, however, support NAT, which lets multiple users (served by the router) share one IP address to a corporate site or ISP. In this way, the routers don't have to deal with heavy IP management issues or expensive commercial ISP LAN service. Although this is a popular and useful feature among ISDN routers today, we found a surprising number of routers in this review that didn't exhibit NAT support.

FlowPoint 123, ADTRAN's Express XLT and Pivotal Networking's 1900 Remote Access Router all offered auto-SPID detection. But only the Pivotal product successfully detected our SPIDs. Despite this fact, the value of auto-SPID detection is debatable, since the user is required to type in directory numbers for each channel. The NIUF AutoSPID specification--currently only implemented on AT&T Custom switches--may eliminate the need for DNs in configuration. If the users know directory numbers, they will likely know the SPIDs and shouldn't have trouble entering a couple of extra numbers. However, a phenomenal number of people have difficulties with this, and maybe soon the day will finally arrive when the industry eliminates SPIDs completely.

Develcon Electronics Orbitor 500

Like FlowPoint 123, Develcon's Orbitor 500 offers POTS support and is priced similarly (Orbitor is $595, while a two-analog POTS line version of FlowPoint 123 costs $599). Its performance also matched the 123 with STAC LZS compression--the standard algorithm for data compression that enables shorter, faster transmission.

However, Orbitor has a Java/browser interface that posed a few problems when we configured the unit. The application offers a series of pages designed to allow systematic parameter entering in text box format and mouse clicks. At first this was a decent tool, and it was well-structured for ease of use. We logged into the unit and configured our ISDN line parameters, but it went into a frenzy when we tried to enter dial-link information for connecting to our host site. Although the router accepted the ISDN information, we couldn't get it to absorb the dial-link information, and, as a result, we couldn't progress with the utility. Fortunately, Develcon offers text menu-based configuration as a secondary method, which was surprisingly well-planned, powerful and easy to use. With it, we configured the router in minutes, which was almost as easy to use as Netopia's, ZyXEL's and Symplex's products, and far better than OpenROUTE Networks/Proteon's command-line interface.

Support for SOHO features, such as POTS and NAT routing, usually raises the price of routers significantly, but like FlowPoint, Develcon has included these while keeping the cost to a minimum. Both IP and IPX routing are available, and there are no user/IP address limitations--which is a common practice for vendors so that they can charge a lower price for their units. (Netopia carries a model of its ISDN router for a cheaper price with fewer simultaneous users allowed.)

The Orbitor 500 has two POTS interfaces, but it didn't let us configure them in any detail other than enabling or disabling them. Decent POTS support, like that found in the Cisco 776, Ramp Networks' WebRamp Entre and ADC Kentrox's PACESETTER SOHO, will let you program how the POTS will react to incoming voice telephone calls. Calls should be able to be routed based on incoming caller ID or channel availability, freeing B channels or POTS interfaces for fax machines or analog modems. Develcon forces a common set of rules to its POTS interface by ringing the line over to the other POTS port if the incoming call is destined to a busy B channel. Orbitor 500 doesn't offer any advanced call-handling options, such as call transferring or conferencing.