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From: moyman@ECN.PURDUE.EDU (Mike Moya)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk
Subject: Re: Webster Multiport Gateway opinions wanted
Message-ID: <9105241410.AA07571@aquarium.ecn.purdue.edu>
Date: 24 May 91 14:10:07 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 78

>
>Hi there NetLand,
>
>I am considering buying a Webster Multiport Gateway for our network. 
>>We already have a GatorBox with GatorShare and GatorPrint (which we
>would keep), but we are gradually switching to CAP.  
>
>Before I decide, I would like to know a few things:
>
>1) will the AFP servers simulated by GatorShare be made available to
>the LocalTalk Macs hooked-up to one of the 4 LocalTalk ports of the
>MultiPort Gateway? (I don't see why not, but who knows? - I know it
>adds a lot of network traffic, but it would be just until we switch to  
>CAP and AUFS)
Both boxes do this without a problem....

>2) I know it can be configured using an HyperCard stack; is it easy to
>set up and configure (compared to a GatorBox which I already know)
Set-up is such a personal experience, I can only give you my opinion here.
The stack is easy to follow but I found it very cumbersome (I hated it
actually). The GatroBox is trivial to set-up in my opinion. This was the
bad part of using the Multiport.

>3) I think it downloads its code from a Mac or a Unix box (like the old
>GatorBox); it that reliable?  Does it always come back on line
>*without user intervention* after a power failure?
The MultiPort also can use a UNIX host to do do this (you can also use a
mac).
>
>4) Since one box will handle 4 LocalTalk segments, if the box breaks
>down, it affects a lot of people (and I will be in trouble, since I
>will be the one they come yelling to...); so is the box as reliable as
>Webster tells me it is (both hardware and software)
The box I had never crashed...

>
>5) 2 EtherRoutes would provide support for 4 LocalTalk ports at a lower
>cost and potentialy more reliability (1 failure affects only half the
>people) but with less LaserWriter security (which we need) and without
>a few other things like async appletalk; is the higher price of the
>Webster box worth it?  With its DMA design, would 1 Webster box be as 
>fast as two EtherRoutes?
>6) Is async appletalk really usable?  (probably not a 2400bps, but what
>about 9600?)
I don't use EtherTalk so I can't help you here...

>
>7) Support by Cayman is pretty good; how does Webster's support
>compare?  I know they distribute their software updates by anon ftp
>and provide support via e-mail but I would like to know if they really
>answer our questions with real solutions and in a timely manner.
I felt their support staff was comparable (and you get those cool Aussie
accents...).


Overall, I was impressed with the MultiPort. Setting up the box was brutal,
I actually had to read the manual. Since it's a (large) stack you also need
Hypercard and a Home stack, at this point you can't fit it all on a boot
floppy. You also have to have a serial line connection to the MultiPort for
set-up. In order to boot the box, you need a Mac with a hard drive and
within 6 feet to attach the serial connection (not real practical for those
of use with many boxes floating around riser closets and your portable
doesn't have a hard drive). The MultiPort uses atalkad so it will fit right
in to your FastPath network, GatorBoxes can use atalkad as well. The
performance of the box through the Ethernet was very good (Aufs), it's a
BIG win here. 

I did benchmarks comparing the GatorBox running their latest (1.6), the
MultiPort running the latest Megan (the number escapes me, 2.3 I think) and
a FastPath 4 (8.1.1) doing a 3.5 Meg, 110 file/folder Aufs copy (to the
Mac) with 1, 2, 3 and 4 macs at the same time. E-mail me if you are
interested in the results...
--moya

--Mike Moya 
--Macintosh Systems and Networking
--Engineering Computer Network, Purdue University
--moyman@ecn.purdue.edu