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Reviews /
Reviews /
RAScom response to Network World Buyer’s Guide RFP for Abbig Corporation remote access solution
The RAServer 2600 is a fully featured, fault tolerant, secure, scalable, easy to use and extremely flexible communications server that can support all of Abbig Corporation’s current and future remote access needs.
The Complete Remote Access Solution Many remote access devices can only serve one or two functions. The RAScom RAServer supports a wide range of functions including:- Dial up remote access using V.90 56k digital modems
- Dial up access using ISDN
- Virtual Private Network (VPN) tunneling
- Dial out modem pooling
- Fax server
- Dial on demand routing
- Leased line routing to the Internet or to other corporate offices
- Twice the performance of leading brands
- Excellent Security
- Comprehensive management
- The easiest to use interface
- Fault tolerance
- Unparalleled flexibility
- Lower Total Cost of Ownership
Open, Flexible and Scalable Architecture
The RAServer is designed as an open system based on industry standard PC server hardware and the Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system. Third party software and hardware can easily be integrated into the RAServer when required. This openness provides a level of flexibility, choice and cost effectiveness that is simply not available with closed proprietary RAS devices. For example, low cost mainstream third party LAN adapters can be installed in the RAServer to support Token Ring, FDDI or ATM LANs in addition to the standard 10/100 Ethernet LAN interface. Thousands of third party software packages are available from hundreds of companies. A rich set of development tools and APIs are available to write custom applications and interface these applications with existing RAS functionality. The RAServer 2600 can scale from as few as 8 to as many as 120 digital modems. Since RAServers are centrally managed, multiple RAServers can be used to provision thousands of remote access ports. This scalability will allow Abbig Corporation to install the right size RAServer for any size office. RAServers are available with either multiple T1 (North American) interfaces supporting up to 24 channels each or multiple E1 (rest of the world) line interface supporting up to 30 channels each. RAScom Basic Rate ISDN (BRI) cards are also available with either a “U” (North American) or an “S/T” (rest of the world) interface. The RAServer is the most flexible and scalable remote access solution available. Flexibility and scalability are the keys to investment protection since future requirements are often difficult to predict.Ease of use
Business Communications Review magazine voted the RAScom RAServer the easiest to use remote access server. The Windows user interface of the RAServer is much easier to learn and use than proprietary RAS devices.Leverages existing infrastructure
The RAServer is ideal for organizations that use Windows NT Servers or Workstations. Since the RAServer is based on Windows NT, it seamlessly integrates with the existing Windows NT infrastructure. There is no need to separately configure dial-in accounts for each remote user since the RAServer can simply use the existing Windows Domain service and user database. Training and support costs are minimized because existing in-house Windows NT expertise can be leveraged. A whitepaper detailing the numerous advantages of Windows NT based RAS is available at the RAScom web site www.rascom.com.Management
The RAServer comes bundled with a rich collection of management tools. The easy to use and familiar Windows interface of these management tools allows newly hired support personnel to be immediately productive. The Routing and RAS administrator utility has a graphical user interface similar to the Windows Explorer. It is used for most general management activities including authorizing a user, administrating user groups, adding or deleting routing protocols and reporting. The bundled Remote Access Manager application provides sophisticated policy based management for remote access. Access policies can be based on many parameters including time of day, user/group membership, RAS load level, media type (e.g. ISDN), calling party number, called party number and maximum connect time. Duplicate logons using the same User ID can be blocked. Several powerful troubleshooting tools are included to help network administrators quickly isolate and correct connectivity problems. The line state monitor tool provides detailed line state information in real time. The ISDN monitor provides D channel protocol analysis. The built in packet analyzer (''sniffer'') provides packet capture and decode. The bundled Proxy Remote utility provides full remote control administrative access to the RAServer from a Windows workstation using a modem, ISDN, LAN or VPN connection. The bundled ConfigSafe utility provides a safety net by automatically saving a copy of the Windows NT Registry whenever a configuration change is made. If a configuration change causes a problem, the administrator can use ConfigSafe to quickly restore the Registry to an earlier state. A log is kept of all remote access sessions including the time of day, length of session, user ID, IP Address and bytes transferred. A full set of usage statistics is available. Several standard reports are provided. The administrator can also easily produce custom reports using the built-in report generator. Support for SNMP allows integration with third party management platforms.Security
The Windows NT operating system provides C-2 level security, a standard used by many government and defense agencies worldwide. It supports 128-bit encryption (in North America) or 40-bit encryption (for export outside the USA and Canada). Authentication can be accomplished via Windows NT domains or RADIUS. The RAServer can function as a primary domain controller, backup domain controller or as a standalone server. The administrator can thwart attempts to guess passwords by enforcing the minimum length and complexity of passwords. The administrator can also force users to change their passwords regularly. Policy based management can be used to improve security. For example, a policy can be established to permit or deny access based on the calling party telephone number (Caller ID) of the client or the time of day. A log is kept of all remote access sessions. Physical security is provided by a lockable door on the RAServer 2600 enclosure used to restrict access to the hard disk, diskette drive and CD-ROM drive. If the maximum possible level of security is required, a variety of optional software and hardware based security products are available from third party companies. A popular third party security product supported by the RAServer is the SecurID token card made by Security Dynamics.Built-in Routing
The RAServer includes a fully featured multi-protocol router because it is based on Windows NT RRAS. It supports routing of both IP and IPX (Novell NetWare) protocols. The router interface supports both OSPF and RIP for scalability and compatibility with existing routers. The external wide area routers currently used for Abbig Corporation’s network can be eliminated by installing one additional T1 (or E1 or BRI) interface into the RAServer and configuring it for leased line routing. The leased line router interface on the RAServer is managed with the same easy to use utilities used to manage RAS. Eliminating the external router can significantly reduce support costs.Virtual Private Networking
Virtual Private Networking (VPN) is becoming popular as a way to reduce long distance telephone charges, as a way to link remote offices and as a way to provide access to corporate data via high speed Internet access technologies such as cable modems, xDSL or satellites. Sooner or later, Abbig Corporation will have use for a VPN solution. Most VPN products require extra hardware and software to be purchased, installed, configured and supported at the central site. Support for VPNs is built into the RAServer at no extra cost. Most VPN products also require extra cost client licenses and/or special client software which can be very expensive to buy, distribute and support. The RAServer supports VPNs using the Microsoft Dial Up Networking (DUN) client software which is distributed for free with Windows 98, Windows 95 or Windows NT workstations. The same familiar Windows interface used for modem dial up is used to configure client side VPN access rather than proprietary client software.Phone Book Maintenance and Distribution
A major cost and ease-of-use issue for travelers involves finding the telephone number of the remote access server closest to their current location. Travelers can save the corporation a great deal of money on long distance telephone charges by either dialing into a corporate remote access server closer to their current location or by dialing into a local ISP and using a VPN tunnel to access corporate servers. Unfortunately, many travelers continue to make long distance telephone calls to their home base remote access because they either don’t know the local access number or they don’t know how to configure use of a different phone number or they can’t be bothered to manually look up and enter a different phone number for every city they visit. Since area codes and telephone numbers change frequently, any list of remote access numbers will quickly become out of date. Manually distributing phone book updates to thousands of users can be time consuming. Microsoft Connection Manager solves all of these problems by providing an easy to use and versatile client dialer plus Windows NT Server administrative tools to distribute phone book updates to client workstations. The Connection Manager dialer automatically determines the lowest cost remote access number. The traveler need only tell it which city they are dialing from. If all lines on the lowest cost remote access server are busy, the dialer can select the next lowest cost access number.ISDN
RAScom recommends ISDN access for Abbig Corporation’s executives who use a variety of network applications for nearly an hour each day. ISDN can provide up to three times the throughput typically provided by a modem. Support for ISDN is built-into the RAServer at no additional charge. Users can dial the same access number using either an ISDN terminal adapter or a modem. The RAServer will automatically detect the type of call and handle it appropriately.Performance
The RAServer supports both software and hardware compression that can provide twice the throughput of proprietary RAS devices when Windows clients access the RAServer. In independent tests performed by Mier Labs, the RAServer achieved throughput of up to 175 kilobits per second over a modem connection while proprietary remote access devices from Cisco, Ascend, Nortel and others achieved throughput of only 90 kilobits per second or less. This huge difference in performance is due to the RAServer’s support for Microsoft Point to Point Compression (MPPC) which can provide twice the effective data compression ratio of hardware-only compression when used with Windows based clients. When both ends of the connection are Windows based, MPPC automatically enables compression at the operating system level to provide double the compression ratio possible with hardware based compression alone. The RAServer also supports hardware based compression to improve throughput for Macintosh, UNIX, OS/2 and other non-Windows clients that cannot benefit from MPPC. RAServers support the multi-link protocol that allows each client to double or triple throughput by using two, three (or more) modems or ISDN connections. Support for ISDN is built into every RAServer at no additional cost. Client workstations with ISDN terminal adapters can dial into the RAServer using either one or two B channels providing either 64 kilobit or 128 kilobit access.Fault Tolerance
RAServer 2600 is available with fault tolerant load sharing hot swappable power supplies, redundant hot swappable cooling fans and RAID 1 disk mirroring for high availability. All modems are pooled and used in a “round robin” fashion so that all modems are tested in use. Defective modems are automatically taken off line under software control. Redundant modems can be installed. The RAServer is so reliable that RAScom offers support contracts with a 99.9% uptime guarantee.Modem Pooling
With optional modem pooling software, the RAServer can provide a pool of dial out modems for use by any authorized user connected to the LAN. This feature eliminates the need to bring phone lines and modems to the desk of every user who needs dial out modem access. The same modems and phone lines used for remote access during the evening can be employed during the workday as dial out modems.Fax Server
When optional fax server software is installed, the RAServer can send or receive faxes. This allows users to save time by faxing documents directly from their desktops. It also reduces long distance telephone costs by routing the document across the corporate wide area network to the RAServer closest to the destination. Using the RAServer for fax eliminates the need for a separate fax server and allows sharing expensive telephone trunk lines for different purposes. The same lines that are used for faxes (or dial out modem pooling) during the day can be used for remote access during the evening or fax broadcast during early morning hours when telephone line charges are lowest. Port requirements for Abbig Corporation Assuming that port usage is randomly distributed throughout the day, 192 modem ports at headquarters (two RAServer 2600 systems) and 96 modem ports at each of the 10 regional offices (one RAServer 2600 system per regional office) should be adequate to support Abbig Corporation’s remote access needs.Pricing
RAServer 2600 with four T1/PRI spans and 96 V.90 modems $29,400 each x 12 = $352,800 Optional WAN card for T1/E1/fractional T1 router link $3,500 each Annual RAService Silver Support $2,940 per RAServerLower Total Cost of Ownership
The two largest costs associated with remote access are support personnel and monthly telephone access charges. The RAServer architecture significantly reduces both of these costs. The RAServer is based on Microsoft Windows NT Server Routing and Remote Access Services (RRAS). In-house Windows expertise can be leveraged to manage RAServers. Any experienced Windows NT administrator can learn to use the RAServer within a couple of hours. Personnel turnover is a fact of life in today’s business environment. Support personnel familiar with Windows are much easier to find and less expensive than support engineers trained to use complex proprietary RAS devices. Newly hired support engineers often require a week or more of expensive training just to learn the basics of configuring and managing proprietary RAS devices. In contrast, a new hire can learn to set up and use a RAServer within hours. The familiar Windows user interface and graphical user interface help to make new hires productive on the first day. The higher throughput provided by Microsoft Point to Point Compression (MPPC) saves money in two ways. Employee productivity is higher because they spend less time waiting for files to download. Telephone line charges are also lower because files can be downloaded faster. Monthly telephone line costs can be reduced because the same lines can be used for multiple purposes including RAS using modems, RAS using ISDN, dial out modem pooling, fax or dial on demand routing. In the future, the RAServer will also support using these lines for a Voice over IP Gateway.
