All router, less frills from Adtran

Adtran is introducing another in a series of low-cost routers that it is purposely designed to compete against Cisco gear.

The company has even set up a Web site (https://www.dare2compare.adtran.com/) at which you can try to configure one of the routers using a command line interface that, if you can configure a Cisco router, will look very familiar.

Adtran currently sells the NetVanta 3000 series routers. The routers cost less than the equivalent Cisco router models they are designed to compete against but they don’t do all the stuff Cisco routers can do if you buy the Cisco add-ons. Adtran’s theory is that if you have a site with simple needs and you happen to be a Cisco shop, you might not mind plugging one in if it saves you a third of the cost. If you are setting up a network new, you might also be interested in the savings.

So whereas the Cisco router could prioritize traffic across an all Cisco network, the Adtran box could not. And while the Cisco boxes are capable of supporting IP VPNs, the Adtran gear is not.

But that will change later this year, the company says. At the moment Adtran has stand-alone VPN boxes with the same NetVanta name but with a different family number, NetVanta 2000.

Adtran says it will add VPN capabilities to its 3000 series of routers by year-end, making them a possibility for businesses setting up fresh networks that need VPN capabilities. The gear supports both site-to-site connections as well as remote access from PCs with VPN client software.

The newest box in the series is the NetVanta 3305, which costs $1,295 and is available now.