[c-nsp] Serial Switch

[Steven Bertsch]

At 10:07 PM 4/5/2005, Jay Hennigan wrote:
>I realize thisis a Cisco list, but another possibility is the Livingston
>Portmaster 2 series of terminal servers.  These were made in 10 and 30
>port flavors, and are almost bulletproof.  Probably easier to find on the
>secondary market than the 2511 Cisco kit that is popular with those who
>are preparing for CCIE lab tests.  The Livingston Portmasters have full-
>size DB-25 connectors for RS-232 connections.  Unless you're lucky enough
>to find Cisco term servers with the RJ option, the Cisco cables can be
>pricey.
>
>We use the Livingston gear for this, have owned some of it from new when
>we had stacks of 14.4 modems connected to it for dialup ISP service.

I'll second that.

The only benefit to the 2511 would be support (supposedly supported until
July, 2009 according to Cisco).

The 2511 also has better port density per rack unit.   16 per 1U for the 2511
vs. 7.5 per 1U for the PM2E-30.   Not to mention that the 2511 runs IOS which
may or may not be a benefit.

Now when it comes to price, the PM2e-30 is the clear winner.   These were
wildly popular with dialup ISPs in the very early days, so the market is 
flooded
with them -- do a search for "portmaster" on eBay.    You might pick one up
for less than $10, while you'll pay at least $100 for the 2511 without the 
cables.


Regards,
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Steven Bertsch, System Administrator    Infinity AccessNET
sbertsch at iaxs.net                       Voice 952/944-7123 x161
http://www.iaxs.net/                    Fax   952/944-0115
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