Sharing ISDN Question 1

[DanielUK]

Hi,

We have a network of 8 PC's running Win2k plus a Win2k server running DHCP. Aside from all of the PC's having an analogue modem, we have one that has an internal ISDN card which we use to connect to one of our ISDN wall sockets.

I'm mindful that I could perhaps make better use of the ISDN, making it available to all the machines. Our telephone number or analogue line is apparently split into 5 ISDN lines (made up of 2 channels each?). Reading the BT literature (I'm in the UK) on sharing ISDN it says:

"To give the LAN Internet access you will
require a router to link the hub to the ISDN 2e line. Alternatively some people nominate a particular
PC to control their LAN's internet access. If choosing this method you will require a Terminal Adapter
for the nominated PC."

I'm thinking of buying an ISDN router. Am I right in saying the PC that currently has the ISDN modem would connect directly to the router, and that the rest of the LAN would access the ISDN though this PC? I'm a little bit confused with what I've been reading regarding ISDN and the optimum way of utilising it.

Another thing I wanted to ask about is ISP accounts. We currently have a Dialup/ISDN Anytime account with our ISP in that we pay a monthly subscription to be able to access it at any time with no call charges. One thing I've noticed is that I can dial up to the account simultaneously on a number of PC's. Is this supposed to be able to happen? If I go ahead with this router idea, does that mean the ISDN sharing PC's can access the one account simultaneously i.e. remain as it is now? And if this is so, would they be sharing the ISDN channel i.e. split/share a single 64k line, or be a separate connection per PC at full 64k speed, (again, as it is now when I connect to the same account from different PC's at the same time)?

Thanks for any advice, sorry about all the questions!

Dan

 

[DanielUK]

And any recommended yet inexpensive routers that will allow me to do the above. I was looking at the 4 port D-LINK DI304 (

http://www.dlink.co.uk/pages/products/551.htm)

or similar.

Thanks again

Dan

 

[MaxPipeline]

If you use an ISDN device with router functionality, then make sure it has NAT capabilities. NAT allows you to share a single public IP address with multiple hosts on a private LAN. Hardware-wise you simply attach the WAN port of your ISDN router to your ISDN wall jack and the LAN port to an ethernet hub. All your PC's can then plug into the hub. You do not have to go through any single PC per se. You just need to make sure all PC's point to the private IP of your ISDN router.

I have had extensive experience with Lucent Pipeline routers. They are very good for performing the task you describe. I'd recommend a Pipeline 85 which has a 4-port hub built in already. Check ebay for used ones if cost is an issue.

 

[DanielUK]

Thanks for that, I'll have a look at the Lucent Pipeline Router. One thing I wanted to ask with this setup. If each PC connects to the Internet through the LAN, then what is actually responsible for "dialling up" and connecting to the ISP? Does the router itself take over this function?

Thanks again,

Dan

 

[callerID]

Yes the pipeline 85 does all the dialing and connecting on demand. You won't need dial-up networking. All the communication between the router and the pipline is done through the LAN. If you are using a two channel set up (128k) then the pipeline will automatically bring the second channel up as the bandwidth need increases and cuts the connection off as the need decreases.

 

[MaxPipeline]

callerID is correct. However, need to clarify one thing. The bandwidth-on-demand feature that is described is a Lucent proprietary feature. This only works if you are connecting from a Pipeline to another Lucent RAS (MAX, TNT, APX or another Pipeline). Otherwise you most likely can only do 128K at all times (or 64K if you have only one channel).

 

[BAsh12]

Get a Cisco 801 or better.

Why?

Becase when things go wrong, the router can tell you where the problem is, eg, BT, you, the network.

I have installed these many times, advised many conpanies in the past.

The best was advising one company to buy Cisco, he bought another make, will not mention manufacturer for fear of litigation.

His company was billed over 8k for multiple links for a quarter. Far less than the original quote.

With ISDN YOU need to be in control, go to the Cisco web site and do a search on the following :-

q921 (that is the d-channel)
q931 (that is layer 3)

You can not do that with any other equipement.

Trust me, it is brilliant kit.

By the way, I do not wrk for Cisco, just done stacks of ISDN installs and I know what problems to expect.

Kind regards

BAsh.