> xDSL is not often used for point-to-point, so these sites are on the
> Internet, right?
A *LOT* of people are using ADSL for business links... in many cases, it
works VERY well, and is very cost-effective. As long as it is done
*intelligently*, and they accept that SOME ADSL link may NOT be suitable (eg
due to local congestion)
> Even if they only ever want to communicate between
> the client's sites, and never want those remote sites to be able to
> surf or kazaa or whatever, they have full Internet connections, no?
....And, as you say, gives a local internet connection too
> ADSL routers... ummm, they might handle VPN tunnels, but how well do they
> handle security? How well can they be configured to keep out intruders,
> and to automatically open security pinholes on an as-needed basis?
Take a look at one of the Draytek sites, you might be suprised at what these
boxes include. Main site is at
www.draytek.co.tw, you'll find local sites
linked.
> Are they "statefull packet inspection" (SPI), to use the current
> marketting term? And if they are, what protocols are they SPI for?
Indeed they are.
> Do they have decent syslog-able logs that can be used to trace
> connections, whether legit or intrusion?
I believe they do.
> Can the DreyTek's be configured by pushing in new text-based configs,
> so that you can do sensible remote config management?
For this sort of config, I think you'll find the web interface is quite
adequate
> Can you do useful snmp monitoring of them?
Yes, snmp is on the feature list... but, lets be honest, in *small*
businesses, how many bother with snmp monitoring? Not many in my experience!
> I'm not saying that DreyTek is weak in any of these areas: I'm suggesting
> these as topics of comparison. I tend not to expect very much of
inexpensive
> ADSL "routers".
Very valid things to look at. I started looking at Draytek for home use (to
replace a USR 8003, which also has staeful inspection firewall, but has a
web interface that is even LESS comprehensible than a cisco... and no useful
docs either) and was amazed at the features included for the price. At some
point I was visiting a customer, who had loads of them installed for home
workers, and they were very impressed with them, how reliable they seemed to
be, and how simple they were to install & configure.
Lets be brutally honest: cisco kit is excellent kit - if you understand it -
but a lot of the low end stuff is very dated, where the opposition have
leaped ahead in user-interface improvements etc.
I end by saying I have NOTHING at all to do with Draytek. We have several
cisco products at work... but are seriously considering a Draytek as it
seems to do what we want, and a very good price.
Paul Blitz
Centia
England
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