First off let me restate that upgrading the RAM is not a simple decision
if you're a big customer, and I'm sure there are several customers with
larger installations than us facing the same choices. We have over 100
PM-2E's in about 75 POP's, most of which are unmanned. Unless you've
worked in a large unmanned network environment you probably don't
realize how much it effects your choices. A code upgrade is a
relatively simple matter but replacing SIMMs is not just "$31 for parts
and 5 minutes labor". The decision to replace PM-2E's would not be
based solely on the need for this hardware upgrade, there are other
factors (PM2's aren't exactly state of the art anymore), but this could
be the one to force the issue. Do we continue to patch our somewhat
outdated solution or bite the bullet and replace it now.
We are primarily an analog ISP, ISDN is only available at 4 or 5 of our
POP's and we don't plan to rush into 56K modem technology, so I was
hoping that our PM-2E's would do the job for awhile yet. However, I
would like to benefit from future features such as Analog MultiLink PPP
(if it is ever implemented) and any other advances in protocol support.
Maintaining uniformity of service (same code releases everywhere on both
PM2 and PM3's) is important since we have traveling users who go from
POP to POP and it reduces our support costs, but if I stick with the
release we have now how long will it be until Livingston Support's
standard answer to me is "You need to get the latest release."?
I was aware of the current level of modularity in ComOS, but wanted to
encourage even more modularity (or run-time data compression techniques
for large tables) if that would allow some code images to continue to
run in 1 MB. Carl's statement that some configurations will still fit
in 1 MB is reassuring after reading the release notes statement that
"Future releases will *require* 4 MB of memory on the PortMaster 2E and
2ER." If Livingston can continue to provide an up-to-date analog-only
release for 1 MB memory models for a couple of years then I'll be happy,
it allows me to delay the decision to replace the PM-2E's that much
longer. The day that I have to replace them is the day that Livingston
risks losing a large customer because I'm forced to go to a public
tendering process and select whichever vendor has the best solution for
our requirements at that time.
Regards,
Mike Kenning
Senior Technical Analyst
SPAN/BC Provincial Government Data Network
4000 Seymour Place, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8X 4S8
Ph:(250)387-5454 Fax:(250)387-8419
mailto:Mike.Kenning@gems1.gov.bc.ca
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