Product Reviews

Networks/Servers

Teltronix Hive B1 [PC Pro]
COMPANY: Teltronix	PRICE: Ł1,495 (exc VAT)
RATING:	ISSUE: 82 DATE: Jun 01

Verdict: A complete, low-cost routing solution for 2Mbits/sec leased line customers. The B1 can be remotely configured from an ISP's premises, offering a high level of security and plenty of firewall protection.

The Hive B1 Internet router targets ISPs looking to provide a simple all-in-one routing solution for medium-sized businesses using 2Mbits/sec leased lines for Internet access. It's designed to be easy to install, reducing the need for ISPs to send support staff to a customer's site - the router just needs connecting to the leased line and it can then be accessed remotely from the ISP's premises. The B1 offers a wide range of features as, along with high-performance routing capabilities it comes with BNC and RJ-45 ports for direct connection to a leased line, full firewall facilities and a separate DMZ (demilitarised zone) port.

The B1 is a compact unit, and readers with long memories will recognise the chassis as the same as that employed by

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Sonix modems in the mid-1990s. A comprehensive bank of status indicators at the front provides visual cues to power, line activity, signal status, errors and LAN ports, while all ports are tucked tidily away at the rear. A 10/100BaseTX port provides the private internal network link, and an extra 10BaseT port looks after the DMZ. The latter allows external users to connect to Web, FTP and email servers over the Internet but keeps the hardware behind the firewall to prevent them from being exposed to attack. It can also be used to provide an ADSL backup should the main line fail, and the B1 features separate DHCP servers and firewalls for each port, so you can provide two separate IP address ranges and configure different security settings for each link. There's more, as NAT (network address translation) can be applied to both network and leased line ports, and the router can manage three simultaneous NAT schemes.

Installation is simple enough, as the ISP can assign an IP address remotely using a ping command and then configure the B1 using a Web browser or via a Telnet session. From the Web interface you can view unit status, access settings for the three ports and view and modify firewall protocol filters and DHCP address ranges. Support for G.704 also allows quality of service monitoring to be carried out on the leased line.

By Dave Mitchell

SPECIFICATIONS:
External G.703/G.704/E1 router, Motorola 860 PowerPC processor, 8Mb of RAM, 1Mb of Flash memory, two 75ohm BNC coaxial ports, 120ohm RJ-45 port, 10BaseT DMZ/ADSL backup port, 10/100BaseTX LAN port, RJ-11 serial port. Supports NAT, DHCP. Firewall protocol filtering for each port. Serial port, Telnet and Web browser management.