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Hardware

New Netcomm Smart i Share 56k Modem/Hub/Server 90

Posted by timothy from the convergence-et-cetera dept.
NAcker writes: "LinuxWorld.com.au has an article about a new type of 56K modem that is also a four port ethernet hub. The Netcomm Smart i-Share 56 offers DHCP and firewall services by running embedded Linux! The article has photos of the "network in a box"." This is an interesting piece of kit, not as much of a stretch as those silly radio/flashlight hybrids from places like The Sharper Image. Now if only they would also make it a wireless access point, I would let my credit card heat up a little more. And besides, for those of us who submit to dialup, wouldn't it be nice to have a modem that runs the 2.0.38 kernel?
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New Netcomm Smart i Share 56k Modem/Hub/Server More

New Netcomm Smart i Share 56k Modem/Hub/Server

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  • I've been installing and using Webramps since ~1997. This has been old technology for quite some time -- and given the list price on this "new" box, I doubt they'll be flying off the shelves :)
  • Of course you get root, since they're using telnet and not openssh. Just sniff the traffic.
  • Gawd - really!
    You can get a linksys router and dsl for a year for the price of that thing!!
  • ...runs Linux, according to an nmap portscan (with OS detection on). It said it was an i386 version, but don't know if that's correct or not. Then again, I'm sure you can buy i386 cpus *real* cheap nowadays. Does some company still make them, as I would guess Intel doesn't.

    It does DHCP, NAT, PPPoE, setup via webpage (runs httpd), port forwarding, port blocking, static and dynamic routing, etc, etc

  • ...is a NIC/hub. You plug it in a free PCI/ISA slot, and it has 3 or 4 RJ-45 slots so you can also use it as hub. Anyone seen something like this? Maybe I should writing to www.shouldexist.org [shouldexist.org].

    --

  • Comment removed (Score:3)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2001 @07:08AM (#467616)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • While I find it impressive that the hardware runs Linux, NineNine is right. Internet Connection Sharing in Windows 2000 is easy. As easy as many may think IP Masq is, it is way easier than that too. Plus Windows 98SE and Me can do the same thing(though I haven't used it in those OSes, so I can't comment on how easy or reliable it is).
  • Apple's Airport will work with other vendor's wireless network adapters. They follow 802.11b.
  • I'm pretty sure the SMC hardware does all that as well, for about $120 ($30 off first time Buy.com customers makes it a sweet deal). Not sure about IPSec, but since the firmware is flashable, it certainly could. I have it at home and it's sweet (just wish I didn't have to 'install the software' on all the computers to work with the printer port- would be better if I could just install a basic driver. Maybe I can...need time to dig into it).

  • This D-Link box doesn't have a modem in it. Not sure about the SMC one.
  • Dlink do one .... DFE-570TX is it's code thing ... probably pretty nice, I had a dlink pcmcia card for a while it was great! Cheap too
  • This D-Link Di-704 doesn't support 802.11b Wireless network.

  • You've just described the Apple Airport Base Station [apple.com] which retails for $299. It can be set up to NAT & DHCP on both the wired and wireless networks, and automatically dial up an ISP over the modem.

    Granted, the 10base-T port is just a host port, not a hub, but 10base-T hubs are really cheap these days.

    This is a case where Apple has bundled a lot of functionality into an attractive package, and the priced it low enough to drive the market in that direction.


  • This is why I no longer eat popcorn while sitting at the computer.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Re:Blast from the past? (Score:3)

    by SquadBoy ( 167263 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2001 @06:02AM (#467626) Homepage Journal
    No it is not overkill for a device like this. Linux is the only thing out there that scales down well enough with enough features to run on embedded systems and that you do not have to pay for. This is one of the things that makes devices like this possible. If they had to pay for another embedded OS the profit margin on something like this would go away. And keep in mind this is embedded Linux [embedded-linux.org] and it has already won in that marketplace. See the link to understand why.
  • I've got to agree. Even before the Linksys and Netgear products, 3Com had the OfficeConnect Routers. One of the models, of which I still use at a remote site, uses NAT, DHCP, and 2 56k modems. I think the point here is that it might be amusing that this thing runs Linux, but the point is the OS is just a tool- some devices you shouldn't have to worry what OS it's running; just that it is effective at its role or not.
  • Considering the fact that this device appears to be more expensive than other non-Linux-based devices that perform more or less the same task, I'd say the only reason to choose this thingy is if you need the extra configurability of Linux or better security. In both cases adding SSH to the package (maybe a floppy with PuTTY or some other free SSH terminal for Windows) would seem to make sense.

    Naturally, a 56 kbps connection hardly seems a prime target, but consider the possibility of using this as a dial-in connection and/or local hub for a larger LAN (which might have other Internet access). Many organisations provide dial-up access to their network, so the idea doesn't seem too far-fetched to me.
  • No, I don't believe you would want to. Now me on the other hand, I am seriously concidering getting rid of the high speed access and go back to the good old days of waiting forever. Watching the little icon too see if anything was moving or it was just a really big web page while wishing I had an external modem so I could watch the led's blink. My the good old days. Yes it would be so easy to just go back to the old slow days.

    Slap - Ok, now that I've come back to my senses, I'll just keep the high speed access...it has blinking lights.
  • Intel still makes i386's (last I heard). They're still very popular in SBC's, I have a couple from JK Micro [jkmicro.com] that I've been toying with for a while. Tern [tern.com] is another (of many) i386 SBC vendors.
  • Don't forget the version with the wireless access point! The model number is SMC7004WBR.

  • Remember the rest of the world... (Score:3)

    by Party Chief ( 61649 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2001 @06:09AM (#467632) Homepage
    ...Lest we forget that many countries don't have decent DSL or cable services and a *lot* of people are grateful to have 56k dialup for their SOHO or small business.

    Many products that are taken for granted in the US (Linksys et al) are not necessarily available in certain countries due to Telco regulations (many countries with monopoly telecom operators force a modem manufacturer to comply with certain rules - this can be expensive).

    So, this appears to be an Australian product. Kudos to them. Don't knock the design or functionality simply because you've transcended this method of connection years ago. Small companies would find the opportunity to share 56k dialup access with a few PC's very interesting in some less well connected locations.
  • The whole point of this device is to be expandable. Really, 56K is on the way out, especially among people who have multiple computers and networks setup in their homes (these are the sorts of people who are most likely to get high speed cable or dsl).

    The modem is expandable, offering the facility to plug in a second modem, ISDN connection or even an ADSL modem. This is done with a standard serial cable, so most devices should work with little effort, increasing the bandwidth available to users of the network. The second communications device can also be set up as a dedicated external dial-in connection to the network.

    This device is targeted at people who currently have 56k but will be looking to expand their bandwidth.
  • SMC's ethernet controller on the switch in the Barricades is buggy as hell. I get huge delays in port-port connections every couple of minutes. The router portion is great, the rest of it needs work. I also wish they'd release a firmware update that lets the modem be a standby for the broadband connection and dial when it goes down.

    Don't get me wrong -- Barricade is a lot better than the D-Link or Linksys products, but they still need a bit of work.

    -Chris
    ...More Powerful than Otto Preminger...

  • Cable/DSL router/firewall with serial modem backup (Score:3)

    by Fencepost ( 107992 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2001 @07:30AM (#467635) Journal
    From Asante [asante.com].

    It includes a 4-port 10/100 switch, a WAN-side Ethernet connection to go to the cable or DSL box, and a serial port that can be used to connect an external modem as a backup. It does NAT. It does DHCP. It firewalls. It includes three "groups" for different levels of port blocking. It includes a parallel port for printer sharing. It's web-configurable. It has beta IPSec support.

    It's also cheap, with a list price of $200 and at least one place selling it for $150-160.

    -- fencepost

  • I'm in mid-southeastern Massachusetts (almost exactly between Boston and Worcester), the heart of Verizon's territory. There's a stupid $198 deposit that was on during 2000 with Covad, and the DSL modem is $230 (though I wouldn't value it a cent over $110).

    See what the free market has done? It hasn't lowered prices, it has raised them, and now I have to deal with 3 rivalries doing stuff with my connection (CAIS versus Verizon, Covad versus Verizon, and CAIS versus Covad). No doubt about it, when I move to college, I'm getting a cable modem to end all this nonsense.

  • Re:GREAT!!! (Score:3)

    by JSBiff ( 87824 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2001 @07:42AM (#467637) Journal
    While I tend to agree with your sentiment, I also want to point out why people use (or perhaps in the past used) devices like this. And as other's point out, this is not a new idea. In 1998 I was working for a place that regularly installed similar devices at client sites. I don't remember the devices having a built-in hub, but they could be hooked up to a hub through an ethernet port, and had a built-in modem, DHCP server and NAT-ing router.

    The company I worked at was a small VAR/System integrator in a Semi-rural area of Northeast Ohio. We sold and supported desktop computers and Novell networks to small businesses ( <500 employees) in an area with a radius of about 50 miles. The reason we installed these devices was that as the clients were very small companies, they had maybe two or three desktop PC's in their office that needed access to the internet. This was before cable modem/DSL technology (which I would say would be a more practical solution today, where available), ISDN cost a small fortune and didn't give much of a performance benefit, and a T1 cost a real lot of money (in the semi-rural areas where this company does consulting, I'm not even sure if T1's were available at the time, and even now they cost something like $1500/month because the clients are out in the boon-docks).

    You might ask why not just give each PC their own modem and connection? Because then the company had to pay for extra dial-up accounts and extra phone lines (and these were not deep-pocketed companies), and the people in these offices that used the internet only made light use of it. Email, maybe an hour or two a day of doing business related work on the web (like checking prices from suppliers, or updating the company website, or electronically submitting government or insurance forms), and maybe a little bit of personal web surfing. Odds are, the various employees wouldn't all use the internet at the exact same time, and even if they did, the internet connection was mostly idle while they read the web-pages/email. So it worked out very economically and satisfactorily for the company to use one shared internet connection, and using an external device like this is more reliable than using Win98SE's internet connection sharing (which didn't even exist at the time). Although you could use *BSD/Linux, that would require a dedicated computer (which would be more expensive than one of these devices), and additionally the VAR I worked for didn't have any *nix experience and didn't want any ;-), and didn't require that any of the individual computers be on all the time.

  • is a wireless router/bridge that includes a 56K modem, an ethernet port for Cable/DSL modems,and DHCP for up to 20 clients - $299. The wireless follows the iEEE 802.11 standard (Lucent WaveLAN, etc), for 10Mbps wireless comm. Has Linux drivers.
  • Linux is the only thing out there that scales down well enough with enough features to run on embedded systems and that you do not have to pay for

    No it's not. Linux There are several freely-available embedded OSes. One of them is eCos [redhat.com]. Hell, another is FreeBSD [freebsd.org]. Et cetera, et cetera...

    You really need to step outside of your FUD-lined linux cage every once and a while.

    --
    SecretAsianMan (54.5% Slashdot pure)
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • I have been using the 3Com LanModem for several years in both the ISDN and 56K models. It serves the same purpose and handles it flawlessly. Its pretty cool that they are using a linux kernel for the OS, but its a bit late in this game to introduce that product. Unless it has a high hack potential I don't know why anyone would buy it with bigger names an nice products already out there doing the same thing.
  • Well, of course it'll run Juno or Netzero.... if you take the time to search the net for a hack, or take the time yourself to find out.

    But.... those ISP's rely on the banners to give them the capital they need to run. Why else do you think the other Free ISP's have dried up or been bought out?

    If you're (dumb enough and) shelling out the money for this thing, with a 56K modem (and yes, it'll do the DSL or cable... you'll just have to redo the settings inside to point to an Ethernet port rather than the 56K for the incoming bandwidth... but save your money and get a Linksys for $150 for that purpose), you'll probably be better off getting a $14.95 (US dollars, not Canadian!) ISP.

    (Sorry about all the parentheses.)

    icanneverbereached@sogoaway.com aint my address.
  • Could you make this thing act as a Hylafax server and add extra modems? Mmmmmm.
  • Here in Denmark you can usually get installation free and pay around $60/month for 512/512, and for 2048/512 you pay $125 installation and $125/month.


    But that's only if you don't use the monopoly TeleDanmark [teledanmark.dk]. The problem is that TeleDanmark decides who can and cannot be allowed to use one of the alternative carriers, because they determine whether there is or is not any available raw copper. This decision is often not technical but purely random - there might be six or even pairs of copper, but they won't let you use it. So the decision of whether you can get cheap ADSL is based on pure luck.


    It works fine, though. I can usually download at around 90% of rated speed. Latency is low, and it includes a Cisco 639 router.

  • Not to mention that Cisco has a dial-up, DHCP, NAT,wireless Access Point, yadda yadda yadda available. http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/pd/witc/ao340a p/prodlit/bstn_ds.htm
  • So, should I drop my DSL line or my cable modem for this? :)

    - A.P. (I've got both, ack)

    --
    * CmdrTaco is an idiot.

  • Blast from the past? (Score:5)

    by BrK ( 39585 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2001 @05:42AM (#467647) Homepage
    This is not "news". Netgear [netgear.com] and Linksys [linksys.com], along with several other companies have had 56K hubs/routers/dial-up managers for some time now. Just because this thing runs linux doesn't increase the "gee-whiz" factor, IMO. Linux is overall for a device like this anyway.
  • nothing.

    this is the dumbest gadget I think they've posted yet.

    does a modem really need to run linux?
  • Apple has a basestation with an internal 56 K modem and ethernet + airport.
    Yes, it does NAT and DHCP.
    So, nice but I rather buy an Apple airport basestation.
  • d-link makes a wireless access point w/ a built in hub. it's not hard to find if you look. i'll even throw in a link [buy.com] to it
  • "Administration can be performed [...] by telneting directly into Linux running on the modem."

    Do we get root, too? :-)
  • Yes, but can it run Netzero or Juno?

    icanneverbereached@sogoaway.com aint my address.
  • It may be slow, but at least it's expensive! $480Aus = ~$260 US. Alternative "magic boxes" from other companies are about $130-$150. What exactly is the benefit of this thing?

  • Changing the Terms of Service (Score:3)

    by gimple ( 152864 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2001 @05:48AM (#467654) Homepage
    To me the most interesting thing about these types of appliances is how they affect service providers' ways of doing business

    When I started using Coyote Linux as a "router" connected to a cable modem, the terms of service for my provider clearly stated one machine per modem.

    Recently, I went back to look at the Terms of Service and this provision was removed. I have to believe that the availability of access sharing devices and software was responsible for this change.

  • And besides, for those of us who submit to dialup, wouldn't it be nice to have a modem that runs the 2.0.38 kernel?

    Heck, yeah! Then all you'd need is a video card running the 2.0.38 kernel, too!
    And a sound card running the 2.0.38 kernel.
    And a DVD-ROM running the 2.0.38 kernel.
    And a CD-R running the 2.0.38 kernel.
    And a keyboard running the 2.0.38 kernel.
    And a mouse running the 2.0.38 kernel.

    I'm sure we could cram a kernel or two into a wrist rest, too...

    information wants to be expensive...nothing is so valuable as the right information at the right time.

  • stuck sharing a 56K connection.

    Yes, you can hook you cable modem/DSL into it, but then why not just buy a normal firewall/hub appliance?

    And does having Linux embedded make it easier to configure than Cisco's IOS?

  • I may be a novice to this sort of thing, but wasn't setting up a firewall in the 2.0.38 kernels a bit trickier than the current ipchains? I just remember people getting all giddy about ipchains when they were released.
  • It strikes me as odd that this gizmo uses telnet and WWW by default to access the configuration tools. Surely it would be possible to include something more secure such as SSH.

    Of course, there shouldn't be any problem in adding SSH by yourself, but supplying it as standard would seem useful.
  • hmm. a new use for those old boot floppies still sitting around...

    some disks, a little ductape, and walah! a beowulf cluster wrist rest.

    if that doesn't strike your fancy...peel off those useless plastic covers of said boot floppies, grab a jar of jam and a stylus of some sort, add a little saliva on back and you get strawberry flavored linux post-it notes.
  • I would think that you could only configure it from the inside, and not from the 56K dial-up side, so the only real threat is internal. Sure, there *may* be things that could be exploited.

    It's not a far-fetched idea, I just think that the company that designed this was merely trying to jump on the Linux and dial-up router bandwagon, and wasn't really trying to do anything ground-breaking.

  • Then again, I'm sure you can buy i386 cpus *real* cheap nowadays. Does some company still make them, as I would guess Intel doesn't.

    Umm, i386 just means any Intel architechure chip that includes the 386 enhancements. So in other words, anything from the 386 and on. So yes, Intel still makes i386 chips.

  • Re:Blast from the past? (Score:3)

    by BrK ( 39585 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2001 @06:21AM (#467662) Homepage
    What do you think was used before linux? Linux is simply *not* the only thing out there that scales down well enough... Devices like this existed YEARS ago, before linux was a common word, and before it was robust enough to be used in an application like this. As for the profit margin, with this device being roughly 2x the cost of it's competitors, I don't think they're doing much in the way of cost-cutting.
  • And don't forget the built in solar cells and the hand crank. That rocks! Now all I need is a solar/hand crank radio/MP3 player (with white LED flash light), with embedded Linux running on a Transmeta chip and I can die happy... or at least visit friends in California. >;^)

  • And (my personal favorite) the Apple Airport [apple.com] as well (eth, 56k, wireless).

    -Marcel

  • I've been using a RampNetworks Webramp 200i for over a year now. This thing has a built in 56k modem with a 4 port hub, yesterday I ordered a new NetGear RM356 because the RM356 supports VPN where the 200i doesn't. I'm not so sure that the above aritcle is actually news aside from the fact that it's running on top of a Linux Kernel. I also see that a few people are flaming about the fact that this is 56k modem based. Some of us out here in the "boonies" do not have the options that you "city slickers" have. Apparently those of us who live in cities with less than a population of 50,000 don't deserve or need high speed access. So, yes these types of devices do have their place, but I'm not sure that this one is "news" worthy.
  • another option. take the $5 hub. buy a second network card for your box $20. run ipmasq on linux. now subtract the cost of windows 2000 and youve saved $80. no need for a special box at all.

    use LaTeX? want an online reference manager that
  • Sure, routing a 56k modem to multiple connections would be nice, but a total bandwidth of 1.6K/sec per person on that thing? That's pathetic. Keep in mind that Hemos, CmdrTaco, and CowboyNeal hook up to an ISDN line during "Geeks in Space", so that setup isn't much better. Until consumer broadband connections can rival a fractional T1 in speed and reliability, I'd recommend staying out of the "buzzword economy" that currently exists there.

    (I should know; I just paid $500 for the installation of a $49 per month 608/128 ADSL line, and it's currently downloading at 17% of its rated speed!)

  • Barricade [smc.com]

    I just got one a few days ago. It's working fine as a router for my cable modem, but the wireless card I bought for my laptop came with drivers that windows won't even recognize as valid drivers. I had to return it, and Fry's didn't have any other choices for PC cards. So I don't know how well the wireless works yet.

  • I bet its a winmodem
  • The apple airport basestation will do all of the above (but with only one ethernet port).

    It'll do dial-up for your wireless (802.11) and wired lan computers, serve DHCP and do IP-MASQ.

    <sarcasm>
    But it IS made by apple, so it probably sucks just for that reason (it's a lucent setup under the funny shell)
    </sarcasm>

    -fp
  • Excellent question. AOL should be thrown into that question as well (I agree AOL sucks overall, but many businesses use it for their traveling folks).
    Monday, our DSL provider had big DNS issues. Still having problems today. We have setup ICS with a 56k modem as a temporary fix. The only hassle is ICS doesn't play with our traveling AOL account, so what dial-up account do we use?
    Fortunately, my old dialup account is still active, even though I cancelled it when I got DSL at home. So we're dialing up to my non-existent (ahem) account and folks can get their email and all is happy.
    BUT, if we didn't have the shadey dial-up account, we'd be screwed. Hardware solutions like this are neat, but must support free services (even if they won't be around for long) and AOL.

    On a side note, I have an SMC router at home for my DSL LAN- I chose it cause it has a print server too, which is way cool, and it's competitive with the usual Linksys/DLink offerings. Does anyone make such a broadband 'router' that *also* has a built-in 56k modem? My SMC router has a port to connect one, but that requires yet another plug in the overloaded surge protector. Built in would be cool. From posts here, 3Com offers such a thing? Broadband router AND 56k?
    Too bad 3Com product generally suck (what is the DEAL with the prices for their NIC's?).

  • Putting full Linux on a box like this (including cc, grep, awk, etc) might be overkill.

    Putting a minimal working set on the box makes complete sense. It gives lots of freedom to add functionality without much cost. I'd liken it more to starting with a motercycle/sidecar pair and putting a windshell around them (then adding a stereo and heater).

    Using a free OS can make a big difference to the final price. A $10/box license fee -- once it goes through distributer and retail markups -- is going to translate into a $30-90 price increase (on a $400 box).

    Once you add Linux to a unit, you have to make the source available. For someone knowledgeable looking at the source, it's going to be pretty obvious that you're using linux. You might as well take advantage of the fact that your use of Linux is going to be obvious. No marketing guy in their right mind is going to turn down some free, positive PR.
    --

  • I believe Ramp Networks [rampnet.com] was the original inventor of these contraptions- at least they were the first one I'd heard of. They've been around for years. Anyone wanna buy my WebRamp 200i? It's got a 56K internal modem, serial port for another external, 4 10M ports, 250 DHCP addresses, blah blah blah... This isn't news.
  • http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/hwrout er_chart.htm I use a sms barricade and zoom modem.. came to about $290 where this is- "The NetComm Smart i-Share 56 retails for $480 ex GST." at least mines a switched 10/100 8 port hub. and it'l take dsl when ever I can get it.
  • Because it has Linux in it? The SMC might, too, but they are smart enough not to tell that to every hacker that might be looking for an exploit!
    Only problem with that approach is that the GPL requires that you make the source code available to anybody who purchases the unit. If the source code is available then your security-by-obscurity is a pretty thin veil.
    --
  • The AirPort [apple.com] has a 56k modem, Ethernet port, and an 802.11 access point, running off of an embedded 486 (don't know which OS...) There are tens of similar devices aleady on the market from other companies. Unless you want to gloat about embedded Linux, the new Netcomm device is pretty mainstream.

    "see, they took an AirPort, ripped out the wireless networking, shoved a $20 four-port hub in the same box and made it run Linux! Is that cool or what?" Well...cool in that it makes me yawn....

  • One thing that you may be neglecting is that that $500 price is in $AU which is running at about 55 cents US. Taking this into account would give you a more reasonable cost.
  • In addition to all the comments made about it here - there is a wireless access point version of the Barricade that has 3 switched ports. Now all it needs is a second COM port so I could do multi-link until broadband comes to my neighborhood.
  • But if no one is logging in as root, there'll be no traffic that contains the root password travelling to it...

  • If you want 56K dial-up, DHCP, NAT, DNS proxy and support for both ethernet and wireless then you have been able to get all of these from the likes of the Apple Airport [apple.com], the Lucent RG-1000 [wavelan.com] and others for quite some time. OK it does not run Linux, but it does all the rest with ease.

    If you have to have free software in the equation you can always control the above using FreeBase [sourceforge.net].

  • Wireless Hubs exist... (Score:3)

    by kevlar ( 13509 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2001 @05:50AM (#467681)
    DLink's 713 Wireless 11Mbps/10/100 Mbps router". [dlink.com]

    word.
  • Yah. My 3Com LanModem has all this - 4-port 10/100 with 56K modem doing DHCP, NAT, etc. Some of the things they call news some days... *sigh*
  • I have installed a modem sharing hub last year (called Surecom IP-Share) which runs Linux & Apache (for administration interface) which is a DHCP server and a limited firewall... The only difference is that a modem is not included, you have to connect one or two external modems to the device separately. It does automatic load-balancing (which is also configurable) and uses the second modem when needed.

  • Wow (Score:1)

    by cameldrv ( 53081 )
    Sounds like the Telebit Netblazer from back in oh, '94 or so.
  • Lucent/Orinoco has a wireless 'residential gateway' product that has a built-in 56k modem. It can also act as a bridge to an existing 10baseT LAN. It has worked excellent. I'm not sure what OS it runs though. Unfortunately, you do have to have a windows box to configure it. It just sends some stuff over the network to configure the box so it probably wouldn't be that hard to reverse engineer.
    RG-1000 [wavelan.com]
  • Shh! I'm trying to recompile the kernel on my floppy drive.
  • I don't think that's it's meant for a "high-security" or industrial strength network, so the added overhead of SSH isn't really required. Afterall, if you've only got a 56K connection to deal with in the first place, what's the chances that some uber-hacker is going to be on your (4 port) network?? Most end-users are familiar with WWW, the "power users" can use telnet, but (IIRC) Windoze doesn't even come with an SSH client, and their target audience has probably never heard of SSH anyway.
  • Never underestimate the value of a "neat, quiet little box". That's all the apple cube is after all. Frankly having a 1 kilo device that fits on the corner of a desk is far superior to an old AT case with a 486, modem and network card jammed into it.

  • Maybe you should educate yourself. I can't speak to this device in particular but for most of the uses out there the cost is a major factor and I did say it scales down and is free (both beer and speech). Please don't misquote me. In addition to my first link you might want to take a look at "http://www.ddj.com/articles/2000/0075/0075g/0075g .htm">this and http://www.linuxdevices.com/">this to start to understand why Linux is the perfect choice for embedded devices.
  • While it doesn't run embedded Linux, the D-Link Di-704 [dlink.com] has been available for over six months. It doesn't have a built-in modem, but it does have support for an external modem (through an async port), and for cable or DSL devices (through an ethernet port). NAT, Firewall, DHCP, even a 4 port 10/100 switch! And my Linux machines all like it.

  • Oh, Idunno, I'd bet money that some company has been selling thousands and thousands of a box that's all that and more running linux, and with additional capabilities like vpn support, ipsec, etc, and making oodles of real money off it while the entire /. community wasn't looking.

  • Can I get one that does DSL and has an 8-port 100-Base-T hub?
  • Do that with Windows...
  • They definitely could be running somthing else. Inferno comes to mind.

    There was an ad in a magazine recently, comparing it to embedded Linux; a scan is at:
    http://homepage.usask.ca/~aam396/Inferno.jpg [usask.ca]

    --
  • I think that the majority of routers like this on the market actually RUN linux. The only difference is that they don't publicize the fact, and they don't publish the kernel (maybe it could be requested?... them not publishing the kernel without request is not a violation of the GPL). They could simply not tell anyone that they use Linux, and nobody would bother them.
  • I think it would be a bit hard for a provider to hold anyone to one machine per modem, since you can only use 1 of their ip addresses and only get the max bandwidth for the modem, which isn't really allot.

    I made sure I could network and get multiple ip's from the cable modem people before getting it.
  • I assume that normal /. reasoning includes the following: Linux-based => hackable => must-have. Or something like that.

    Of course, for that sort of money you could get a 486 and slap Linux, a modem and a network card into it; the only real advantage with this gizmo is that you get everything in a neat, quiet little box.
  • In my experience, the competitive devices run an embedded OS, which is not linux. Modem, dial-up and Ethernet chipsets have been around for a long time now. This is probably a 4 chip device (not counting a bit of "glue" chips, etc), including the uProcessor. Running linux on a box like this is like putting a V8 engine in a Geo Metreo, then of course limiting it to 25MPH. My guess is that this comapny used linux to get press releases, and mentions on linux-fan sites (seems like they were successful ;)
  • Isn't this what 486's and the Linux Router Project are for?
  • I think that the majority of routers like this on the market actually RUN linux. The only difference is that they don't publicize the fact

    That makes sense, since once someone knows someone will try (and probably succeed) at hacking it. If I was stuck using dialup (nightmare) it would be a nice solution for the multiple computers in my house.

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