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IPNetRouter Comparison Guide

 

IPNetRouter is a great product, but how does it compare with other solutions? This page is designed to help you answer this question. (Last updated 24-Aug-2001)

Side-by-side Comparison of IP Routing Solutions

Product/
Feature
IPNetRouter 1.6
Vicom SurfDoubler 7.0.2
Vicom SoftRouter/
Internet Gateway
Hardware Routers
Price
$89.00
$49 for 68k
(1)
$54.95
$149.00 for 10
$299.00 for 25

$549.00 for unlimited users
Lowest end starts at about $100
Number of Users
Unlimited
2 or 3
Typically unlimited, may cost more $
(2)
Free Updates
Yes
(1)
Maintenance updates free, Feature updates chargeable.
Maintenance updates free, Feature updates chargeable.
Varies. Usually only free if the manufacture is at fault
Open Transport Native (best performance)
Yes
No
No
Only expensive hw routers can route IP as well as a Mac!

Mac Hardware Required for Router

Mac 68030 through current Macs

PPC

PPC

May have problems with some Macs
RAM Useage
2MB
6.5MB
6.5MB
(Requires browser application for configuration)
MacOS
7.5.3 and later
7.6.1 and later
7.6.1and later
(Varies. Some hw routers require a PC to do a firmware update.)
A Full IP Router
Yes
No
Yes
Usually more $ to get it right
DHCP Server
Yes
Yes
Yes
Usually more $ to get it right
IP Filtering
Yes
Yes
Yes
Usually more $ to get it right

Rollover NAT Interface

No

No

Yes

Usually more $

Dynamic DNS

Yes

No

No

No

PPPoE
(PPP over Ethernet)

Yes, MSS clamp set to MTU-50 (more compatible)

Yes, MSS clamp set to MTU -40 (adjustable)

Yes, MSS clamp set to MTU -40 (adjustable)

Usually more $ to get it right

Wireless
Routing

Install Airport card, get wireless LAN router (3)

No

Install Airport card, get wireless LAN router (3)

Starts at $299+
(Most don't fully support PPPoE routing as yet)

Gateway
dial-in server

No

No

Yes

Usually more $

Single Ethernet port gateway with NAT

Yes

No

Yes

not usually necessary on hw routers

Faceless Background Version?

Yes

Yes

Yes

n/a

Exposed Host Feature
(4)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Several hw routers have a similar "DMZ" functionality

Download from the web in an emergency?

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Other

Supports
1gigabit ethernet,Token Ring, MacIP, PPP, ISDN, IPSec/PPTP, ARP configuration, one-way telcos

Supports
1gigabit ethernet,Token Ring, MacIP, PPP, ISDN, IPSec/PPTP, ARP configuration, one-way telcos

Supports
1gigabit ethernet,Token Ring, MacIP, PPP, ISDN, IPSec/PPTP, ARP configuration, one-way telcos

More $ to get 100mb ethernet and other interfaces
(If your Mac has to be on, it might as well be the router!)

Table Footnotes 

  1. We offer a 30% discount on licenses to educational institutions. An IPNetRouter $89 license is good for both 68k and PPC machines and the PPC version continues to receive frequent free updates; active development has ended for the 68k version as of August 2000. The price for the 68k only license was lowered accordingly. Sustainable Softworks has not charged for updates to IPNetRouter 1.x since its debut in 1997.

  2. Many cheaper routers are limited to only one sublan of 254 users or even only 32 users on that single sublan. IPNetrouter is not limited in this manner. This limitation is caused by poor or slow performing hardware or NAT firmware.

  3. Apple licensed IPNetRouter as part of its Airport software router package. IPNetRouter permits more sophisticated IP configuration of an Airport installed Macs network interfaces than Apple's Airport 1.2 release. See our Airport Guide for more details.

  4. IPNetRouter 1.5 and later has an Exposed Host Feature. The feature is similar to the "DMZ" feature available on some hardware router. For a more detailed description, refer to the Inbound Port Mapping page.

What Users are Saying about IPNetRouter

Other Reviews

Brindley Network Consulting

Our Perspective

Common sense tells us that no single internet sharing/routing solution is best for everyone. We would like to take this opportunity to comment on some of the strengths and weaknesses of IPNetRouter.

First, IPNetRouter is fundamentally a utility for configuring TCP/IP. It lets you access the features Apple left hidden in Open Transport. It tries to put a Macintosh GUI on UNIX like functionality. If you are familiar with TCP/IP networking, IPNetRouter is powerful and flexible. If you are new to TCP/IP networking, the lack of guidance can be intimidating. The instructions on our website are intended to help. We also have a web configuration application that may help you setup basic Internet sharing with IPNetRouter.

IPNetRouter doesn't cost more per user like some Internet sharing solutions. We do not charge for bug fix updates every 6 months like some of our competitors.

IPNetRouter allows you to choose which features you want. You are not forced to use NAT (Network Address Translation) to use IP multihoming, IP filtering, DHCP, or configure IP routing. IPNetRouter works with Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, PPPoE (PPP over Ethernet), Token Ring, LocalTalk, and other data link providers. There's no need to replace your router hardware when switching among dial-up, ISDN, Cable Modem, DSL, or AirPort Wireless. In most cases, you can have several different types of IP transport working simultaneously through Open Transport and IPNetRouter.

As a small Mac focused company, we know our product and try to be responsive. IPNetRouter's DHCP Server is tested extensively with the Mac and works with most other DHCP clients as well. IPNetMonitor, our Internet tool suite, works seamlessly through our NAT gateway. IPNetRouter is updated frequently and supports QuickTime Streaming.

Although many people assume hardware routers are faster, performance is not as obvious as it first appears. Compare a Cisco router at $1500 with IPNR on a contemporary Mac. The Cisco box has a 68030 at 30 MHz, and perhaps .5MB of RAM. Contrast this with a 300 MHz RISC processor, 100 MHz system bus, .5 MB backside Cache, 64 MB RAM, 6 Gig HD, Monitor, Keyboard, and Mouse. Apple's Open Transport (configured using IPNR) can route at or near wire speed between 100Mbps FAST Ethernets. We're not aware of any hardware routers that can do this for under $3,000. Low cost hardware solutions simply cannot keep up. Some can't even take full advantage of a DSL or Cable Modem connection. The key to OT performance is to respond to a network interrupt and pass pointers to a STREAMS message up the stack and back down again in less time than it takes to send a 1500 byte Ethernet packet. Since routing occurs at interrupt time, it is not affected by other applications.

We also believe that by using your Macintosh for quick and efficient networking, rather than purchasing an unnecessary hardware router, you help reduce landfill and keep Macs in the limelight. Its always nice to see the look on people's faces when you explain to them that your Mac is saving the planet by running rings around NT or Cisco routers and is way easier to configure than a linux machine!

Some Tradeoffs

There's no retail packaging or printed manual (we're trying to be earth friendly). The manual can be downloaded in PDF format for easy printing.

IPNetRouter is usually a set it and forget it solution. It can be extremely stable on a well configured Mac (running for months without intervention), but we also know Macs can and do crash. We do offer a Faceless Background version which can prevent less knowledgeable users from changing IPNetRouter parameters and eliminate the clutter of having the router always available in the process menu.

Althought IPNetRouter offers sophisticated IP Filtering, it does not offer detailed security logging or remote management (SNMP). IPNetRouter is not a PPP dial-in server although another machine on your private LAN could be configured for such and used in conjuction with IPNetRouter. IPNetRouter does not offer web caching or content filtering. Other software and hardware can be used to supply this functionality if you think you'll need it.

We do charge a modest fee for IPNetRouter licenses. If you continue to use it after the 21 day free evaluation period is up, please purchase a key.

 

 

 

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