With the mass exodus to the Internet, many network administrators find themselves compelled to support yet another protocol across their LANs: TCP/IP. This challenge prompts administration challenges in the form of address assignments, router programming, new protocol bindings and multiple protocol stacks on the workstations, to name just a few. Just getting a network and its workstations to "speak" TCP/IP can be quite a task, not to mention worrying about security, monitoring and workstation support.

IPX-to-IP gateways enable administrators to offer the wonders of the Internet to their Microsoft Windows users without having to support TCP/IP across the LAN or WAN. Using an existing IPX protocol stack, with minimal changes to the workstations, end users can be up and browsing in no time.

Sound too good to be true? What's the catch? The truth is, many of these gateway products have been around for a while but only now are starting to mature. We took eight of the industry's IPX gateway offerings and put them through their paces, taking into account not only ease of installation and management, but also efficiency, price, compatibility and robustness.

There are three primary benefits to using IPX gateway technology. The first is ease of migration. There are no TCP/IP stacks to be loaded, just minimal client software installations. The second is security. Because IP services are not loaded on the workstations, the chances of an unsuspecting user opening a security hole are eliminated. Also, if the IPX-to-IP gateway is the only computer on the network speaking TCP/IP, you have a single point to defend.

The third benefit is control and centralized management. Because all access is going through one central point, the ability to easily monitor and control usage increases dramatically. In a pure TCP/IP environment, traffic is forwarded by a routing device. With IPX-to-IP gateways, all Internet-related traffic passes through the gateway, and many gateways allow administrators to easily log, filter and monitor traffic by using an assortment of included tools.

A Look Under the Hood In a standard Internet scenario, when you launch a WinSock-compliant application (a Web browser, for example), it accesses lower-level protocols through calls to the WINSOCK.DLL file. Communications to the lower layers pass through the WinSock driver.

IPX-to-IP-gateway technologies take advantage of this pathway by replacing the WINSOCK.DLL file with their own drivers. This enables the replacement WinSock to intercept requests for IP services and forward them to the gateway server via the IPX protocol. Once the IPX packet is received by the gateway, it converts the request and forwards the packet using the IP protocol.

The IPX-to-IP gateway keeps track of both the IPX sessions and the IP sessions using the source and destination port addresses. Each IP session will be using a unique set of port numbers, and each IPX session will have its own address. The gateway simply has to perform protocol translation and keep track of who is talking to whom, based on known addresses.

How We Ran the Tests Evaluating eight products across five different operating systems was no easy task. It becomes even more difficult when one has to keep things "fair." So, in the interest of keeping results as unbiased as possible, we ran our tests using the same workstations and server for each product.

The server was a Pentium 120 with 16 MB of RAM and two 3Com 5390 NICs. For the workstations, we used an assortment of 486 and Pentium PCs running Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows NT and Windows95. The operating systems for the workstations as well as the server were wiped clean and reinstalled for each product.

We configured the server with two NICs: One was attached to the live Internet segment, and the other was attached to the IPX-based LAN. The only exception to this was the Instant Internet product, which is a standalone turnkey solution. It did, however, ship with two Ethernet NICs that we used in the same manner.

On the workstation side, when applicable, we tested any applications that were shipped with the gateway product. But we didn't stop there. We tested the gateways using an assortment of external applications including FTP clients, telnet clients and several Web browsers. If the replacement WinSocks are truly WinSock 1.1-compliant, they should work with all WinSock 1.1-compliant applications. Period.

After much consideration, the contest between Quarterdeck Corp.'s IWare InternetSuite and Performance Technology's Instant Internet was too close to call. Although they take somewhat of a different approach--one is a turnkey solution while the other is a NetWare Loadable Module (NLM)--both offer a wealth of options with a very minimal amount of effort required by the installer. Both clearly stood apart from their competitors, excelling in manageability, ease of use and, most important, stability. Finally, the pair offer something any burdened network administrator can appreciate: simplicity on the client side. They install a minimal amount of files on the workstation with little or no changes to configuration files.

Performance Technology Instant Internet 3.1
Instant Internet 3.1 from Performance Technology was the only turnkey solution we evaluated. The product is not only extremely flexible, but also surprisingly easy to configure. Instant Internet may not have taken an instant to install, but it was about as close as it comes. It received high marks in installation, client-end support, price and its intuitive management features were rivaled only by Quarterdeck's IWare.

The unit is a 486 machine in a slim-line case with both monitor and keyboard attachments. The operating system is a Unix derivative and is proprietary in design. Instant Internet comes with one network interface card, with configurations that support a second network card, a modem or an ISDN terminal adapter. It should be noted that adding your own cards and adapters is not an option, so choose your initial configuration wisely. Instant Internet is a hardware solution based on 50 users per unit. Although not a concern of someone supporting a 100+ user LAN, the minimum configuration is 50 users, making the initial investment high for smaller networks.

After the necessary cables were attached and the unit turned on, it automatically detected which Ethernet segment had IPX traffic and what frame types were being used. After loading the software on the workstation, we answered only one screen's worth of data, and it was ready to go.

The client installation was every bit as simple. Instant Internet suggests you first install the client software on a file server, which alleviates the task of someone carrying a stack of disks from workstation to workstation. The client installation program lets you pick and choose which of the included apps, if any, you would like to install. It also probes your system for WINSOCK.DLL files. Although it's a simple enough task, Instant Internet was the only product that not only searched for WINSOCK.DLL files but then asked what you would like to do with them.

Administration is performed using the included tools: a setup utility, an administration utility and a monitoring utility. Instant Internet is able to make use of Novell Directory Services (NDS), giving way to many configuration possibilities. Instant Internet was the only product besides NOV*IX that has NDS support. You can control a user's access based on time of day, user name and destination (IP address or Domain Naming System entry). It even can be configured for selective USENET newsgroup access, a feature seen in only two of the products we tested.

Another interesting feature, and probably one of the most appealing to administrators of smaller networks, is the ability to utilize a single user's Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) account for an entire LAN. Performance Technology has built in more than 500 dial-in scripts for Internet service providers (ISPs) nationwide, and it is continually adding more.

Instant Internet can be configured to use a 28.8-Kbps modem for its Internet link, and, in turn, route the traffic of an entire LAN across it. This is possible because only one IP address is needed. This is a quick and inexpensive way to bring Internet access to a network, however, the limits of a 28.8 line become painfully obvious with more than a few users. Fortunately, Instant Internet is also available in an ISDN version.

Who is Damar Group, Ltd.?
Damar Group, Ltd., founded in 1989, is a recognized leader in business technology.

DGL presents computer training classes, publishes the Training Express^tm brand computer learning guides, and helps organizations do business on the Internet.

We distribute the Instant Internet product because we know that it is the only solution for organizations who want to connect their local area networks to the Internet, share information with all users, and increase profitability.

You may contact sales@dgl.com directly or if you would like more information, complete the information request form.

Return to main Instant Internet information page.

Damar Group, Ltd.
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6030-M Marshalee Dr
Elkridge, MD 21075-5987 USA
voice 1.888.290.6200
voice 410.567.5366
fax 801.650.0423
WebPhone: info@dgl.com

http://dgl.com/docs/iinc9609.html
updated November 26, 1996

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