Re: [hylafax-users] Multiport Internal Modem for 4-5 lines

[Bill Binko <bill-keyword-hylafax.afeacb@binko.net>]

Hello Marcin,

	I am new the list, but recently looked into the whole USB modem approach.  We 
were, however looking for single-line modems in a standard case, however, so 
please take that into account.  

We ended up using 3 PCI MultiTech MT5634ZPX-PCI-V92 modems.  
( http://www.multitech.com/PRODUCTS/MultiModemZPX/ )

We chose an Aopen AX4GPRO 845G motherboard that has everything onboard (video, 
sound, network) and that has 6 PCI slots.  This should give us reasonable 
room for expansion.
( http://www.aopen.com/products/mb/ax4gpro.htm )

If you choose to go with a 4U system, I would highly recommend this 
combination: it is inexpensive, self contained, and so far solid as a rock.

Here's a brief summary of how we got to the solution we have now:

We started out with the following goals:
1) We wanted to use USB modems for scalability (up to 32 in Linux)
2) We wanted to use a small form-factor (ITX) system to keep the noise and 
power consumption down.
3) We had an immediate need for 3 lines, with a desire to create a solution 
for as many as possible (for other clients).

We purchased four brands of USB modems (in pairs) for testing.  They included 
USRobotics, Supra, Creative, Zoom.  What we found was that since the 
companies have come out with v.92 support for their USB modems, they have all 
become controller-based designs (win/linmodems) and none of them worked well 
under linux.  Some of them (Pegasus chipset ones) had drivers, but only 
allowed one per system.  Others simply didn't work.

Due to time constraints, we chose to change our approach.  We dropped the 
small form-factor, bought a full size case and moved to PCI modems.  We felt 
that this would be the fastest path to getting a working system for our 
client (and it was).

We picked up 3 US Robotics USR5610B 56K V.92 Internal PCI Performance Pro 
FaxModems (NOT their winmodems) 
( http://www.usr.com/products/home/home-product.asp?sku=USR5610B )

We were 100% successful with these modems.  They "just worked" so to speak.  
They were wonderful until we realized that our client hadn't mentioned the 
need to fax at Class 2.1 speeds (33.6kbps) -- don't you love that?

So we bit the bullet and bought the Multitech's (listed above).  The extra $30 
has been well worth it: they send and recieve consistently at 28k to 33.6k 
when hitting faxes that can support it and they are incredibly configurable.

I also have a sneaking suspicion (and this is not a complaint) that MultiTechs 
are the preferred modem of the Hylafax developers.  From reading the 
archives, it seems that they are the first supported and the best supported 
of the modems.

There is one approach we considered, but did not take: we could have tried 
MultiTech USB modems in our original configuration.  This was simply due to 
time constraints.  The need to get it working soon was more important than 
the small form-factor or scaling higher than 6 lines (the 6PCI motherboard 
really helped make that decition).

Hope this helps
Bill


On Monday 05 May 2003 09:51 am, Marcin Wasilewski wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to install Hylafax on Debian Woody 2.4.18, I'm asking You to
> help me choose a good internal PCI fax-modem for 4-5 lines.
> I'm using Intel 1U server, so the best suitable card would be a
> low-profile PCI, but normal size will be good too.
> One more question, what do You think about USB modems?
> Best regards,
> Marcin

-- 
Bill Binko
bill@binko.net 

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