Cisco Systems' AS5300 Universal Access server wins in this category because of its excellent throughput performance, call handling, and management. We tried to break the AS5300 in our labs by throwing data at all 96 modems to see if it could handle the load. It did, turning in some of the fastest numbers we've seen for V.34 modems--nearly 10,000 characters per second for a text file. We also repeatedly brought up 10 calls per second over a three-day period, and the AS5300 sailed through our call-handling test with flying colors. The AS5300 completed 99.7 percent of all calls connected.

Although Cisco's IOS (Internetwork Operating System) has a difficult learning curve, it provides access to a plethora of configuration, debugging and management options. You can look at virtually every aspect of the AS5300 from individual port configurations and status to tracing calls from ISDN Q.921 messages to PPP negotiation. To make management easier, the AS5300 comes with a custom SNMP MIB for remote management, configuration and reporting. There is also a GUI utility called the Config Maker that simplifies configuring the AS5300.

Cisco AS5300 Universal Access Server $10,000
Cisco Systems,
(800) 553-6387, (408) 526-4000.
www.cisco.com