Sean Doran wrote:
>
> Ohta-san:
>
> | > No, not "or whatever" but "AND whatever".
> |
> | Do you mean "plug THEM in to your phone line and whatever"?
>
> Yes, that is certainly one possibility. I imagine the "inside"
> interface would be some easy-to-wire LAN interface, enabling THEM
> to communicate using whatever protocol/address seems appropriate inside.
>
> I wonder how to decide the trade-off between the additional hardware
> complexity of a multi-outside-port box and the additional software
> involved in sharing state across several single-outside-port boxes.
Given the propensity of different hardware interfaces to spring up for
each new service, I'd argue having multiple boxes interacting, while
more complex, is more realistic.
Example: today I can get a DSL modem or router, and I can get a cable
modem. But the technologies of those interfaces seems to keep changing.
To build one device with multiple interfaces would require (due to the
changing technologies) a place to plug in interface modules. This raises
the cost of manufacture dramatically over building a box with a fixed
set of ports, so it's unrealistic to expect the market will favor it.
Sure, it's a harder problem. A good challenge for engineers to solve.
--
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Daniel Senie [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Amaranth Networks Inc. http://www.amaranth.com
