RocketModem - Meridian Technology

Performance and Support Helps Meridian Technology Select RocketModem® for WayMark Remote Access Server

Imagine yourself sitting by your computer at your home on a Sunday evening. You know that if you could just get a jump-start on your projects for the week that would double your productivity in the office on Monday morning. You have a computer, but there is no way to check your corporate e-mail from home, sound familiar? Comtrol’s RocketModem^® or RocketModem II^® with a Meridian Technology remote access server can help.

Comtrol Corporation manufactures serial port cards with integrated modems, ideal for dial-in and dial-out capabilities. The RocketModem, along with a Meridian remote access server, installed at a corporation’s main office, provides all the convenience of remote access in a complete, easy-to-install package. Remote access capabilities many small- to mid-size companies need are made readily available, offering employees the convenience of checking e-mail or working on urgent projects remotely.

"The RocketModem complemented Meridian's open platform strategy for building a remote access server. The RocketModem allows Meridian to offer a highly scalable and cost-effective remote access server, Waymark." Gary Liming, VP of Engineering Meridian Technology Corp.

Challenge

Prior to shipping the Comtrol RocketModem with their remote access server solution, Meridian Technology, based out of Chesterfield, Missouri, used to ship just software to enable a company to build a remote access server. Meridian’s remote access source code called MeriT Access™ Server, was difficult for customers to visualize. So Meridian decided to create a fully functional remote access server based on industry-standard equipment in order to demonstrate MeriT Access. The idea became so popular that Meridian decided to create their own remote access server, Waymark“, and include an eight-modem multiport serial card. This helped Meridian broaden their customer base by adding end users to their original equipment manufacturers base.

Technology Solution

Meridian tested several remote access multimodem cards, and found that Comtrol’s RocketModem was best suited for their specific needs and application. The main reason Meridian selected RocketModem is that it consistently provides their customers with a complete solution for their remote access needs. Meridian needed to make only minor modifications to their software package to work seamlessly with the RocketModem and felt confident to release their product. “We trust Comtrol to stand behind what they sell to their customers,” said Parvez Yusufji, an analyst for Meridian.

Superior Performance, Exceptional Reliability

Meridian Technology chose RocketModem partly because of the quick time to market. Comtrol provided all of the information necessary for Meridian to quickly add support for the entire line of RocketModems. During performance trials Meridian saw that the RocketModems were able to sustain maximum throughput on all ports simultaneously, and found Comtrol’s technical support department to be extremely helpful during Meridian’s testing process. Gary Liming, Vice President of Engineering for Meridian, said, “Comtrol provided us with all the technical information we needed to offer support for the entire line of RocketModems—in just three days!”

Unique Architecture Optimizes Existing Technology

Comtrol’s RocketModem and RocketModem II are unique because they combine multiport connectivity with the advantage of highly reliable Rockwell on-card modems.

The RocketModem is designed to enable remote access on an industry-standard application server, enabling users to build a custom data communications server using their existing technology. RocketModem is available in 4- and 8-port 33.6K models. RocketModem II is available in 4- and 6-port 56K* models.

“We trust Comtrol to stand behind what they sell to their customers.” Parvez Yusufji, Analyst Meridian Technology Corp.

Minimal CPU Utilization, Maximum Performance

The RocketModem uses a 36 MHz RISC processor dedicated to processing asynchronous serial communications to maximize performance and minimize CPU utilization, a common concern with other multiport modem cards. That, combined with Comtrol’s unique ASIC technology means:

• Increased reliability
• Simplified installation
• No shared memory to configure

The RocketModem family of products enables a wide variety of remote access applications, including dial-in capability for mobile workers or telecommuters who require access to the corporate LAN or intranet, while providing the enterprise with convenient fax capabilities.

Setting a New Standard

Meridian’s Waymark remote access server sets a new standard for seamless remote access to the corporate network infrastructure, and intranet-based services and information. In addition to supplying modems to the Waymark server, RocketModem helps Waymark deliver Autodiscovery features, which make installation quick and easy.