Perle controller vs e-Twinaxcontroller

Perle Controller 594e, Perle 594T, and Perle 594M
vs. the e-Twin@x Controller

Perle offers three controllers that compete with the e-Twin@x Controller: the 594e; 594T; and 594M. The difference between these Perle controllers is essentially the number of devices supported. The 594M supports up to eight Twinax devices only (maximum configuration), while the 594e starts at 28 Twinax devices and goes up to 168. The Perle 594T also requires optional IP routing software to enable TCP/IP over Twinax, and to eliminate an external IP Router. Perle offers an integrated IP router with these controllers, and this is both good and bad. On one hand it eliminates the need for an extra box, however the performance is limited to 128K. Perle is not known for its expertise in routing and it has a proprietary DOS configuration program that many think is not particularly user-friendly. All devices appear on the AS/400 via Anynet, which is known to be an unstable and slow protocol that requires additional configuration on the AS/400.

BOScom's e-Twin@x Controller is the only device which offers 100% IP without SNA. This is the reason for its speed, stability and ease-of-use.

Feature	BOScom e-Twin@x	Perle 594e	Comments
Protocol
Internet Capable¹	YES	No	BOScom has 128-bit encryption
100% IP without SNA	YES	No²	Requires Anynet (MPTN)
IP Compression (IP over Twinax)	YES: 5x	No
DHCP	YES	YES but see ³
SDLC	No	YES	Useful only in new Twinax only sites with dedicated leased lines⁴
Configuration & Management
5250 Terminal	YES	No
Web Browser	YES	No	Web Browser allows management of multiple controllers from one PC
Doesn't Require AS/400 Config	YES	No	Complicated APPC
Reconfigure On-the-Fly	YES	Limited
Reset Devices On-the-Fly	YES	No
Reset Controller from Remote Location	YES	No
Set up Time	10 minutes!	3 hours plus
Hardware
Built in Ethernet card	YES	No	Optional extra from Perle
No. of Twinax Ports	8	4	Twinax lines do not need to be full to use 28 Devices
19” Rack Mountable Controller	YES	No	Fits in same rack as Router and Patch Panel
19” Rack Mountable Twinax Brick	YES	No	Can be mounted facing forward or backward
Solid State NVM	YES	No	Latest technology
Software updates via WAN	YES	No
Software updates via dial up	YES	No
Twinax device support upgrade via software only	YES	No	8 Device to 56 Device, no extra hardware needed
State of the Art DSP design	YES	No
Remote Access
Built in 2 or 6 port RAS⁵	YES	No	Gives access to both AS/400 and WAN
ASCII Support Card Not Required	YES	No	ASCII Card requires Perle Talk for PCs, gives access to AS/400 only
Dial Out	YES	No	Enables LAN & IP over Twinax PCs to share attached modems
Miscellaneous
Email Support for 5250 Terminals	YES	No	Any type of 5250 Terminal will be able to send and receive e-mail!
Built in Diagnostic Log	YES	No	Can be downloaded using Web browser
Clear plain English error messages	YES	No	Perle uses SRC codes like IBM

¹ Connecting over the Internet is a growing trend. Many organizations are now implementing Virtual Private Networks to use the Internet as an inexpensive WAN, something that was impossible for anyone using Twinax before the advent of the e‑Twin@x Controller. This is due to the fact that a) SNA cannot be carried over the Internet, b) AnyNet, because of its timing limitations, is not suitable for the Internet, and c) other methods like Data Link Switching (DLSW) or Serial Tunneling (STUN) are not supported by Internet Routers. BOScom offers its own 128-bit encryption that allows users with only Twinax at the remote site to use the Internet. This can be done via dial out, or by using a direct connection to the Internet at the remote site. This type of technology greatly reduces the ongoing charges of frame relay or dedicated SNA leased lines. In the case of multi-drop frame relay, many users have split their bandwidth to help reduce costs. Moving to the Internet will enhance the performance of many of these sites.

² SNA encapsulation is the only other way of connecting Twinax devices to the AS/400. With this method, all Twinax traffic is converted to SNA, and then encapsulated into TCP/IP. The TCP/IP packets are sent to the network connection on the AS/400. The AS/400 then extracts the SNA from the TCP/IP and then decodes the SNA to find out which transaction is needed. SNA includes a great deal of control logic as part of the protocol that is not required when using TN5250. This means that the TCP/IP messages are larger, and extra processing is required both on the controller and in the AS/400. SNA is also timing critical, therefore if the remote site is connected over a long distance, where timing is longer, devices (IP Sessions) tend to drop off line. Due to the extra overhead of using SNA, AnyNet is much slower than TN5250.

³ Whilst Perle claims that they support DHCP, the way in which AnyNet works makes this unusable. DHCP allocates an IP address to any new device on the network. If the IP address changes, (Which with DHCP it can) the Host Table entry needs to be modified before any devices can be reconnected.

⁴ These days new remote sites are connected with TCP/IP routers, enabling PCs at the remote site to share information on a LAN, as well as connect to the AS/400 using TCP/IP emulation. It is very rare to see a new site use only Twinax, i.e. most environments require at least LAN access. Twinax is usually used when legacy applications are used and non-programmable terminals are needed to keep the cost of ownership down. The main market is replacing old SNA controllers with IP- based ones to increase efficiency and simplify the TCP/IP connection.

⁵ This is an optional extra. The BOScom controller already includes the hardware in the unit, however it is software disabled. Perle’s controller requires that an additional ISA card be fitted.

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5250 Terminal

Web Browser

Doesn't Require AS/400 Config

Reconfigure On-the-Fly

Reset Devices On-the-Fly

Reset Controller from Remote Location

Set up Time