Multiple Modems
Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 7:07 pm
Ascendis Caller ID supports multiple phone lines. By far, most users accomplish this using modems. Unfortunately, limitations of controllerless modems (also known as "winmodems" and "soft modems") make using multiple modems in a single computer much more difficult than it should be. If you plan to try this, please note the following:
Most or all(?) controllerless modems only support a single modem in a computer. It's not clear whether this is a fault of the modem manufacturers or a problem with Windows, but it is a known problem:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb ... 7/2/46.ASP
This means that users who buy two identical controllerless modems and put them in one computer will probably not be able to use them at the same time, which is no better than having one modem. The workarounds are:
- Buy and use hardware modems instead of controllerless modems. The modems can be internal or external.
- Mix hardware and controllerless modems
- Try controllerless modems which use different modem chipsets. Some people have reported success with this, but it can be hard to determine which chipset a modem uses. You may have to resort to trial and error.
- Use multiple computers, each with one modem, and use Ascendis Caller ID's networking features to combine the caller information.
In general, we recommend hardware modems over software modems because they don't consume computer cycles, are compatible with more hardware, and have fewer points of failure. Configuring two hardware modems in one computer can be tricky, but it can usually be made to work. Configuring more than two hardware modems may or may not work depending on the computer.
Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software
Most or all(?) controllerless modems only support a single modem in a computer. It's not clear whether this is a fault of the modem manufacturers or a problem with Windows, but it is a known problem:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb ... 7/2/46.ASP
This means that users who buy two identical controllerless modems and put them in one computer will probably not be able to use them at the same time, which is no better than having one modem. The workarounds are:
- Buy and use hardware modems instead of controllerless modems. The modems can be internal or external.
- Mix hardware and controllerless modems
- Try controllerless modems which use different modem chipsets. Some people have reported success with this, but it can be hard to determine which chipset a modem uses. You may have to resort to trial and error.
- Use multiple computers, each with one modem, and use Ascendis Caller ID's networking features to combine the caller information.
In general, we recommend hardware modems over software modems because they don't consume computer cycles, are compatible with more hardware, and have fewer points of failure. Configuring two hardware modems in one computer can be tricky, but it can usually be made to work. Configuring more than two hardware modems may or may not work depending on the computer.
Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software