Multi-Port serial cards, such as the BocaBoard, are all but dead.
If you are in business as an Internet Service Provider (ISP), you will not want
to use any of these devices, because the new 56k modem standards will not
support them. Instead, you need digital modem/terminal server combinations such
as the Livingston PM3 ™ , Cisco 5200 ™ or US Robotics Total
Control ™. Otherwise, you simply won't be competitive in major markets.
Users want high speeds; you won't be able to provide them with a BocaBoard or
other multi-port serial card.
Even as a multi-port serial card, the BocaBoard is hopelessly
obsolete. The overwhelming majority of people who want to buy a BocaBoard would
be better off getting a accelerated card such as the Cyclades™ or
Rocketport™. (When last I looked, Rocketport™ was a better board,
but Cyclades™ had the most stable kernel support). Accelerated cards use
less of the CPU of your machine, and so you can support more ports per computer
with less performance degradation.
That being said, perhaps you own one of these devices and want to
make use of it, or perhaps you are planning an ISP based on a low-cost business
model that basically means the use of cast-off equipment from others. In that
case, the information in this document should be useful for you. But again, I
repeat: The person who buys a new BocaBoard at this point probably needs a few
more clues before starting his ISP or other venture.
Take our 
