When you plug in the Neteq box, it doesn't care about IP's or what range it is on. You set the bandwidth maximum limit for whatever your pipe size is and then plug it inline between your core router and your first main switch and you are done.
said by Chele:Can the NetEqualizer handle two separate WANs(providers)?
Chele, I asked the same question and the answer was yes and no. If you have 2 pipes that are bonded together and the output appears as one WAN to your network, it may or may not work depending on the bonding scheme used by the bonding device.
It will have an issue with 2 separate providers because of the way it is setup. If one pipe is a T1 and the other is a symmetrical 10Mb up/down, you can only set the box for one pipe size, so if you set it up for 1.5Mb, it will apply that setting to all traffic, essentially negating the additional bandwidth on the 10Mb line and cutting it down to a T1.
If you set it to 10Mb, it will then incorrectly shape the T1 and allow it to be overrun.
I love this unit and I can not say enough about it. With M0n0wall and Packetteer, you have to manually setup all of the rules in order for the units to be effective. After you spend a few hours getting them setup, it only takes the user/program 10 seconds to switch ports on you and that rule is then invalid and you need to go back and redo it.
This type of setup requires you to monitor your box constantly, creating even more work. The Neteq unit doesn't need to know all of this. It just counts connections per user (A limit you set) and the amount of bandwidth each user consumes. If the bandwidth is there and no one else is using it, that person gets it. If they are running Limewire at full throttle and another user logs in and starts to surf the net?, that user gets full priority and their pages will load quickly while the Limewire download has delay added to their packets.
IMHO, using this unit is a no-brainer for any ISP. It is a hands off setup that really works. I do believe there are some types of LANs that boxes like Packetteer or M0nowall would be better, especially in an office environment where all types of restrictions need to be put in place.