Do you have problems with this MAX 2000 Router ?<br>The newer MAX 2000 looks similar like the MAX 1800.
This picture was our startup configuration in Jan 1997 with two MAX 4000 and one MAX 1800, which looks like a MAX 2000.
One was for our backbone connection to Frankfurt, one for dial-in and one for 128 KB nailed customer lines.
The MAX200 was built in two sizes, the older one it the MAX4000 box, the newer one ist the smaller (flat) version.
Dont clean the front panel with alcohol or similar fluid, all printed characters will be lost, forever, so take care, use water with soap
The MAX 2000 is one of the older Ascend products too. The very early ones were built into a MAX 4000 chassis, having a diffrent backplane with two WAN ports. I found a picture at ebay. The MAX-2E1 was produced in 1995 and before. From 1996 on it was build in a smaller 1 unit (1HE) case from the MAX 1800 and now it has had one WAN port only.
A very old MAX 2000 and no front panel
This very old MAX 2000 on the left was from week 30 in 1995 or earlier.
It has the old small power supplies (140 Watts) and two coaxial connectors for T1 / E1 WAN links. You should be extremely careful adding digital modemboards into it. Better dont touch it.
It is the smallest PRI unit (the newer MAX 2000), available as T1 (1,5 MBit) or as E1 (2 MBit) router. You may use it as a dial in access router with up to 30 lines or as a dial out FAX router with 30 connections or as a nailed line router. You may install two more digital modem boards or one 8 port BRI interface. The BRI interface may not be used simultaniously with the PRI interface ( thats a hint from the gurus). It would not be stable.
The new MAX 2000 - the small box design
The new (flat) MAX 2000 can handle one T1/E1 port and a maximum of two digital Modem cards and therefore it has become too expensive. But if you have one, you may use it without any stress. The TAOS software has grown to a very comfortable and reliable solution. It works fine without known problems. We use it for nailed lines with G.703 and G.704 specifications. It works fine with the G.703 ports of a Cisco PA-4E1 on the other end or with a MAX 4000. Others do an over night FAX service with a MAX 2000 and others have the access point in their POP running with a MAX 2000.
If you need one 2 MBit E1 nailed line ( in German = Festverbindung oder Standleitung) you will run a very reliable connection with uptimes from 24 months. It is very easy to configure like all MAXen.
The MAX 2000 is worth to fix it. We use it at the other (customers) end of a MAX 6000 and a CISCO PA 4 x E1 board.
The MAX 2000 has a 12 MHz Intel I960 CPU. That is not much but it works fine for years and it saves energy.
If you need to plug in 16xS56 Digital Modem boards, use the slot nearest to the fans first.The fans are blowing into the unit and pressing the air inside the modem box first. Thats very important, to keep the modems cool. Otherwise the modems become really hot.
Never use a MAX 1800 or 2000 without cover in a hot room.
You must take care about the software revision.