Sygate, by SyberGen Networks ($40 for 3 users, $70 for 6 users), gets good reports for easy installation and good support of networked games. You can read this InfoWorld review if you like.
You can download a free trial version that allows 100MB of data transfer before you have to purchase it.
Sybergen recently released Version 3 of Sygate, which has an improved “Sygate Manager” and improved installation program. The Web site FAQ have also been improved, and includes more information on how to use the “apprule.cfg” file. This is the file that allows you to configure Sygate for applications that it doesn’t handle.
Sygate will handle many applications that are “special” to other sharing methods, right “out-of-the-box”. It also handles triggered maps, port ranges, and allows you to specify TCP or UDP protocols.
Version 3.0 comes with a Client program that can be installed on your shared PCs. The Sygate 3.0 client aids troubleshooting and captures performance information for display in the Sygate Manager.
Note that you don’t have to use the Sygate Client program! However, the Client will properly configure your TCP/IP properties for proper communication with the Sygate Server. So you can install it to configure your Client PC(s), then uninstall it, if you don’t want to configure the TCP/IP properties yourself. If you’d rather set the TCP/IP properties manually, use the information below.
Sygate 3.0 also supports “one-way” or “telco-return” cable modems (in addition to full-duplex or two-way cable modems), but usually only when they contain the telco modem as part of the cable modem. The GI Surfboard 1100 and 1200 are examples of “one-way” modems that will work with Sygate. The Surfboard 1000 is an example of one that won’t.
The only downside to Sygate is that their tech support is via email only. Some users report delays of many days when emailing support questions, and some report getting no answer at all. They’re working on improving this by continuing to update the Web site FAQ and hiring more staff.
NOTE! If you are running Sygate 3 and getting “out of memory” messages from Windows, check this page for a fix.
Help for other Sygate problems can be found here.
