get the firepod http://www.presonus.com/firepod.html and be done with it. if you need midi then go for a motu.

firewire or bust

If they are calling to whine at you... you are probably working in a facility under DISA control. That being the case, why would you turn off a DISA ATM switch without directions from DISA to do so? You being in the military, and being assigned to a facility with DISA equipment, places you under DISA control. Don't say that isn't true, because I know you are supposed to abide by DISA regulations and I'm sure you've had to bust your ass to prepare for those ever so fun DISA inspections :) But yeah, I think for the military, the WAN side is a bit more important then the LAN side. The LAN side of military networks, is just like any other LAN.. 80% of all trouble tickets are simply resetting a locked account. Anyway, in addition to providing trunks and connectivity, DISA also has several RNOC's which are responsible for routers, servers, and firewalls on the defense network. In addition, as the military networks continue to move towards implementing SAN solutions, who do you think is controlling these? As far as not DISA controlling traffic on the WAN... DISA controls all traffic on the WAN. DISA controls the priority for circuits on the DATM and the IDNX, and will drop non-essential circuits when needed based on their DISA assigned priority. DISA also has the Computer Emergency Response Team for the military. So um.. Yeah. I don't think it's me who doesn't quite know what they are talking about.