1. Choosing the Right Internet Appliance Dave Piscitello, Core Competence, Inc. David Strom, David Strom, Inc. Atlanta 98, 10/22 10:15 am

2. Atl98 Strom Internet Appliance2 Our backgrounds We write about and test products for a living. We consult for some of the vendors involved.

3. Atl98 Strom Internet Appliance3 What is an Internet Appliance? l Pre-packed hardware and software l Simple to setup, use and manage –usually with a web browser l Don’t have keyboards or monitors l Integrate into existing Windows and other NOS environments –AppleTalk, IPX, UNIX/NFS l Serves a variety of needs

4. Atl98 Strom Internet Appliance4 Target applications l Small business Extranet l SOHO/ROBO Intranet server l Discussion Forum server l Workgroup file/CD ROM sharing l Firewall, VPN server l Remote access router l Remote access server l Office email server

5. Atl98 Strom Internet Appliance5 Six categories of appliances l Shared network storage l Web server l eCommerce server l Security server l Intranet applications server l Communications server

6. Atl98 Strom Internet Appliance6 A partial taxonomy

7. Atl98 Strom Internet Appliance7 General state of appliances l Almost plug and play l User interfaces intentionally limited l Matching categories and needs not easy l Setup of users and groups may be tedious –Most not well integrated with NOS access controls –Not an issue if this is first/only server l Scalability? –Units designed for small/branch office needs

8. Atl98 Strom Internet Appliance8 What features do you need? Ask yourself, ask your vendor: l If web or other Internet/Intranet server, –How extensible? Expansion slots? Type? –Type of built-in OS? Type of server software? –How many ways to upload files to your web? l If communications server, –Types and number of network interface(s)? l If security server, –Firewall features? What VPN? Client software?

9. Atl98 Strom Internet Appliance9 Appliances: Pros l Simplicity over NT & UNIX servers, –especially for organizations with little or no OS admin expertise l Reduced total cost of ownership –Appliance may cost less than software to provide equivalent features l Vendors seek to “user-proof” appliances –limited access to OS, not as easy to shoot yourself in the foot –Often more secure “out-of-box” than OS servers

10. Atl98 Strom Internet Appliance10 Appliances: Cons l Can’t find and manage on corporate net –not issue for those that support SMB/AppleShare l May need more than browser to manage –telnet, configuration wizards and monitors l Separate Access control, authentication –Difficult to apply uniform user and group access controls across appliances and NOS systems l How scalable are CPU,disk, networks

11. Atl98 Strom Internet Appliance11 Products demonstrated l Cobalt Microserver Qube 2700 WG l Ramp Networks WebRamp 300e l FlowPoint 2200 SDSL Router l Encanto e.go Commerce l For more information, this report on: strom.com/pubwork/iapps.html www.corecom.com//ia