| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : APRIL 26, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| TECHNOLOGY & YOU
Big Features for Small Networks New servers can tie home or small-biz computers together at low cost Business computer networks come in two basic varieties. Larger companies, from giant corporations to medium-size operations, use nets that are typically built around Novell NetWare or Windows NT servers. These nets demand care and feeding from highly trained administrators. Small businesses, if they are wired at all, usually string together a few computers using the simple Windows or Macintosh built-in networking. The increasing importance of computers in even very small businesses is exposing the weaknesses of these simple networks: They offer little security, no data backups, no easy way to share an Internet connection, and they become difficult to manage if they grow beyond a handful of computers. Help is on the way. A new breed of server can deliver big office features at low cost and require little technical skill. Eventually, they may even find their way into your home. GOOD LOOKS. I tested two of these new machines, the Compaq Prosignia NeoServer (www.compaq.com/prosignia) and the Cobalt Networks Qube 2 (www.cobaltmicro.com/products). Both combine low-cost hardware and variants of the Unix operating system into attractive packages. The idea is not entirely new. For the past year or so, Whistle Communications and Encanto Networks have been selling simple servers designed to let small businesses do E-commerce, while Cobalt has been selling its inexpensive RaQ utility servers mainly to Internet service providers. But Compaq's decision to put its brand on such a product should provide a huge boost to the credibility of this market. The NeoServer looks like a slightly shrunken minitower computer, but with no monitor or keyboard. It comes in two models, the basic version for $1,399 and a $1,699 model that adds an internal 56K modem and software for managing a shared Internet connection for all users on the network. The NeoServer is designed to support a network of up to 25 computers--Windows PCs or Macintoshes. It's basically a 333-MHz Celeron PC, but instead of Windows, it runs Santa Cruz Operation's OpenServer. Unix software can be scary, but you'll never see it; all configuration and administration is easily done through a browser. Services include file and printer sharing, E-mail (on the Internet model only), and automatic backup of data from PCs. The NeoServer comes with a hub that can connect eight computers using standard, telephone-style network cabling. Additional hubs cost less than $100 and can be daisy-chained. The Cobalt Qube is, as its name suggests, a bright blue cube about 8 inches on a side. It runs Linux on a MIPS Technologies R4000 processor and can support about 25 PCs or Macs with the same basic services as the NeoServer. The Qube 2 provides Internet services in the base model, but has no modem. You have to add the communications device of your choice--from the standard modem to a broadband digital line. Like the NeoServer, the Qube 2 hides the complexities of Unix and network administration behind a browser interface. But it is designed with a somewhat different philosophy that gives more choices in just how the network is set up, which makes it a bit more complex. If you really want to get down and dirty, you can log into the Qube 2 using any computer on the network as a terminal and administer it using the Unix command line. This would allow you, for example, to run a small database on the Qube 2. But most people will have all the control they want or need by sticking with the browser. FREE HELP. Both of these products sharply lower the cost of having a secure, server-based network. The minimum hardware and software cost of the Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server, a simplified version of Windows NT Server, is around $3,000. More important, both the NeoServer and Qube 2 are orders of magnitude easier to set up and administer than even simplified NT. They also offer free tech support by phone. In fact, these machines are simple enough that there could be a place for similar servers in the home, as household networks, multi-PC families, and the use of information appliances all proliferate over the next couple of years. These devices will need a way to communicate with each other. Servers will have to get even simpler and a lot cheaper, but there's a potential for a huge consumer market. BY STEPHEN H. WILDSTROM _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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