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January 18, 1999

Simple Server Offers More

Cobalt enhances Qube's flexibility, performance

By Mary Hayes

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obalt Networks Inc. this month will ship an upgrade to its Qube system, a low-cost server appliance that lets companies set up basic Web and E-mail functions without the help of an IT administrator.

The Qube 2, priced starting at $995, runs the Linux operating system and just a few services: E-mail, file transfers, and Internet and intranet access. Its limited flexibility is what allows a nontechnical person to get it up and running in 15 minutes, Cobalt says. The startup company, which shipped its first version of Qube last March, has built a number of performance enhancements into the Qube 2, including a 250-MHz Mips chip, 64 Mbytes of memory, and a 10.2-Gbyte hard drive. The new model also supports 10/100-Mbps Ethernet, an IP firewall, and additional E-mail, management, and file-sharing services.

James Staten, an analyst with Dataquest, says that unlike other thin servers, the Qube was designed for simple installation and administration using a Web-based interface. Staten says the system, which works best for groups of less than 150 users, is ideal for small companies that need simple and common server functions, or business workgroups that want to keep E-mail and Web-based functions separate from important company data that may be residing on a traditional server, in order to avoid data corruption or hackers.

Because the few applications on the Qube have been optimized for the operating system, he says, there is little chance of system failure.

Cobalt also recently began offering a server appliance called the CacheQube, which speeds access to the Internet by locally caching information the first time it's requested. Holland & Hart, a 550-person law firm in Denver, is using Qubes and CacheQubes, primarily for their simplicity. The company shipped CacheQubes to its 10 remote offices--none of which have IT administrators--with photocopied installation demonstrations as the only guidance for setup. "We've been sending these systems to people who don't know anything about them," says Bruce Kiefer, the firm's system administrator, "and they can set them up in 10 minutes."