PRODUCT EVALUATION: Internet @ppliance Industry Report

Internet @ppliance Industry Report:
A Guide to Technology,
Products, and Deployment

Frequently Asked Questions

Before we talk about specific technologies, let's first cover some of the more commonly asked questions about Internet appliances.

What problems do Internet appliances attempt to solve? Internet appliances are designed to deliver one or more Internet-based services in a single turnkey package. These range from popular web and email appliances to more esoteric things such as naming and IP addressing services. These appliances are geared towards both businesses new to Internet protocols and applications, and more experienced personnel who just want to deploy an application quickly, without a great deal of configuration or support hassles.

Let's look as a few examples. Your staff may have experience with setting up Windows 95/98 machines, but are less familiar with web servers. Or your company may have a centralized support department at headquarters, but have less skilled support staff available at remote branch offices.

Appliances avoid problems associated with common server operating systems by arriving with applications pre-installed, and by having minimal and highly simplified options and controls. Typically, these devices have obvious places to connect power, network cabling, and a management console. Appliances also avoid feature bloat; you pay for just what you need with an appliance.

Are Internet appliances a complement to, or substitution for, my existing web, Internet access, and Internet services solutions? They can be either complementary or substitutes, depending on your own needs. Using an appliance like the FreeGate for workgroup Internet access may be a cost-effective replacement for several individual dial-up accounts, but you may still want to host your small business web site at your Internet Service Provider. If your existing web host doesn't allow you to execute custom scripts needed to count page hits, search your site, or offer your own storefront, then some of these products can provide a complementary solution that enables you to host your own web site to provide these missing capabilities.

Are Internet appliances applicable in large corporation settings? Yes, they can offer real benefits, particularly when it comes time to getting overburdened Information Systems (IS) support staff to deploy new computing resources. When setting up Internet access for branch offices, appliances can be used in place of maintaining dial-in terminal servers with their own specialized operating system and configuration. And departments can use appliances for creating mailing lists, online discussion groups or small Intranets, without requiring IS support.

Are Internet appliances applicable in home offices? Yes. They can consolidate Internet access for multiple machines and save on telephone line charges. They can also be used by people new to setting up network file or other common services. They may be the most cost-effective way to set up a virtual storefront and conduct electronic commerce on the Internet.

What economies do Internet appliances offer, and how can investment in such products be cost-justified? Appliances can cost about the same as an inexpensive PC, on the order of $1,000- $2,000. Because they are simple to set up and operate, they have lower cost of ownership. Appliances also avoid the issue of matching hardware to software as you upgrade. Since appliances are all-in-one packages, you don't have to worry whether CPU and memory on your existing server can run new software. This is a value-add the appliance vendor offers you. Upgrading may be as simple as downloading firmware or installing a faster interface card. Most appliances do save you the cost of buying separate monitors and keyboards. Because most appliances are browser-configured, learning time is reduced. Administrators don't need to setup or maintain a new server operating system, for example.

How intrusive are Internet appliances for my end users? My daily network operations staff? What is the learning curve? Most end users will experience minimal intrusion. They will take to using these appliances quickly, and in some cases won't even recognize them as different from ordinary software-based web servers or standard network file servers. For small office users, appliances may require some learning to access a shared server, but this is a small price to bear given the resulting productivity increases. Daily network operations staff will need some training to understand the nature and effect of these devices. Administrative functions of appliances will require some learning, but nothing on the order of understanding a new operating system. Many appliances can be installed in under an hour, even minutes, and take at most few days' work to get fully setup. But today's appliances can be somewhat cumbersome to install in large corporations. For example, user and group authentication may inflexible and not easily integrated with existing corporate practices or policies.

Do Internet appliance products require changes to my standard desktop operating system software? Not usually. Indeed, appliances can save you from introducing additional server software! Most of the features of these appliances can be configured with an ordinary web browser over an IP network connection. If you don't currently have any IP networks in your corporation, you will need a basic understanding of what is involved and how to install support for this protocol on desktop computers. In some circumstances, a more recent browser version with particular Java support or special Windows-based client software is required, such as with the Encanto and Efficient Networks products. Some products also have configuration menus available via Telnet or serial connections. However, once the appliance is set up, all you need is a web browser for routine maintenance.

Can an Internet appliance substitute for an NT or UNIX server? If you only use your NT and UNIX servers for file sharing and serving up web pages, then appliances offer a good functional substitute. You can find appliances that satisfy enough of your Internet applications needs (such as email, naming, and addressing servers) that you can forego most of the administrative overhead of NT/UNIX. If you use a firewall appliance like the Rebel.com NetWinder or eSoft InstaGate, you don't have to invest time and expertise in making your NT/UNIX host secure enough to operate as a firewall.

However, if you make use of other services on your NT and UNIX machines: print servers, network authentication, and custom or shared application services, you probably wouldn't want to trade your NT and UNIX servers for any of these appliances. You may also want NT or UNIX for heavy-duty production uses, such as running your corporate databases, while using an appliance to run a corporate Intranet. Some appliances, such as those from Rebel.com, Internet Appliance, and Technauts, are built around a turnkey version of Linux that is already configured and secured. Linux is attractive to corporations who have limited UNIX expertise, yet desire some UNIX-based services.

Can Internet appliances be deployed in multi-protocol and NOS environments? Yes, although not every device supports protocols beyond TCP/IP. Certainly, IP is the common language among all appliances. And in addition to IP, some products support Microsoft File Sharing, Windows 95/98 Network Neighborhood, AppleTalk (Cobalt, Rebel.com), Novell (Efficient Networks, Ramp), or other network operating systems. Appliances are also a good mechanism for creating a new IP network on top of an existing network running other protocols. Several appliances come with addressing and naming services for this purpose.

What types of security threats do Internet appliance products present? Appliances can be either more or less of a security threat than ordinary network servers. Because they are small, and so easy to install, a rogue employee could bring one into a corporation and connect it to a network without the knowledge of corporate IS administrators. But that isn't different than bringing up any unauthorized server -- having an appliance merely makes the job easier. But you can also argue that appliances make networks more secure. Because the appliance has limited functionality when compared to a network server running NT or UNIX, it only supports a limited set of tasks. Appliance vendors have taken great care to secure the operating systems of their devices, some restricting access entirely (Apexx, Cobalt).

How do the appliances differ from embedded web software products? Embedded web software sold by vendors like Agranat and Spyglass offer small footprint web servers that can be incorporated into a variety of non-computing systems, such as automobiles and industrial machinery. Embedded web software provides a development environment, while appliances are ready-to-use. In some cases, an appliance is actually running its own embedded web server "under the hood".

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