Intellinet Server Appliance offers everything, almost

Zatni Arbi ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 07/21/2008 10:34 AM  |  Sci-Tech

Once in a while you come across a product that fulfills almost all your needs, only to find that it has technology that is already slightly behind its time.

Intellinet, a do-it-all device that combines a router, RAID data storage and printer server, unfortunately uses that already obsolete IDE hard disk interface. (JP/Zatni Arbi)

An example is the Intellinet Server Appliance.

A few months ago, Datascrip sent me a unit to review. Unfortunately, all this time I could not make up my mind whether I should review it or not.

The reason it had been sitting on my shelf was that it used two IDE hard disks, which are being phased out. The total storage capacity, if mirroring was used, could be up to 500 GB -- enough to store a decent collection of music and family photos. But, if you have been shopping around for hard disks lately, you will know that brand new IDE hard disks are now very difficult to find. Almost all the hard disks used in the PCs sold today use the Serial ATA (SATA) standard hard disk interface, which offers better performance.

When I was offered this product for review, Datascrip was unable to tell me when SATA-based Intellinet would become available.

However, while browsing the Internet recently I learned that, yes, this server appliance was already available for SATA hard disks. I took some notes of the demo unit before returning it to Datascrip, expecting that the new version would at least match its feature set. I should admit that, in general, this appliance was quite impressive in its capabilities and features.

The Intellinet Server Appliance is great for a small office or a home, especially if you want to keep all your data files in one place. Also called a SOHO (Small Office Home Office) server, it is actually an all-in-one device. It provides a Network Attached Storage (NAS) and several useful networking functions. It supports Virtual Private Network (VPN) to ensure security of communication over a public network such as the Internet.

It is also a print server, a Web server and an email server. (A NAS, by the way, lets all the connected computers share storage space where they can store and share files, regardless of which operating system the individual computers are running.) The server supports operating systems such as Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

If you configure the two IDE hard disks with Level 1 RAID, you would have a mirroring system. So, in case hard disk A crashed, you would still have exactly the same data on hard disk B. This can be life-saving in a small business with a lot of transactions. Just imagine the magnitude of the disaster, for example, if you were to lose all your transactions data because your hard disk died and you did not have any backup copy at all. You might not be able to send the invoices to your customers as you would not know how much they owed you.

In addition to providing data storage, the Intellinet Server Appliance also serves as a router and switch. You only have to connect it to a broadband cable or ADSL modem, and then connect it to up to four PCs via the Ethernet RJ-45 port to build a small network. It is also a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) device, which means that it can be added and then taken out from the network without causing network downtime.

The appliance is so easy to set up and manage because it is pre-packaged, and that is one of the reasons it is called an appliance. I suppose you could also connect it to a wireless access point to provide Wi-Fi connectivity within your home or office, but I did not have the opportunity to try it out due to lack of time.

If you need to expand your storage capacity, Intellinet has four high-speed USB 2.0 ports to connect external hard disks. You can also connect the server to a printer using the USB port. The browser-based configuration steps are straightforward, no software driver installation is necessary as everything is already pre-installed.

Physically, this device is small and lightweight: It is the size of a lunch box, and it even has a handle so you can take it home with you over the weekend or keep it in a locked safe for security reasons. There are a lot of cables to unplug, though.

The AC adaptor is external and the design of the enclosure is quite stylish, too. Opening the covers to put in or pull out the hard disks only requires the opening of two finger screws. Unfortunately, the screws have to be handled carefully, as the threads seem to get stripped easily.

One annoying characteristic I noticed during my test was the loud fan noise. The fan kept rotating and there was no thermostat to automatically slow it down when not needed. Hopefully the new model will be fitted with a fan that stops when the internal temperature is below the threshold.

It would be nicer if the next model of this appliance also came with an integrated Wi-Fi access point. This would make the features even more compelling.

Nonetheless, if you are interested in an all-in-one device like the Intellinet Server Appliance, just make sure that, at least for now, it uses SATA hard disks.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.