Timothy
Parker Consulting Incorporated
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Turnkey Web Servers Part 4: Cobalt Qube A couple of columns ago we looked at Cobalt Network’s RaQ Web server for ISPs and companies that want to perform virtual hosting. For companies that want a standalone Web server at a very reasonable price and don’t need virtual hosting, Cobalt Network’s Qube 2 (henceforth just called the Qube) is my choice for value and performance. The Qube is, as the name implies, a small cube shaped appliance (it measures a miniscule 7 inches on a side and weighs six pounds!). Designed to be as simple as possible to install and configure, the Qube will suffice for companies from very small to quite sizable, although for very large Web sites and some e-commerce applications taking many orders, larger solutions (at many times the cost) will have to be used. Cobalt’s design criteria for the Qube tells most of the story: a Web server with low cost of ownership for companies with no dedicated network administrator. The Qube comes preloaded with the Linux operating system, Apache Web server, and a ton of support applications and utilities. There are CGI and Perl script handlers built in. There’s SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), IMAP4 (Interactive Mail Access Protocol) and POP (Post Office Protocol) to provide e-mail access for any number of users. There’s FTP, SMB and AppleShare connectivity built in. There’s a Domain Name Server for the entire network and the Internet, a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server for Windows clients, there’s NAT (Network Address Translation), and much more. For Web servers there are extensions for many popular Web development packages including Microsoft FrontPage 2000 Extensions. And there’s a lot more. Sounds like a pretty well equipped little box, doesn’t it? To help provide security for the network the Qube attaches to the Internet or an ISP, there’s a firewall product built in. The firewall isn’t designed to be as robust and hacker-proof as products like CyberGuard and Firewall 1, but it will keep out most standard hacker attacks and it’s a lot easier to use than most competing firewall systems that cost thousands of dollars. The heart of the Qube is a 64bit CPU with anywhere from 16 to 64MB of RAM (two SIMM slots which can be user expanded if you need to increase the RAM complement). A single ATA hard drive is housed in the box for the Web pages and operating system. There’s dual 10/100MB Ethernet ports built into the box, as well as a single PCI slot for expansion in the future (to house a T1 card, Firewire card, or any other kind of PCI-compatible expansion card you can think of). A serial port on the back provides connection to a host system, or it can be connected solely through the network (no keyboard or mouse required!). The front panel has an LCD panel that is used to initiate the setup and simple administration procedures. I worked with a brand new Qube for a couple of weeks for some tests in-house. The first impression almost everyone gets is "you can’t be serious: the thing’s too small". The small size has an advantage in that you can slip the Qube almost anywhere on a rack, behind computers, or onto spare shelving. Connect the dual Ethernet cables (one to the local area network the other to the incoming stream from the ISP through a router) and configure the IP address and some other simple parameters, and away you go. Cobalt has taken some heat from networking magazines in the last few months for its documentation (or lack thereof) but I had not trouble at all following the steps and setting up the unit. Time from unpacking to letting it loose on the LAN was about 45 minutes, much of the time spent playing with the options. Even a complete computer neophyte could set up the Qube as an operational Web server! Loading the Web pages to be served by the Qube is a simple matter using FTP or the Windows Explorer interface (the Qube shows up as a networked device). Although the Qube does have a Web page editor included in the package, but most users will resort to other tools. I used both Microsoft FrontPage 2000 and Adobe GoLive as sample design packages, and easily had the pages handled by the Qube. Automatic indexing tools on the Qube allow for fast retrieval of pages, especially for sites that have lots of documents on-line. The price of the Qube depends on the RAM and disk options, but a system can be installed in most companies for well under $2000. At that kind of price point, it’s hard to find any competition for this little gem. If you have to get a small company on the Internet with a Web server, mail handler, firewall, and other tools like FTP servers, the Qube is the first (and possibly) last device you should have to look at. I like mine an awful lot! |
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