OSNews was tipped off that OEone (previous stories: 1, 2, 3), creators of the desktop HomeBase SUITE (based on Linux, X and Mozilla’s APIs), now are moving to server space. Next week they are going to announce an exciting new product (under a new brand name: “Axentra Rumba Server”) which puts Linux back to the server space, but with the form of a user-friendly and cute-looking appliance. *Updated* The device has a mini ITX mobo, VIA C3 800 MHz CPU, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB hdd, USB 1.1, 2 LAN ports and in 1 WAN port (extra Wi-Fi USB device required). The device is useful as an Internet Gateway (DNS, IP filtering, Port forwarding, NAT firewall) and as a network service (web server, file server, WebDAV, IMAP/SMTP, Samba, Content/Spam Filtering, photo album). All its administration is done by web pages directly from your computer.
To better understand the product and see a bigger picture of it, download its PDF presentation (mirror here — webmasters, please don’t link directly to the PDFs). OSNews also found out that the new Axentra company is planning a whole family of such “multi-function server appliances”.
Unfortunately, we don’t know the price for this first model. Similar products like NetWinder’s and Sun’s Cobalt Qube were priced above $1500 US dollars which of course didn’t make them look attractive to home users. We hope Axentra has managed to bring the cost-per-unit below $400-500 US. Update: It’s retail price in US is $500, check the shot here.
Googling around, we even found a test server for the Axentra Rumba Server. Go on, give it some stress testing!
Update: Google is your friend. Here is another test server of the “Axentra Application Center” this time. The web master of that site says to “check the mid-October TigerDirect catalog” for its release and price.
Nice little machine, I’d love to have one!
Yup, that’s a nice one indeed!
Seeing the pains we had here at home to configure FreeBSD conf files to do what we wanted to be our home server, I can tell you such a product is a god send.
However, in order to convince my husband to get it, it really needs to have CVS or the free Perforce version on it, so he can do the development he wants…
I thought that comes standard on *nix…..
Brett
This is not “just” a Linux distro that is in there. It is stripped off and carefully modified to look and feel like an embedded consumer product. Therefore, I don’t believe that CVS is included. Besides, JBQ prefers Perforce.
Hmm, I hope there is a way to turn off its web server (not the admin pages, but the user’s web server), because customers of ATT/Comcast cable modem in USA can face termination of service if they are caught running a web server! ATT/Comcast is port scanning regularly its customers because they are afraid of people spending bandwidth by running web servers sharing illegal files. Most of the people aren’t doing this, but unfortunately that’s the policy…
I run a webserver, as well as email at home, I also have Comcast.. havn’t had word of termination since… in fact.. I also do voice over Ip… The office at comcast think it’s neat 😀
Of course… they also say that if the email server is found to be insecure.. or that it’s found I host copywritten content, that they will terinate my service immediately.
This is quite comparable to a Netwinder 3100 ( http://www.netwinder.net ), or a Cobalt Qube (which seems to be discontinued).
Hopefully OEone will have a better price point, and more user-friendly software couldn’t hurt either.
>Hopefully OEone will have a better price point
Personally, I don’t see it coming out with less than $250-300. However, putting the hardware cost, its price is at about $150-200, however, for a good-tested appliance with good quality hardware/software, the final retail price is sure to be at around $300, if not more.
$300 would be an incredible price. I’m expecting $1,000 to $1,500 (Canadian, since OEone is as well).
Also, if it’s anything like the Netwinder, you can’t stop the webserver service (because that would kill the administration screens) but you can firewall it to prevent outside access.
Heh, I just checked the NetWinder and the Sun Cobalt Qube. They both start at $1500+. That’s crazy! 😮
I hope Axentra’s Rumba Server is more wisely priced, below $500 US.
The Axentra Rumba Server sounds like a potentially useful little gadget for those who’d rather spend a little more money than a little more time.
I’d like to mention that there are several entirely free (as in beer and as in speech) software solutions that fill much the same role.
At home I run Smoothwall GPL 1.0 (http://sourceforge.net/projects/smoothwall/) on an old Pentium II that serves as my firewall/router/dhcp server. It installs very easily, demands little of the hardware,and all administration is done using the built in web-server and easy point-n-click interface. Updates are almost ridiculously simple to install – click on the “upload file” button, then the “reboot” button, and you’re done. No arcane Linux knowledge is necessary to use it, though you do need to know basic networking terms (like internet gateway, IP address, DHCP, etc). There is a well-written manual and other documentation available for download.
In addition to firewall/router/dhcp, if you also want file and print sharing, an intranet server, etc, look into the free version of Mitel’s SME Server.(formerly E-Smith SME Server) at http://www.e-smith.org/downloads/ . This is a modified Linux distro that turns any Pentium-class or better PC into an internet appliance. While I have not yet had the chance to use it, I have read almost nothing but the highest praise for this product; installation, configuration, and updates are easy, and all administration is done with a web browser and the built-in GUI frontend.
-Rob Roy
(not my real name, of course)
Would I need special drivers to attach printers and scanner etc. to it ?
According to Netcraft:
“The site http://www.ruppell.com is running Apache/1.3.27 (Unix) (Red-Hat/Linux) mod_ssl/2.8.12 OpenSSL/0.9.6b DAV/1.0.3 PHP/4.3.1 mod_perl/1.26 on Linux.”
Rob Roy: I have used the e-smith/SME server and I have been very pleased with it this past year. Lots of useful how-tos and packages from an active community. It is secure “out-of-the box” with IP-Tables and deactivated external access to SSH, FTP, Telnet, etc.
/Jens
…one of these: http://www.snapappliance.com/
We had my old work had one (wasn’t used any longer: came from the satalite office). It didn’t do web, or email but it was pretty awesome as a file server. Plug it in and go without having to worry about a bunch of ports.
Oh, and it did AppleTalk in addition to whatever Windows shit it could do.
Somehow I think this new server may be almost fit the needs of many, but leave everyone wanting.
Check one of the best website for this kind of appliances :
http://www.mini-itx.com/
You can already buy some nice boxes at less than $500.
…Or are the companies nowadays really taking the magic out of server administration? What used to take balls the size of pumpkins and real men to admin now takes a few clicks from a braindead college kid.
Where will this end up? Sure enough, it’ll end up in the same place it did with Microsoft products – more holes, less patches applied, less people who know what they are doing, less security, less privacy, etc.
This is awfully depressing. I was just about to install Debian on another server. I don’t have faith in these “click-for-server” packages.
I’m probably just trolling.
>Where will this end up?
Never. Times change.
30 years ago you needed to be a scientist to have access to real computers, today you have one. Live with the changes time brings and ADAPT.
>I’m probably just trolling.
Yes, you are.
Hmm, I hope there is a way to turn off its web server
The article says it can act as a firewall, so I am sure you can turn off port 80 for external connects ans still use the webserver inhouse.
I run a mini-itx server, redhat 8.0, in the black casetronic 2699R case (has an additional PCI slot for the 2nd network card) and *love* it. The thing is *dead* silent as it has no fans in it whatsoever (uses 55W notebook style power adapter) and runs as my headless LAMP box flawlessly.
It’s no speed demon but runs fast enough for a box that does mostly nothing all day long.
Stats:
Via C3 533Mhz processor
384 MB Ram
40GB Seagate HDD
10/100 NIC
current uptime: 48days
The one weakness I see in the box is that is has USB 1.1, not USB 2.0. Given that one of the purposes of the USB ports is to connnect disk drives (including CD, DVD), I am quite suprised at this design decision. If they go to production with this design, I’d wait for an upgrade or it will very quickly be obsolete WRT such devices.
Buy a Toshiba Magnia SG20 instead. RH 7.3, WiFi, modem, hub, about $250. Keep it simple.
Barry which version are you talking about.
http://www.computerhq.com/hardware/partinfo-id-19170.html
(subj sez it all; move along, folks; nothing to see here)
I just got the TigerDirect catalog yesterday, and it’s on page 13 for $499.
(from slashdot) The ad itself.
http://grokthis.net/~raptor/rumba.jpg
Looks like Eugenia’s guess/wish was right.
And yes the software half is similar in functionality to e-Smith, (which can be downloaded for free from http://www.e-smith.org ). It would be nice if it also supported custom modules, like e-Smith does.
Some of the software only equivalents (SW and Mitel have already been mentioned) install in minutes and are so easy now that you don’t have to be an IT expert.
I’ve been running ClarkConnect (www.clarkconnect.com) gateway software from about two years now…I’ve never had a problem and would probably have about two years uptime if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve upgraded versions twice now.
I wonder if their offering will be open enough to add your own packages and make customizations that won’t break the web config GUI???
First, do they have plans to work with the Major ISPs. If this can’t hook to AOL or MSN [I know, don’t mock me] then many people simply can’t use it. Ideally, it would share the connection transparently, so your PS2/xBOX as well as AltOS PC could all be online! I’d suggest they start dealing with Lindows because they have already tried to get deals with major ISPs and have the propeietary software for their OS.
Also, they need to go one step further with it! It really should have home office connectivity too. It’s already able to connect to DSL/broadband [& dial-up?] but to be really successful, it should be able to act as voice mail/answering machine, fax server, phone hub perhaps with speed dials for pizza, and call tracking. That way it could manage your land-line data as well. The problem with PCs for those tasks [why it hasn’t taken off yet] is that PCs are still to buggy for 24/7 operation, and most people don’t leave them on to always be available…this would fit that usage perfectly and reduce the number of machines you need at home too!
I didn’t see that print serving was featured..again, another major selling point, always on printing WITHOUT a PC. Changed over at work to network printer and am never going back! Now we just need network scanning to complete the home office suite! Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any network scanners for cheap. Even the All-in-ones require the USB connection for scanning, not ethernet. [I’m wrong?…please!] But then you’d have to add OCR to this also, or again, it’d just be a toy.
I only bring up networking because that’s the point of the device. Toss it in a closet and forget it, all the updates are automatic. if you can’t have EVERYTHING network connected, then it ends up being “just another toy” rather than a really useful tool. It’s really, really close though!
The reliance of the device on USB looks like a big problem. People are going to run out and buy $40 apollo printers and $50 Umax scanners then expect them to work right away with this. Most OSNews readers know not to expect too much from the cheapo stuff, but general consumers just expect stuff to work…and 75% of peiphials sold don’t include anything but windows drivers. What’s worse is that most of the manufacturers are downright antagonistic to Linux. The first time users have to wait 6 months for an OSS driver for their “cheap” printer they’re going to be upset..after all, it works with windows, something must be wrong with the mini-server!
For this to really work, they’ll need to do some serious Linux advocacy! Again, they need to be in contact with Lindows guys because this is the part of the game where first impressions count. For both Rumba and Lindows, they can only gain serious share if they can get Tux stickers on as much stuff as possible. This also means they can’t keep the drivers & such to themselves, but really have to get the stuff out there for everyone OSS. This also means FreeSoftware gurus have to bend a little on the proprietary driver model and try to find some middle ground to start making things less painful for manufacturers. But it’s exactly this kind of product that will make periphial manufactures wake up and start supporting OSS, It’s good dealings for them because these are solid products with companies that may be willing to pay a little [and have sales numbers] to “grease” the developer wheels a bit.
Welcome to the world of the “commodity”. Commodity OS, hardware, and applications. Throw in all the other changes i.e. Distributed computing, clustering, network appliances, thin clients, etc. This isn’t our fathers computing experience. Thin on the users end-(Gigaethernet network)-various appliances all around the house-Beouwolf in the basement-Broadband out the back-Connect with like in the community.
http://www.astaro.com/php/statics.php?action=asl&lang=gb