Built to scale
If you're swapping files or applications over a small LAN and have no immediate plans for growth, a souped-up PC with a single Pentium III or Pentium 4 processor might be all you need in a server.
Network diagnostic tools
Tips for buyers Sidebars & Related Stories The term network diagnostics evokes an image of engineers crawling in overhead wiring ducts and carrying hardware and software probes to measure cable signal parameters or wielding protocol analyzers to record and display network traffic data.
Network Storage Buyers Guide
Tuck these tips away DVD technology will drive down prices for standard CD-ROM optical systems. Tape autochangers are good entry-level systems for budget-conscious information systems managers. Automated storage systems can save an organization up to 50 percent annually in personnel costs. Next-generation tape cartridges will store more than 100G per cartridge. The main tradeoff between tape and optical systems is capacity vs. media durability.
DUAL-SPEED WORKGROUP HUBS
Are you looking for flexibility, low cost and a good price-performance ratio in a workgroup hub? Who isn't, you say? Your search is over. A move to dual-speed 10/100 Ethernet/Fast Ethernet autosensing hubs is the way to go to fold 10-Mbps LANs into a high-speed 100-Mbps Fast Ethernet system.
Fast NICs
Build yourself an Ethernet or Fast Ethernet LAN Most network managers are familiar with the early warning signs of network glut: Graphics applications bring LANs to a crawl. Ad hoc database searches take eons to complete. Print jobs stay queued up for hours. Data output from server farms is sluggish and congested.
Build high-end Fibre Channel RAID storage system
Trimm's newest offering is the FR8J, a RAID enclosure that supports Fibre Channel interfaces and 10,000-rpm 3'-inch Fibre Channel disk drives. Using a dual-loop redundant Fibre Channel Bus, the FR8J can accommodate up to eight hot-swappable SCA drive canisters with cam lock mechanisms to protect against rotational vibration. An interface electronics board plugs directly into the system's midplane, eliminating cable tangles. DB9 connectors are used to interface the FR8J board with most external devices, but the
Document management software
Manage your purchase Web technology, low-cost scanners and cheap storage have combined to make document management affordable. No single document management system will meet all your requirements. Highly integrated systems aren't necessary for all users. You must determine your needs before you buy. ODMA 2.0 compliance is no guarantee of product interoperability. Low-end document imaging software can be a boon for individuals and small workgroups. You should seek a scalable system only
RAID subsystems
They say if you sit long enough at a cafe on the Champs Elys'es in Paris, everyone you know will pass by. I say, if you listen long enough to an information systems manager, you'll eventually hear the same lament—data by the ton and every single user wanting immediate access to all of it at all times.
The latest monitors are well-priced sites for sore eyes
Optiquest's V95 19-inch monitor has 0.26-mm dot pitch and a maximum 1,600-by-1,280 resolution. Side bars and related stories Minor tweaking will correct some monitor ailments. Among 19-inch monitors, three perform as champs. Behind every outstanding monitor lurks the power of a graphics card. In the Be Prepared category, here's some advice: If anyone asks what kind of monitor you want, say, "a big one." Just as a large hard drive is preferable to a small one
Among 19-inch monitors, three perform as champs
A quick peek at Acer America Corp.'s AcerView Vivid 99c, NEC Technologies Inc.'s MultiSync E900+ and Panasonic Communications & Systems Co.'s PanaSync SL90 confirms it: Price and performance are at their peak with a 19-inch monitor. Each of the three monitors is a flat-screen, shadow mask CRT with a full 18-inch diagonal viewing area. All have a maximum resolution of at least 1,600 by 1,200 pixels, although their optimal resolution is 1,280 by 1,024 pixels.
Minor tweaking will correct some monitor ailments
You turn on your monitor, it hums a short, tuneless little ditty as it warms up, and then—uh-oh, the monitor looks funny. This can't be right. Ideally, the monitor's electronic gun beams tiny light signals onto the phosphor dots on the inside of the monitor tube, and then the resulting images are translated to digital signals to be communicated to the host computer. The trouble is, a lot can go wrong between these two steps.
COLOR laser printers
Laser printers make the grade Most color laser printers are optimized for workgroup service. Within two years, they'll replace high-end color ink-jets in many organizations. Color laser reproduction is adequate for most print jobs. Good printer management software is as important as hardware. Web remote printer management is a good option for large organizations.
High-end notebooks offer a smorgasbord of features
Here's a checklist of the features you should look for in a high-end notebook. CPU. For true power notebook computing, the 266-MHz Mobile Pentium II is the way to go. But the Pentium II's full punch isn't needed for typical word processing, spreadsheet, database and multimedia applications. Chip sets. For a notebook with a 266-MHz Pentium MMX CPU, the Intel 430TX (or a similar design from another manufacturer) is fine. If you move up to a 266-MHz
High-end notebooks BUYERS GUIDE
Armada 7800, Solo 5100XL serve well as weapons for road warriors. High-end notebooks offer a smorgasbord of features. These could be very happy days if you're in the market for a high-end notebook computer. Six or eight months ago, Intel Corp. released its zippiest and most powerful mobile CPU to date, the 266-MHz Pentium with MMX.
No budget for a CD jukebox? Try this virtual server instead
Until I test-drove CD-QuickShare, I thought jukeboxes with multiple quad-speed drives represented the state of the art in CD- ROM disk sharing. Was I wrong! Stac's software-only virtual server dishes up the disks quickly and inexpensively. From a single CD drive on a host server, CD- QuickShare copies compressed CD image files onto the server's hard drive, building a library that can be accessed by a whole gang of networked or remote users at once.
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