March 25, 2008

All In One Routers (Appliances) - Reduce The Blinking Lights

If you look at the server closet of any decent sized business you'll find a mess of wires, boxes, blinking lights and maybe some other gizmos. Many of these appliances are to handle email, firewall security, anti-virus protection and other things.

For some time now companies have been providing all-in-one appliances which bundle many security and other network management features into one. What does your networking closet look like?

The WSJ writes These new multifunction routers are intended to appeal to IT departments that want to minimize the space devoted to networking equipment, replacing older gear with more efficient products that consume less energy. Unlike typical routers, which may perform just one function, the new gear can be customized to carry out a variety of tasks, such as securing a network and ensuring important files have the proper bandwidth to reach their destinations. Prices of the new routers vary according to the different mix of services that companies add to them.

Although this article was on routers for larger companies small businesses can benefit and learn as well.

Critical Links edgeBox, Barracuda Networks , St. Bernard and others make network appliances.

tags: appliances , routers , security , virus | 0 comments