Martian File Servers
For those of you looking for a zero-administration file server, you might consider the Martian Technologies NetDrive. It's network-attached storage (NAS), which means that it doesn't require or allow a monitor and keyboard. Rather, you plug it in and it grabs an address off the network's DHCP server and lets you configure via the Web.
The current versions include Wi-Fi (802.11b) and 10/100 Mbps Ethernet for connectivity, and support Samba-style (SMB) filesharing which works under Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or later. You can type in long URLs in Mac OS 10.1 and mount SMB volumes, too.
The team plans to add AppleShare support -- there are open-source Linux solutions that they can integrate -- and they already use Rendezvous to help your machine automatically find a NetDrive to configure.
The NetDrive is available as a kit with no hard drive ($379), a 40 Gb unit ($399), and a 120 Gb unit ($479).
Comments
This uses a motherboard from Via Technology http://www.via.com.tw using the mini-itx form factor. Really neat!
Posted by: Bill Poupore | May 1, 2003 11:22 AM