A bright green, clear glass-like case probably doesn't convey a feeling of rugged support. And the name "PowerElf" doesn't contradict that first impression either. But perhaps that is precisely what the marketers at GreenComputer had in mind. They wanted to catch us off guard by housing a robust Internet server appliance in a fragile-looking box and giving it a whimsical name.

The PowerElf provides a way for IT managers to deliver access to printers, files, email, Web caching, and the Internet to all network users via one manageable device. And since one of an IT manager's worst nightmares is to lose network information, or worse yet, have it stolen, the PowerElf has also incorporated some pretty reliable security features.

For instance, to support VPNs, the PowerElf has a secure 128-bit encrypted VPN connection. PPTP is used to establish a connection between the PowerElf and the Internet. A built-in packet filter firewall protects data, while NAT hides your internal network.

As far as basic email services are concerned, the PowerElf provides POP3, SMTP, IMAP, and Web mail support. With Web mail, email can be securely accessed from anywhere on the Internet. If your organization hosts a Website, the PowerElf will come in handy for that, as well. A commercial-grade Web server, the PowerElf contains Apache Web server software and supports CGI, Perl, PHP, and MySQL. It runs the Linux 2.2 operating system, in case you were wondering, but it still supports Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, and Linux machines.

To speed up network Internet connections, the PowerElf has the Web Proxy Cache, which will temporarily store information from the Internet on its hard drive. And, boy, can this hard drive store some information! The base model of the PowerElf comes with a 30GB hard drive, which you can upgrade to 80GB. Also optional is Raid 1 disk mirroring, which will write all of your network data to dual hard drives for redundant storage. Managing the PowerElf is fairly user-friendly, as well, because administrators have access to browser-based backup and administration, or they can setup via Telnet, if they prefer.

The 10.5 x 9.0 x 6.25 inch PowerElf connects to your network though dual 10/100BaseT Ethernet network interfaces, a parallel printer port, or a serial port. It processes all of these data and security functions with an Intel Celeron 733MHz processor.

Pricing and Availability

The PowerElf can whistle its way into your office at a base price of $1849.00.

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