Anthology Solutions Yellow Machine Terabyte Storage Appliance
By: Sal Cangeloso
These features are just a start to what the Yellow Machine can do. It can also manage users and permissions, protect information behind a firewall, control Web access (to improve company productivity), securely share data within a workgroup, and perform regularly scheduled backups of client PCs. If you haven't gotten the idea yet, the Yellow Machine is a serious piece of hardware.
Looking at the rear of the Yellow Machine you will find the power input, voltage selector, On/Off switch (red), emergency shut off switch (beneath "DO NOT REMOVE" sticker), a serial port, an 8-port 10/100Mbps Ethernet LAN Switch, and one WAN port (100Mbps) for DSL/Cable Modem. The Yellow Machine can either be added to an existing network or a wide area network (WAN) can be created around it. It has a NAT Router for internet gateways, HTTP, NFS, FTP, and Telnet Services, DHCP Services, and can be daisy-chained with up to fifteen other Yellow Machines for mass storage.
Security is a major concern during file storage, and this has been given due consideration with this product. Security features include:
- SPI Firewall
- Proxy Server
- Web Access Control (URL Blocking)
- User Permissions (Disk & Folder)
- Monitor and Record E-mail Traffic
- Serial Port for UPS
- Lockable Case
So in addition to being a NAS the Yellow Machine can be used for many different tasks. Its built-in firewall, switch, and other security features mean that it can be connected to your cable modem and then have a network built around it which can be controlled through the Yellow Machine's software. Its extensive permissions and user administrative systems will be useful to any administrator.