Digital Trends

Snap Appliance Snap Server 1100

April 7th, 2004 | by Douglas MacLean

Features and Benefits

SnapAppliance has gone with a minimalist approach to the Snap Server design. The front panel of the unit features four status LEDs — “System”, “Link”, “Net”, and “Disk” that flash during activity. On the back of the unit is a 10/100mbps Ethernet port, a port for the power plug and a reset switch and that's it. With the size of the unit, we expected the power supply to be integrated but it is not — the unit is powered by an external power brick.

The size of the unit can be attributed to the fact that there is basically a computer inside the Snap Server. A Pentium 166 processor with 64MB of RAM powers the Snap Server and is what separates this from just a regular external storage drive.

A robust security scheme allows for various levels of usage. By default, the all users on the network have access to everything on the Snap Server. Just like other networks, you can define users and groups and determine what folders each have access to. The system allows you to use security settings already in place on your Windows domain or Novell NetWare bindery server. If you do not have a domain, you can set up users and groups within the Snap Server itself. The server also supports Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for transmission of encrypted data over TCP/IP.

Everything about the Snap Server can be managed through its Web-based administration console. The Web interface and support for Windows, Mac, UNIX NFS and Novell networks makes it accessible and configurable from almost any client with a Web browser and any type of network setup.

In addition to providing setup access through the Web, the Snap Server features a built-in Web and FTP server, allowing remote access to files. This access can be enabled or disabled on a folder-by-folder basis if necessary.

Lastly, another great feature of the Snap Server is that it can be connected to an APC UPS and be automatically shut down if on battery power. See the “specifications” page for detailed specs and features.

The pictures of the Snap Server 1100 may be a bit misleading in that the device may look bigger than it actually is. In reality, we were quite surprised at how small the device is. Actual dimensions are 5 inches wide, 3 inches high and 9 inches deep. Considering that an IDE hard drive is