Oliver Kaven

A low-cost NAS (Network Attached Storage) solution can provide adequate physical storage space for many small businesses. Supporting a NAS can be more of a challenge than some businesses expect, however. Large enterprises may be able to afford individually tailored and expensive managed-service offerings, but such luxuries are generally out of reach for small businesses. […]

Though the mainstream corporate world is dotted with wireless networks, in general its adoption rate of wireless here has lagged behind that of other environments. According to Synergy Research Group, total worldwide sales of home and small-office wireless LAN products in 2003 topped $1.3 billion (about 60 percent of the market), while enterprise wireless sales […]

Although securing a single PC or small home network can be a complicated and often tedious task for the average user, securing a networked office—even a small one—is tougher. Modern modes of communication, especially e-mail and the Web, have made it possible for whole new types of small business to blossom. But along with the […]

ZIFFPAGE TITLEAt a Glance Company:VoicePulse Inc., www.voicepulse.comPrice:$14.99 direct for basic plan, $24.99 for unlimited Pros:Easy installation. Great basic features and voicemail options. Excellent call-filtering system.Cons:Router required but not provided.Bottom Line:We were extremely impressed with the breadth of features offered by Voicepulse and its easy to navigate Web interface. Its certainly in the hunt among VoIP […]

Hundreds of thousands of consumers collectively save millions of dollars each month by replacing (or supplementing) their traditional telephone service with personal voice over IP (VoIP) telephony. We tested three of the leading services to see if theyve exorcised the demons that plagued pioneering VoIP solutions. Using IP to transmit voice is not new. Large […]

The Netgear ProSafe FWAG114 represents the old-school Netgear—even down to the metal chassis. This VPN firewall is a solid performer with an intuitive interface. And the FWAG114 was the only 802.11a/g product in our roundup that didnt present a single hiccup during setup. Although the FWAG114 lacks a wizard-assisted installation application, getting it started is […]

With its superior performance, myriad features, superb documentation, and very intuitive installation wizards, the Linksys Wireless-G WRT54GS bested all the other routers in the 802.11g roundup. Speedbooster, Linksyss name for Afterburner (Broadcoms specification-compliant enhancement technology), accounts for the products top performance. Clear, step-by-step instructions with screenshots and a well-designed wizard make initial configuration for both […]

If you are interested in Voice over IP, are not intimidated by open-source software, and dont want to part with tens of thousands of dollars up front, take a close look at Asterisk (www.asterisk.org). Developed largely by Mark Spencer, this Linux-based, open-source PBX replacement is an excellent appli-cation and can even be considered for use […]

As usual, Apple sets its products apart visually from the competition. In this case, the Apple AirPort Extreme router resembles a large, collapsed marshmallow. Although the AirPort lacks many of the features that other wireless routers in our roundup have, it certainly serves its intended purpose and target audience in providing basic and secure wireless […]

Security is a process, not a product. Security experts often referred to this mantra, of security technologist and author Bruce Schneier, while we worked on this story. Their point: No device is going to be the static, bedrock answer to the security needs of a business, large or small. This certainly applies to the all-in-one […]