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IBM InterJet II Uses Embedded FreeBSD
stephen.schaubach writes, "The new IBM InterJet II is a small net appliance that looks cool, is small and has some kick-ass features, including: e-mail server, Apache, Firewall, FTP, DNS and DHCP services. Admin it from a Web browser like the cobalt's. But, best of all it runs an embedded operating system based on FreeBSD UNIX. The down side is that it looks as though you kinda of ASP-lease the thing. Anyone told VA yet? heh " The InterJet is a neat piece of kit, and the developers at Whistle have contributed a lot of high-quality code back to the BSD project, both before and after their buyout by IBM.
...is that IBM won't sell you this neat little thing by itself!!!! You have to subscribe to their Small Business internet service (DSL, FTP, web hosting, etc.) This really sucks. It's a great device, and a lot of IS guys (like myself) would love to pop this on the network. But I can't. I called IBM last week about the InterJet and I couldn't get one w/o the services.
Guess what IBM? Most of us already HAVE high-speed internet service. Sell the damn thing as a stand-alone product and you'll sell a hell of a lot more. = /
It's amazing how IBM are turning around their image. In the beginning they were the big monkey in the sky, until their products were seen as too expensive for what they were.
Since they've adopted Linux (and made other changes), it seems they've gone from Big White Box makers to trendy gear for the web-generation - the kind of transformation Microsoft would love to have made about three years ago.
IBM have definitely changed their targets - they started the desktop PC revolution but have turned their backs on that in favour of mid-range servers . Now they're capitalising on the popularity of Linux to sell their stuff - and as long as they bring to it their old reputation of good quality hardware, good luck to them... as long as they don't try to Monopolise!
insignificant sig
These would seem to work for pushing ISDN/Dial up connections, but I don't really see a market niche for that any more. Small/Medium sized offices are moving to ADSL/Cable/T1 for the most part, and though this box says it can handle ADSL, I seriously doubt it has the IO or processor capabilities to both push a 1.5m connection and provide all of the services they are advertising. Smaller Bay/Cisco routers have problems running a serious routing protocol (BGP, OSPF, anything worth running on a big WAN link) as well as NAT on 1.5m circuits.. I doubt that this thing could push ADSL, run NAT, routing, FTP, Mail and a Firewall. Especially when the processor is an "x86 compatible 233MHz processor" which just reeks of K6 (no FPU anyone..).
Plus.. this machine represents a single point of failure for your whole network.. when you have seperate components and one of them goes down, it is relatively easy to isolate the problem and then fix or replace it, but with these all-in-one solutions, troubleshooting becomes a major pain and very time-consuming. Better to leave these services separate and buy products that are meant to handle them alone. It might be a little more expensive up front, but the down time you'll save in the future (not to mention the latency this box must incurr) will be more than worth it.
//Phizzy
"Most European technology just isn't worth our stealing," -- Former CIA chief James Woolsey, referring to Echelon
It starts at $99 per month, requires 2 yr subscription. "Software and hardware remain the property of IBM. Activation fee, taxes, telephone line charges and surcharges not included. Prices subject to change (I thought this was a contract). Other terms apply (I bet).
It's pricey. Course, I would just get a 486 out of the closet and install Suse.
And on top of it, the web site http://ibm.com/smallbusiness/wc121 requires IE for viewing. Real swift.
This is the result of IBM's purchase of Whistle. It is a bundled device-connection-service level and is geared @ small businesses as evident the pricing. There are many netpliance devices out there like this one which you can purchase by themselves: Cobalt, Rebel, etc.
This is nothing new. Back before IBM bought Whistle, the Whistle Interjet ran FreeBSD and tried to convince you that it was an easy to set up server solution with turnkey operation.
;)
/. before, usually as a quickie or in threads. What short memories everyone has...
For the non-computer-user, that's about right. It's really easy to configure (I researched it once because a family member's business was considering marketing a Linux-based competitor), but if you have the slightest hint of what you are doing, buy your own box
Furthermore, I've seen it mentioned on
Three Step Plan:
1. Take over the world.
2. Get a lot of cookies.
3. Eat the cookies.
jan 19 12:17 Critical: /kernel: Copyright (c) 1992-1998 FreeBSD Inc. /kernel: Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993 /kernel: The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. /kernel: /kernel: FreeBSD 2.2.7-STABLE #0: Mon Jan 3 23:45:11 PST 2000 /kernel: dianeh@built1.whistle.com:/usr/prod/ia/freebsd/sys /src/compile/IA /kernel: CPU: Cyrix 486DX4 (486-class CPU) /kernel: Origin = "CyrixInstead" DIR=0x361f Stepping=3 Revision=6 /kernel: real memory = 16777216 (16384K bytes) /kernel: avail memory = 14962688 (14612K bytes) /kernel: Copyright (c) 1995-1998 Whistle Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. /kernel: Detected version 1 InterJet motherboard /kernel: Probing for devices on the ISA bus:
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RFC1925
Once again, a Large Corporation takes control of what was previously a fre project, slaps a few worthless features on it, and sells it back to us, the Open Source community for big bucks.
First of all, I doubt anyone with enough of a clue to know the difference between OSS and regular software would even consider purchasing this particular piece of equipment. I mean realistically, a server that's adminstered via http, most likely without telnet/ssh? This is aimed squarely at people who need a workgroup server/firewall and don't have the time/ability to administer it themselves, nor the money to hire someone to administer it. A lot better than a Windows95 box with wingate, don't you think?
Do I hear cries of outrage over IBM's abuse of the BSD and apache licenses? No. Even the BSD users, notorious for their unfounded zealotry (such as implying that FreeBSD is somehow superior to Linux), are silent. Do you enjoy being ravaged by the forces of violent captialism?
Ok, this is the main thing I must disagree with. The ability for IBM to take the code and use is the whole purpose of this type of license. I develop software for a living. I don't have a boss, I get paid for what I can sell. Whether it's a software package, or an integrated system. I release code under the BSD license for the same reason I try to only use software under a BSD license. This is the spirit of OSS, whether some huge company comes along and decides to take and not give back is irrelevant. In every project I've implemented, I've always given full source, and I don't think theres been a single instance where my work would not have been 100% compliant with the GPL. But I still wouldn't use it. I see the GPL as a restriction, it restricts people from using my code in situations where they might really need it. And where they might not be in a position to use the GPL (it happens). It's simply the golden rule, I don't want to someday be involved in a commerical venture and have to worry about the GPL. Not every OSS developer develops as a hobby. This is why other licenses continue to exist. The GPL simply doesn't make sense sometimes.
This isn't to say your opinion doesn't matter. It does, follow your own principles, but understand that some of us do indeed make a living via software. And just because you pay for something doesn't always make it any less free (glances at stack of FreeBSD cds that have never been used).
So what do these announcements entail?
BSD: Companies can use it, but you don't get any money or credit. Realistically, though, this isn't much of a loss -- if the BSDies I've run into are any indication, IBM would never consider hiring you anyway. End result: "Big corporations are taking over. They're doing exactly what the license intended them to do, but that still doesn't make me happy. Bitch bitch moan moan."
Linux: Companies that want to make extensive modifications don't want the GPL to show their secrets to the world. So they use the hated BSD or the even more irrationally hated closed source solution. End result: "Big corporations don't care about Linux. They don't understand how superior we are. Bitch bitch moan moan."
The point: The point of open source software is to improve the world, not to turn everyone into little soldiers for your personal OS/license jihad. You should be celebrating the fact that IBM, with its army of programmers and massive code base, has been impressed with open source software.
I imagine you could just telnet/ssh in via ethernet, and get a command-line that way.
**>>BELCH
The best thing about them, from the ISP perspective, is that they can be configured through a dial-up; ie, a UUNet customer with an InterJet dials into a pop, puts a code in the box, and it downloads its new configuration. Pretty sweet.
From a consumer perspective, someone with a whistle is more likely to get help from isp tech support when they have a problem, than if they're running some homebrew.
I found that they are especially handy with reseller customers, who have a contractor come in to set them up and leave them running. A small office underbudgeting it's IT needs can get this product, complete with web hosting and mail, without hiring a fulltime guru (NT), or hunting down an intermittant Linux guy, for a comparable price to routers usually available from ISPs.
While running a porn site off one isn't a good bet, running internet/intranet and mail for a modest office (upto ~100 wkstns) and a modest connection (upto T1) is going to suit most business needs without a huge outlay of cash and time. (remember, these people are supposed to be working, which doesn't always include hours surfing the net)
--mandi
__________
my $.02 presents no capitol gains tax risk
Then buy a OneGate box from FreeGate (well, now Tut, but the web site still says FreeGate). It, too, uses FreeBSD, comes in a sleek black 1u package and plugs into the usual suspects of WAN connections. I've used them as corporate web boxes, firewalls, routers, sra & b2b vpn's, mail relays and DNS hosts. The 150 makes a great drop-in home office system. I describe them as putting average sys admins out of work (or at least on to more interesting projects). <disclaimer>I am a former employee and a current stockholder.</disclaimer>
The original Whistle devices had the major drawback that you could not add additional software to the system. Does anyone know if this changed?
I was using an Interjet I for almost two years. It was nothing but headaches. /use/ these services, it's a peice of junk!
If you only use ISDN or periodic dialup, it's fine. If you need nothing but the most rudimentary web serving and mail hosting (I never tested it for relaying. If it is a relay, there's no way to fix it), it' great. If you actually
There is NO access to anything on the device besides it's web interface. If you're thinking "Well, LinuxConf makes it work..." just stop. This is nowhere near that nice. Instead, it's pretty, but gives you next to no functionality. We had issues about wanting to modify the firewall's activity (opening certain ports, special routing, etc). It was an absolute no-go. Only recently did they add the ability to modify the NAT (static translations and such).
And the it's so-called fast serial interface. God, don't remind me. We used an external CSU/DSU (of course, only a fast-serial port on this thing) hooked up to a full-burst T1. Once we hit about 1.2 mb/s, it would just turn off the serial port, and completly forget about it. We had to power-cycle the CSU/DSU atleast once a day to fix it. It had worse uptime than any of the NT (or 95...) boxes in the building. No, there was no problem with the line. We finally got a Cisco in December, and it hasn't had any trouble at all. We even had to show Whistle how we set up our network. They didn't even know that what we did was possible (nothing special. an NT acting as a bridge on the InterJet's "internal interface" routing all the office traffic to it, since our network was 100baseTX only, and the interjet is only 10baseT).
So, if you're just starting, and you just need something that works (sorta..), NOW, it's fine. So if you're a windows-minded shop (it works, mostly, and don't need to over-customize), it's just right. Once you try to use it to it's claims, it fails miserably.
Sorry about the high rant value, but this thing gave me nightmares for months. Honestly, if you plan on really using the features that this thing claims to have, save yourself alot of time and just get a linux box (mail/web) and a good router. Might cost you an extra 2k, maybe, but will save you hours and hours of maintenance time.
"A good programmer is someone who looks both ways before crossing a one-way street." - Doug Linder
is a CHEAP routing box that will hook up to a DSL or cable and have work without me messing with it. I really don't enjoy treaking my Linux box by edinig ASCII conf files and then have to reboot all the Windows machines to change the network settings. Oh yeah, if I pay for something I intend to own it, not pay to borrow it from IBM.
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.