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Join Systems has a strong history in IP address management. In fact, when DHCP was introduced, nearly every commercial Unix DHCP server was licensed from Join Systems. It was the original. We found no problems with Join's mature DHCP services.

The only ace up Join's sleeve is its low price, though it may be a case of getting what you pay for. Starting at only $2.20 per node, Join's base price is lower than even QIP Enterprise's 100,000-node price. With any number of nodes in excess of 50,000, Join's price falls to a mere $1 per node.

Join's GUI is based on Motif. We found it much more difficult to use than the GUIs in any of the other products, especially in regard to day-to-day operations. It's a Unix-only version.

Price aside, the version that we tested was stale. It lacked features, bells, whistles, you name it. Thankfully, Join Systems has come to our rescue by sending us an early beta of its new version, 4.2.0. While it's still obviously under development, it showed much promise. Join 4.2.0's Web-based browser, a pure HTTP/ HTML solution without any Java, added some additional features. Join Systems says it has an NT version in development as well. We fully expect the next incarnation of Join to rank higher in the features category.

Join Systems Join, starts at $11,000 for 5,000 nodes, Join Systems, (650) 968-4470, fax (650) 968-4686, www.join.com or info@join.com

Jeff Ballard is a systems programmer for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Send your comments on this article to him at jballard@nwc.com.