But don't let it fool you with its apparent wizardry. What Celestix really offers with Aries is pretty wrapping around a standard Linux (kernel 2.2)-based server running standard services -- Squid for proxy and Web caching, Apache, SMTP via Sendmail, POP3 and IMAP4, and Samba for file sharing. Unique about the Aries are its casing and its ability to provide a simple method of configuring and managing Linux-based services via a Web browser. The management GUI is well done for its targeted SOHO customers, who generally don't have the resources to perform complex network and systems administration.

Don't get me wrong -- this little device is sweet from the outside. It offers configuration via a Web browser or, for rudimentary system configuration, an LCD panel, and navigation buttons are on the front of the system. And it supports 802.11b wireless with a $149 add-on card without the need for a separate access point. Firewall features are provided via ipchains (a tool that can administer the IP packet filters in Linux kernel versions 2.1.102 and above). The configuration via the interface is quite limited, however. You can configure the firewall portion only to deny or allow a particular list of IP addresses.

VPN and dial-in access is offered as well, providing a well-rounded SOHO solution for Internet services. The cost is quite competitive: A mere $999 will get you one of these tiny servers. But beware -- the security provided via the GUI is lax.

Management interface (screen view) Click here to enlarge

Happy Server

After connecting the Aries to the network in my home office, I powered it on. The LCD blinked merrily and began displaying the system status with cute icons. I had flashbacks to the last time I booted an Apple Macintosh. But the icons and sounds are informative. The Aries told me the system was ready by playing a tune. In all, it seems to be a very happy little server.

I performed initial network configuration -- IP address, masks and gateway -- via the LCD panel and rebooted, moving to a machine with a Web browser to configure the rest of the system. The initial screen popped up, and there, in plain text, was the administrative user name and password for all the world to see. I walked through the setup wizard for the initial configuration, changing the password and setting up the external IP address. The Aries also can be configured to use DHCP from your service provider for its external address. The system rebooted again, and this time it showed a nice cloud on the LCD panel, indicating that the connection to the Internet was now operative.

The system is preconfigured to use Port 10000 for management and configuration, and uses basic authentication via Apache along with PERL scripts to determine access to systemwide administrative details. The user interface is clean and easy to navigate, and offers a full online manual in case you run into anything odd. Users, folders, networking, even an upstream proxy server -- everything can be configured from the GUI.

Internet Services

The main purpose of Aries is to provide Internet routing, e-mail, and Web and file services for a SOHO environment. Internet connectivity is supported via a serial or analog V.90 modem, a serial ISDN modem, a DSL modem, cable modem and T1-to-E1 connections. The Aries also can be plugged into an existing network infrastructure via a hub or switch. Although you're limited on the external interface to 10 Mbps, that shouldn't be an issue since supported connectivity devices are limited to about 2 Mbps.

The Aries can function as a DHCP server and provides DNS and NAT services. The DNS service configuration is extremely rudimentary, and the user interface does not provide a way to specify the use of a separate DNS server.

File and print sharing services via Samba 2.0.3 are provided, and the user interface makes configuring and maintaining users and Samba services a breeze. A parallel port is provided on the Aries and shared via Samba. You'll want to set disk quotas for users, since the Aries ships with a scant 10-MB hard drive; disk-quota settings are configurable via the user interface.

Aries' Web services surprised me. Apache 1.3.14 provides basic Web server support, and though the Aries uses PERL scripts for configuration, CGI scripts are not available in this release. But you can use PHP 3.0.7. I wrote a page or two containing PHP and dropped it into my user "folder" on the Aries, and it worked perfectly. E-mail services provide nothing above the ordinary service you'd receive from the standard Linux services, though the GUI provides a much nicer interface into the configuration of Sendmail than editing the configuration files on the command line.

Mini-Linux in a Box

Dial-in access is provided, as are VPN services using PPTP. I asked Celestix about support for other VPN services and was told that if I'd like something else, all I had to do was install it. If I can install it, I can run it.

After getting into the system via telnet -- the administrative password is also the root password -- I took a tour. Yup: The "DNS" host entries configured via the user interface were entered into named configuration files: .htaccess files used in conjunction with the Web server to provide security. Eventually I found the firewall file describing the configuration of the ipchains tool providing security. The system's security is lax by default -- the only real restrictions are in the Samba configuration and GUI administrative Web site, which limits access to addresses on the internal network. The GUI does not offer the capability to edit the more advanced firewall options available via ipchains.

There's also no way to stop services you don't want running, such as telnet or FTP, from the GUI. If you don't have the know-how to secure this system, you'll want to get some help, at least to apply the security patches to the OS or turn the services off.

While the Aries was designed specifically for the SOHO environment and its interface appropriately designed for the target audience, knowing that the "guts" were available for CLI configuration made me feel somewhat more secure, especially when considering the security implications of a default installation.

Certainly most SOHO users won't be managing the server this way, but simply providing the capability for software installations as a need arises, as well as for upgrades or patches, raises the appeal of the Aries greatly.

Send your comments on this article to Lori MacVittie at lmacvittie@nwc.com.