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Turnkey internet Servers (Front Ends) Turnkey Internet Servers (Web Toasters)
In our University of Wisconsin Real-World Lab®, we tested four turnkey Internet server solutions capable of both Internet and intranet use. Each product was evaluated in a workgroup network environment with a dedicated connection to the Internet. We placed emphasis on ease of use, installation, content management and price. Two of these products, Internet Products' The InterGate Solution and MVI Corp.'s Instant Internet Plus, are designed as front ends to your LAN and provide dial-up access to an ISP (Internet service provider). These products operate within your existing LAN as standalone servers providing open standards-based e-mail and Web services. The other two products, Cisco Systems' Cisco Micro Webserver 200 and Microtest WebZerver, can be classified as Web toasters, which are designed to provide turnkey Web services with minimal configuration hassles. Neither of the Web toasters offered dial-up access to a local ISP, nor did they provide mail servers. We evaluated heavily on Web content management and configuration utilities.

The most complete Internet server we reviewed was Internet Products' The InterGate Solution. Its plethora of configuration options and sleek HTML management interface garnered our Editor's Choice award. We were extremely impressed with this box's flexibility and technical support. In the Web toaster category, Microtest's WebZerver also earns our Editor's Choice. Its EazyPrint content publishing tool makes Web creation a snap, and it offered substantial scalability.

Internet Products The InterGate Solution
Internet Products' The InterGate Solution was--by far--the most expensive product in this review, but its features may justify its high sticker price. Providing user and group security restrictions was the first capability we noticed and liked. Coupled with the ability to create, manage and maintain multiple Web sites, InterGate is ideal for larger companies seeking to satisfy the Internet needs of multiple workgroups. Its HTML management interface is extremely easy to use and navigate, providing efficient control over every aspect of the product. InterGate further cements its top position with such unique features as a DNS server, DHCP and BOOTP services, access control, remote access and extensive Web proxy options.

Our first task of creating a Web site led us to InterGate's Web management interface. With it, we configured every aspect of the InterGate server from Web server settings to user account information. In fact, the Web management interface is the only way to configure most of the InterGate's features. Unlike MVI's Web interface, all configurable options are accessible via the Web, making remote administration as easy as browsing to your favorite Web page. InterGate's Web interface verified that our Web server was running, so we began creating a test Web site. Using the administrator account, we uploaded Web content immediately to the Web site via FTP. We also easily granted access to other user accounts already created on the system. Unlike WebZerver's EazyPrint feature, InterGate did not include any content management tools to assist users in generating Web content; it relied on third-party FTP clients and network file shares.