You may also want NT or UNIX for heavy-duty production uses, such as running your corporate databases, while using an appliance to run a corporate Intranet. Linux is attractive to corporations who have limited UNIX expertise, yet desire some UNIX-based services. Certainly, IP is the common language among all appliances. Appliances are also a good mechanism for creating a new IP network on top of an existing network running other protocols. Several appliances come with addressing and naming services for this purpose.
Appliances can be either more or less of a security threat than ordinary network servers.
Because they are small, and so easy to install, a rogue employee could bring one into a corporation and connect it to a network without the knowledge of corporate IS administrators. But you can also argue that appliances make networks more secure. Because the appliance has limited functionality when compared to a network server running NT or UNIX, it only supports a limited set of tasks. Embedded web software sold by vendors like Agranat and Spyglass offer small footprint web servers that can be incorporated into a variety of non-computing systems, such as automobiles and industrial machinery. No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.