They're cute, they're cost-effective and they are worming their way into small offices and remote branches every day. GartnerGroup Dataquest reports that almost 31,000 of these Web servers shipped in 1999, and the research company expects that number to hit 721,000 in 2004.
Prices depend on the amount of system memory and the size of the hard disk.
Though they're not cheaper than a PC running Linux or another low-cost Unix variant, the vendors bundle customized configuration and management utilities, hiding the mysteries of the OSes from inexperienced users. The Rebel NetWinder OfficeServer illustrates the basic entry-level server appliance quite well. It can handle 50 users on the LAN, plus thousands of Web site hits and e-mails per day comfortably. The same goes for the included e-mail server and FTP server software. Few of the vendors in this market, however, are sitting in one place.