NetMAX Customer Stories

What Does an IT Reseller Choose For a Personal Home Network Server?

NetMAX Professional Exceeds the Needs of a Demanding User By Being “A Snap to Set Up”

Situation:

Seattle area IT consultant Steve Greenstein found himself in a common situation. Following yet another proposal for an expensive customer upgrade for Microsoft® Exchange Server, he was asked, “Isn't there a cheaper way to do this?” And he decided to find out.

The requirements were fairly straightforward: Greenstein needed an inexpensive yet robust and easy to use system offering file and print sharing, email and web services and network security. He knew about the Linux operating system but had never tried it, so he decided to install Red Hat® Linux in his home as a test case. Based on the results, he was pretty certain he'd come close to an answer to his dilemma…yet the system was extremely cumbersome to install and configure, and wasn't playing well in the mixed Windows/Macintosh/UNIX environments he needed.

Purely by chance, he stumbled across Cybernet Systems' NetMAX Internet appliance software as an alternative.

Solution

To test the product, Greenstein purchased the NetMAX Firewall Suite and installed it on one of his home systems. “Installation was simple,” explained Greenstein. “You pop in the CD, answer a series of questions and it was up and running in less than 30 minutes. I was so pleased, the next thing I did was get on the phone and arrange for a NetMAX dealership.”

According the Greenstein, the initial Red Hat server he had set up was capable of meeting his requirements. “But it wasn't working with the Macintosh systems that we had installed,” he said. “And it clearly wasn't for the faint of heart to try to set up. I must have spent a couple hundred dollars on books just to try to figure it out. This Red Hat install was clearly a complex and time-consuming process, and if I was going to give something to customers, it had to just work, simply and easily, right out of the box. And that was NetMAX.”

NetMAX software, including NetMAX Professional, NetMAX VPN Suite and NetMAX Firewall, includes proven applications such as the popular Apache web server and Sendmail email server, and the full power of a Linux operating system based on the distribution of Red Hat Linux. It simplifies the setup of a fully functioning web, email and FTP server that is platform agnostic, allowing for shared files and printers between Microsoft® Windows®, Apple® Macintosh and Unix clients. In addition to its ability to monitor web and email server access, track network web browsing and block unwanted email, NetMAX Professional enables users to host multiple domains on a single IP address – an important feature for small business owners and other consumers wanting to host more than one web site while keeping their costs as low as possible.

“For us, NetMAX was a breeze,” commented Greenstein. “The upgrade from the initial firewall test installation to the full NetMAX Professional Suite was quick and easy. It has a very straightforward interface, it's easy to set up, and once you've got it configured you really don't need to look at it again. It just runs. That's exactly the type of product I want in my home, and it's perfect to give to customers.”

Greenstein found NetMAX to be especially useful for the utility functions he most demanded of his home network. He was also pleasantly surprised to find that, by using NetMAX, he could recycle an older PC to function as his home network server.

“In particular, while NetMAX worked beautifully for basic file and printer sharing, we've also found it to be an ideal email and web server solution. It's easy to set up and host your own domain, avoiding the ongoing fees that you have to pay a service provider for hosting, and now I can easily access my files from anywhere in the world. It also provides built-in backup capabilities for both the Macs and the PCs, as well as a firewall for security. And it does all of this from an old Pentium PC.

“The bottom line is that this is a straightforward product – it does exactly what it says it will, easily and inexpensively,” Greenstein added. “Since my initial experience with NetMAX, I've installed it in a half dozen customer sites, some of which have been running it now for several years…it continues just chugging away. And it still sits as the central component of my own home network. I can't give it a stronger recommendation than that.”

Have an opinion about NetMAX you'd like to share with us? We would very much like to hear from you - especially about how you use NetMAX and Linux in your business. You can contribute your input to the NetMAX Forum, or to our general NetMAX contact form!

Let us know about your likes, dislikes, and general comments. We are especially interested in the type of additions to NetMAX Server you would like to see as we continue to develop the NetMAX Product Line.