SONICWALL
TZ 190: $995
www.sonicwall.com

IMAGINE HAVING SECURE BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS AVAILABLE anywhere in range of a cellular signal. SonicWALL's recently unveiled TZ 190 offers instant 3G wireless access and the protection of a deep packet inspection firewall with built-in antivirus and intrusion prevention support. By simply connecting a Type II PC Card 3G wireless adapter to the TZ 190, up to eight wired clients are able to utilize the broadband access. A built-in wireless controller helps manage attached SonicPoint access points, extending the TZ 190's reach to wireless machines too. Given its potential reach through 802.11a/b/g, the TZ 190's list of security features is incredibly comprehensive. Port-level control, global management, and built-in VPN keep business data secure. In some locales, wired Internet connectivity just isn't an option, permanently necessitating alternative means of online access. SonicWALL also cites seasonal kiosks, mobile point of sale stations, and disaster recovery networks as possible applications for its TZ 190.

AMCC
3ware Sidecar RAID Storage: $1,295
www.3ware.com

GIVEN THE NUMBER OF MULTIMEDIA PROFEESSIONALS USING Macs, IT's
truly surprising that there aren't more storage-based channel plays out there. Fortunately, AMCC is on top of the situation with its Sidecar storage enclosure, compatible with Mac Pro and Power Mac G5 systems.

The Sidecar kit comes with a four-lane PCI Express controller card sporting an external SATA 3 Gbps connector in addition to the shielded card-to-enclosure SATA cable. The card is truly high-end, loaded with AMCC's StorSwitch architecture and 128MB of DDR2 400 memory. AMCC clearly put a lot of effort into making the Sidecar an attractive complement to any Apple machine. The brushed chassis holds four SATA 3 Gbps drives, all of which attach to hot-swappable carriers. AMCC claims that the Sidecar boasts a maximum capacity of 3 TB using 750GB drives; however, professionals using the enclosure should instead take advantage of AMCC's expertise in RAID and build a RAID 10 or RAID 5 array.

CA
Integrated Threat Management r8: $55
www.ca.com

YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED HOW often I venture into a small business only to find its PCs vulnerable to any number of threats. Some lack antivirus protection of any sort. Others connect to unsecured wireless networks. And, not surprisingly, a majority show tell-tale signs of users clicking where they shouldn't in the form of obvious malware.

CA's Integrated Threat Management suite combines several different technologies to protect against a comprehensive list of potential security threats. eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware Corporate Edition comprises one component of the package, blocking nasty apps capable of reducing system performance and divulging sensitive information. The second piece, eTrust Antivirus r8 repels worms, keyloggers, and Trojans as well. Both apps are managed from a single console window. Updates to the suite happen automatically and, in the event of an incident, real-time alerts ensure action is taken immediately. At $55 a seat, most SMBs won't even think twice about deploying the Threat Management suite site-wide.

Adaptec
Snap Server 650: $12,295
www.adaptec.com

HIGHLY ACCESSIBLE STORAGE IS BIG BUSINESS, AND ADAPTEC'S network- attached Snap lineup covers storage-hungry SMBs nicely. The brand new Snap Server is geared toward higher-end customers in need of plenty of capacity with the desire to scale. The slim 1U box is driven by a pair of AMD Opteron CPUs and 2GB of DDR 400 ECC memory. It comes with four 15,000 RPM hot-swappable hard drives totaling 1.2TB of space. However, an internal SAS host bus adapter is also able to interface with up to seven of Adaptec's SANbloc S50 JBOD arrays, slingshotting the server's max capacity to 64.2TB. Dual Gigabit Ethernet controllers serve up plenty of bandwidth with concessions for failover in the event of a problem.

Included with the Snap Server hardware is a combination of BakBone NetVault Server backup software and CA's eTrust Antivirus suite protecting data on the 650. Though pricey at nearly $13,000, this Snap Server might be the last one your customer has to buy for years.