ATEN
KH1516 CAT5 KVM Switch: $599
www.aten-usa.com

IN AN ENTERPRISE ENVIRONMENT LOADED WITH SERVERS, YOU DON’T want to have a mouse, keyboard, and monitor for each machine. A CAT5 KVM is less expensive and far more convenient, since it lets your customer control any number of systems from a single console. Aten’s KH1516 facilitates access to 16 different machines, plus you can daisy chain up to 31 additional units to control a maximum of 512 computers.

There are several ways to connect Aten’s KH1516 to client machines. All start with an RJ-45 connector on the KVM that cables out to an adapter on the other end, which in turn plugs into the server. The adapters come in PS/2, USB, Sun USB, Legacy Sun, and serial flavors, enabling almost universal compatibility with any operating system. If it’s scalability your customer is seeking, Aten’s CAT5 KVM delivers.

TST
ESR-5245U Chassis: $1,699
www.tstcom.com

MOST OF THE STORAGE SERVERS WE’VE WRITTEN ABOUT UP UNTIL NOW have been modestly-sized 2U boxes. Granted, you can fit a lot of disks in 2U worth of space—12 hard drives, in many cases. So just imagine the possibilities with a 5U chassis like TST’s ESR-524. The massive enclosure features one slim floppy drive bay, one slim optical bay, one internal 2.5” drive bay, and 24 hot-swap bays.

The chassis is compatible with two different backplanes, depending on whether your customer is using SCSI or SATA/SAS drives. Both incorporate spin-up control and pre-charge circuits for surge protection.

TST certifies the ESR-524 with Intel’s fastest Xeon processors. Ample cooling is achieved through a pair of hot-swap, 120mm fans and two optional 60mm rear panel fans. Depending on the server configuration, you can order the chassis with a 930W or 1500W redundant power supply. When maximum storage capacity is the word of the day, TST’s ESR-524 definitely speaks volumes.

Adobe
Acrobat 3D: $995
www.adobe.com

THE BEAUTY OF ADOBE’S Reader lies in ubiquity. Most of the customers you talk to already have it installed, and those that don’t can download it quickly from Adobe’s Web site. Acrobat 3D enables that same universality for high-end CAD, CAM, and CAE users by turning engineering drawings into documents easily viewable with standard Adobe Reader software.

Acrobat 3D is compatible with several professional design apps, including CATIA, UGS, SolidWorks, Pro/ENGINEER, and Inventor. The software converts the data into a PDF document, retaining the geometry and manufacturing information so that it’s still able to be manipulated, cut into cross sections, and deconstructed. Sharing the CAD data, normally difficult via email, becomes more feasible with Adobe’s up to 150X compression.

Sharing a 3D PDF is also a lot safer than sending out native CAD files. Customers can apply document controls to keep proprietary information protected. You can’t really argue against a broad install base and better data security.

CISCO
Catalyst 2960G-8TC-L: $1,395
www.cisco.com

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY TO GIVE YOUR customers confidence in a piece of hardware. Not only is Cisco’s Catalyst 2960G-8TC-L networking switch covered for life, but it also includes free software updates. The switch has an integrated, silent power supply that runs without a fan. Further increasing the convenience is an included magnet that attaches to the Catalyst 2960G, letting your customer secure it to the side of a filing cabinet or to the underside of a desk.

Of course, Cisco is most famous for its performance and security features. The Catalyst 2960G-8TC-L sports a 1 Gbps uplink, accessible through either a copper RJ-45 connector or an SFP-based Gigabit port. The other seven ports deliver Gigabit throughput to SMBs moving large amounts of data. Cisco’s software gives administrators complete network control through the Catalyst device manager and Cisco’s Network Assistant. Larger enterprises can use CiscoWorks and CiscoView to manage the hardware in branch offices.