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Let's start by giving you an outline of each type. |
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* Appliance server, NAS
Appliance servers are not all purpose types like a Web server, mail server, file server but rather comes as an all in one type with a hardware that has a specific function + OS + Application.
NAS (Network Attached Storage) is a type of appliance server, which is connected to the network and used as a file server. It comes with it's own hardware, OS, application and Administration tools.
E.g.: Sun Cobalt, dell PowerVault etc.
* Sever OS
An OS that is installed into widely used hardware and used as a server OS. Windows2000 Server, Windows2003 Server, Linux, Unix etc. OS like Windows XP that is used for clients can also be used as a server OS.
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Let's compare by taking a look at the table below. |
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Appliance server, NAS |
Radish |
Server
OS |
| Installation |
Not
Required |
Not
Required |
Required |
| Hardware choice |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Installation of Additional Applications by
the users Freedom of use |
No |
No |
Good |
| Easy administration |
Yes |
Yes |
Medium |
| Upgrade |
Medium |
Easy |
Medium |
| Recovery from trouble |
Medium |
Easy |
Medium |
| Virus resistance |
Medium |
Easy |
Medium |
| Performance |
Good |
Good |
Good |
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Whether installation is required after purchasing the computer software and hardware.
NAS: Not necessary. it is already built-in.
Radish: Just need to format disk(s), Basically no installation is required.
Server OS: You must install from scratch and configure a lot of parameters. You have to install applications, antivirus software, and so on.
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Whether hardware can be freely chosen according to the environment.
NAS: You need to choose from a list of products prepared by the manufacturer.
Radish: Basically you can choose any IBM PC compatible PC. (within the supported models.)
Server OS: Basically you can choose any hardware which has enough performance and capacity to run the server OS.
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Installation of Additional applications by the
user and freedom of use |
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Whether the user can freely install additional applications and configure the usage.
NAS: Basically no. (some functions are possible in some models)
Radish: No
Server OS: Freedom to do anything.
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Although it's difficult to define the range of "Administration", we evaluate it based on initial setup, and daily maintenance:
NAS: Limited things that you can do. There are administrative tools, so it's easy.
Radish :Limited things that you can do. There are administrative tools, so it's easy.
Server OS: Because of it's all purpose functions, freedom of usage, it is not easy to manage. It will take time to learn.
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Whether upgrading of OS and applications are easy or not.
NAS: Minor upgrades can be easily done through the internet. Major upgrades are difficult and may not be possible.
Radish: Automatic upgrading from the internet is not implemented. Major and minor upgrades can be done just by replacing the CD-ROM. Also, since it is a tested upgrade edition involving changing and user can replace entirely, instability factors are minimized.
Server OS: Minor upgrades can be easily done through the internet. For major upgrades, you need to reinstall the whole system.
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As long as it is a RAID system, all of them have the same level of recovery functions from disk problems.
If there is no RAID , restoration from a backup is more advantageous for NAS and Radish since no installation is required.
For troubles with the computer itself, NAS and Radish is more advantageous since no installation is required. However, for NAS, you must repurchase everything again and reconfigure it. As for Radish, items like the disk and software that has not been affected can be reused.
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We will be releasing a version with an antivirus function in the subsequent versions.
Not many NAS, come with antivirus functions.
As for Radish, it comes in a CD-ROM that can't be overwritten, hence making it difficult to be infected by viruses.
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Basically it depends on the hardware. If operated under the same hardware, Radish may be the most worrisome one, since it runs on from the CD-ROM. However, due to the caching mechanism to the disk, reading the CD is minimized during normal operation. Realizing a performance level comparable to that of other systems.
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Finally, this section is dedicated for those skeptics who are wondering if Radish has any vulnerabilities.
* Not able to support all hardware...
Still not able to support large scaled hardware systems like SMP, 64 bit computers, fiber channels etc.
SCSI-CD-ROM and tape backup have not supported.
Most of SCSI-RAID, and entry, middle range class servers are supported.
* Large scaled user authentication
User authentication process can be left to the Windows domain controller, but it is not possible for large scaled user authentication like in a LDAP environment. We are trying to achieve this in the "Radish Enterprise Version" in near future..
* Trusts and Experiences
Compared to Windows, Radish still lags behind in the the quantity of actual operating computers, trusts and experiences.
However, the number of installations are increasing, and based on feedback from our customers we are striving to overcome those weak points by improving and developing better products.
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In this way, "Radish" is a new type of server OS that possesses the good points of both an appliance server and a server OS. |
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