WebFile Server Grants Anywhere Access to Files
eWeek
by Shammi Gill
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 11, 2001 - One of the first companies to implement WebDAV technology, Xythos Software Inc. gives users of its WebFile Server file management system the ability not only to read files from any Web-based device but also to write, edit and share those files.
Intended for large enterprises, host service providers, application service providers and OEMs, WebFile Server 3.0 provides a transparent file management layer, which manages all the files stored on a company's file servers or storage networks in single or multiple locations. This feature-rich application also reduces file redundancy, putting less strain on network storage resources.
One of the better competing products in this marketplace is Oracle Corp.'s IFS \ (Internet File System), which offers similar features and uses the emerging World Wide Web Distributed Authoring and technology as well. Oracle's application has better built-in security features and has been included with the Oracle database since Version 8i, which means it costs nothing for those who buy the database.
However, IFS falls short of WebFile Server 3.0 in tools for reducing file redundancy and cannot be used outside the Oracle database environment. WebFile Server, on the other hand, can be used with other major databases. The product runs on Solaris, AIX, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X and Windows NT and Windows 2000. Both WebFile Server and IFS have a metadata layer that improves search functions.
Xythos WebFile Server prices begin at $25,000 for up to a 1,500 user license. Volume discounts for greater numbers of users are available, as well as educational institution discounts.
Up and running
eWEEK Labs tested WebFile Server 3.0 using Windows 2000 servers, an Oracle8i database and the Apache Software Foundation's Web server. Installation of the product is simple, but integration with various Web or application servers can take some time.
In our case, scripting changes had to be made, and a servlet engine had to be obtained that was compatible with Version 2.2 of the Java servlet. We used Apache's Tomcat application server so that the Apache Web server would interact with Xythos Software's product.
Using WebFile Server's administration user interface, which is named Sharemation, we created several user accounts and directories for human resources, sales and writers, giving some users access to multiple directories and limiting others to one directory.
The user interface that Sharemation provides is very plain, but WebFile Server 3.0 is bundled with an API so that the interface can be customized. Files can be locked to prevent other users from overwriting them.
A feature in WebFile Server that is important for Internet service providers is the ability for administrators to set quotas on specific user directories. We could set quotas for users, view the amount of space each used and lock out items that would have exceeded the allotted space.
File versioning can be turned on, so all original files were kept and the newest documents were easily recognized. We could also add metadata tags to files and directories that simplified searches and file access. Xythos Software also provides an open API that can be used to integrate third-party search engines to add extra search capabilities.
Administrators are given more granular message-logging features in this release of WebFile Server, and informal messages can be sent in addition to error messages. Administrators can also log-trace individuals, functional areas, external storage and file systems.
Single-source content support keeps identical documents from being stored more than once, even if they have different file names and regardless of where they are stored within WebFile Server. This is the feature that reduces file redundancy on the server.
Xythos product price information has been updated in this article to be consistentwith the company's current product prices.