First International Computer (FIC) is best known for its wide range of mainboards produced under the 1stMainboard brand name, but it has also made a name for itself in a number of other fields including server products and graphics cards. The new Janus from FIC is a compact server appliance that is both versatile and resilient.

The new Janus from FIC is an internet gateway or server solution. The unit is based on the Transmeta’s Crusoe TM5600 processor with integrated Northbridge and ALi M1535 Southbridge. Designed with the home or small business in mind, the Janus can be configured to run as a web server or mail server. It can also be used as a shared storage resource or a printer server. Fast interfaces allow the connection of all the latest peripherals and the multiple Ethernet interfaces can be used to connect one or more wireless hubs.

Resilience in a server is of prime importance and the Janus is designed to be as resilient as possible. Two hot swap hard disks and RAID support minimize the risk of data loss and the internal, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) will provide up to 10 minutes running time and invoke a safe shutdown in the event of a power failure. Remote management of the server is possible via the internet including the facility to add or remove software.

At just 265mm x 255mm x 80mm, the Janus is an ideal solution when only limited space is available. The fanless design makes the unit absolutely silent and power consumption is about 40W. The Janus will run quite happily with either a Linux or Windows 2000 operating system and expansion is simple using either PCI slot or PCMCIA slot. Expansion is also possible using IEEE 1394 and USB interfaces.