位于犹他州的一个小公司，开发了一个便携的Linux服务器，它可以插入使用Windows系统Pc机的USB接口。

Realm System公司的这个服务器叫做BlackDog，是在本周的LinuxWorld Conference & Expo会议上公诸于众的。其最初可能以一个比较滑稽的形象出现，但是，最终确是用于严肃的用途。

这个重量只有1.6盎司的服务器，用USB接口连接到机器上，并且不需要任何特定的软件来驱动，BlackDog插入以后，自动导入，机器默认它为光驱一样的设备。一旦导入，他就能访问主机的任何外围设备或者网络资源。这项产品可以在使用Linux、Windows2000或者Windows XP的机器上运行。BlackDog也能设置为授权用户使用。

下个月，公司准备推出BlackDog的企业版，称为Realm Mobile Personal Server，该产品有很好的安全性。因为这个产品很方便且具有安全性，它将可以用于旅行中的人士安全地访问其公司的VPN（虚拟专用网络）。

原文载于：the abc news ,August 14,2005

USB Server Offers Linux to Go

By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service

SAN FRANCISCO — A small Utah-based company has developed a portable Linux server that can be plugged into the USB (Universal Serial Bus) port of a Windows PCs.

Unveiled at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo here this week, Realm Systems' BlackDog server may appear at first glance to be a geek fetish item, but the Sandy, Utah, company says it will ultimately have serious corporate uses.

The 1.6 ounce server is powered by the USB connection and does not require any special software to work on the PC. BlackDog is treated as a CD-ROM by the host PC and is booted automatically when plugged in. Once booted it can access any of its host's peripherals or network resources. The product works with PCs that are running Linux, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, Realm says.

BlackDog also has a built-in fingerprint reader, so that it can be set up to work only for authorized users. And that biometric reader is key to the corporate uses the company envisions for its product.

Next month, Realm plans to introduce an enterprise version of the BlackDog product, called the Realm Mobile Personal Server, that can be used with another new product, the Realm Management Router, to create a secure way of accessing a network from outside of the firewall.

"It creates a secure tunnel. You're basically walking around with a VPN in your pocket for a few hundred bucks," says Shawn Cunningham, vice president of marketing at Realm.

Because the tiny Linux client has biometric authentication and can be plugged into just about any PC, Cunningham believes it will be a useful and secure way for travelers to logon to their corporate VPNs.

Although there may not be practical applications of the portable Linux server at present, Realm hopes that the early release of BlackDog will help tap into the innovation and creativeness of the open source community, and perhaps inspire developers to create novel uses for the Linux server, Cunningham says.

BlackDog uses a 400-MHz PowerPC Processor and has 64MB of RAM. A $199 version ships with 256MB of flash memory. There is also a $239 version of the product with 512MB of flash memory. It is based on the Debian Linux distribution.