Take a relatively low-spec server, add Linux and a bunch of open-source applications and you just might end up with the equivalent of the Z1 Gem from Zybert Computing.

You might even save money, but it won’t be easy and the end result is unlikely to offer the kind of advanced backup and recovery features available on the Zybert product.

Unlike most servers the Z1 comes in a cube-shaped case and is extremely quiet in operation.

It also comes in a range of striking colours, but don’t let that fool you as inside lies a comprehensive small-business server supplied complete with an impressive array of applications, all pre-installed and ready to use.

The hardware simply plugs into the Lan using the cables supplied, with a second network interface for optional shared Internet access plus a stateful inspection firewall, proxy and DHCP servers all built in.

A simple web interface is then used to configure and manage the server with users similarly allowed to access facilities available to them via a browser.

As you’d expect, SMB/CIFS file sharing comes as standard with each user given private and shared folders plus access to an open area accessible by anyone on the network.

Each user gets an email account and a web-based mail client (Squirrel Mail) with support too for Pop3 and Imap4 clients such as Outlook or the open-source Evolution and Thunderbird products.

The mail server can be configured for scheduled retrieval of messages from external accounts and comes with its own anti-virus (ClamAV) and anti-spam (Spam Assassin) protection, plus automatic archiving of all email messages.

Apache 2 is pre-installed along with MySQL and PostgreSQL database servers plus a host of groupware tools including a bulletin board (Yabb), intranet portal (Post Nuke), a calendar-sharing application and more besides.

And, because they’re all open source, there are no licensing worries – just make sure you’ve enough disk space. The base model ships with three 80GB disks and the top-of-the-range server with 500GB drives.

We soon had the Z1 up and running on our test network and were impressed with both the functionality and ease of management it provides.

However, it’s the backup and recovery options that mark the Z1 out from the crowd and the reason it makes a good small-business solution.

Once again it’s all delightfully straightforward. The server comes with a pair of identical disks in special hot-swap carriers. One acts as a master to hold the system and any user data, while the second is designated as a backup.

The backup is then automatically synchronised with the master every 24 hours and can be used to boot the system in the event of a disk failure, with a third disk supplied for off-site storage.

More than that, the files on the backup disk are accessible (read only) at any time, enabling users to recover documents accidentally deleted or damaged.

Plus you get built-in archiving and retrieval facilities to enable different versions to be maintained.

There are a few rough edges with, for example, some of the options calling for separate management tools outside the user-friendly web GUI.

The processor could be faster and you could also argue the relative merits of the applications deployed. Still, it gets the job done and with its unique built-in backup facilities the Z1 Gem puts a whole new slant on the concept of the all-in-one small-business server.