General Information:

What is the RaQ 4 and what does it offer?
What is the difference between the RaQ 4 and the RaQ 3?
What's new in the RaQ 4?
What third party applications are available for the RaQ 4?
Who is the target customer for RaQ 4?
What solutions can an ISP deploy with a RaQ 4?
How do I buy RaQ 4?
What RaQ 4 configurations are available?
You say that the RaQ 4 is easy to use, can you prove it?
What Internet services does RaQ 4 provide?
Would it be cheaper to build my own box?
How easy is it to install a RaQ 4 Server Appliance?
What is involved in the installation of RaQ 4?
Are NT, NetWare, Macintosh or UNIX licenses needed to use RaQ 4?
Can I upgrade the firmware?
What is the maximum storage capacity of RaQ 4?
What about RaQ 4's warranty and support?

Technical Information:

Does RaQ 4 have any slots for expansion?
What Network Protocols Does the RaQ 4 support?
How do I configure the RaQ 4 for TCP/IP?
How can I back up my RaQ 4?
How difficult is it to use Chili!Soft ASP to connect and use content from a Database?
What is the drive configuration of the RaQ 4? Does it have one disk or two?
Does the RaQ 4 support drive mirroring?
Can I upgrade my RaQ 4 storage capacity by adding another hard disk?
What are the available RaQ 4 configurations?
How much power does the RaQ 4 draw?
Does the RaQ 4 support name based virtual hosting?
Does the RaQ 4 fit in a standard sized (19") server room rack?
Can Cobalt products be used as a secure (SSL) web server?
What about server authentication?

What is the RaQ 4 and what does it offer?
The Cobalt RaQ 4™ is a low cost, high density server appliance for Service Providers (SPs) and application developers that makes the deployment of applications and layered services over the Web quick, easy, and profitable. Combining outstanding features, performance and price, the Cobalt RaQ fulfills the SP's need for reliable, comprehensive, dedicated hosting solutions. More importantly, the web browser-based user interface simplifies administration and enables out-of-the-box installations in less than 15 minutes.

The RaQ 4 comes pre-configured with support for the world's leading development environments, giving customers everything they need to develop and deploy their Web applications. Unlike other Web application servers that tightly link the development environment to the server, the RaQ 4 lets you choose from a wide variety of development tools such as Microsoft FrontPage 2000 and Visual InterDev, Macromedia Drumbeat or NetObjects Fusion.

Configured with the Linux OS, Apache web server, InterBase 6 SQL Database and RAID 1 disk mirroring (RaQ 4r only), the Cobalt RaQ 4 is the ideal platform for deploying business critical applications that have high requirements for reliability at a fraction of the cost of traditional Unix, Windows NT, or "build-it-yourself" alternatives.

What is the difference between the RaQ 4 and the RaQ 3?
Out of the box, the form factor of the RaQ 4 is identical to the RaQ 3 - meaning all of the space advantages gained by the RaQ 3 are still present. Although they still look the same, taking a look under the hood will show you that there are a number of differences. The RaQ 4 is advancing Cobalt's server appliance technology by integrating powerful tools and applications into a reliable, low-cost solution. It all starts by rolling in powerful development functionality like Active Server Pages and PHP, which means that the RaQ supports virtually every Web development environment out there - meaning that you get to choose the tools and technologies that best fits your skills. Second is the addition of a powerful database to enable more dynamic, business critical applications to be deployed on the RaQ 4. To follow that up, business critical applications need high reliability and Cobalt addresses that by including software RAID 1 as a standard feature (RaQ 4r only). All of these features, plus a few more enhancements, make the RaQ 4 the ideal platform for SPs and application developers to deploy their applications and services.

What's new in the RaQ 4?
Increased reliability:
RaQ 4r, the new premium line in the RaQ family of products, includes internal RAID 1 (mirrored disks), thereby protecting the customer from any disk failure. This increased level of reliability addresses opportunities for the service providers to offer new higher value-add packages to their end-customers. The end-customers, specifically those who have higher reliability requirements because their web sites are becoming business critical (i.e. e-commerce), will now be able use RaQ as their choice of hosting platform.

Integrated Developer Tools: (Active Server Page and PHP Support)
The RaQ 4 comes pre-configured with support for the world's leading development environments, giving customers everything they need to develop and deploy their Web applications. Unlike other Web application servers that tightly link the development environment to the server, the RaQ 4 lets customers choose from a wide variety of development tools such as Microsoft FrontPage 2000 and Visual InterDev, Macromedia Drumbeat or NetObjects Fusion. This means that customers can take advantage of the following:

• Maximize scarce developer resources.
• Improve time to market of applications.
• Protect existing investment in cross-platform environment.
• Easily migrate your existing applications to the Cobalt platform.
• A wide variety of development tools

More Power:
The RaQ 4 offers an increase of ~35% in power over the RaQ 3

Revisions of the applications to the latest stable version:
RaQ 4 upgrades the pre-packaged applications and the kernel to the latest stable software version.

What third party applications are available for the RaQ 4?
The array of solutions available for the RaQ 4 make it an ideal appliance platform for high-traffic Web portals, e-commerce, and application hosting. RaQ 4 customers and developers can build on leading edge Web and Internet technologies from industry leaders including Intershop, Oracle, OpenMarket, Miva, RSA, Sane Solutions, CyberCash, Signio, and Real Networks. Refer to the cobalt solutions page at http://www.cobalt.com/solutions/.

Who is the target customer for RaQ 4?
There are three main markets for the RaQ 4 product. First and foremost are the existing targets of the hosting providers of the world. These guys are familiar with Cobalt and the RaQ 4 is something that they have been asking for. Bottom line is that they are looking for a solution that offers the following traits: reliability, economics, simplicity, and flexibility. From a toolset perspective, they now have an easy migration for those existing customers running on the Windows NT platform. They also have the ability to offer their customers virtually any website development tool to go to market with. SPs now will have the ability to offer customers the ability to leverage their existing tool knowledge and deploy of a cost effective, reliable Cobalt platform.

A second target market for the RaQ 4 is the Application Service Provider. This is a fairly new segment, without clear definition. For the most part, they are Hosting providers that are looking to offer value-added services through the deployment of 3rd party or custom built applications. The majority of these applications are database driven, so the RaQ offering includes the necessary tools built into the box. These tools include Chili! ASP, PHP, and InterBase Database.

A final target for the RaQ 4 line is the developer community. These guys are focused on getting their applications deployed to the market, and Cobalt has support for the tools and technologies that they are using. Because Cobalt provides support for all of the major Web development tool environments, Cobalt is the best solution to deploy on.

What solutions can an ISP deploy with a RaQ 4?
The Cobalt RaQ made it's introduction into the space by making the concept of dedicated hosting available to the Global 1,000,000 through it's unique offering of price, performance, and simplicity. Being born out of the initial RaQ, dedicated web hosting is the most popular solution that an ISP would offer with RaQ 4. The RAID functionality (RaQ 4r only) will drive customers to more business critical applications like e-commerce, and the tool set included in the RaQ 4 will attract developers from all over (especially WinNT) to the Cobalt platform.

How do I buy RaQ 4?
ALEX BAJAN
SALES@RAQPORT.COM
RAQPORT.COM
703 528-0114
RAQPORT WE SHIP WORLDWIDE

What RaQ 4 configurations are available?

SKU Number - Description
R46 CE2 GIU - Cobalt RaQ 4i with 450MHz processor, 128MB RAM, one 15.2GB hard drive
R46 GJ4 GIU - Cobalt RaQ 4i with 450MHz processor, 256MB RAM, one 20GB hard drive
R46 H30 GIU - Cobalt RaQ 4i with 450MHz processor, 512MB RAM, one 30GB hard drive
R46 GH8 RIU - Cobalt RaQ 4r with 450MHz processor, 256MB RAM, two 20GB hard drives with RAID 1
R46 H60 RIU - Cobalt RaQ 4r with 450MHz processor, 512MB RAM, two 30GB hard drives with RAID 1

You say that the RaQ 4 is easy to use, can you prove it?
Visit Cobalt's demo web site at http://demo.cobalt.com, and check for RaQ family in the "Products" sections. The Demo button will lead you to complete, fully-interactive UI demo that will demonstrate the ease of use and functionality of the product.

What Internet services does RaQ 4 provide?
RaQ 4 comes pre-configured with the latest versions of the Apache Web server, ProFTPd FTP server, Sendmail Email services, DNS, Chili!Soft ASP, InterBase 6 SQL Database, PHP, Front Page 2000 server extensions, Legato and Arkeia backup client, 128-bit SSL, Telnet server, SNMP agent, and Cobalt's patent pending Bandwidth Management service.

Would it be cheaper to build my own box?
No. You will find that the price of the build your own box is very comparable to Cobalt RaQ servers. Also, the RaQ 4 comes pre-configured with all the Internet service software wrapped in a very easy to use browser based interface that takes the hassles out of adding and configuring the software. Moreover, Cobalt provides ongoing support and continuous product enhancements.

How easy is it to install a RaQ 4 Server Appliance?
It takes less than 15 minutes to setup the server. All it takes is to configure the IP address, netmask, and default gateway address from the LCD console, and configure a single setup wizard screen.

What is involved in the installation of RaQ 4?
It is as simple as connecting the power and the Ethernet Port, configuring the IP address from the LCD screen, and configuring a single setup screen.

Are NT, NetWare, Macintosh or UNIX licenses needed to use RaQ 4?
No, there is no additional software license required to run or use the RaQ 4.

Can I upgrade the firmware?
Cobalt provides updates and patches to the software through the Cobalt website at http://www.cobalt.com/support/download/index.php

What is the maximum storage capacity of RaQ 4?
RaQ 4i comes standard with one 15.2GB, 20GB or 30GB internal hard drive. RaQ 4r comes standard with two 20GB - 30GB internal hard drives, however the second drive is set up for disk mirroring and does not work towards storage with RAID working.

What about RaQ 4's warranty and support?
30 day consulting, 1 year parts and labor. Additional warranty and support available. For more information on Cobalt support packages, please visit the website at http://www.cobalt.com/support

Does RaQ 4 have any slots for expansion?
Yes, a PCI slot is available for expansion.

What Network Protocols Does the RaQ 4 support?
TCP/IP.

How do I configure the RaQ 4 for TCP/IP?
IP address, netmask and gateway address are configured through the front panel LCD screen. Additional parameters are configured through the browser-based user interface.

How can I back up my RaQ 4?
In addition to the standard web-based backup support, the RaQ 4 provides the option to remotely backup the server by using either Legato or Arkeia backup software. The Legato and Arkeia client software are included with the RaQ 4 which require a separate network based Legato or Arkeia backup server.

How difficult is it to use Chili!Soft ASP to connect and use content from a Database?
Not difficult at all. Since the Chili!Soft ASP application is integrated into the Cobalt RaQ 4, it follows the simplicity value of the appliance. Simply go to the Chili!Soft configuration page in the user interface and use the wizard to connect to the database of choice (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SequeLink, Oracle 8, Sybase, Informix, etc.)

What is the drive configuration of the RaQ 4? Does it have one disk or two?
RaQ 4i comes standard with one 15.2GB, 20GB or 30GB internal hard drive. RaQ 4r comes standard with two 20GB or 30GB internal hard drives.

Does the RaQ 4 support drive mirroring?
Yes. The RaQ 4r comes standard with RAID 1 software technology, allowing for data redundancy over two disks.

Can I upgrade my RaQ 4 storage capacity by adding another hard disk?
Yes, attaching an external storage device to the SCSI port can do this very easily. Then just click the "Add Storage" button from the RaQ 4 user interface and the additional storage will seamlessly integrate into the RaQ 4.

What are the available RaQ 4 configurations?
The RaQ 4 is expandable up to 512MB. The memory type is the: 3.3V, 60ns, 72-pin EDO non-parity SIMMs. Be aware that there is a memory module 1.15" height limit inside the case, so check with your memory vendor, and be sure to specify low profile memory when you order.

How much power does the RaQ 4 draw?
The RaQ 4 power supply is rated at 80 watts, and runs continuously at much less than 60W. This is far less than other rack mountable servers.

Does the RaQ 4 support name based virtual hosting?
Name based virtual hosting means that the server can host multiple web sites on a single IP address. Along with IP based virtual hosting, the RaQ 4 does currently support this feature through the user interface.

Does the RaQ 4 fit in a standard sized (19") server room rack?
Absolutely! The RaQ 4 ships with mounting ears, so it's very easy to install. You can stack up to 40, in a standard rack.

Can Cobalt products be used as a secure (SSL) web server?
Yes, the RaQ 4 comes standard with 128-bit SSL and is manageable through the browser based interface.

What about server authentication?
Authentication is provided by Thawte Certification, a global leader in the digital certificate market place, will be the preferred provider of SSL certificates to Cobalt Servers. Please visit Thawte at: http://www.thawte.com