Maxum Development Releases WebDoubler 1.0
High-Performance Proxy Solution Fills Hole In Mac OS Software Arena
October 13, 1998 — Maxum Development announced today the release of
WebDoubler 1.0, the first dedicated Web proxy server available for the Mac
OS. With the tremendous increase in Web activity, proxy servers have become
the primary means by which network managers accelerate Web access, maximize
Internet bandwidth, and manage use of their Internet connections. While
proxies are a proven and integral part of the Internet landscape, until now
there has been no serious proxy package available for the Macintosh.
“The lack of a proxy solution for the Mac OS has been a real problem,” says
Jon Wiederspan, a network manager and noted author. “There is almost no
Internet-connected network that can’t benefit from this technology. With
WebDoubler we now have a solution on Mac OS that is, in many ways, better
than what is available for UNIX or Windows NT.”
Accelerating The Web
For years, Web browsers have stored content in RAM or on a local
hard disk so that frequently used files are readily available.
WebDoubler takes advantage of this same idea, called caching,
and applies it to the entire network. This means that a Web
page or graphic downloaded to one computer on the network will
be transferred at blazing LAN speeds to other local users when
they need the same file. In computer labs where many users are
frequently accessing the same Web sites, this can lead to
performance many times greater than Web surfing normally. In
almost any environment, performance is dramatically improved.
Maximizing Bandwidth
Caching Web content not only improves the speed with which files
are served, it also conserves the bandwidth those files would
normally be consuming. This leaves more Internet bandwidth
available for non-cached requests, accelerating Web delivery
further and increasing the number of users that can be supported
on an existing Internet connection. WebDoubler takes this idea
to the extreme with it’s “producer/consumer” driven cache
manager that allows any number of users to share a single
Internet stream simultaneously.
Blocking Inappropriate Content
Once installed, WebDoubler acts as a gateway between users on
the network and remote Web servers. This enables WebDoubler to
block Web content that is inappropriate using PICS, the leading
industry standard content rating system. With PICS, network
administrators define a set of rules for what is, and is not,
permissible use of the organization’s Internet connection. This
is particularly crucial in schools, by protecting children from
adult-oriented Web sites.
“We developed WebDoubler because the Mac community needed a proxy
solution,” says John O’Fallon, President of Maxum. “And we designed it from
the ground up to be a great package that can go toe to toe with the best
Microsoft and Netscape have to offer. We think the performance and
reliability are there, and we offer expandability and ease of use no other
package on any platform can touch.”
Additional WebDoubler Features
Web Administration and Graphical Interface – Most WebDoubler
configuration can be done either from a Web browser anywhere on
the Internet or with a traditional Macintosh GUI. This bridges
the ease of use Macintosh users demand with the remote
capabilities needed by network administrators.
User Authentication – Administrators can control who uses the proxy
either by client IP address or by requiring users to enter a
username and password. Authenticated users can also be assigned
individual PICS profiles, so that different content restrictions
can be applied to different users.
PowerPC and Open Transport Performance – WebDoubler has been
painstakingly optimized for the PowerPC processor and Open
Transport.
Extensible Plug-In Architecture – Because WebDoubler processes every
Web request on the part of users on the network, WebDoubler
essentially becomes the Internet to local browsers. This
enables a huge variety of additional capabilities, from complex
“look ahead” caches and real-time activity tracking to
relatively simple features like workgroup messaging and
on-the-fly ad banner removal. New plug-ins are expected before
the end of the year that will add a variety of advanced
capabilities to WebDoubler.
HTTP/1.1 and SSL Support – WebDoubler fully supports the HTTP 1.1
specification, and can even “upgrade” version 1.0 browser
requests to take full advantage of the latest server
enhancements. WebDoubler also supports “SSL Tunneling”, which
allows clients to make secure Web transactions through the
WebDoubler proxy.
Pricing And Availability
WebDoubler ships this week, with a retail price of $895 direct from Maxum.
Information about the product, as well as a downloadable demonstration
version is available on the Maxum Web site, at:
http://www.maxum.com/WebDoubler/
About Maxum
Founded in 1991, Maxum Development became the first company to ship
commercial Internet products for the Macintosh when it released NetCloak
and NetForms in 1994. Since that time, Maxum has continued to innovate with
a series of unique, widely acclaimed Internet server products.
Press Contact: John O’Fallon
Phone: (630)830-1113
Fax: (630)830-1262
E-Mail: john@maxum.com