Authoring Server Suite 2000 consists of four components:

• Authoring Server, a heavyweight process that manages site assets (in a SQL database) as well as developer concurrency
• Authoring Server Administrator, a client process that can run on any machine that sees the Server
• TeamFusion Client, a web design tool with role-based access control
• Content Contributor, a browser-based client for entering content remotely

Installing these pieces was not especially pleasant - I had to enter a 34-character serial number and reboot NT for each - but everything did work on the first try.

The big server piece installs as an NT service on NT Workstation or Server. I loaded it onto a Pentium Pro 200 MHz machine running Windows NT Workstation (sp5) in 128 MB RAM. Thanks to the SCSI-2 disk subsystem this is a reasonably fast machine - or was, until now (about which more shortly).

The README.TXT file contains some good notes on multiprocessor performance tuning, which led me to reduce server threads from the default 2 to 1 (since I was testing under 5 concurrent clients).

I loaded the TeamFusion Client, where actual site development takes place, onto two machines: the server box and a 400 MHz Pentium II running NT Server 4.0 in 128 MB ram. At installation you're prompted to create at least one user with administrative priveleges, after which you can attach to the Server. I did this, opting to create a new site called MyIntranet using one of NetObjects' site templates. The result is shown below.

At this point I noticed several differences between this and older versions of Authoring Server. Foremost was performance. The Pentium Pro machine churned for several minutes as it built the new site. Feedback to the user could be better during this interval, when it's easy to lose confidence that things are still working. The other lesson is that you can't have too much hardware for this product. I'd recommend a 2-CPU server with 256MB ram for a small workgroup.

The site administrator sets up additional team members, granting them role-based development privileges that range from contributing text to full site administration. Users can be set up individually or imported, along with their authentication data, from an NT domain, Novell Directory Server or LDAP source. Very enterprise-friendly.

The strong visual design features of the TeamFusion Client have changed little since the prevous version (which I reviewed last year). Also present are controls for checking elements in and out of projects and a WorkGroup Palette that tells all clients who is working on what.

Perhaps the biggest difference between this and earlier versions is the presence of workflow features, including:

• Review/Approval Publishing - a review coordinator can designate one or more team members as Reviewers, requiring explicit approval before publishing
• Task management - allows assignment of tasks and keeps track of and communicates task status
• Instant Messaging - allows team members to send messages in real-time, rather than relying on e-mail.

These features work together to enhance coordination between stakeholders. For instance, content rejected by a reviewer can be assigned as a task to the appropriate designer, then re-submitted upon completion, all without leaving the TeamFusion environment.

In addition, IT managers will find the new release of Authoring Server a good neighbor to existing design tools. Shops that already use third-party design tools such as Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver can now manage their output with Authoring Server, thanks to NetObjects' line of add-on connectors to these tools.

NetObjects also addresses the blurring distinction between intranet design and application development with a set of integration suites that couple Authoring Server 2000 to several popular application server platforms, including IBM WebSphere, Allaire Cold Fusion and Microsoft Active Server Pages.

Pricing

A 2-client license for NetObjects Authoring Server 2000 is priced at $1990. Sites over a few dozen pages should factor in the cost of a multi-processor server with 256 MB ram as well, to cover the suite's hardware hunger. Authoring Server Suite 3.0 customers get a 25% discount on the upgrade.

At this price point no other team-based web design product offers a comparable mix of design features, collaborative workflow aids and extensibility. If you're looking to graduate from desktop publishing to managed intranet design, you need to look at NetObjects Authoring Server 2000.

NetObjects Inc.
602 Galveston Drive
Redwood City, CA 94063
Ph: 1-888-449-6400 toll-free or (650) 482-3200
Fx: (650) 562-0288

NetObjects, NetObjects Fusion and TeamFusion are trademarks of NetObjects, Inc. All other brand or product names are property of their respective holders.

This is the third release of NetObjects, Inc.'s best-in-class collaborative site design suite, and it doesn't disappoint. The addition of messaging and workflow features enhances the product's already strong team support. Site version control provides a fine-grained rollback capability, while support for symmetrical multiprocessing (SMP) allows CPU-intensive publishing to take place without interrupting design. Other new features include the ability to import users from LDAP or NDS directories and a task scheduler for automatic publishing and backups.

Shops that already use third-party design tools such as Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver can now manage their output with Authoring Server, thanks to NetObjects' line of add-on connectors to these tools. Furthermore, NetObjects addresses the blurring distinction between intranet design and application development with a set of integration suites that couple Authoring Server 2000 to several popular application server platforms, including IBM WebSphere, Allaire Cold Fusion and Microsoft Active Server Pages.

Value
A 2-client license for NetObjects Authoring Server 2000 costs $1990. No other team-based web design product offers comparable functionality at this price point.