appliances are special boxes or computers that are designed to preform a specific function. examples of network appliances are: FIREWALLS, EMAIL SERVERS, PRINT SERVER and other types of servers. appliances are implemented through one of the following ways:

* a box with an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) customer to perform a specific function

* a standard computer in which the application it will run has been integrated itno the operating system

* a standard computer using linux in which the user interface prevents the user from accessing the hardware or operating system, the user can only interact with the device through he interface provided either on the system or through a web browser, this is an example of a kiosk you might find in some companies.