Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced upgraded features to its rack mounted search appliance on Tuesday, promising improved security and performance for small to medium sized businesses.

The Google Mini is a small hardware box that goes inside of corporate data centers or server rooms. It gives companies the ability to search their own networks for documents, pictures, and other files. On Tuesday, the search-leader said that the upgraded unit has a number of enhancements over its predecessor.

As search becomes more critical to businesses of all sizes, we continue to add even more sophisticated search features that, until now, had only been available to large businesses, said Dave Girouard, vice president and general manager of Google Enterprise.

The new revision is the first time that Google's search appliance is able to recognize corporate users, and their access levels. With the new system, only authorized personnel can view sensitive documents, offering enhanced security over the first model.

The Google Mini is offered in versions that search from 50,000 up to 300,000 documents, includes a year of support and is available for purchase online, the company said. Prices start at $1995.

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