Host Access Solutions: Terminal Emulation Software and Host Integration
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PASSPORT PC TO HOST®
Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server/Password Manager and PASSPORT Terminal EmulationPremier Partner Level Helps Zephyr Better Support Mutual Citrix and PASSPORT Terminal Emulation CustomersCitrix has approved Zephyr as a Premier Alliance Partner, citing our support of the Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server and Citrix Password Manager with our PASSPORT PC TO HOST® terminal emulation. With this partnership, Zephyr is afforded greater access to Citrix support and marketing services, which in turn can be used to better support our joint customers, which continue to grow annually. “The Citrix/Microsoft deployment platform is widely used among Zephyr’s base of clients, resulting in our desire to form a more formal relationship,” said Gregg Ledford, President of Zephyr. “We’re pleased to move from being a Charter level member of the Citrix Alliance Program to the Premier level.” As an example of a typical Citrix customer that also has an enterprise license for PASSPORT, Northeast Georgia Medical Center uses the Citrix platform to give remote users secure access to a number of critical applications. This solution eliminates the need to install the applications on desktops at home, laptops, etc. and gives users with slower connections much faster access to these applications than they would otherwise have. The Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server has also been used as an easy, if not temporary, solution for publishing specific Java applications that have known compatibility problems with other locally-installed Windows applications. For TN3270 access over Citrix, the hospital system gives each user two PASSPORT host sessions: a TN3270 display session and a 3270 host printer session (which runs in minimized mode), each session identified with a dedicated LU (Logical Unit) name. The LU connects to a Microsoft Host Integration Server configured for TN3270E and ultimately with their IBM mainframe. “Running PASSPORT on the Citrix platform has been ideal for our remote users,” said Robert MacNutt, Systems Programmer, Northeast Georgia Medical Center. “It’s relatively easy to manage and lets us extend our use of PASSPORT externally with little effort.” The PASSPORT source code has been put through strenuous internal testing using Compuware’s Boundschecker, offering a reliable, feature-rich path to IBM mainframe, AS/400, UNIX® and SCO ANSI host applications, free of the type of errors that may be encountered with other terminal emulation packages. “PASSPORT installs and runs as easily under Citrix as it does on a user workstation– it’s one of our most well-behaved Citrix apps,” comments MacNutt. “Whenever I have to build a new Citrix server, there are some apps that I dread installing. PASSPORT is definitely not one of them,” he continued. PASSPORT also gives you the flexibility to use text-based configuration files to pass key parameters for each host session you want to have established, which some emulation programs also do not offer. Use of the text-based configuration files lets you quickly publish thousands of host sessions, even if each session has a unique LU name. Zephyr has prepared a helpful document called Using PASSPORT PC TO HOST® with Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server and Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager. It is a valuable resource for those that may want to run PASSPORT on the Citrix platform. You can request this document at http://www.zephyrcorp.com/info/contact_zephyr.asp. Using PASSPORT PC TO HOST® with Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server and Password ManagerZephyr 's PASSPORT PC TO HOST® software, an IP-based, desktop terminal emulation program for Windows, can be installed on the popular Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server to provide access to IBM zSeries (S/390), IBM iSeries (AS/400) and UNIX® host systems. PASSPORT can also be used for single sign-on to host applications using the Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager. PASSPORT PC TO HOST® Version 2004 is recommended for use with both Citrix products and can be downloaded here. PASSPORT PC TO HOST® is a multi-host terminal emulation suite that includes TN3270E, TN5250E, VT100, VT220, VT420, SCO ANSI and Wyse 60 clients, as well as FTP file transfer. Benefits of Using PASSPORT with Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server and Password Manager Fast Deployment - Instead of having to install PASSPORT PC TO HOST® on every PC within your organization, you can install PASSPORT on one Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server, publish it, and deploy it to all your users within hours instead of weeks or months. Ease of Administration - With PASSPORT running on a Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server, all product upgrades can be quickly installed and available to users. In addition, you will have more control over how PASSPORT is deployed to your users in terms of the session configuration, keyboard layouts, customized colors, macros and more. Extend the Life of Older PCs – organizations can employ the use of older thin client terminals and PCs. By installing PASSPORT on Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server, users can continue to use their existing hardware without having to invest money in new PCs. Simplify Application Access – Using PASSPORT with the Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager, users can access all of their applications, including legacy or host applications, using a single sign on. Installing PASSPORT on Citrix MetaFrame Presentation ServerWith Windows Terminal Services and Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server installed on your Windows server, installing PASSPORT PC TO HOST® consists of three easy steps: installing PASSPORT on the Citrix server, publishing the application and deploying the published application to your users. Before the installation, please go over the PASSPORT readme file and the system requirement ( terminal-emulation/techspecs.htm ) to prevent any unpredictable results. Start your installation in one of two ways:
You could be asked to reboot your server if any of the system files on the server were updated during the install. Publishing the PASSPORT ApplicationUse the CMC (Citrix Management Console) utility to publish PASSPORT and make it available to your users. Please refer to the CMC help file for additional information. Setting Permissions on the Citrix MetaFrame Presentation ServerFolder/Files(s) Permissions ..\Program Files\PASSPORT\ Modify, Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, Read, Write All Files in the above folder Read & Execute, Read Deployment of the PASSPORT application to your users community Note: you could use other ways or methods for deploying PASSPORT. This is only one example. Deploying PASSPORT to your user can easily be done by editing the published application (PASSPORT) and adding the appropriate .zws file (PASSPORT connection configuration file) to the command line. For example, "C:\Program Files\PASSPORT\Passport.exe" “j:\user home\session.zws” By pointing to a specific .zws file at the user's home directory, it allows your users to customize and save their own PASSPORT sessions using their custom keyboard layout, colors, macros, etc. You can write a script or use a different deployment software utility like SMS to distribute the session.zws file to your user's home directory. You can now deploy PASSPORT to your users through the Citrix Network Neighborhood, custom ICA connections, or via an ICA script file. If you need to distribute a different .zws file that has a different host IP address, screen size, emulation type, etc., you can accomplish this by modifying the session.zcc file (PASSPORT text-based configuration file) located in the PASSPORT installed folder, and then copy it to your users home directory. When the user starts PASSPORT the next time, the new connection information will be used (overwriting the .zws). Below is an example of a .zcc file and all of the connection information that can be modified: [Connection] Using PASSPORT with the Citrix MetaFrame Password ManagerPASSPORT PC TO HOST® can be used with Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager for single sign-on access to multiple applications, including IBM mainframe, AS/400 and UNIX® host applications. The Benefits of Using PASSPORT with Citrix MetaFrame Password ManagerThere are many benefits to using single sign-on with a TN3270, TN5250, VT100, VT220, VT420, SCO ANSI or Wyse 60 terminal emulation, including: Increased Productivity – Employees that use PCs and host systems may be required to have anywhere from 5 to 30 passwords to log into the various computer systems they need to access in order to perform their jobs. In addition, these passwords may expire every 30 days. Managing these passwords is a time intensive task and is a productivity loss for these computer users as well as help desk support personnel. Universal Single Sign-on – Assigning a single user ID and password to an employee can provide access not only to multiple host mainframe applications, but can also provide access to a web portal, web applications, client/server applications, desktop applications, dial-up and VPN applications as well as others. Security - Several authentication options including LDAP, PKI and strong authentication are provided by the Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager. In addition, PASSPORT terminal emulation provides SSL data encryption for terminal emulation sessions. Healthcare providers are now required to secure privacy under HIPAA health care regulations. Many financial institutions are required to protect customer information under the Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA). These security regulations can be implemented using PASSPORT terminal emulation with the Citrix single sign-on solution. The Zephyr PASSPORT terminal emulation software provides all APIs and host connection features necessary for the Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager to perform single sign-on to the following host systems:
The Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager is preconfigured for use with Zephyr PASSPORT PC TO HOST®. This makes the installation and configuration as quick and easy as possible. The Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager can be used enterprise-wide or for a single group of users. The capability to automatically handle password change host screens is also provided. About Citrix Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTXS) is the global leader in access infrastructure solutions and the most trusted name in secure access for enterprises and individuals. The Citrix® MetaFrame® Access Suite gives people secure and well managed access to business information wherever it lives – on demand. Nearly 50 million people in more than 120,000 organizations around the world use Citrix every day. About PASSPORT Terminal EmulationPASSPORT is a powerful terminal emulation software suite that includes VT/100, TN3270, 5250, SCO ANSI and FTP clients. The package offers high quality, reliable terminal emulation software that is fully compatible with Windows Vista®. PASSPORT is also extremely cost effective. Zephyr provides a subscription based licensing program that reduces your acquisition cost and maintenance cost significantly. This makes upgrading from older terminal emulation software a very attractive proposition.
As one of the market's very first IP-based connectivity solutions, the mature, feature-rich package is an ideal replacement for older desktop-based emulators. With its competitive pricing and licensing options, you can save 50% to 75% on the amount of money you would normally spend for terminal emulation software. PASSPORT Major Features
PASSPORT Terminal Emulation Quicktrial or Download OptionsThere are two ways to evaluate the PASSPORT software: either download a copy of the software or do a QuickTrial of the PASSPORT WEB TO HOST® application. With QuickTrial, there is no server installation, you simply download the client from our web server. This is a fast and easy way to look at the PASSPORT WEB TO HOST® software. For those that want to install the PASSPORT WEB TO HOST® software on their own web server, you can download the full working copy of the software and complete a full evaluation. Zephyr has a long history of developing innovative host access solutions. Founded in 1985, Zephyr is a Microsoft Certified Solution Partner, Citrix Premier Alliance Partner, a member of IBM PartnerWorld for Developers, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN), Cisco Enterprise Associates Program (EAP), and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) TN3270E/TN5250E Working Group. Complete Access to Everything You NeedEverything you need to fully evaluate PASSPORT as a potential ment for your existing terminal emulator, or to use or support PASSPORT on an ongoing basis, can be found in this web site, including Technical Requirements, QuickTrial, Pricing, Free Trial Download, Documentation, Knowledge Base, FAQ, Support, and the ability to Order Online.
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