Seagull Relaunches Farabi Tool Under BlueZone Name

Published: January 16, 2007

by Alex Woodie

Seagull Software last week unveiled a number of new HTML capabilities in BlueZone Access Server, the new name it has given to the Host Access Server it obtained in its acquisition of Farabi last year. People can use the emulator with their choice of Web browser under the new version 4.1 release.

BlueZone Access Server is a three-tier emulator that provides users with secure access to hosts from a Web browser, either from a pure HTML client that loads in any Web browser (a new feature) or from an ActiveX control that loads in the Internet Explorer Web browser. The software supports TN5250, TN5250E, TN3270, TN3270E, and VT100 emulation; offers support for printing and file transfers; includes 128-bit SSL security via HTTPS; and comes preconfigured with load balancing failover capabilities.

Seagull, which is currently being acquired by mainframe tool maker Rocket Software, obtained the BlueZone Access Server in its acquisition of Farabi last March. It obtained the BlueZone line of emulation products in its acquisition of emulator maker Renex several years before that. The other BlueZone products include BlueZone Terminal Emulation, a two-tier emulation solution, and BlueZoneX, a solution for accessing Windows applications running on Unix or Linux platforms.

With BlueZone Access Server version 4.1, Seagull has added a number of new enhancements, specifically pertaining to HTML and development of HTML clients. The new release includes a new HTML page-editing wizard, a new HTML emulation client, a new HTML style sheet designed to make it easy to configure the new HTML client, and support for keyboard shortcut keys and function keys in the HTML client. Non-HTML related enhancements include a new "quick configuration" wizard and better synchronization with Microsoft Active Directory.

Boosting flexibility and lowering cost were the primarily goals in the new release, says Kim Addington, Seagull's executive vice president and chief marketing officer. "BlueZone Access Server 4.1 adds to the options available to our terminal emulation customers, and it's one of the many business drivers behind our acquisition of Farabi Technology last year," she says.

While specific pricing was not disclosed, Addington says that users switching from their current emulation solution to BlueZone save 50 to 80 percent over a period of three years. "This amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for many enterprises," she says.

BlueZone Access Server 4.1 is available now. For more information, see www.seagullsw.com.

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