Linoma Beefs Up MFT Offering

Published: June 15, 2010

by Alex Woodie

System i shops on the hunt for a managed file transfer (MFT) solution may be interested in learning about the latest release of Linoma Software's GoAnywhere Director. Last week the company unveiled version 3.2, which adds support for sending and receiving files using the AS2 protocol. The new release also marks a gain in the auditing department with the introduction of support for Syslog, the de-facto industry standard for handling activity logs from servers and network devices.

GoAnywhere Director is a platform-independent MFT offering first launched by Linoma about two years ago. The software, which runs on i/OS and includes a Web-based interface, allows users to securely transfer files across the Internet using a variety of protocols (including FTP, FTPs, sFTP, HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, POP3, and IMAP) and encryption algorithms (OpenPGP, SSL/TLS, SSH, ZIP/AES, and, S/MIME), while helping users to automate and schedule their MFT processes.

With version 3.2, Linoma has bolstered GoAnywhere Director's delivery mechanism with the addition of support for the Applicability Statement 2 (AS2) protocol. AS2 gained popularity earlier this decade as a mechanism for securely delivering EDI messages via HTTP. Thanks to AS2 mandates from retailers like Wal-Mart, AS2 has been ingrained into the commercial IT culture.

While MFT functions are typically separate from EDI processes (and GoAnywhere Director is not intended to be an enterprise-level EDI translator), Linoma sees a lot of potential in leveraging the flexibility of AS2 to distribute non-EDI file types, including XML, Excel, CSV, and PDF files. You may want to consider using the AS2 protocol for sending PDF or Excel documents as the result of certain characteristics, namely its capability to "utilize signed receipts and checksums to create a non-repudiation of receipt (NRR), which is considered a legal proof of delivery," Linoma says.

Linoma chief architect Bob Luebbe says: "With the addition of AS2 message support, customers can use this single solution for all of their file transmission needs, while eliminating redundant transfer tools and saving on yearly maintenance costs."

Linoma supports the AS2 version 1.2 standard. Its implementation also includes support for multiple file attachments within a single AS2 message; synchronous Message Disposition Notification (MDN) receipts; and message integrity verification.

GoAnywhere Director version 3.2 gains support for another nearly ubiquitous message format in the enterprise IT scene these days: Syslog. This message format has risen in importance as the result of increased scrutiny of enterprise IT processes and the focus on regulatory compliance. By generating activity logs in Syslog format, GoAnywhere Director will fit more neatly into the monitoring and reporting elements of its customers' regulatory activities.

Other features added by Linoma with version 3.2 include new scheduling options, new server certificate handling features, and new FTP checksum validation options.

GoAnywhere Director installs on i/OS, z/OS, AIX, Unix, Linux, Windows, and Mac operating systems, and is intended for organizations that need a tool to help automate a large volume of file transfer activities. Linoma also offers GoAnywhere Services, a similar but less robust product that's aimed at allowing users' internal and external trading partners to initiate secure file transfers through the Web.

GoAnywhere Director version 3.2 is available now. Licensing starts at $3,995. For more information, see the product's website at www.goanywheremft.com.

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