Proginet Adds OS/400 Support to File Transfer Suite

Corrected: June 20, 2006

by Alex Woodie

Organizations that need to transfer large amounts of data securely have a plethora of options. However, when speed, security, and cross-platform compatibility are issues, an organization would be wise to check out the array managed file transfer solutions that exist on the market. Proginet, a New York company selling such a solution in its flagship CyberFusion Integration Suite, recently announced that this product now supports OS/400.

CyberFusion Integration Suite, or CFI, is composed of three parts, including the Command Center management GUI, the Internet Server for Web-based file transfers, and the Platform Server for peer-to-peer connections. The Command Center and Internet Server portions sit atop J2EE application servers such as WebSphere, while the Platform Server runs natively on supported platforms that include OS/400, Windows, AIX, HP-UX, Solaris, Linux, and z/OS.

One of the advantages that Proginet touts with CFI is the capability to control file transfer activities occurring on a variety of computers from one central location. This feature is enabled through the Command Center, which Proginet describes as a "virtual dashboard" for managing file transfers using either the Platform Server or Internet Server. The Command Center is also used for generating audit logs and management reports.

Security is a key component of CFI, and the product supports many of the latest security protocols and standards. In terms of encryption, the product supports Blowfish and Blowfish Long, DES and 3DES, AES, and SSH algorithms (although the Internet Server only supports AES, DES, SSH and SSL). Numerous other security capabilities are supported, including X.509 certificates, data integrity checking (or hashing), and support for single sign-on.

CFI users can strictly regiment the amount of access their employees or partners have to their computing resources when using CFI in a distributed manner. This means that, when setting up a file transfer process, users only need a user ID and a password for the CFI system, and not for the server as a whole, which keeps data safer. CFI includes a built-in authentication directory, and users can also hook the product into third-party directory servers from Microsoft, IBM, and Sun Microsystems.

Users interact with CFI using a GUI client, a Web browser, or, in the case of mainframe and iSeries shops, through a command line interface. Any type of file can be transferred using CFI, including text, graphics, binary files, and even executable files, and there's no limit on the size of the file. The product can be called directly or remotely, and invoked from an integrated scheduler or in reaction to another event.

Company officials say the addition of support for OS/400 demonstrates its commitment to the platform, while at the same time bringing it much-needed functionality.

"Proginet has been long renowned for its expertise with IBM platforms, and this latest version of CFI demonstrates our continued commitment to the IBM community," said Kevin Bohan, Proginet's chief information officer. "Industry analysts estimate that there are more than 500,000 [OS/400 server] installations around the world. That's a huge market for Proginet, and our IBM partnership continues to be important strategically."

Jack Gazzola, Proginet's vice president of sales, says the Internet Server component of the CFI product and its support for "secure B2B partner integration" is a key driver of CFI sales. "Companies deploying CFI can now easily integrate external B2B activity with their existing iSeries systems while ensuring 'auditability' and regulatory compliance. That's a powerful proposition for most companies," he says.

Proginet sells a variety of software utilities designed to simplify multi-platform environments, including secure file transfer products, password synchronization and single sign-on products, and user self-provisioning and life-cycle management software. Previously, Proginet sold a file transfer solution called Secure Internet File Transfer, or SIFT, that supported OS/400 (see "Proginet Boosts Automation, Authentication in File Transfer Utility").

In late 2001, the Garden City, New York, company committed to developing a version of its Java-based file transfer product that supported the OS/400 server. The company did so soon after with Secure Internet File Transfer (SIFT), which formed the foundation for CFI.

CFI supports OS/400 V5R4 and earlier versions. The company did not disclose pricing details. For more information, see www.proginet.com.

This article has been corrected. IT Jungle regrets the errors.