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eSP Delivers Finer-Grained Control of RF Devices
by Alex Woodie
eBusiness Solution Pros last week launched a new release of Stay-Linked, its suite of terminal emulation products for connecting radio frequency (RF) devices with host systems such as the iSeries. With Stay-Linked 7.0, eSP has enhanced the GUI administrator console, provided a new API for linking Stay-Linked with host applications, and expanded support for host systems.
It was only six months ago that eSP launched Stay-Linked 6.2, an update to its flagship product suite that runs on iSeries, mainframes, and Unix servers and uses a very thin component to provide terminal emulation services on barcode scanners, PDAs, and other RF-enabled devices. The new features in Stay-Linked 6.2 were so revolutionary that eSP says it needed to create a brand new product category to fully describe its functionality (see "eSP Creates New Product Category: 'Terminal Session Management'").
With last week's release of Stay-Linked 7, the Tustin, California, company says it has ventured beyond the realm of basic terminal session management, and into a new area it has dubbed Advanced Terminal Session Management, or ATSM. The new features that turn Stay-Linked into an ATSM product are located in the graphical administrator's console and the new API.
eSP says it is easier to manage large installations with the new Stay-Linked Administrator console in version 7, which sports a new Windows Explorer-style look and feel. Administrator's can accomplish a range of tasks with the new admin console, including managing multiple Stay-Linked servers, defining barcode settings for specific symbologies, diagnosing problems by remotely launching the "radio stats" and "echo test" functions on RF devices, and viewing detailed device information by drilling down by subnet, device type, and device group.
A new API delivered with version 7 enables Stay-Linked users to accomplish many common administrative tasks directly from their core applications, such as warehouse management system like the one from Manhattan Associates, which is now selling a private-label version of Stay-Linked under an OEM agreement it formed recently with eSP.
Some of the Stay-Linked management tasks users can accomplish from their core applications include: controlling Stay-Linked devices; retrieving session attributes like device type and name, IP and MAC addresses, client version, and display rows and columns; transferring files between devices and applications; rebooting, restarting, disconnecting, and terminating sessions; sending special messages to devices; and running remote commands and programs.
David Griffith, eSP's president and CEO, says version 7 fulfills the company's initial vision for Stay-Linked. "Unlike all the other device-side products available, we chose to create a host-centric, thin-client solution for wireless terminal environments--a decision that made all this new functionality possible," he says.
eSP also says it has delivered support for the SCO OpenUnix operating system with Stay-Linked 7.0, as well as more flexible licensing and pricing options. With this release, the company is offering a StarterPack bundle that includes the Stay-Linked Administrator GUI, all ATSM functionality, and five concurrent user licenses, for $1,595 (up from $1,295 with version 6.2). Additional client user licenses are $225 each. For more information, visit www.stay-linked.com.
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