Attachmate Add Features with MFT Update

Updated: September 6, 2012

by Alex Woodie

Attachmate recently updated two members of its FileXpress family of managed file transfer (MFT) products. The new version 7.2 releases of FileXpress Internet Server and Command Center deliver new data integration, authentication, and administrative capabilities that are intended to streamline MFT functions.

Attachmate has been selling the FileXpress product line for about three years. The software, which was based on technology it OEMed from Proginet (now part of TIBCO), includes four components, including the core MFT engine, called the Platform Server; a Web portal for customers and trading partners called Internet Server; a central, Web-based management console called Command Center; and FileShot, which enables the product's MFT functions to be accessed via email attachments.

FileXpress Internet Server 7.2 and Command Center 7.2 gain similar capabilities. Both gain support for Java Message Service (JMS), which Attachmate says will make it easier to program FileExpress routines from application development tools. The products also have APIs for Java, LDAP/Active Directory, and SOAP.

A number of authentication enhancements were also introduced with this release. This includes support for X.509 certificate-based authentication for file transfers initiated from a Web browser at the remote client. There is also a new user-driven password reset process that should streamline the experience for end users, and eliminate the need for hand-holding by IT administrators. Lastly, the software now has a lockout feature that kicks in after a number of failed sign-on attempts, which Attachmate says will protect against dictionary and DoS attacks.

On the administrative front, the updates will bring several new features designed to streamline tasks, such as restarting failed jobs from within audit reports, and controlling uploads and downloads with regular expression definitions, the company says.

FileXpress Command Center and Internet Server run on open systems like Windows, Linux, and Unix. The products surround the core FileXpress Platform Server, which a customer installs behind the firewall in the corporate data center, and which can run on IBM i and z/OS servers.

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