Midrange Stuff, OS/400 Edition

Rapid rollouts and multiple deployment options are what the Web-to-host marketplace is all about these days. Several vendors of host access middleware products have recently updated their offerings with new capabilities geared toward giving customers more flexibility, including the ability maintaining their green screens alongside newly developed GUI screens. Vendors say letting customers keep their green screen alleviates strain on tight IT budgets and hastens deployment efforts.

NetManage last week announced a new version of its RUMBA Web-to-host software for 5250, 3270, and Unix connectivity. NetManage's RUMBA technology is one of the more mature and popular Web-to-host options on the market, and it runs the gamut from providing simple PC terminal emulation sessions (RUMBA PC-to-Host) to screen scraping (RUMBA Web-to-Host) to the development of composite applications (through a companion technology called OnWeb).

With RUMBA Developer Edition, the Cupertino, California, company has combined its terminal emulator and basic screen-scraper products into a single offering, and has supplemented it with the RUBMA ObjectX Development Kit. NetManage says that grouping the RUMBA PC-to-Host and Web-to-Host products into a single product has benefits for developers as well as for users. First, NetManage says, the product shortens the training cycle of new employees because it allows them to work with the host application in the most productive way, which for some applications is the tried and true green screen. Developers benefit because it provides a more graduated progression for inexperienced developers, and they become more productive because they don't have to navigate multiple sign-on screens before they get to their first "work" page, NetManage says.

RUMBA Developer Edition helps companies remain competitive without over-extending their budgets or resources, said Zvi Alon, president, chairman and CEO of NetManage. "Smart companies are looking for ways to use current staff and leverage technology investments to improve business processes and business returns," he said. Pricing for the product--with technical support and access to a developer's Web site, with tutorials, reference materials, and sample applications--starts at $7,500 for a single-developer, 12-month subscription.

Similarly, Yrrid Software has added a new hybrid deployment option with the release of Legacy Object Frameworks 3.0, the company's screen scraper for 5250, 3270, and Unix applications, which was announced in September. With the release of Legacy Object Frameworks 3.0, Yrrid has integrated the legacy rejuvenation functionality of Legacy Object Frameworks with its Cables.Web product, a Web-based terminal emulator package.

Yrrid says that the advantage of this hybrid approach is that it lets customers deploy Web-to-host projects quickly. "The big advantage to a customer is that the essential screens can be modeled using Legacy Object Frameworks and that the infrequently used screens are accessed through Cables.Web," said Shambhu Borah, a professional services representative with the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, company. "It is no longer necessary to model the entire legacy system before deploying a Web application."

Core Technology is working on a new release of its CTCBridge emulation package that gives users options in the way they access 5250, 3270, and other host applications. CTCBridge Enterprise Edition will build on the capabilities of Core Technology's CTCBridge for Java emulation solution, which supports both Java applet green screens and GUI transformation, by adding an HTML deployment option. For more sophisticated application integration and development projects, Core Technology offers Visual Underneath Studio.

When CTCBridge Enterprise Edition begins shipping in January, users will benefit from the new range of deployment options, including mixed deployment methods, said Rodney Ford, vice president at the Lansing, Michigan, company. "CTCBridge Enterprise Edition offers our customers the functionality, flexibility, control, and expandability they have been looking for in an emulation solution," he said. CTCBridge Enterprise Edition will also feature file transfer capabilities and integration with biometric devices for authentication.

ICOM Informatics also recently enhanced its Web-to-host middleware, Winsurf Mainframe Access, which allows users to access hosts such as OS/400 servers, IBM mainframes, Unix, and Bull from Web browsers, using either Java or Microsoft ActiveX technology. Winsurf Mainframe Access 3.2, which was announced in late October, now supports the use of SSL connectivity for Java emulation, as well as through the ActiveX components. Version 3.2 also delivers better scalability (ICOM says the Winsurf Mainframe Access server can now handle 1,500 host sessions simultaneously) and a "stand-alone" mode (originally delivered with WMA 3.1) that allows clients to continue to operate even if the Winsurf Mainframe Access server goes down. The Austin, Texas, company also supports a Windows-based emulation mode. Pricing for Winsurf Mainframe Access 3.2 starts at $183 per user.

Jacada has also recently delivered new software that allows users to view green screens through a Web browser. Late this summer, the Atlanta, Georgia, software company launched Jacada Terminal Emulator 4.1, which delivers 5250 sessions to a user through a secure Java applet. Jacada Terminal Emulator is based on a software product that was originally developed by Anota, which Jacada acquired earlier this year to complement its staple of screen-scraping and application integration offerings. Pricing for Jacada Terminal Emulator starts at around $80 per user.