WRQ used its appearance at HP World to announce new automated install processes for its Reflection series of connectivity client software and reported on the first set of tests pitting the Telnet access against the 3000's native NS/VT protocols. WRQ also announced that its Reflection 3000 Connection and NS Open products, which use the NS/VT protocol, are now available for Windows 95 clients.
HP 3000 managers in charge of installing Reflection on user systems can use a new streamlined process in the 5.2 version of Reflection 1, 2 and 4, connectivity software that links PCs with HP 3000s, Unix and Digital systems. The unattended install feature lets managers answer configuration questions just once and then ship a file with the answers onto user PCs to handle subsequent installations.
WRQ said that the unattended install saves HP 3000 managers time and eliminates end-user installation problems and help desk calls.
"They go through the installation process once," said marketing manager Linda Merrick, "record the responses they put in, and the end users point to those recorded responses. [Users] don't have to anything but start the setup program -- the rest happens automatically."
The feature uses Microsoft's System Management Server, so it's only offered on the Windows 3.1, 95 and NT versions of Reflection. The software also supports a new un-install program to let managers remove Reflection from PCs that are moved to different users in an organization.
"These are products that are fairly mature, so there's not a whole lot of bells and whistles we can add in," Merrick explained. Nevertheless, WRQ added Messaging Application Programming Interface and SOCKS firewall support to the package. MAPI, Microsoft's messaging API, simplifies sharing host data such as forwarding information through e-mail for those programs that support MAPI. SOCK support lets users make connections to Internet and Intranet sites using the Reflection FTP and Telnet clients while maintaining corporate security.
WRQ released its first set of tests on the new Telnet capabilities for HP 3000s at the show, intending to educate the MPE customer base on the tradeoffs involved in using Telnet/iX on MPE/iX 5.5. WRQ has tested Telnet/iX Server for performance at HP's request, using a pre-released version of the OS. It released figures on the existing Telnet Access Card (TAC) in a DTC, and will unveil its Telnet/iX test results soon. HP expects the Telnet/iX solution to perform slower than the TAC. It isn't clear yet how much slower Telnet/IX Server will perform.
The results don't hold much surprise: a proprietary protocol like NS/VT still holds a substantial performance edge over the HP 9000-compatible Telnet access method. WRQ points out that about one-third of HP 3000 customers have HP 9000 systems installed alongside their 3000s, and for that kind of site Telnet/iX could make good sense. The Telnet capability gives Unix users the ability to log onto the 3000, since HP-UX doesn't support NS/VT.
But that connectivity comes at a cost in network overhead. WRQ figures show that a 40-character command generates as many as 85 packets across the network using Telnet/iX on the HP 3000. The same command generates only four packets using NS/VT, because that protocol is record oriented instead of character oriented.
Other operations tested had less dramatic differences in overhead. File transfer is nearly the same, but connecting and logging on generates about 50 percent more packets using Telnet. WRQ says that the HP 3000 load might increase so much in heavy use of Telnet that customers may have to purchase additional processing power.
The potential upside of using Telnet/iX would come through a savings in client software, purchasing decisions that are reflected in WRQ's own product pricing. The company includes a Telnet client with Reflection 1, but the NS/VT capability comes at an extra charge by purchasing the Reflection 3000 Connection -- which also delivers a highly-rated TCP/IP stack in addition to the NS/VT interface.
WRQ said the 3000 Connection, whose 6.0 version runs under Windows 95, delivers several features that users won't get with the free Windows 95 TCP/IP stack but may need in accessing HP 3000s. The features are IEEE and SNAP frame types; Probe protocol support for HP name resolution, and support for HP Resource Sharing file and print services and an NFS client.
For 3000 sites that will settle for using Microsoft's Windows 95 TCP/IP stack but still need NS/VT capability, NS Open doesn't include WRQ's stack or goodies like FTP and NFS clients. NS Open, which delivers only the NS/VT capability, is now Windows 95 and NT compliant in its newest release and costs $199.
The 5.2 version of Reflection 1 without NS/VT capability sells for $399, while Reflection for HP with NS/VT sells for $479. The 6.0 version of the 3000 Connection sells for $349. WRQ begins shipping Reflection 1 version 5.2 starting in September, while the new 3000 Connection and NS Open versions are available immediately.