Voyager Downloads and Information

Background Voyager Professional is a traditional LAN based application. With LAN architecture, the network bandwidth available is large and therefore more than caters for the amount of data that needs to pass between the server and client. Whilst RAS will enable a remote user to join the network and allow Voyager to run against the network data on the server, the limited bandwidth would render the response time so large as to render the system unusable. Therefore, solutions that minimise the volume of data travelling down the telecommunications link must be used.  Server Based Computing This is the term given to systems that actually run the application(s) on the server machine, typically located in the Head Office of an organisation. The offsite client(s) effectively ‘remote control’ the server machine. This means the only data traversing the link between the sites is either the screen image to the remote computer or the commands from the remote computer. Probably the most basic example of this approach, one that all our customers should be aware of due to its use for technical support, is Symantec’s PCAnywhere. The more ‘corporate’ solutions are Microsoft’s Terminal Server (both NT4 Terminal Server Edition and Windows2000 Terminal Services) and Citrix’s MetaFrame. All the solutions outlined in this document should be implemented on an NT4/2000-based LAN, with a separate NT/2000 server holding the database and hosting the Voyager Server Tools.  PC Anywhere The remote user takes control of the host computer in the main office (via network, analogue modem, ISDN TA, etc), and it behaves exactly as if the user was physically sat at the host machine. It works across a variety of platforms. The host machine could be Windows 95/98 or Windows NT/2000 (Workstation/Server) and the remote OS can be any of these and more (e.g. Apple Macintosh). At around £100, PCAnywhere is the cheapest option for occasional/minimal remote working. It is a strictly one-to-one connection. For each remote PCAnywhere (and hence Voyager Professional) session, there must be a dedicated PC in the main office. That is to say, if 2 users wish to dial-in simultaneously, 2 machines in the office need to be available solely for remote operation. It is also limited for such things as remote printing (i.e. printing from the host machine to a local printer).  Microsoft Windows NT4 Server (Terminal Server Edition) & Windows2000 Microsoft Terminal Server 4.0 and Windows2000 Terminal Services are two of the more corporate solutions. The basic package with 5 Client Access Licenses retails at around £1,250. The rest of this section is based on 5 simultaneous remote users. Terminal Server sits on a single machine in the main office. It enables 5 clients to each use a “session” on the server simultaneously, or a lot more if the appropriate licenses are bought. It looks and feels to the user as if they’re using a Windows NT/2000 workstation. The specification of the server needs to be sufficient to run 5 copies of each of MS Outlook, Voyager Professional & MS Word, along with any other software the remote clients may need to run (e.g. virus protection, spreadsheets, etc). For 5 concurrent users, minimum specification would be:- P3 600 or above 512MB RAM 4GB disk (faster the better) Total cost between £1000-£2500. This depends on what sort of machine you want to implement. A workstation-class machine would do for the server, but more money could be spent on a server-class machine with improved resilience etc. Connections between Client(s) and Server could be any of the following (this list is not exclusive)… If the remote clients are going to connect via an analogue line and modem, there needs to a modem on the server for each concurrent connection. The simplest way of arranging this is to have 5 lines on the same phone number. Therefore, when there is an incoming call, it is routed to first available line/modem. A good modem is recommended. One example would be the US Robotics (now part of 3COM) External Sportster. From experience they reliably establish quick connections to the majority of modems. They retail at around £80 + VAT. The next step up would be ISDN Terminal Adapter(s). Effectively these are the same as modems, but take advantage of digital telecommunications, providing faster connection speeds. Still using ISDN, a router could be used to link 2 or more LANs together. If a computer in the remote office initiates a request to connect to the Terminal Server in the main office, the routers would connect the LANs and satisfy the request. This is known as dial on demand. The next step up, for a permanent (fast) connection, would be a leased line connecting the remote site to the main site. Once usage exceeds a certain level, leased circuits become cost effective. There is a periodic fixed charge for a leased circuit, which is available 24 hours a day with no call charges. For the most flexibility, a Terminal Server can be implemented on the Internet. With the appropriate security, the server can be made available over the Internet and even via a web browser. Please note that this is now possible through Windows2000 Terminal Services and is not an option with Windows NT4 Terminal Server Edition. The only additional costs will be for installation/configuration, MS Office, etc. The client PCs would need minimal configuration and do not have to be fast. Even an old 486 would do, but as with anything, the machine will undoubtedly get used for other purposes and the faster the machine the better. For more information go to http://www.microsoft.com.  Citrix MetaFrame MetaFrame is actually an ‘add-on’ to Microsoft’s Terminal Server (NT4/2000). It has quite a few benefits. For example, it uses more sophisticated caching of images to make better use of the limited bandwidth and therefore improves performance. It also makes remote printing a lot simpler, amongst other things. For MetaFrame, all the costs of implementing Terminal Server are still incurred. The cost of MetaFrame is around £3,800 (for the base license with 15 concurrent connections). There is a choice to include a year’s updates for £4,795. If this option is not taken, updates would need to be paid for, if required, and can be costly. As for Microsoft’s Windows 2000 Terminal Services, MetaFrame can also be made available over the internet and even in a web browser. The latter offers great flexibility as a user can access the system from almost any internet-enabled computer (e.g. even from an internet café). For more information go to http://www.citrix.com.  Summary As it can be seen above there is large difference in the cost of the various options. Citrix MetaFrame becomes more cost effective the more users there are. With a large number of users running on one of these servers, it is always advisable to have contingency plans. With a single machine hosting many users, the impact of ‘downtime’ is greatly increased. Therefore, it is always recommended to have a backup system. MetaFrame is often viewed as somewhat of a luxury and can rarely be justified in terms of cost, until a large number of users is achieved. There are a couple of pitfalls when setting up these products to run Voyager Professional. They are straight forward, but need to be considered before the operating system is installed.