Insignia NTRIGUE

Insignia Solution's NTRIGUE is a slick, customized version ofWinFrame that includes integrated support for X-terminal access (see Screen A).You don't have to install a separate add-on to get both ICA and X support. Aswith the other versions of WinFrame I looked at, installation of NTRIGUE wassimple. NTRIGUE includes an extra licensing step the other products don'trequire, but this extra step is insignificant unless you don't happen to be neara phone when you install the product­you have to call to get a properlicense key.

Once installed, NTRIGUE is ready to support both ICA and X-terminalsessions­a pleasant contrast to the NCD implementation that requires you tofirst install WinFrame and then install the X-terminal add-on (WinCenter). Itested the ICA access to NTRIGUE using the Wyse terminal and the TektronixNetstation terminal in ICA mode. I also tested X access using the NCD Exploraterminal, the Tektronix Netstation terminal in X mode, Insignia's NTRIGUE MacClient (an X-terminal emulator), and both NCD's PC-Xware and Hummingbird'sExceed X-terminal emulation software running on an NT Workstation system.NTRIGUE worked flawlessly in all cases.

NTRIGUE does not yet let you boot X-terminals from the NT Server system(this feature will be in a forthcoming release). But NTRIGUE has a NetworkInformation Service (NIS) import facility that lets you import usernamedefinitions from your UNIX network into your NT system. In large networks, thisfeature can save countless hours of rekeying user definitions. The NIS importfeature, and NTRIGUE's forthcoming support for X-terminal booting, willundoubtedly make NTRIGUE a darling in the heart of many UNIX shops looking tointegrate UNIX and NT applications.

Insignia was the lone software-only vendor I looked at in this reviewcycle. Although Insignia does not offer hardware terminals like Wyse, NCD, andTektronix, Insignia offers ICA and X client software for Mac and UNIX systems.So if you're looking to use existing desktop systems­and you have a widevariety of them to accommodate­Insignia can provide one-stop shopping.