Reader Viewpoint

Reader Viewpoint
When I replaced my UNIX workstation with a Windows NT Workstation more than a year ago, I gained access to many of the applications I needed as a development manager. But I had to find a way to access applications running on the corporate mainframe and on the UNIX servers. I quickly found two commercial packages that fit the bill.

eXceed
For X Window applications, I chose eXceed/NT from Hummingbird. It provided everything I needed to access the X Window applications. There were several ways to configure it, but I chose one of the simpler forms. I set up the Client Session tool for each of the applications in its own window with its own icon. I have the icons in my Startup group, so on the rare occasions when I reboot my system, all my favorite applications are automatically waiting for me as minimized icons.

I can do everything on my NT Workstation that I used to do from my UNIX workstation. The difference is that I now have access to many native Windows and Windows NT applications.

However, running the X Window package on my PC does drive more network traffic, because the X Window graphics are now pumped down the network to my PC for every screen redraw. This results in far better performance than do the Microsoft Windows emulators that my company tested when we were running on UNIX.

Chameleon32NFS
For mainframe access and mounting NFS directories, I chose Chameleon32NFS from NetManage. It provides NFS mounting of UNIX and AS/400 directories, a TN3270 application to access the mainframe, and its own versions of FTP, Telnet, WHOIS, and others. The TN3270 application is clean, allows keyboard remapping, and supports 3278 terminal models 2, 3, 4, and 5. The NFS capabilities are also clean and simple. Once the UNIX and AS/400 systems were configured to allow my IP address and user account to access the NFS protocols, I could use File Manager to drag and drop files between my NT system (using the NTFS partition) and the UNIX systems (Solaris and AIX) as well as the AS/400 system. Now, if I can just get my privileges correct on the MVS and VM systems...