How PASSPORT WEB TO HOST Works

The PASSPORT Web site consists of a series of HTML files that provides easy to find information on launching a web based terminal emulation session. There are three sections to the PASSPORT Web site:

Launch – starts a host session or lists sessions for a user
Support – how to access the site administrator for support
Help – general overview information and on line help documentation

The default PASSPORT Web site can be accessed at the following URL: http://YourWebSite/pec/ on NT or from http://YourWebSite/Install Subdir/Eclient/Index.htm on OS/390 . The launch section of the PASSPORT Web site can start a mainframe session in one of six ways:

Display a list of sessions for a user
Start a TN3270 or TN3270E terminal emulation display session
Start a TN3270E printer session
Start a TN5250 or TN5250E terminal emulation display session
Start a TN5250E printer session directly
Start a VT52, VT100 or VT220 terminal emulation display session

When the user displays a list of terminal emulator sessions, the user can then select the terminal emulator session to start from the list. These sessions must have been previously configured and assigned to the user by the administrator. When the user starts a terminal emulator session directly, the session profile is directly specified by the user. When the session is launched, an ActiveX component is downloaded to the client’s PC from the Web server. The ActiveX component is only downloaded the first time a session is launched, or whenever the version of the ActiveX component changes to a later version. In addition to the ActiveX component, the configuration information for the host session is downloaded to the client’s PC as well. Once downloaded and running in the client’s Web browser, a connection is made to the mainframe system and a logon screen appears. PASSPORT has its own toolbar and button bars. PASSPORT menus are merged with the Internet Explorer menus.The client cannot reconfigure any of the host connection configuration information. All configuration information is stored on the Web server and can only be modified by the Web site administrator. The administrator can grant permissions to individual users or groups of users to modify keyboard layouts and attribute information. This user information is stored on the user's local PC.

Advantages of PASSPORT WEB TO HOST

Easy to Use

PASSPORT software is designed to be the easiest Web-to-Host solution to setup, configure and use. The PASSPORT Administration Configuration Program has the same look and feel as Microsoft Windows Explorer and NT/2000 BackOffice products. PASSPORT merges its menus with Internet Explorer using the same method as Microsoft’s Word and Excel and sports the same look and feel as an extension to Internet Explorer.

Fast and Compact

The compressed cab file for PASSPORT ActiveX component is very small. Other ActiveX and Java Web-to-Host solutions can be as high as 4 to 5 times larger in size. PASSPORT is not a re-packaging of a fat client. It was designed from the ground up to be lean and mean. Since Java is an interpretive 8-bit byte code language, Java based Web-to-Host solutions will always execute slower than 32-bit ActiveX based solutions. Also, because ActiveX components are only download once every time a version change is made, Java Web to host solutions can add to network congestion.

Reliable

Because PASSPORT is an ActiveX component, there is a seamless integration with Internet Explorer and Windows operating system. Java based solutions run on top of a Java virtual machine that translates Java byte code into instructions the Windows operating system can understand. Because of Java virtual machine inconsistencies, there can often be unpredictable results with large complex Java programs such as terminal emulation programs. Zephyr Corporation uses the latest development technology, including the Microsoft Visual C/C++ 6.0 compiler, NuMega Technologies Bounds Checker and the ACT ITF testing tools to ensure the highest quality code possible. Zephyr has been in business for over 17 years and has an impressive base of corporate and government clients.

Secure

PASSPORT provides advanced security features using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) version 3 server authentication and encryption providing secure data access across TCP/IP networks. With SSL, your host sessions are protected from eavesdropping, tampering, or message forgery over TCP/IP. This feature can be critical for those organizations that use Web to host remote access across the Internet to access sensitive data on corporate mainframes. SSL is an optional feature.

Centralized Administration and Text Based Session Profiles

One of the major advantages of implementing a Web-to-Host based solution is centralized administration. This eliminates the need to install and setup the software on individual client PCs. All session profile configuration is performed at the Web server. All configuration data is stored on the Web server in a text format that can be viewed by any text editor. System administrators with advanced technical skills can generate configuration files using scripting languages such as VB Script if desired.

Standard Keyboard Maps and Keyboard Customization

PASSPORT software provides standard keyboard maps compatible with the Attachmate EXTRA!™ Personal Client, Wall Data Rumba™ and IBM® eNetwork Personal Communications programs. This can ease the migration from one of these thick clients to the PASSPORT. PASSPORT also provides the ability to re-map the entire keyboard, including keys like the right and left Ctrl keys. Java Web-to-Host solutions do not have complete access to the Windows keyboard, therefore some key combinations cannot be re-mapped.

Support for all TN3270E Servers that are IETF RFC 2355 Compliant

PASSPORT supports all TN3270E servers developed by IBM, Cisco® , Microsoft® , Novell® and others that are fully compliant with the IETF RFC 2355 specification. Zephyr Corporation was one of the first companies to fully implement the TN3270E standard and is an active member of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) TN3270E Working Group.

Java vs. ActiveX

Java and ActiveX are the two most popular solutions for providing Web to host access. Although Java is designed for platform independence, it does so at a great cost to users of Windows based PCs: performance, reliability and usability. Because of additional layers of software involved with the Java virtual machine, Java based solutions will always be slower than ActiveX solutions. Java solutions do not have complete access to all of the Windows functions. Java solutions can have reliability problems because of Java virtual machine inconsistencies. The repetitive downloading of Java applets adds to network congestion, whereas ActiveX are downloaded only once for every version change.

Uninstall

The PASSPORT Administrator can be removed from the Windows NT/2000 IIS Web server using one of two different methods:

Using the Uninstall Program
Using the Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel

Using the Uninstall Program

Point to Programs on the Start menu, and then point to PASSPORT Admin folder.
Click Uninstall.
Follow the menu prompts to remove the PASSPORT Administrator from your system.
The NT IIS virtual directory created during setup must be removed manually.

Using the Add/Remove Programs Icon in the Control Panel

Point to Settings on the Start menu, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
Select PASSPORT from the programs listed in the list box.
Click the Add/Remove button.
Follow the menu prompts to remove PASSPORT from your system.
The NT IIS virtual directory created during setup must be removed manually.

To Uninstall PASSPORT WEB TO HOST

If PASSPORT is running, select the File->Close command to exit.
Start Internet Explorer.
For Internet Explorer 4.01 (SP1), select the View->Options menu command.
For Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher, select the Tools->Internet Options menu command.
Click the Settings... button in the General tab.
Click the View Objects... button.
Highlight thr PASSPORT Document under the Program Files by clicking the mouse on top of the selection.
Right mouse click to bring up the floating pop-up menu and then select Remove.
Click the Yes button when prompted "PASSPORT Document will be removed. Are you sure?".

Copyright and Trademark Information

Zephyr Corporation and the names of Zephyr Corporation products, including PASSPORT and PASSPORT WEB TO HOST referenced herein, are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Zephyr Corporation. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners.

Web Based Terminal Emulation and Host Connectivity Software - PASSPORT WEB TO HOST
TN3270, TN5250, VT100, VT220 Host Access to IBM zSeries (S/390), iSeries (AS/400) and Unix Hosts
Copyright (c) 1998-2004 Zephyr Development Corporation All Rights Reserved