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by Joel Klebanoff
Published 06/22/2006
Wireless devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and
Windows-based, Web-enabled cell phones, are already popular, and that popularity
is continuing to grow. In March 2006, to support this trend and to augment the
value of mobile devices employed by organizations that use iSeries, BOSaNOVA
launched BOSaNOVA Mobile, which
enables mobile device users to easily access iSeries data and applications.
With BOSaNOVA Mobile, system administrators can free themselves from their
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desks by using their mobile devices to check and manage system status; initiate,
monitor, and control jobs; manage hardware resources; perform system functions
using standard OS/400 and i5/OS menu and command interfaces; locate, create,
change, and delete objects; send and display messages; configure TCP/IP; and
configure devices.
BOSaNOVA Mobile allows users to access iSeries through their mobile devices
much as they would through a desktop terminal. Salespeople, customer service
staff, and others who work out in the field can, wherever they are, use BOSaNOVA
Mobile to upload and download iSeries data and to work with their standard
iSeries applications. There's no need to find a wired terminal or PC or to lug
around a laptop and search for an available WiFi signal for it.
Client-Server Architecture
BOSaNOVA Mobile is built on a client-server
architecture. The server, which runs on the Windows 9x, ME, 2000, 2003, or XP
operating system, is responsible for authenticating users, enabling the
automatic installation and updating of the client, maintaining active open
sessions even if the mobile client is disconnected from the network for short
periods, configuring sessions, providing user connection and usage information,
and managing product licensing based on the number of client licenses. In
addition to the server keeping active sessions open throughout temporary mobile
device disconnects, the client can be configured to request user confirmation
before disconnecting open sessions from the iSeries.
The iSeries server that the BOSaNOVA Mobile server connects to must be able
to support at least one additional workstation, and it must be configured to
support the type of terminal or Client Access workstation that the display
emulation will be emulating. BOSaNOVA's iSeries operating system requirements
depend on the communications protocol that will be used to provide the link to
the iSeries server. For TCP/IP support, V3R1 or higher is required. If you will
be using TN5250E, you must be running V3R2, V3R7, V4R1, or higher, with the
appropriate PTFs installed. V4R4 or higher, with the appropriate licensed
program installed, is required for SSL support.
Through its connection to the iSeries sever, the BOSaNOVA Mobile server
Web-enables iSeries green-screens and provides a way to extend the capabilities
of legacy systems by making them available on the Web or through wireless host
access.
The BOSaNOVA Mobile client runs on most mobile devices that support the .NET
framework, including support for Mobile Pocket PC, Windows CE.Net 4.2, Windows
Mobile 2003, and Windows Mobile 5.0. The default
device type for the client is color 27 x 132, but 24 x 80 mode is also
supported.
Efficient Screen Use
Mobile device screens are, obviously, usually
significantly smaller than the screens available on the terminals and PCs
traditionally used for access to iSeries, which places a considerable premium on
the screen real estate available on mobile devices. The BOSaNOVA Mobile client
provides a number of features that help to minimize this screen-size handicap.
For example, it supports both portrait and landscape iSeries screen presentation
based on the Windows Mobile system configuration and the device's capabilities.
The BOSaNOVA Mobile client also supports screen dragging using a Pocket PC
stylus, which allows users to easily bring into view sections of the emulated
screen that are not currently displayed on the physical Pocket PC screen. A
screen zoom mode allows users to compensate for any eye-straining small text and
graphical elements. Another feature, which can be turned on or off as desired,
automatically shifts the portion of the logical screen that is displayed on the
screen as the user types beyond the current screen boundary, thereby always
keeping the user's current entry in view. In addition, the BOSaNOVA Mobile
client supports a full-screen mode that takes maximum advantage of the mobile
device's screen characteristics.
While operating in full-screen mode, the BOSaNOVA Mobile client supports the
display of a context-sensitive set of options on menus, providing users with
just the options required and available to them, depending on what they are
doing at the time.
Mobile device keypads generally do not come close to mimicking those found on
terminals. To compensate for this, the BOSaNOVA Mobile client supports, through
the emulation menu or the software keypad, all twinax terminal keyboard commands
and function keys that not available on the mobile device keypad or input panel.
The client also supports terminal rules for input fields, such as protecting
some data areas or enforcing the entry of just numeric digits or only uppercase
or lowercase into certain fields.
Offline Use
Wireless devices cannot always find an available
connection, but their users don't necessarily have to stop all iSeries-related
work when that occurs. The BOSaNOVA client supports the recording and playback
of session screens so that users can review the information accessed during
previous sessions—even when the device is not connected to a wireless
network.
BOSaNOVA Mobile ships with a proprietary font that can be added to the mobile
device's font set. The initial release of this B.O.S. font supports multiple
languages, including English, German, French, and Hebrew.
In summary, if system managers, administrators, and users in your shop can
derive value from working with your organization's iSeries while they're away
from their desks—without the need to lug around and boot up a
laptop—BOSaNOVA Mobile is certainly worth your consideration.
Joel
Klebanoff is a consultant, a writer, president of
Klebanoff
Associates, Inc., a Toronto, Canada-based
marketing communications firm, and author of BYTE-ing
Satire. Joel has 25 years experience working in
IT, first as a programmer/analyst and then as a marketer. He holds a Bachelor of
Science in computer science and an MBA, both from the University of Toronto.
Contact Joel at joel@klebanoff.com.
BOSaNOVA, Inc.
2012 W. Lone Cactus
Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85027-9919
USA
Web: www.bosanova.net
Email:
sales@bosanova.net
Tel: 866.865.5250
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