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OS/2 Shareware BBS: 8 Other
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OVERVIEW.TXT
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1995-05-23
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1. Overview
===========
TERMINAL MANAGER is a software package designed to run under the
OS/2 Operating System allowing multiple users to be connected to
a central OS/2 system through the use of low-cost terminals.
The key features of Terminal Manager are -
* allows connection of up to 32 terminals to each PC, either
locally or remotely. Monochrome terminals, colour terminals
or DOS PCs are supported
* most OS/2 text-based applications are able to run on
terminals
* the optional Multi-User DOS facility allows MSDOS programs
to run on terminals
* supports standard COM1-COM8 ports in addition to third
party multi-port adapters
* each terminal can be configured for multiple sessions
* support is provided for printers attached to terminals
* most DOS, KBD and VIO application program calls are fully
supported
* terminal programs are able to use the facilities offered by
IBM DB2/2, Communications Manager, LAN Server, REXX etc
* allows MSDOS PCs to act as terminals permitting MSDOS users
to take advantage of the power of OS/2 applications
2. Hardware and Software Requirements
=====================================
Terminal Manager works hand-in-hand with out-of-the-box OS/2
versions 1.x, 2.x or 3.0 (Warp). It does not require you to
replace or modify the version of OS/2 supplied, warranteed and
supported by your PC manufacturer.
Terminal Manager will run on IBM PC/AT and compatible ISA or EISA
computers or on IBM PS/2 Micro-Channel systems and compatibles.
Memory and disk capacities very much depend upon the type of
applications being run, however, a minimum of 8 megabytes of RAM
is recommended.
If the software is to run under OS/2 2.0 or later, the computer
must have an Intel or compatible 80386, 80386SX, 80486, 80486SX
or Pentium processor.
The optional Multi-User DOS facility requires OS/2 2.0 or later.
Terminal Manager is supplied as a software-only package. Users
are able to purchase any of the supported terminals,
communication adapters and cabling either from ourselves or from
any suitable supplier.
Qiiq offers the S-Link 4-port adapter at UK£65 (US$105). Up to
three S-Link adapters may be installed in a PC.
3. Terminals Supported
======================
Many of the terminals currently available on the market offer a
PC mode of operation in conjunction with the option of having a
PC-style keyboard layout. The PC-style keyboard layout allows
the keyboard to have the same feel to the operator as the PC
keyboard itself and overcomes the confusion normally caused by
different keyboard layouts when moving between a PC and a
terminal.
The PC mode of operation available in these terminals allows the
keyboard to generate the same scan codes as the PC itself
whenever a key is pressed or released. An application program
designed to use features of the PC keyboard such as the function
keys, ALT keys, CTRL keys etc will thus run quite happily on a
terminal working in PC mode.
Although PC mode terminals are preferred, Terminal Manager also
provides support for regular ASCII terminals such as the VT220
and WYSE 50.
Terminal Manager provides special support for the low-cost Wyse
WY-325 colour terminal. This allows terminal users to benefit
from applications running in colour while still retaining the
compatibility and cost benefits of PC mode terminals.
Terminal Manager will support any industry-standard PC mode
terminal, however, special support is built into the software for
the following specific terminals -
* IBM 3151
* Wyse WY-55
* Wyse WY-60
* Wyse WY-120
* Wyse WY-325 (colour)
4. MSDOS PCs as Terminals
=========================
The DOS-TERMINAL feature, included with the Terminal Manager
package, allows MSDOS-based PCs to be connected in place of
standard terminals. The MSDOS PC functions in exactly the same
way as a terminal. If the MSDOS PC has a colour screen, OS/2 and
DOS applications will run on the MSDOS PC in colour.
File transfer capability is provided between an MSDOS PC and the
host system allowing local or remote transfer of data. The file
transfer feature is invaluable for supporting remote sites.
The DOS-TERMINAL software may be run on any number of MSDOS PCs
connected to a Terminal Manager system. No additional charge is
made for this facility.
5. Attachment Of Terminals
==========================
Terminals are connected over low-cost RS232 lines to asynchronous
ports on the PC. Terminals may be located remotely from the PC
site, connected via modems, since Terminal Manager fully supports
the modem interface. The software has facilities for sending
modem initialisation and reset data to attached modems. Automatic
logging off of terminals upon disconnection or timeout ensures
only authorised users are able to access the system. The ability
to have remote terminals connected over dial-up or leased lines
provides a level of flexibility in system design not available in
LAN-based systems, where all workstations must be sited in
relatively close proximity to each other.
Terminal Manager supports any intelligent or non-intelligent
communication adapter provided with an OS/2 device driver. In
addition, it has optimised, built-in, high-speed support for the
following adapters -
PC/AT System PS/2 Systems
COM1 & COM2 COM1 to COM8
Digiboard PC/4 Digiboard MC/4
PC/8 & PC/16 MC/8 & MC/16
Hostess 4/8 Hostess MC 4/8
Hostess 550 4/8/16 Hostess 550MC 4/8/16
Technology Concepts CC8 Technology Concepts CC8/2
AST Four-Port
ACCENT ASYNC-4
Qiiq S-Link 4-port
Terminal Manager will support any adapter supplied with a
standard OS/2 device driver, however, the software contains its
own device drivers for the range of communication adapters named
above. These drivers have been specifically designed to be
highly efficient and optimised for terminal traffic. Baud rates
up to 57600 are supported.
Currently, Terminal Manager allows a maximum of 32 terminals to
be connected to a single PC. In common with all multi-user
systems, the actual number of terminals that may be usably
supported by Terminal Manager varies according to a number of
factors including -
* type of PC processor e.g. 80486
* speed of the PC processor e.g. 66 MHz
* mix of application programs running in other sessions on
the PC and terminals
* I/O characteristics of the terminal programs i.e. do they
update the screen intensively
* processor usage of the terminal programs
* baud rate of connected terminals
* use of an intelligent or non-intelligent communication
adapter
If a single PC is unable to support the required number of
terminals, the option exists to connect a number of the
terminals to other PCs across a LAN. The operator at each
terminal does not need to be aware of which PC the terminal is
physically connected to. All terminals logically appear to be
connected to the same system, however, the application and
terminal processing load is shared between the interconnected
PCs.
6. Terminal Printers
====================
Most terminals allow attachment of a printer to a secondary port
on the terminal and all MSDOS PCs are provided with a printer
port. These printers may be used by application programs running
at the terminals.
Terminal Manager controls the routing of print data to the
terminal-attached printers by multiplexing print data and screen
and keyboard data along the same RS232 communication link; the
application program does not need to concern itself with control
of the terminal and printer.
This feature greatly increases the number of printers able to be
connected to a system and provides for remotely-sited print
stations.
7. Multi-tasking On The Terminal
================================
Each terminal may be configured to have access to a number of
individual sessions in much the same way as OS/2 on the PC
itself. The terminal operator is able to select the required
session by the use of a hot-key (Ctrl+ESC or Alt+ESC) on the
terminal keyboard. This feature is particularly useful for
temporarily leaving one program pending while calling up another
program, possibly to perform an urgent update or enquiry.
The terminal sessions operate entirely independently of each
other and background terminal sessions continue to run while the
operator is interacting with the foreground terminal session. In
the same way as an OS/2 session on the PC, terminal sessions may
be running multiple OS/2 processes each of which may comprise one
or more threads.
A terminal session may run both OS/2 and MSDOS programs allowing
the operator to intermix the usage of both types of program.
Since each terminal may have up to eight concurrent sessions,
MSDOS applications may be multi-tasked on a single terminal.
8. OS/2 Application Program Support
===================================
Terminal Manager supports most application programs written to
work in the text mode of OS/2. These applications are similar in
operation to their MSDOS counterparts in that they display data
as text, possibly using the PC's extended character set to draw
limited graphics such as boxes and menu bars etc. Provided that
a program does not use any of the more esoteric keyboard and
video functions provided by OS/2, it will run on a terminal with
no modification required. Programs written to use the facilities
offered by Presentation Manager are not able to run on a
terminal. However, most well-behaved text-mode applications will
run happily in a window under Presentation Manager. Thus, an
organisation wishing to maintain maximum flexibility is able to
design programs capable of running in any of the three
environments -
* on the PC in a full-screen text mode session
* on the PC in a Presentation Manager window
* on a terminal under Terminal Manager
If true Presentation Manager graphics operation is required in
certain circumstances, it may be worth incorporating a
selectable text-mode facility so that all options are kept open.
An organisation designing its business applications with the
above considerations in mind, ensures maximum flexibility for
future expansion of the application system. A program might
start life being used by a single user and may be subsequently
upgraded to multi-user by either running it in another PC on a
LAN or by adding a terminal and running under Terminal Manager.
Of course, both approaches may be intermixed. Users requiring
access to just the business data processing applications could
be equipped with dumb terminals, while others might require a PC
for running personal applications as well, thus justifying the
use of a networked PC. The organisation is always able to
choose the best solution for the requirement in hand and in all
cases, from a single user through to an intermix of networked
PCs and terminals, the application program need not be modified.
Many off-the-shelf text-based packages will run under Terminal
Manager even though they were never explicitly designed to.
Most OS/2 programs are safe to use in a multi-user environment
since all programs must provide for record locking and/or file
locking because, even though OS/2 is normally a single-user
system, the operator is able to run multiple copies of the same
program or other programs which may all wish to use the same
files concurrently. If an application is not safe to run
multi-user on a terminal, it is not safe to run single-user on a
stand-alone PC. As a general rule, if multiple copies of an
application program can be safely run in multiple sessions,
that program is an ideal candidate for running under Terminal
Manager.
9. MSDOS Application Program Support
=====================================
The Multi-User DOS facility is an optional software product which
allows MSDOS programs to be run on terminals. The facility is
available only on computers running OS/2 version 2.0 or later.
Multi-User DOS utilises the OS/2 multiple DOS session feature and
supports most MSDOS applications written to work in text mode.
The programs may use the PC's extended character set to draw
limited graphics such as boxes and menu bars etc. Multi-User DOS
extends OS/2's DOS session feature to include support for the
special requirements of multi-user terminal operation.
When an MSDOS program is run on a terminal, a special Settings
file may be associated with the program. The Settings file is
able to define the following options -
* A colour map for mapping of colours displayed by the
program to the colours, or monochrome combinations,
available on the terminal.
* A lock name to prevent other MSDOS programs from running at
the same time which might try to access the same data
without using any form of record locking.
* A CPU index value to control the number of MSDOS programs
able to run concurrently. This feature ensures that the
system will always maintain the required level of
responsiveness when multiple terminals are running multiple
MSDOS programs.
* A list of the DOS Settings to be applied to the DOS
session. DOS Settings are normally defined in the Settings
notebook for a Workplace Shell DOS program icon. This
option extends the DOS Settings facility to terminal
programs allowing them to run in the required DOS
environment.
10. Control of Terminals
========================
Terminal Manager requires information on the environment in which
it is running and the configuration of the terminal network to be
supported. This information is supplied in the file TRMMAN.INI.
TRMMAN.INI is a text file in the standard format of other OS/2
.INI files such as IBMLAN.INI.
Statements in TRMMAN.INI inform Terminal Manager of the number of
terminals to be handled, baud rates, terminal type and many other
items of information.
The following is a sample TRMMAN.INI file for a one terminal
system -
[SYSTEM]
;
; The SYSTEM section specifies parameters
; affecting all terminals
;
; The Shell statement names the first program
; to be loaded for each terminal
;
SHELL=C:\OS2\CMD.EXE
;
; The KEYBOARDCP statement names the file
; from which keyboard code page tables
; will be read
;
KEYBOARDCP=C:\OS2\KEYBOARD.DCP
[PORT]
;
; PORT sections tell Terminal Manager details
; of the communication adapters to be used
;
PORTNO=1 ;Assigns a logical number to the port
ADAPTER=COM1 ;Specifies type of adapter
[TERMINAL]
;
; Terminal sections give information
; about a terminal connected to the system
;
TERMNO=20 ;Assigns a logical terminal number
;to the terminal
PORTNO=1 ;Identifies the PORT to which the
;terminal is attached
LOCATION="Sales Office" ;Allows text comments
;to be displayed
TERMTYPE=WYSE325 ;Specifies type of terminal
MAXSESSIONS=4 ;Sets the maximum number of
;sessions for the terminal
BAUD=9600 ;Specifies the baud rate
IDLETIMEOUT=15 ;States that the terminal
;be logged off after 15
;minutes of inactivity
Many other statements are possible in the TRMMAN.INI file
allowing very flexible control over terminal configuration.
Once Terminal Manager is running, the TermView module of the
software allows the operator on the PC to control terminal
activities such as -
* displaying terminal status
* activating and deactivating terminals
* logging users off terminals
* closing down the system
* displaying activity logs
Whenever a terminal comes on-line, Terminal Manager loads the
program named as the shell program for the terminal. The name
of the shell program is specified either in the [SYSTEM] section
of the TRMMAN.INI file or in a [TERMINAL] section if a specific
program is to be used for a particular terminal.
The shell program would normally request a user name and
password and possibly display some menu of application choices.
Shell programs are the same as any other OS/2 application,
however, they would usually be designed for terminal-only use
since they might call Terminal Manager for terminal-specific
operations such as the TrmStartSession function which starts a
new session in the terminal.
The ability for users to create their own shell programs allows
application systems to be built with any desired level of
security mechanism.
The software includes a facility called SVIEW which allows a
supervisor at a terminal or at the host console to view the
screens of the sessions at any of the other terminals. The
sessions are viewed in real time with any changes to the viewed
screen being immediately updated on the supervisor screen
running the SVIEW program.
Another facility, TCONTROL, works in a similar way to SVIEW but
allows the controlling terminal to enter keystrokes on behalf of
the other terminal.
The SVIEW and TCONTROL facilities are useful for remote support
of applications software and for training. In addition, they
allow the central supervisor to determine the status of a
terminal and to take over a terminal left in the middle of an
application and to close it down gracefully.
11. Use of Other Components of OS/2
===================================
The OS/2 programs running on terminals under Terminal Manager
are, in every respect, full OS/2 protect-mode applications.
These programs are therefore able to use many of the facilities
available to OS/2 programs running on the PC. In particular,
terminal programs may use the facilities provided by -
* IBM Database 2 (DB2/2)
* IBM LAN Server
* IBM Communications Manager
* REXX Procedures Language
When used in conjunction with the IBM LAN Server, Terminal
Manager provides a flexible base on which powerful multiple
terminal systems may be built. If the network is so configured,
a terminal attached to one PC is able to access network
databases contained on other PCs. Thus even dumb terminals are
able to share the use of the local area network.
Although the number of terminals attached to a single PC is
currently limited to 32, larger terminal systems may be built by
networking a number of PCs together, each running Terminal
Manager. To the user the system appears as a single, multiple
terminal system.
An organisation considering implementing a large terminal
network might find significant cost and performance benefits in
a PC-based network-clustered terminal approach when compared to
a single central mainframe or minicomputer system. This
approach also offers a degree of fault-tolerance.
Combining Terminal Manager with IBM's DB2/2 provides a
transaction processing environment on which resilient business
applications may be built. The sophistication of these products
rivals many of the database offerings available on minis and
mainframes.
The Client/Server Architecture used by these database systems,
and the use of Structured Query Language (SQL), are ideally
suited for the database access requirements of terminal-based
programs.
IBM Communications Manager is another OS/2 component offering
great scope for innovative terminal-based applications.
Communications Manager features such as the SNA Gateway facility
allow true distributed applications to be designed encompassing
mainframe, PCs and terminals. The system designer is able to
build networks with the freedom to choose the appropriate
workstation for the job. Some workstations may need to be full
PCs running Presentation Manager applications accessing the
mainframe database, while others might be low-cost terminals for
routine mainframe enquiry and update.
The REXX Procedures Language, which is a standard part of OS/2,
may be used to write terminal programs. REXX is a powerful and
easy-to-use language able to interface to other OS/2 components
such as DB2/2.
12. Future Product Enhancements
===============================
Terminal Manager continues to be enhanced to take advantage of
new features of successive releases of OS/2.
Each registered Terminal Manager user is kept informed of product
updates and is able to upgrade to new releases at minimal cost.
13. Pricing and Ordering Information
====================================
Terminal Manager licence pricing is based on the number of
concurrent users, not on the number of communication adapter
ports configured. The number of users is in addition to the
operator of the host PC's screen and keyboard. As an example, a
4-user system might be configured to handle 8 terminals, only 4
of which are able to log on at any one time; if a 5th terminal
attempts to log on, it will be suspended until one of the other
terminals logs off.
The number of users may be upgraded at any time by replacing a
single file for one supporting the required number of users. The
upgrade price is the difference between the two original package
prices.
The following table details the package prices. The Users column
is the licensed number of concurrent users. Price is the total
package price.
Users Price
1 UK£125 (US$200)
4 UK£245 (US$390)
8 UK£395 (US$630)
16 UK£595 (US$950)
32 UK£995 (US$1590)
A fully-functional Evaluation Edition, complete with
documentation, is available at UK£25 (US$40) which can be
upgraded later for the just the price difference.
The Multi-User DOS facility is included in the prices listed
above and allows MSDOS programs to run on any of the terminals.
The Qiiq S-Link 4-port adapter for AT-bus (ISA) computers may be
ordered at a price of UK£65 (US$105).
All prices quoted are exclusive of carriage and any Value Added
Tax payable (United Kingdom only). Purchasers within the
European Union, who are registered in their own country for
Value Added Tax, should quote their VAT registration number with
the order.
Carriage is charged on a per-item basis where the Terminal
Manager software is one item and the S-Link adapter is another
item. The item carriage price is as follows -
UK Europe Outside Europe
UK£3 UK£5 UK£9 (US$15)
Any local taxes or import duties are the responsibility of the
purchaser.
You may order the software, and any associated hardware, as
follows -
* by mail to
Qiiq Ltd
Elm House
17-19 Claygate Lane
Thames Ditton
Surrey
KT7 0DL
United Kingdom
* by voice telephone to +44 (0)181 339 0739
* by FAX to +44 (0)181 398 8443
We accept Visa and MasterCard credit cards in payment for the
software and any hardware ordered.
If you are paying by credit card, please quote the following -
* the name as shown on the card
* the card number
* the expiry date
* the address at which the cardholder is registered
Credit card payments will be billed in sterling and will be
converted to your own currency by your credit card company. The
US dollar prices quoted are an approximate price, however, the
sterling price will always be adjusted to maintain the
approximate US dollar price at the current sterling/dollar
exchange rate.
14. Order Form
==============
Purchase Order to Qiiq Ltd. Please supply the
following to the shipment address below -
Qty Product Unit Price Price
UK£ (Unit Price
x Qty)
=== ======================= ======== ===========
1-user Terminal Manager 125.00
4-user Terminal Manager 245.00
8-user Terminal Manager 395.00
16-user Terminal Manager 595.00
32-user Terminal Manager 995.00
4-user Evaluation Edition 25.00
S-Link 4-port adapter 65.00
==============================================
Total Goods
Carriage x no. of items -
within UK 3.00
Europe 5.00
outside Europe 9.00
=============
Sub Total
VAT @ 17.5% of sub-total (UK only)
=============
TOTAL UK£
=============
I authorise you to charge the above total amount to
my VISA / MASTERCARD account as follows -
Card number -
Cardholder name -
Cardholder address -
Expiry date -
Cardholder's signature -
Shipment Address
================
Name -
Organisation -
Address -
Address -
Address -
Address -
Town/City -
State/County/Province -
Zip/Post Code -
Country -
European Union Value Added Tax Registration number
(if applicable) -
15. Copyright Notice
====================
(c) Copyright 1995 Qiiq Ltd. All rights reserved. June 1995.
The Terminal Manager software is (c) Copyright 1990-1995 Qiiq
Ltd. All rights reserved.