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Remote Configuration and Maintenance
Eliminating SNA & AnyNet
Support & Responsiveness
Increasing Throughput
Cost Benefits & Return on Investments
Printer Support
Remote Configuration and Maintenance
"I haven’t touched the BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x Controller since we installed
it, and I can support it remotely, from my desk, using my Web browser."--
Marc Vadeboncoeur, Astro-Med Senior Programmer/Analyst and Systems
Programmer
"Once we configured the unit, we shipped it overnight to the
manufacturing plant, where a non-technical lady plugged it into the
Ethernet and moved over the Twinax lines. We powered it up and
everything auto-configured. It hasn't gone down since." -- Tom
Albert, Gibson Musical Instruments
"Thanks to the BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x Controller's web-based remote
configuration and management, we have the ability to ship units straight
to the branch offices, and then set them up remotely from Corporate. We
have been very happy with the ease of configuration, ease of management
and overall performance."-- Dave Slack, Manager of IS Networking,
Apria Healthcare
"I had already experienced how user-friendly the BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x
Controller was when I first installed it two years ago to connect our
remote Twinax users via the Internet. We had been trying for weeks to
set up a Perle 594E, and never could complete the long and cumbersome
configuration. It was very different with the BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x
Controller. I got a trial unit from Jack Easley, my BOSaNOVA partner,
set it up at the remote site, plugged in the twinax cables, and turned
on the unit. Then I went back to my office at headquarters and used my
web browser to configure it. The e-Twin@x Controller just did it all."--
Rick Duvall, Systems Manager, Oklahoma Dealers Auto Auction
"For my part, one of the greatest time savers is BOS’ Twinax network
administrator, which enables me to re-configure the e-Twin@x Controllers
remotely, via a browser. I can even sit at home on a wet Sunday
afternoon and re-set individual ports in any of the remote offices:
Something I could never do with the Perle controllers." -- David
Tomlinson, Dalpa International Ltd.
"In August 1999, when we began planning to change, we had Perle and
IBM controllers for our SNA network. We were considering the Perle
TCP/IP solution when a BOSaNOVA dealer, Productivity Systems Inc. out of
Milwaukee, introduced us to BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x Controllers. Since we have
to support 25 locations, we were very interested in the remote
configuration via browser. Our Perle controllers had to be on site for
reconfiguration, and then the whole controller, rather than individual
devices, had to be reset. We use the remote configuration capability all
the time now, when our offices want to replace a device or change its
address. We can even send upgrades via e-mail to all of the offices."
-- Hajime Hikita, Yusen Air & Sea Service (USA), Inc.
"The browser-based configuration program is wonderful -- I can do
everything remotely. I can even reset individual ports; with Perle, we
had to disable the unit and reset everything. This is particularly
important with the timeclocks: they can't be down because we use them
for billing our customers for service as well as paying our employees."
- David Rasmussen, Kenworth Sales Company, Inc.
"The BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x Controller is easy to maintain remotely. I can
go in port by port with my browser to check terminals and printers."
-- John Steffy, Findlay Automotive Group
"For me, as the Twinax network administrator, the fast remote set-up
is a real advantage. I can dial in on a Web browser from Wisconsin to
configure the unit, and don't have to fly down there. Plus the set-up
itself only takes about an hour, versus half a day for the Perle units."
-- Denise Olson, Western States Envelope Co.
"The dial-in Remote Access Server capability is a real plus for the
IT department when we take business trips. With it, we can support any
controller in the remote offices from wherever we are. It's definitely a
time- and headache-saver." -- Rodney Wilson, Yusen Air & Sea Service
(USA), Inc.
"I think the BOSaNOVA ads undersold the capabilities of this product.
They promote AS/400 connectivity over the Internet, but I didn't realize
I could control twinax devices remotely over the WAN." - David
Rasmussen, Kenworth Sales Company, Inc.
"When we got our new iSeries Model 810, I migrated our systems over a
weekend. It was late Saturday when I got everything done except moving
over our remote users. I dreaded it, fearing another few hours of work,
but decided to go ahead and get it over with. I opened up the browser
interface, found a link for systems, saw all the information on our old
AS/400, and plugged in the new iSeries serial number and IP address.
Then the Controller took over and did everything except say 'excuse me'
as it brushed me aside. It printed out about two pages of text on my
browser as it proceeded from one step to the next. It even checked for
PTFs. I was amazed -- the units were coming online as I watched. The
whole process took less than a minute!"-- Rick Duvall, Systems
Manager, Oklahoma Dealers Auto Auction
"Implementation was pretty painless for the end users. Myself, staff
of two, an intern and our help desk switched all 128 stores over to the
BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x Controllers in three months, between July 1 and
September 30, 2002."-- Mechelle Cunningham, MCSE, LAN/WAN Manager,
Tire Centers
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Eliminating SNA & Anynet
"Before, I was resetting our IBM 5494 remote controller three to four
times a day because it was SNA over TCP/IP, and whenever the ISDN phone
lines were down, it needed to be reset. Once we installed the e-Twin@x
Controller, the users stopped complaining immediately. It never went
down. It took me a couple of weeks to notice that I wasn't running over
there all the time! If you need a remote controller, this is definitely
the way to go: it's self set-up and self-healing and for two years I've
had no headaches. You can't ask for more."-- Rick Duvall, Systems
Manager, Oklahoma Dealers Auto Auction
"Our company had grown fast and installed distributed AS/400's to
meet the rapid expansion. As a result, consolidating information from
the business units was a lengthy and difficult process. To shorten the
cycle, and also to reduce maintenance fees on so many AS/400s, Apria
decided to consolidate the distributed AS/400's onto two i890 iSeries
servers. However, we still had over 6,000 Twinax terminals and printers
that were connected via remote workstation controllers using SDLC to our
regional billing centers over frame relay. Reliability was an issue. The
SDLC solution was complex and inefficient from a communications
standpoint, and placed high overhead on the routers. Serial Tunneling
(STUN) also limited our access to new technologies like VoIP. Moreover,
router hardware limitations would not allow 400+ STUN connections to one
corporate router, which was essential in our new centralized
architecture. We knew we had to move to Ethernet attached controllers or
replace all 6,000+ green screen terminals with Ethernet computing
devices. After extensive lab evaluations we chose the BOScom e-Twin@x
Controller to connect these Twinax terminals and printers to the i890s.
Other solutions were either too costly, difficult to manage, or
unreliable. The decision was finalized late in 2000, and we deployed the
first units in Q1'01. Management has been extremely pleased."-- Dave
Slack, Manager of IS Networking, Apria Healthcare
"When we decided to switch our remote site to the T-1 WAN, I was adamant
that we no longer use SNA, because of SNA's notorious tendency to create
undue overhead on network routers and its sensitivity to timing issues.
I wanted to use pure TCP/IP. That left us with two choices: Perle and
BOS. We first purchased the Perle 594E controller and it was immediately
problematic. All the devices came up when we installed it, but terminals
and printers started dropping off randomly. Both managers and users were
becoming agitated. After trying for three weeks to resolve the drop-off
issues with the Perle product, I decided to switch to the BOS e-Twin@x
Controller."-- Marc Vadeboncoeur, Astro-Med Senior Programmer/Analyst
and Systems Programmer
"On the one hand I wanted to get rid of the slow and expensive leased
line network, but on the other, I did not want to throw out the remote
twinax devices and infrastructure which was all working perfectly. So I
went to see CE Services, the Midrange IBM computer and networking
specialists in Warrington. To my surprise they thoroughly agreed with my
'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' objectives, and described how BOSaNOVA
had developed their new e-Twin@x Controllers specifically to bridge the
twinax and TCP/IP environments." -- David Tomlinson, Dalpa
International Ltd.
"Since one of the reasons we were changing our network away from SNA was
to simplify networking, we were attracted to BOSaNOVA's pure
implementation of TCP/IP. Perle's TCP/IP controller uses an Anynet
connection on TCP/IP and looked complicated." -- Hajime Hikita, Yusen
Air & Sea Service (USA), Inc.
"BOSaNOVA uses pure TCP/IP protocol, which makes a big performance
difference, eliminating bottlenecks on the network and the CPU. It's
also much easier and cleaner to configure." - David Rasmussen,
Kenworth Sales Company, Inc.
"The initial configuration was fast and easy since BOS
supports the AS/400 naming conventions. All I had to do was put in an IP
address and name the controller to the system." -- John Steffy,
Findlay Automotive Group
"I volunteered to become a reference for BOSaNOVA after I was able to
switch over our printers and timeclocks to their e-Twin@x Controller in
less than half an hour at each location. I went to each branch and did
it myself because the users were so frustrated with our initial Perle
controllers." - David Rasmussen, Kenworth Sales Company, Inc.
"Our main selection criterion was security. We looked at everything
that ran over our frame connections and looked at how to encrypt the
data for sending it to the remote locations via the Internet. The
BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x Controllers are very secure."-- Mechelle
Cunningham, MCSE, LAN/WAN Manager, Tire Centers
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Support &
Responsiveness
"I spent hours upon hours with Perle and IBM tech support, trying to
identify the problems. We tried everything. With BOSaNOVA, it was like
shining a bright beacon. It was totally set up in five minutes." --
Tom Albert, Gibson Musical Instruments
"BOSaNOVA tech support is very fluid and incredibly responsive. For
example, BOSaNOVA was able to add 2-session functionality for our
Memorex Telex terminals within weeks of our request. BOSaNOVA has been
especially impressive in their ability to issue firmware and patches
very rapidly to address minor issues as well." -- Dave Slack, Manager
of IS Networking, Apria Healthcare
"We had looked on the Internet and even asked IBM whether anyone had the
solution we needed, so when Steve Willis first told us about all that
the BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x Controller could do, we didn't believe him. But
with a 90-day trial, we had nothing to lose. I would recommend this
solution highly to anyone in the Twinax environment. The BOSaNOVA
e-Twin@x Controller works, and both Karen and I are happy with BOSaNOVA
support and responsiveness." -- Denise Olson, Western States Envelope
Co.
"We tested the initial unit for two weeks. There were a few glitches
on early releases, but BOSaNOVA had their technician on a plane the next
day and got it repaired quickly. With other vendors we've had to wait
for months for service. BOSaNOVA has a great support team, and the
service is really good. Even when we call just on their twinax cards,
you get the feeling that you're dealing with a real person. It's very
personalized." -- John Steffy, Findlay Automotive Group
"We initially tried the Perle 594M remote controller,
because we have a lot of Perle equipment, and a Perle remote access
server in each office. It was a horrible experience: only one of seven
worked, and that one died over a three week period. BOSaNOVA had been
another of our favorite suppliers. We knew they had great products and
wonderful support--though in this case we didn't need any. In the past,
we used their LANbada product to connect our remote offices to our
System/36. When I saw their ad that said they didn't use the AnyNet
protocol I contacted them right away." - David Rasmussen, Kenworth
Sales Company, Inc.
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Increasing
Throughput
"Now our remote users get virtually the same response time as local
users."-- Marc Vadeboncoeur, Astro-Med Senior Programmer/Analyst and
Systems Programmer
"While our primary objective was to reduce cost, the secondary was to
equal or improve network speed. In all locations, users are getting
equal or better response time from the AS/400 iSeries Model 830 server
at Duncan. We ordered 56KB Internet access and in places where we were
able to replace the dedicated frame connections with 128KB DSL
connections, performance was twice as fast."-- Mechelle
Cunningham, MCSE, LAN/WAN Manager, Tire Centers
"After we switched the first Twinax line to the BOSaNOVA unit in
Kentucky, response time was so fast that people were literally calling
me and asking for it. Before, we had data entry personnel that were
keying faster than the screens could refresh. The difference is like
night and day. The screens refresh within an second or two, whereas some
days before it took up to two minutes." -- Denise Olson, Western
States Envelope Co.
"With up to eight times the bandwidth, response times
are lightning quick - measured in milliseconds, not seconds." --
David Tomlinson, Dalpa International Ltd.
"We'll be using the built-in remote access servers soon. Now that we
have four controllers in place, we have 16 RAS ports available. I want
to tie in our accountants, vendors, some smaller remote locations. I
also want to get e-commerce going, and plan to allow prospective
customers using our two kiosks in local shopping malls to dial in and
access our web site to search our inventory." -- John Steffy, Findlay
Automotive Group
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Cost Benefits &
Return on Investment
"Conservatively, we save $1.5 million annually. The
system paid for itself within three months, and every day we realize
more savings."-- Mechelle Cunningham, MCSE, LAN/WAN Manager, Tire
Centers
"We are now saving the $400/month charge that we used to pay for the
leased 56k point-to-point line."-- Marc Vadeboncoeur, Astro-Med
Senior Programmer/Analyst and Systems Programmer
"We estimate that we will save $100,000 in equipment and line charges
in the first year, for an investment of $16,000 (for 8 controllers)."
-- John Steffy, Findlay Automotive Group
"Being permanently on line to the Web has also accrued
some unexpected cost savings, not least over £1,000 p.a. in calls to 192
telephone enquiries - which we now get via the Internet for free. And
postal costs have been cut dramatically through the increased use of
e-mail." -- David Tomlinson, Dalpa International Ltd.
"The benefits of using the BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x Controllers fall into three
categories: cost savings, time savings and ease of support. Since we had
to buy 26 controllers, it was a plus that these cost less than Perle's.
Both the IT department and our end users save time with the remote
configuration via browser feature; they used to do the hands-on part of
the remote configuration, with us directing their efforts over the
phone. Finally, support and maintenance is much easier for the IT
department." -- Hajime Hikita, Yusen Air & Sea Service (USA), Inc.
"The BOSaNOVA e-Twin@x Controller is fairly priced, and its warranty
includes one-day turnaround on swap outs if the unit doesn't function."
-- Denise Olson, Western States Envelope Co.
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Printer Support
"We had one minor glitch: it didn’t properly support the thermal
printers that our Quick-Label Systems division manufactures and that we
use internally. Computer Marketing of America, which sold us the
controller, contacted BOS technical support, who put us in touch with
the software developers at BOSaNOVA. They quickly e-mailed us a firmware
fix which I was able to install remotely, using my Web browser. Now our
printers work like a charm!" -- Marc Vadeboncoeur, Astro-Med Senior
Programmer/Analyst and Systems Programmer
"I think we have more different makes and models of printers in our
large network than most AS/400 users, so at first we had problems with
printer drivers for the less commonly found printers. However, BOSaNOVA
worked with us -- they even sent a technician to our largest office
where we had the most printers -- to solve these problems. Now it all
works fine. Overall, the controllers have been very reliable." --
Rodney Wilson, Yusen Air & Sea Service (USA), Inc.
"We have a variety of printers (line, dot matrix, system lasers with
multiple drawers) from different printer manufacturers (Lexmark,
Fujitsu, IBM). BOSaNOVA supplies multiple printer drivers, so we just
kept trying till we found the ones that worked." -- John Steffy,
Findlay Automotive Group
"We worked with BOSaNOVA to add new print device fields for the
display configuration, which resolved a lot of printing issues."--
Mechelle Cunningham, MCSE, LAN/WAN Manager, Tire Centers |
