Guide to new features in LANtastic(R) Network Operating System Version 5.0 LANtastic version 5.0 adds new capabilities to the network and improves features from previous versions, which we explain in this guide. The feature guide has been organized into four sections. We identify and explain the major features and the benefit each provides. Administration Remote accounts LANtastic V5.0 lets you set up all user accounts on a single server, which can share the information with other servers. This makes individual accounts, wild card accounts and Access Control List (ACL) groups faster to set up and easier to maintain because all records reside in one place. Global resources LANtastic V5.0 lets you redirect drive and printer connections from a LANtastic server to other servers as shared resources. This enables a user to log into a single server and still have access to designated global resources connected to other servers. Once a workstation connects to a global resource, LANtastic sets up a direct link to the server where the resource is connected, so using global resources does not affect performance. Remote operator notification Users with the new O (Operator) privilege can receive notification of events such as access violations or printer errors that occur on remote servers. This enables network managers to determine the nature of a problem without leaving their desks. Audit information can also be received at the network manager's station. This includes the number of log-ins, log-out details, and queuing and printing activity. Batch despooler This function enables you to despool commands to a server's keyboard from a local PC. This is useful if you have a list of commands, such as a backup sequence, to queue up on a server. You can even specify the date and time to execute these commands. Improved remote server management You can edit a remote server's accounts and resources from your local computer. Simply select that server's name and make the changes in the same way you edit settings for your own computer. Remote access to a server's keyboard and screen Your keyboard can take over the server's keyboard, and you can view its screen from a local PC. This allows you to control the server without leaving your desk. You can run a command on a server and see the results from your station. Voice error messages With an Artisoft Sounding Board(R) installed, spoken error messages are possible. To use this feature, simply record a spoken message associated with a specific text error message. Record your own in either DOS or Windows(TM), or use the pre-recorded messages we provide. This provides customized messages novice users can easily understand. Connectivity Bridged NetWare(R), UNIX(R), OS/2(R) HPFS, WORM and non-DOS disk redirections LANtastic V5.0 enables you to share non-DOS drive connections. If, for example, a computer is set up as a workstation on a NetWare network and as a server on a LANtastic network, you can designate the NetWare drive to be a shared resource for LANtastic users with the same access to the NetWare drive as a NetWare workstation. This type of redirection applies to other non-DOS disks such as WORM drives, OS/2 HPFS partitions and UNIX NFS drives. Routable NetBIOS The NetBIOS provided with LANtastic V5.0 has routable packets. The NetBIOS now has an option to make it compatible with IPX- compliant routers, which is especially important in Wide Area Network installations. New Security Features ACL (Access Control List) groups The LANtastic system now allows you to set up file access privileges by creating ACL Groups. Where groups of users, such as departments, generally have the same privileges, this simplifies setting up and maintaining security. You can establish access rights for multiple accounts by setting up the ACL Group. Changes are then as easy as changing the master definition for the group. For example, when users transfer from one department to another, you simply remove them from their old ACL Group and add them to their new one. As an additional feature, each user's individual account can have specific additional access rights and still be linked to the ACL Group. They would then have all the combined privileges of their individual accounts and the ACL Group's. File-level security The LANtastic system's airtight security has been extended to include individual files. It is now possible to extend ACL security to individual files or groups of files. For example, if you have a shared resource called DATA, where users have unlimited rights, you can set up individual files or groups of files with access rights specific only to them. For instance, you can establish a file called SECURITY.DOC within the shared resource DATA, where users have read- only rights. ALONE The ALONE program now brings more security. Although ALONE is designed to enable a dedicated server on a LANtastic network, it also brings a degree of security not generally available in a peer-to-peer network. You can require a password to exit ALONE. When the password feature is active, CTL+ALT+DEL will not restart the computer without the password. The password feature also prohibits unauthorized users from exiting to a DOS prompt. New ALONE features in V5.0 include a detailed user information screen that displays such things as the name of a file the user has opened, the mode in which it was opened and record locks in effect on the file. New command-line features let you specify the shutdown password, the number of seconds before the built-in screen-saver is enabled and other parameters. Additional Features Network scrapbook The new scrapbook in LANtastic(R) for Windows(TM) allows users to share text, graphics and sound items across the network. Individual files can have security set for no access, read-only access or full access, which allows users to view, copy and paste. They can be further protected by invoking the "Use Passwords" option. Now users can be granted access to information through the scrapbook and receive new information when it is updated at the source. Auto-retry on disconnect After disconnecting from a server for any reason, LANtastic version 5.0 will automatically attempt to reestablish the connection if you have no open files on the server's drive. If the server is turned off, LANtastic reestablishes the connection when it is turned back on. Deferred NET LOGIN and NET USE commands This feature allows you to log in to servers, even when they are not running. LANtastic software remembers the attempt, and when you try to use a resource from a previously unavailable server, it automatically retries the login operation without interrupting your work. If the server is available, the request is completed. If it is still unavailable, NET continues to hold onto the NET LOGIN or NET USE attempt to retry the connection later. Delayed despooling Delayed despooling lets you specify a date and time for a particular print file to despool to the printer. This is useful for dealing with extremely large print jobs. You can set despooling for late at night or on a weekend and avoid tying up a printer during high-use times. LAN Radio LAN Radio allows users to communicate on up to 100 channels without using any of a company's phone resources. LAN Radio can broadcast news, information and music across a network, as well as allow users to listen and talk to co-workers. Individual workers can communicate with each other, company information can be broadcast to all employees and specific information, such as the latest stock market figures, can be broadcast on different channels. Employees simply tune their stations to the appropriate channel. This feature requires an Artisoft Sounding Board, with both DMA channels enabled, and the Sounding Board Windows driver. Improved LANcache feature We designed the LANcache(TM) disk caching system for optimal performance with the LANtastic network. LANcache software can simultaneously cache up to four physical drives, both disk reads and writes. It performs flushes as background operations so your PC can perform other operations in the foreground. You can now set the LANcache program to use as little as 10K of RAM, and it is now fully compatible with enhanced-mode Windows, even with delayed background writing enabled. The software also allows you to change the cache size at any time while running DOS. You can specify different cache sizes when running with DOS or Windows. After you exit Windows, the cache automatically returns to the size you specified for running with DOS. Remote Despooling Users can take print jobs out of a server's queue and despool them on their local PCs. With this feature, even a diskless workstation can now be used as a print server. It gives you the option of setting up a machine as a print server without setting it up as a file server. Further, you can have printers distributed throughout your network despooling print jobs from a common queue server. This can help speed network printing, since multiple printers can now service a server's queue. (C)1993 ARTISOFT, INC. All rights reserved. Artisoft, AE-3, LANtastic and Sounding Board are registered trademarks and ALICE, ALONE, LANcache, LANtastic on Board, NodeRunner, Peer-Hub and The Serial Port of the Nineties are trademarks of Artisoft, Inc. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other company names, brand names and product names are the trademarks and/or the property of their respective companies. Specifications subject to change without notice.