Microframe Inc yesterday released the beta version of what it says is a secure gateway that enables hardware engineers to access equipment and maintain it through standard browser technology. The new software, called SeGaSys 2000, is designed to sit on a Windows NT server and act as a gateway providing engineers with secure web access to hardware products; telephone switches, routers, servers and so on, for maintenance. The gateway provides the authentication and routing to connect users to the required hardware, and will automatically find a connection to the equipment via the standard data or telephone network. Michael Radomsky, Microframe’s executive VP said there was nothing new about accessing devices remotely to manage them. But previous solutions require that the engineers in the field have client software loaded on their portables. With SeGaSys 2000, they only need a browser, either Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 4.0 or Netscape’s Navigator, and the software is loaded on the central NT server. Similarly the hardware devices around the network don’t have to store any information about who is allowed access, since the gateway acts as the single point of connection between the two. Once the technician has found the device he or she wants to work on, they just click the icon and the gateway sets up a pathway using Java, that allows two way, interactive communication. On the face of it, the technology seems similar to Compaq’s announcement yesterday. The company said the new version of its Insight Manager systems management software could be accessed through the web to allow for remote hardware management. But Radomsky says SeGaSys offers wider connectivity. With solutions like Compaq’s you can only gain access to hardware sitting on that particular network. Our software is different in that it can connect you to anything listed on the gateway, be it a high-end telephone switch or a departmental server. He added that the product was currently in beta testing with two major US and European companies plus a handful of other, smaller organizations. Full roll-out, costing $20,000 per NT server, is planned for September this year.
