Redmond, Washington-based Wall Data Inc has announced Rumba Office for NetWare Systems, claimed as the first product to provide Novell Inc NetWare users with simultaneous access to multiple host systems including IBM Corp mainframes, AS/400s, VAXs and Unix systems from a single graphical environment. The new product, which follows the launch of Rumba Office last year, is said to combine that product’s functionality along with new features for NetWare users. Wall Data is also to introduce a single host version of the new product. Among the features being pushed are NetWare for Local Area Transport Connectivity for VAX hosts: according to the company, this feature (which is also included on its Rumba for NetWare Systems VAX Edition) provides users of Novell’s NetWare for Local Area Transport product with a user interface, and eliminates the need for protocol stacks, terminal servers and bridges by serving as a common data pipe from the Novell network to a VAX or other Local Area Transport host. A batch and drag-and-drop file transfer feature is also included, as is Selective Install, which is claimed to enable users to load just those host sessions and interfaces which are needed. The new product includes a Systems Manager for centralising the management of all Rumba sessions, while a workspace function can be used to group Rumba functions and Windows program icons for joint activation. With the new system, Wall Data says that it plans to include as standard Novell’s LAN WorkPlace for MS-DOS TCP/IP stack at no charge, enabling users to opt for running TCP/IP as well as IPX over their local network. A single user licence for Rumba Office for NetWare Systems is to be $400, and the product is available immediately.
