StarNet's 'Recon-X' Revolutionizes PC X Servers

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- StarNet Communications announces the launch of Recon-X, a Windows-based X server solution that adds unprecedented functionality and performance improvements to the software industry's most commonly used PC X servers such as StarNet's X-Win32 and Hummingbird Ltd.'s Exceed.

Recon-X effectively resolves the four biggest shortcomings that have plagued all PC X servers since they were introduced in the 1980s.

For one, Recon-X provides PC X server users the ability to suspend and resume applications they run on remote UNIX or LINUX hosts. So at the end of the day, they no longer have to close those remote "sessions" and reboot them in the morning. They can simply suspend the sessions and continue where they left off after restarting their workstation.

Recon-X can also recover remote sessions after a crash such as a PC software or hardware crash, a network glitch or power failure. The software also allows users to suspend a remote session from one PC and resume the session on another machine. Recon-X brings LAN-like performance to PC X servers who access remote hosts over slow Internet connections.

"With these new capabilities, PC X server users no longer need to fear loss of time and data due to crashes and they no longer have to waste valuable time each day closing and opening remote EDA applications," said Steven Schoch, StarNet CEO and co-founder. "With the added ability to work efficiently over a slow Internet connection, engineers and network administrators can also work effectively from outside the office."

PC X servers are used by millions of engineers, network administrators and others to access applications on remote UNIX/Linux servers from their Windows PC workstations. Chip designers, for example, typically use a Windows workstation with a PC X server to do remote development on powerful UNIX and Linux mainframes that host IC design tools. Users have long been frustrated having their remote sessions terminated (with loss of data), when the connection between the PC X and the remote host is severed unexpectedly due to hardware, software, power or network crashes. SUSPEND & RESUME

Recon-X allows users to put their remote sessions in a "suspend" mode when they go home for the day and turn off their computer. A simple "Resume" command, after rebooting their PC, brings the sessions back and allows the user to continue where he/she left off. SESSION RECOVERY

Perhaps most frustrating in working with PC X servers is losing the remote sessions when either the PC X server crashes, the Windows PC crashes or the connection with the network is lost due to a power outage or some other glitch. Recon-X automatically puts the applications on the remote host in the "suspend" mode when the connection with the PC X server is lost. The user simply reconnects to the suspended sessions. VERY FAST OVER A SLOW NETWORK

Until now, accessing remote UNIX/Linux desktops and graphical applications over a DSL, Cable or dial-up Internet connection has not been feasible as the X11 traffic simply consumes too much bandwidth to allow for acceptable performance. Thanks to advanced data compression and other efficiency techniques, Recon-X offers near LAN-level performance over such slow connections SESSION MOBILITY

Sessions can also be "moved" from one workstation to another. After suspending a session at his office computer, the user can resume it in a conference room or even at a system outside the company's network if a similar PC X server is installed on the other machine. HOW RECON-X WORKS

Recon-X has client and server components that handle the X11 traffic generated between the PC X server on the Windows machine and the X application on the UNIX/Linux host. When the user initiates a "Suspend" command, the Recon-X server component (a "headless" X server) closes the connection between the PC X server and the remote host but keeps the connection between itself and the X application open. The Resume command simply re-opens the connection to the PC X server so that the application can once again be displayed on the PC desktop. Even an unexpected event, such as a PC hardware/software crash or a network disconnect will cause the Recon-X server component to put the application in the suspend mode so the user can reconnect to it after rebooting his PC or reconnecting to the network. PRICING & SUPPORTED PLATFORMS

Recon-X is introduced at $165 per user. Discounts are available for volume, government and educational customers. The Recon-X server components are free, though StarNet offers optional Support packages ranging from $295 for Linux servers to $795 for Sun Solaris 8 machines. -- Recon-X currently serves the following host platforms:

-- Sun Solaris 8, 9, 10

-- Red Hat 8 & 9

-- Red Hat Enterprise 2, 3, 4

-- Red Hat Fedora Core 3, 4

-- SuSE 9.1, 9.2, 9.3 Customers who also have other UNIX systems on their network, such as AIX and HP-UX can still enjoy all the benefit of Recon-X by using Linux and Solaris servers on which Recon-X is installed as a "hub" from which to run applications on the unsupported hosts. ABOUT STARNET COMMUNICATIONS

StarNet Communications Corp., founded in 1989 and is based in Sunnyvale, Calif. StarNet develops and markets X11 solutions for the Windows platform for corporate, educational and government organizations. StarNet's family of X-Win32 PC X server products offers cost-effective, best-of-breed X terminal emulation solutions. The series of Recon-X products add productivity enhancing capabilities to the major PC X server applications on the market. For more information, visit http://www.starnet.com .