New Reflection, new focus, new company name
June 16, 2006
A new version of the redoubtable connnectivity app Reflection was announced this week, the news coming from a company now named AttachmateWRQ. Yes, those last three letters will look familiar to the HP 3000 community, and the rest of the company name reflects the acquisition and merger that took place earlier this year.
On to one new version of the software. The company's Reflection product manager was quoted in Database Trends as saying "These releases have a lot of new security capabilities, and support for new platforms." AttachmateWRQ (I'll get used to adding those 10 letters soon enough; I was reporting on this firm when it was called Walker, Richer & Quinn) understands that its customers need secure network connnections. Reflection for Secure IT proposes a new standard for connectivity applications. But it doesn't appear to have a 3000-specific release; instead the vendor is offering Secure IT in Windows Client, Windows Server, Unix Client, Unix Server and IBM mainframe (z/OS) versions.
New features in the 14.x desktop application include simplified certificate management with Reflection Certificate Manager; acceptance of single sign-on (SSO) authentication certificates with Reflection Key Agent; and integrated multi-host SSH configuration support.
Attachmate brought a larger share of IBM customers to the merged entity, so the new version also includes support for IBM Express Logon Feature (ELF), which enables certificate authentication and SSO for mainframe sessions. Automatic Kerberos sign-on enables users to access IBM iSeries hosts using Windows credentials or any Kerberos ticket available to Java.
Reflection for Secure IT is validated for Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2, It's also certified for compliance with Department of Defense (DoD) Class 3 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Public Key-Enabled (PKE) application requirements.
The company has a nifty and well-detailed PDF file on whether you need to upgrade your versions of Reflection, based on new features. The table covers releases 11.x through the latest, 14.x, for IBM, Unix, VMS and yes, the HP 3000 (Reflection for HP with NS/VT). New 14.x features from the chart:
- Support for Microsoft Windows XP x64 Edition
- Reflection Certificate Manager
- Reflection Key Agent accepts certificates for single sign-on authentication
- Secure Shell connection reuse
- Integrated multi-hop SSH configuration support
- Smart card support through PKCS #11 interface
If it's been a good long while since Reflection got an upgrade at your 3000 site — the upgrades are free with a maintenance contract — the vendor has supplied this list of key features which your NS/VT version does not have:
• Industry-standard scripting with VBA
• Ability to save settings and record macros in XML
• Data protection with:
- Integrated Kerberos client
- SSL/TLS Telnet encryption
- Integrated SSH Client (works with Reflection FTP Client)
• Authentication and encryption enhancements
• Integrated Reflection security components
• Ability to update deployed settings files
• Designed for Windows XP–Optimized logo
• Migration of settings to and from Reflection for the Web
• Windows XP theme manager
• One easy-to-access location for all management tools