Exceed onDemand® 5 Release Notes
Contents
Improved Bandwidth Usage and Enhanced Performance
Shared and Assigned License Support
Support for Case Sensitive File Names
Global Xconfig and Xstart Files
Exceed Xstart File Compatibility
Support for RSA Authentication Using PAM
Support for MIT-SHM X Extension
Auto-Suspend upon Disconnection
Keep Suspended Sessions Active
Exceed onDemand Server Manager
Xconfig and Xstart File Management
Enhanced Functionality for Key Management
Terminate Any Session or Connection
Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard
Netscape Support for Client Deployment
Verification of Xconfig and Xstart Settings Required After Migration
Xstart Fails in Cluster Environment
Manual Update of Encryption Algorithm Required for Migrated Xstart Files
Pop-Up Windows Appear for all Shared Sessions
Password Prompt Change Required for Migration
Passphrase Required for Secure Shell Startup Method
Missing HCDT Registry Entries Resulting in Unusable Exceed onDemand Applications
Must Reboot Before Reinstalling
Using a Firewall Requires Certain Ports to be Open
RSA Authentication Using PAM Not Supported for Xstart
MIT-SHM Extension Not Supported by Windows Exceed onDemand Server
User Accounts Persist on Removed Nodes
User Names with Spaces are Not Recommended
Exceed onDemand Server Installation Requires Administrator Access
Incomplete Client Uninstallation
Non-Administrative Users Cannot Launch Exceed onDemand Components from Deployed Clients
Cannot Launch .eod Document That was Not Migrated
Session Startup Fails on UNIX and Linux Systems
Exceed Macro Compatibility Issues
Do Not Specify @d Macro for Secure Shell Remote Commands
Secure Shell Remote Command with Ampersand Not Required for X11 Tunneling
Color Depth Setting Can Cause Display Problem When Resuming or Sharing a Session
This section describes the new features available for Exceed onDemand 5. For information on the features added in previous releases, contact your Hummingbird sales representative.
Exceed onDemand Client and Server Manager have been redesigned to improve usability.
Exceed onDemand performance, especially over WAN connections, benefit from the following:
Exceed onDemand now includes Language Chooser, an application that lets you change the user interface language for Exceed onDemand Client, Server Manager, Deployment Wizard, and XKeys.
You can also change the user interface language for Exceed onDemand Client using the Settings menu in the Exceed onDemand Client dialog box. For more information, see Language Chooser or Exceed onDemand Client Help.
Exceed onDemand now supports both shared and assigned license types.
With shared licenses, one license is used per active X session. When not in use, these licenses are released and can then be re-used by other users. However, when all licenses are in use, no other user can start an X session until a license becomes available.
With assigned licenses, the number of active user accounts cannot exceed the number of licenses purchased. As a result, the administrator must deactivate and activate user accounts as required to ensure that the number of users wanting to access an X session does not exceed the number of available licenses. Use the Account Active option on the User Settings dialog box in Server Manager to activate or deactivate a user account.
Exceed onDemand user configuration files, such as xdmcp.txt, xhost.txt, rgb.txt, and keyboard (.kbf) files, are now stored on a per-user, not a per-profile, basis. These files are located in the Common folder of the Xconfig directory for a particular user.
Exceed onDemand now supports case sensitive file names for user configuration files on UNIX servers. In other words, Exceed onDemand treats configuration files with the same name but different letter case as unique files.
Exceed onDemand is installed with two global Xconfig files. One is configured for passive startup and the other for XDMCP Broadcast.
On UNIX, Exceed onDemand is also installed with two global Xstart files. One is configured to launch an Xterm application and the other a window manager residing on a UNIX or Linux server.
You can access these files using Exceed onDemand Xconfig Manager or Xstart Manager respectively.
Using Exceed onDemand, you can now launch Xstart files created with Exceed. However, before launching such a file, you must ensure that the command specified in the Xstart file does not contain macros that are specific to Exceed. For more information on compatibility, see Exceed Macro Compatibility Issues.
Exceed onDemand now lets you establish host connections using Xstart via the RLOGIN protocol. To connect to a host using this protocol, select RLOGIN in the Startup Method area of the Exceed onDemand Xstart dialog box.
Administrators can now specify a default Xconfig file for use in Exceed onDemand Client using the Set As Default Xconfig option on the Edit menu in Server Manager. This default file is used whenever an Xconfig file is required but is not specified by the user, or when a user selects Default Xconfig in the Exceed onDemand Client dialog box.
A default Xconfig file can be any Xconfig file located in the global Xconfig folder.
Exceed onDemand SSL functionality is an implementation of OpenSSL 0.9.7e and supports SSL version 2 and 3, as well as TLS.
Secure Socket Layer security, available only in the Strong and Weak encryption versions of Exceed onDemand, is now enabled by the administrator only. It operates transparently for Client and Server Manager users.
Exceed onDemand provides GLX 1.3 support for UNIX OpenGL implementations. GLX manages interaction with the X Window System and encodes OpenGL onto the X protocol stream for remote rendering. Exceed onDemand supports OpenGL 1.2.
Exceed onDemand now supports authentication based on RSA SecurID patented technology using PAM (Pluggable Authentication Module).
The PAM service name for Exceed onDemand, which is used when configuring PAM settings on the server, is exceedondemand. Consult your vendor's documentation for information on PAM configuration.
Exceed onDemand now supports the MIT-SHM protocol extension, which lets local X applications store ximage data in a memory segment that is shared with the X server. This precludes having to send the ximage over the Xlib interprocess communication channel. For large images, using this facility can result in performance increases.
With Xstart, you can now create, configure, and manage Xstart (.xs) files, which let you automate the process of connecting to a host and starting X applications that reside on it.
You can manage Xstart files using Exceed onDemand Xstart Manager, which can be launched from the Exceed onDemand Client dialog box or Desktop menu. If you launch the Exceed onDemand Xstart Manager dialog box from the Desktop menu, you also have the option of launching an Xstart file in your current X session.
In the event of an X session connection failure, Exceed onDemand Server maintains the session on the proxy. When you reconnect, you can resume the session without having to reload applications.
This option keeps X applications active on the Exceed onDemand proxy after you suspend X sessions. This feature is useful when X application processes, such as monitoring, require a lot of time to complete. You can suspend and resume such sessions without interrupting running X clients.
You can now configure the Exceed onDemand X server to process mouse actions on the Windows desktop when in multiple window mode. To do this, enable the Root Mouse Actions to X option on the Screen page of the Exceed onDemand Xconfig dialog box.
This functionality lets you switch between the X Window backdrop and the Windows desktop in multiple window mode.
This feature lets users start Exceed onDemand Client sessions in full-screen mode. In this mode, X sessions occupy the entire screen.
When enabled, the Panning option lets you pan across the server window to view parts of X application windows that are off screen.
When copying and pasting X selections, you now have the option of clearing the current X selection from the X selection buffer. To do this, select the Clear X Selection option in the Exceed onDemand Desktop menu.
Administrators can install more than one Exceed onDemand Server on a network to form a cluster. Each node in the cluster is linked to and controlled by one node that is designated the cluster manager node.
In a cluster environment, Exceed onDemand Clients attempting to initiate a session must connect to the cluster manager node, which then distributes the new session requests to the nodes that have the most available resources.
Administrators can use Server Manager to create any number of global and user Xconfig and Xstart files to provide users with standardized X configuration and X application startup.
Server Manager provides tools for setting up a cluster and for managing nodes. With Server Manager, you can add and remove nodes, manage licenses and user accounts for the entire cluster from a central location.
You can change the Server Manager user interface language so that it displays in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish. For more information, see Language Chooser Application.
Server Manager now lets you add, remove, and view information on all installed activation keys with the Exceed onDemand Activation Keys dialog box.
Administrators can use Server Manager to terminate any Exceed onDemand Client session. They can also terminate management connections, whether Exceed onDemand Client or Server Manager.
Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard now incorporates the Project Deployment Wizard, Index Page Wizard, and Projects Update Wizard into one wizard interface.
You can change the Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard user interface language so that it displays in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish. For more information, see Language Chooser Application.
The following features have been discontinued in the version 5 release of Exceed onDemand.
Exceed onDemand no longer supports Xinitrc and Global Xinitrc startup modes.
Exceed onDemand no longer supports Netscape for web-deployable installations of Exceed onDemand Client.
Exceed onDemand no longer supports the following platforms:
This section describes issues that Hummingbird is aware of at the time of release.
Exceed onDemand 5 is not backward compatible with previous product versions such as Exceed onDemand 4.x.
After migrating Xstart or Xconfig files from Exceed onDemand version 4.0 or 4.5, it is highly recommended you verify that all respective settings have been migrated correctly.
Keep the following in mind when launching Xstart using the Secure Shell startup method in a cluster environment:
Exceed onDemand 5 now uses a more secure encryption method for passwords. As a result, after migrating an Xstart file, you must open the file, retype the password, and then save the file in order to employ this new encryption method.
If you are working in an X session that has been shared to one or more users, and a pop-up window appears in the session, that same window also appears for all users sharing your session. In this case, you must close all instances of the window before you can continue working in your session.
When migrating Exceed onDemand 4.x profiles, ensure that the password prompt on the Startup page of the Xstart Settings dialog box is set to password: (ending with a colon) for all profiles that use the TELNET startup mode. Otherwise, the specified remote command will fail to run once your X session begins.
For public key authorization with keys that have a passphrase, type the passphrase in the Password box of the Exceed onDemand Xstart dialog box and click Settings to open the Xstart Settings dialog box for the Secure Shell startup method. In the Remote Prompts area on the Startup page of the dialog box, click Add to open the Optional Remote Prompt dialog box and specify the expected prompt and the @p macro as required.
The order in which you install and uninstall certain Exceed onDemand version 5 applications may result in the removal of HCDT registry entries. As a result, one or more of these applications may become partially or completely unusable.
This problem occurs when you install Exceed onDemand Client 5 and Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard to a machine on which HostExplorer/Host Access Services 10.0 has been installed. When you then uninstall HostExplorer/Host Access Services, Exceed onDemand Client fails to run properly, and Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard is no longer able to create packages.
To solve this problem, reinstall Exceed onDemand Client 5 and Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard.
If you uninstall Hummingbird Component Deployment Technology (HCDT), you must reboot your machine before reinstalling Exceed onDemand Client. Otherwise, Exceed onDemand Client will fail to run.
If there is a firewall between the client machines and the Exceed onDemand Server site, the following firewall ports should be opened:
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Note: |
The TCP ports are selected during server installation. |
Exceed onDemand does not support authentication based on RSA SecurID patented technology using PAM for global and user Xstart files. As a result, you cannot launch Xstart files for hosts configured for such authentication.
MIT-SHM is not supported by Exceed onDemand Server on Windows platforms. It is supported only on UNIX platforms.
Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager places copies of user accounts on each node in a cluster. If you remove a node from a cluster, making it a stand-alone Exceed onDemand Server, we recommend you use Server Manager to remove any remnant user accounts from the newly removed node. This is an important consideration if you are using assigned licenses because a remnant account could occupy a license.
For information on removing user accounts from a server, see Exceed onDemand Server Manager Help.
To ensure proper Exceed onDemand Server performance on Windows, Hummingbird recommends using user names that contain no spaces.
You cannot install the Exceed onDemand Server component using a user account. You must install it using an administrator account.
Due to platform limitations, non-administrator users who install or deploy Exceed onDemand Client cannot perform a complete uninstallation on Windows 2000/XP/2003. Certain files remain in the following installation paths after a system reboot:
Administrators must deploy all Exceed onDemand components before non-administrative users can launch them from deployed Clients on Windows 2000/XP/2003 platforms. This is necessary because non-administrative users may not have the proper rights to install these components, especially help files, when needed.
To launch Exceed onDemand connection documents (.eod files) that have not been migrated to the current Exceed onDemand version, you must select Edit, instead of Open, from the connection document context menu.
If you enable Native Window Manager on the Screen page of the Exceed onDemand Xconfig dialog box and then proceed to connect to a UNIX or Linux host, the session may not start successfully.
Exceed onDemand does not recognize all macro commands for Exceed. Therefore, before launching Xstart files created with Exceed, you must ensure that the command specified in the Xstart file does not contain the Exceed-specific @: macro. You will not be able to launch the Xstart file otherwise.
If an Xstart file is configured to use the Secure Shell startup method and the Use for Authentication Only option on the Secure Shell page of the Xstart Settings dialog box is disabled (the default), then you must ensure that the command does not contain any display information.
For example, specify the following command to launch an xterm X application:
If you have enabled X11 tunneling for Secure Shell, ensure that the remote command you specify does not end with an ampersand (&). For example, to start an xterm after your X session begins, use the following syntax:
Occasionally, Exceed onDemand Client cannot remove some fonts from its font cache if the fonts are being used by another application or if Windows does not release them.
If you suspend a session that is configured to use truecolor or effective truecolor, and resume the session on a machine set to use 256 color, you will experience display problems. The same is true when sharing a session from one machine to another. When resuming or sharing a session, ensure that the session has an equal or higher color depth setting than the original suspended or shared session.
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Release Notes are available in hard copy and HTML format. The HTML version is automatically installed when you install the product.
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The following software is required for some components. You can install all third party software from Hummingbird Master Setup (msetup.exe).
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Adobe Reader for Windows is located on the CD in the following path:
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