Exceed onDemand A Technical Whitepaper

Transforming Information into Intelligence 

X Protocol > Public Private Keys Authentication > Secure Shell > Telnet > FTP > Reducing Business Disruption > TN3270E > TN5250E > Easy Migration Path > Bi-directional NFS > Desktop Stand 

ion > Conflict Management > PC X Server > Desktop Consolidation > X Window > UNIX integration > NFS v4 > Mainframe > Terminal Emulation > Security > SSL > Web-to-host > Cost Reduction 

l NFS > Desktop Standardization > Kerberos > Smart Card > X Desktop Sharing > WebNFS > Web Deployment > Linux > PC X Server > Desktop Consolidation > X Window > UNIX integration > 

b-to-host > Cost Reduction > AS/400 > Mobile Workers > Thin X Protocol > Public Private Keys Authentication > Secure Shell > Telnet > FTP > Reducing Business Disruption > TN3270E > TN525 

> Exceed onDemand ® 5 

A Technical Whitepaper

Exceed onDemand 5 — A Technical Whitepaper 

While every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information 

in this document, some typographical or technical errors may exist. Hummingbird cannot accept 

responsibility for customers’ losses resulting from the use of this document. The information 

contained in this document is subject to change without notice. 

This document contains proprietary information that is protected by copyright. This document, 

in whole or in part, may not be photocopied, reproduced, or translated into another language 

without prior written consent from Hummingbird. 

This edition published February 2005 

3


Table of Contents 

Exceed onDemand ® Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

4 

Introduction to Exceed onDemand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Operating Systems Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

The Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Exceed onDemand Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

X Proxy Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Exceed onDemand Proxy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

The Rules for Reusing Proxies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Exceed onDemand Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Cluster Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

What is a Cluster? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

How Does Clustering Work in Exceed onDemand? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

Data Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

Types of Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

Direct Client-server Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

Gateway Server Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

Thin X Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

What is TXP? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

License Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

Some Simple Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18


The Sequence of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Launch a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Suspend a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Resume a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Join a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Server Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 

Exceed onDemand Resource Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 

The Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

Memory Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

Bandwith Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

Installation and Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Installing Exceed onDemand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Exceed onDemand Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Exceed onDemand Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

Other Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

Connecting to Exceed onDemand Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

Creating a Connection to Exceed onDemand Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

Different Types of Configuration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

Xstart Versus Xconfig Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

Xstart Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

Xconfig Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

Global Versus User-defined Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

Global Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

User-defined Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

5


6 

Configuring a Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

Startup Mode Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

Customizing the User Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

Keyboard Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

Screen Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Server Visual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Window Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Printing and File Transferring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Performance Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

FAST and SLOW Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Font Caching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Image Caching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

OpenGL API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Introducing Exceed onDemand Server Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

Cluster Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

Node Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 

User Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

File Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

Advanced Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Advanced Security Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

SSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Secure Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

Desktop Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

Suspend and Resume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 

Suspend and Disconnect (a.k.a Crash and Resume) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52


Web Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 

Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 

Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard Fundamentals Working Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 

Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard Explained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 

Web-Deployed vs. CD-Installed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 

Download Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 

Access and Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 

Project Deployment Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 

Create a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 

Select a Connection Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 

Language Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

Deploying on any Web Server on any Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 

Installation Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 

User Rights and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

Update a Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 

Create an Index Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 

7


Exceed onDemand ® Overview 

Introduction to Exceed onDemand 

The inevitability and subsequent popularity of mobile access stems from its many business advantages, 

including better customer service, improved processes and measurable productivity gains — all made 

possible with anywhere, anytime, any device access to information. The business benefits are so 

compelling that the International Data Corporation (IDC) believes a full two-thirds of the U.S. workforce 

will require mobile access by 2006. Nearly half of the workforce in Western Europe is already mobile 

and Gartner has calculated that the number of visitors to public wireless LAN HotSpots more than 

quadrupled in a single year from 2002 to 2003. IDC reported a corresponding increase of nearly fourfold 

in the number of HotSpot users during the same period, and predicts that the user population 

will increase at a healthy 105% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2007. 

The result of this initial success is that users are starting to demand more freedom to choose when 

and where they access the key applications they need to do their jobs effectively. In effect, they want 

access to all the same critical business applications and information they get from their desks and IT 

can readily justify the cost involved based on the many business benefits afforded. Critical enterprise 

applications e.g. sales force automation, inventory tracking and patient records can be extended to 

remote and mobile workers, customers or business partners. Specialized or “vertical” applications in 

certain industries, such as health care, finance, real estate, insurance, shipping, utilities and others, 

can also be made available to the mobile workforce to allow quick decision making based on 

current information. 

Exceed onDemand provides and an access gateway between existing infrastructure and mobile users. 

The main advantage for the enterprise is better implementations which require absolutely no changes 

to existing applications, or network infrastructure. Hummingbird’s mobile solution is cost-effective 

based on its centralized deployment and management, requiring no special client for basic access. 

For mission-critical applications, Exceed onDemand was designed to support load-balancing across 

multiple servers eliminating a single point of failure. Robust scaling capabilities, enterprise class 

security and management features make Exceed onDemand an affordable solution for the 

mobile workforce. 

8

Operating Systems Specifications 

> Exceed onDemand 5 — A Technical Whitepaper 

Exceed onDemand is comprised of three major component groups and each group has its own 

operating system requirements: 

Server Client Other Components (Including 

Deployment Tools and Server Manager) 

UNIX and Linux 

> AIX 5.x and up 

> HP UX 11 and up 

> Sun Solaris (SPARC) 2.6+ 

> SunSolaris (x86) 2.8+ 

> Intel ® Linux kernel 2.4+, including: 

Microsoft Windows, including: 

> 2000 Server 

> 2000 Advanced Server 

> XP Professional 

> Server 2003 

Table 1 — Operating Systems specifications 


> 2000 Professional or Server 


> Server 2003 

In addition, Exceed onDemand Client can be launched from: 

> Internet Explorer 5.x, 6.x and above 


> 2000 Professional or Server 


> Server 2003 

9


Architecture 

The Components 

Exceed onDemand is comprised of Exceed onDemand Server, Exceed onDemand Client, and 

a number of administrative tools, such as Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard and Exceed 

onDemand Server Manager. Exceed onDemand delivers X11R6.6 X access with minimal overhead. 

A small client-side installation lets users access business-critical X applications on UNIX, Linux, 

VMS, and other X Window system hosts. 

Exceed onDemand Server 

Exceed onDemand Server is the core of the software. It is installed on a UNIX, Linux or Microsoft ® 

Windows ® platform and communicates with Exceed onDemand Client. There are two configuration 

options for Exceed onDemand Server — Standalone or Cluster. 

Standalone configuration — an Exceed onDemand Server is configured as a complete and 

independent entity capable of performing its primary functions. 

Figure 1 — Exceed onDemand in Standalone configuration 

10 

X Application 


Exceed onDemand 

Cluster Manager 

X Proxy Manager 


Proxy 


Connection 

Port 5500 

Proxy Connection 

Port 5501 


Client


Cluster configuration — multiple Exceed onDemand Servers are programmatically linked together 

to form a large, single, logical computing unit. Each Exceed onDemand Server within a Cluster 

is called node. 

Node 1 


Proxies 

X Application 


Port 5501 


Client 


Connection 

Port 5500 

Figure 2 — Exceed onDemand in Cluster configuration 


Connection 

Port 5500 


in Cluster Configuration 

Data Store 

Cluster Manager Node 



Proxies 


Connection 

Port 5500 


Connection 

Port 5500 


Port 5501 


Client 

Node 2 


For more information on how to configure Exceed onDemand Server, please see Section 6: 

“Server, User and File Management.” 

Proxies 

X Application 

Exceed onDemand Server can be further divided into three major components: Exceed onDemand 

Cluster Manager, X Proxy Manager and Exceed onDemand Proxy. 

Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager 

Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager is the top of the chain of command, and it is physically present 

in every installation of Exceed onDemand Server. It has the following tasks: auth/enticate users, 

govern license usage, manage all X Proxy Managers (see below), manage all types of configuration 

files, balance work load (in a cluster configuration) and keep track of shared and suspended sessions. 

Every Server or Server Cluster can only have ONE Cluster Manager. The role of Exceed onDemand 

Cluster Manager is consistent in both Standalone and Cluster configurations. 

11


The Cluster Manager can decide whether a new Exceed onDemand Proxy is required for a new 

connection request based on a fixed set of rules. Sometimes, Cluster Manager will instruct X 

Proxy Manager to reuse an existing proxy. 


X Proxy Manager is the middle man between Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager and Exceed 

onDemand Proxy. X Proxy Manager’s jobs are to start, stop and manage Exceed onDemand Proxies (see 

below), and redirect Exceed onDemand Client to communicate with a specific Exceed onDemand Proxy. 

X Proxy Manager also reports to the Cluster Manager to keep it informed of the status of each proxy. 

Exceed onDemand Proxy 

Exceed onDemand Proxy is a fully functional X server that supports all X protocol requests. It is 

spawned by the X Proxy Manager on an on-demand basis, and as a result, an Exceed onDemand 

Server can have multiple Exceed onDemand Proxies. Each Exceed onDemand Proxy is uniquely 

identified by a display number that X applications use to display output and receive input. 

Although Exceed onDemand Proxy supports all X protocol requests, it does not natively handle 

drawing requests and keyboard and mouse inputs. Instead, it translates the standard X drawing 

requests and inputs to equivalent Thin X Protocol commands before transmitting those requests 

to Exceed onDemand Client. Thin X Protocol will be covered in more detail later in this document. 

Exceed onDemand Proxy communicates with Exceed onDemand Client on a proxy port which, 

by default, is 5501. This communication can be secured by using Secure Shell protocol (SSH ), 

which will be covered in Section 7, “Advanced Configuration.” 

The Rules for Reusing Proxies 

When Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager receives a connection request from Exceed onDemand 

Client, it references the following guidelines to decide whether a new Exceed onDemand Proxy is 

needed, or if an existing one can be reused. 

1. Was the connection initiated by a user who has already started a session(s)? 

2. Did the connection originate on a PC that has already established one or more 

Exceed onDemand sessions? 

3. Is the user using one of the remote Startup Methods (RSH, REXEC, RLOGIN, 

Telnet or Secure Shell)? 

4. Is the Reuse Sessions setting in the Xstart file set to either Automatic or Ask User? 

If the answer to all of the questions above is “YES,” then X Proxy Manager will allow an existing 

Exceed onDemand Proxy to handle the new connection. 

12

Exceed onDemand Client 


Exceed onDemand Client is the client portion of the software that each user must install on the 

PC. Exceed onDemand Client is a native Windows application that supports most of the current 

Windows platforms, including Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. The main function of 

Exceed onDemand Client is to render the image on the display and interact with users through 

the input devices. Connections between Client and Server can be secured using Secure Sockets 

Layer (SSL), which will be covered in Section 7, “Advanced Configuration.” 

On top of the traditional means of deploying a Windows application, administrators can deploy 

a pre-configured Exceed onDemand Client to end users through a web browser. Section 8, 

“Web Deployment” will discuss this feature in more detail. 

Cluster Computing 

What is a Cluster? 

In a computer system, a cluster is the use of a group of machines to form a single logical system 

which enables high availability and load balancing. 

How Does Clustering Work in Exceed onDemand? 

In a Cluster configuration, multiple Exceed onDemand Servers are programmatically linked to form 

a single, logical computing unit, and each Exceed onDemand Server within a Cluster is called a Node. 

Nodes can run on any supported platform, forming a cross-platform cluster. 

Exceed onDemand Server in Standalone configuration can be considered as a Cluster with only one node. 

Definitions 

For the sake of consistency and convenience, the terms are defined as the following, and used 

accordingly throughout the document: 

Exceed onDemand Server, or simply “Server” — Exceed onDemand Server in either Standalone 

or Cluster configuration. In a Cluster configuration, Exceed onDemand Server includes the Cluster 

Manager node and all other nodes. 

Cluster — Specifically means Exceed onDemand Server in Cluster configuration 

Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager, or simply “Cluster Manager” — the component 

Cluster Manager Node — the machine in a Cluster which Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager resides 

Nodes — other machines in the Cluster 

13


Connections 

As mentioned earlier, there can only be one Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager per Cluster. 

However, a physical copy of Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager comes with every installation of 

Exceed onDemand Server. Therefore, before an Exceed onDemand Server can join an existing Cluster 

to become a Node, the Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager residing on that Server has to be disabled 

using Exceed onDemand Server Manager. The only instance of Exceed onDemand Cluster Manager 

in a cluster will directly communicate with the X Proxy Manager on each node over the Cluster 

Manager port, which is 5500 by default. 

Users will interact with the Cluster Manager node to launch or configure a session. All connection 

requests are handled by Cluster Manager. The incoming requests are processed by Exceed onDemand 

Cluster Manager, and the work load is distributed to the node which has the smallest load in order to 

promote load balancing. 

Data Storage 

Data Store is the location where configuration and connection profiles are stored. Several rules were 

implemented to protect data consistency and promote efficiency. 

The first and foremost rule is access restriction. Only the Cluster Manager has the privilege to 

communicate, access and write to the Data Store. Requests related to accessing or modifying 

configuration files, coming from either Exceed onDemand Client or X Proxy Managers, are 

routed to the Cluster Manager for processing. 

The second rule is one version of truth. There is one and only one Data Store in each Exceed onDemand 

Server. When multiple Exceed onDemand Servers group together to form a Cluster, there is only one 

Cluster Manager survives. The result is that the Data Store that was originally attached to the surviving 

Cluster Manager is kept alive. 

License 

In many ways, License information can be treated as another form of configuration data that the 

Cluster Manager manages. Again, only Cluster Manager is allowed to deposit in, or withdraw from, 

the License pool. 

When an Exceed onDemand Server joins a Cluster, the administrators are required to manually 

transfer the license from the newly added node to the license pool by re-entering the Activation 

Key in the Exceed onDemand Server Manager. 

14

Types of Connectivity 


Typically, X applications communicate with X Display Servers to display output and receive input. 

In the case of Exceed onDemand, X applications communicate with Exceed onDemand Proxy via the 

X protocol. In turn, Exceed onDemand Proxy communicates with Exceed onDemand Client via Thin 

X Protocol (TXP). 

Exceed onDemand offers a number of startup modes, which enable two types of connectivity: 

Direct Client-server Connectivity: 

Exceed onDemand Client connects directly to X applications that reside on the same physical 

machine as Exceed onDemand Server. 

Figure 3 — Connects directly to X applications on Exceed onDemand Server 

Gateway Server Connectivity: 

X Applications 


Thin X Protocol Traffic Thin X Protocol Traffic 

Exceed onDemand Client Exceed onDemand Client 


Exceed onDemand Server is not required to be installed on every machine on which X applications 

reside. Exceed onDemand Server can act as a gateway between Exceed onDemand Client and X 

applications running on different machines. 

15


Figure 4 — Connects to X applications through an Exceed onDemand Server 

Thin X Protocol 

History 

X Window System was developed in 1984. The goal was to create an operating environment that 

was truly hardware and vendor independent. The protocol that it used was called X protocol. It was 

designed to run on a Local Area Network (LAN) where bandwidth was high and latency was low. 

However, the terms “high bandwidth” and “low latency” can rarely be used to describe Wide Area 

Network (WAN) or Internet connections. A new protocol is urgently needed in order to create a 

server-based PC X server that can efficiently link the client to the server over any type of network 

connections, hence the birth of Thin X Protocol (TXP). 

16 

X Application X Application X Application 

X Protocol Traffic X Protocol Traffic 


Thin X Protocol Traffic Thin X Protocol Traffic 

Exceed onDemand Client Exceed onDemand Client 

Exceed onDemand Client

What is TXP? 

TXP is designed to: 


> Split functionalities between the Proxy and Client — The X functionalities are split between 

Exceed onDemand Proxy and Exceed onDemand Client, because the Proxy does not have the 

native ability to handle drawing requests and keyboard and mouse inputs. These requests are 

mapped to the TXP-equivalent requests and passed between Clients and Proxies. 

> Reduce bandwidth requirement — TXP has the ability to compress, cache and optimize requests. 

The goal is to minimize the amount of data that has to travel across the high latency, low bandwidth 

network. The trade-off for compressing the requests is higher CPU overhead; additional CPU cycles 

and computer resources are required to compress and decompress the requests. However, the 

abundant CPU power that PCs and servers now harness allows Exceed onDemand to achieve 

higher compression rates without sacrificing computer performance. 

> Adapt to the network bandwidth — The level of compression and optimization can change 

automatically depending on the network bandwidth availability. As the available bandwidth 

decreases, the compression increases and special optimization of TXP is activated. The shift 

between CPU overhead and bandwidth usage is done automatically during startup without 

involving the user. 

> Reduce roundtrip requests — X applications normally communicate with an Exceed onDemand 

Proxy over a LAN connection where network bandwidth is abundant. Exceed onDemand Proxy, acting 

as a fully functional X server, is capable of handling all X protocol commands with the exceptions 

that have already been mentioned. As a result, many of the roundtrip requests are taking place 

over a LAN connection with little latency, while few roundtrip requests take place over WAN 

or Internet connections using the bandwidth-friendly TXP. Comparing this to a traditional X server 

running on a WAN or the Internet, where all X protocol commands have to travel on low bandwidth 

connections, the reduction in the number of roundtrip requests over the WAN or Internet connection 

is significant, thus giving Exceed onDemand an unparalleled performance advantage. 

> Strengthen X security over WAN and Internet — TXP can be easily encrypted using Secure 

Sockets Layer protocol for heightened security. 

17


Licensing 

Since Exceed onDemand is a server-based PC X server, access is controlled by license keys (as is often 

true of server-based software) and the license manager on Exceed onDemand Server. A company is 

entitled to a fixed number of licenses based on the purchase agreement. The number of licenses and 

the type of licenses are reflected in the Activation Key that is provided. Exceed onDemand Server can 

accept multiple Activation Keys and they are cumulative. 

License Types 

Users will be receiving one of the following two types of licenses from Hummingbird at the time 

of purchase: 

Shared or Server-based License — One license is used per active X session. When a user ends or 

suspends a session, the occupied license is released and can then be re-used by other users. When 

all licenses are in use, no user can start an X session until a license becomes available. 

Assigned or Named License — The number of active user accounts cannot exceed the number 

of licenses purchased. If, for example, five assigned licenses are installed, only the first five users 

who are granted active accounts can start X sessions. These five users then share the five licenses 

as described above. If any other user needs access, then the administrator must either deactivate 

one of the five user accounts or acquire extra licenses. 

Some Simple Rules: 

> The license types of all licenses on an Exceed onDemand Server must be identical. 

Exceed onDemand Server does not accept mixed license types. 

> The first time a user launches Exceed onDemand Client and creates a session or joins 

a shared session, one license is deducted from the license pool, provided the pool has 

at least one license available. 

> If the same user launches another Exceed onDemand Client from the same PC to the same 

Exceed onDemand Server and creates another session, the user uses the same license that 

he or she received previously. No additional license is deducted from the pool. 

> If the user launches Exceed onDemand Client from another PC, or connects to another 

Exceed onDemand Server, then one license is deducted from the Exceed onDemand Server 

that is hosting the session. 

> If the user terminates or suspends the last Exceed onDemand session that is connected 

to an Exceed onDemand Server, the license is returned to the pool for circulation. 

18

The Sequence of Events 

The following diagrams depict the Exceed onDemand connection events: 

Launch a Session 

Exceed on Demand 

Exceed on Demand Client X Proxy Manager Proxy 


Request: Launch Session 

Suspend a Session 

Reply: Return Node ID, Port and Authentication Token 

Request: Launch Proxy 

Reply: Return Proxy Port, Display Number and Parameters 

Event: Connect 

Event: SessionStarted 


Request: Start Proxy 




Request: Suspend 

Request: Get all Data Needed for Storage 

Request: Send Data 

Event: Session Suspended 

Event: Suspend 

19


Resume a Session 




Join a Session 

20 

Request: Get suspended sessions 

Reply: Return List 

Request: Select Session 

Reply: Return Authentication Token 

Request: Resume 



Event: Session Resumed 




Request: Get Shared Sessions 

Reply: Return List 

Request: Select Session 

Reply: Return Authentication Token 

Request: Share 



Event: Session Joined

Server Requirements 

Exceed onDemand Resource Usage 


“What kind of server do I need for Exceed onDemand Server?” This is a valid and logical question to 

ask when considering adopting Exceed onDemand--it is also a very difficult question to answer. It is 

akin to asking what machine is needed to run Windows XP. The answer to both questions is that it 

depends largely on how and for what the product will be used. 

If the machine only needs to run Exceed onDemand in passive mode and launch simple X 

applications, then most decent machines in the market will do. But this is rarely how Exceed 

onDemand is used. After all, Exceed onDemand is a PC X Server and a graphical emulator. 

The access of the host resources can be broken down into three stages: 

Stage 1 — A fixed amount of resources are used to launch Exceed onDemand. 

Stage 2 — As an emulator, Exceed onDemand incurs additional resources for every X application 

it handles. 

Stage 3 — If the X application is running on the same host as the Server, then the application itself 

will consume resources. 

So, to rephrase the original question: 

a) What kind of X applications will my users access? 

b) Will the X applications and Exceed onDemand Server run on the same machine? 

c) How many users will access each X application? 

d) What is the usage pattern likely to be? Is there a peak hour when everyone will log on to the Server 

at the same time, or will the usage be evenly spread out throughout the day? 

So knowing the size of the deployment and its intended usage is essential. A site deploying Exceed 

onDemand to 100 users, each running a copy of xterm, will have different server requirements 

than another site that deploys Exceed onDemand to 100 users with each running an instance of 

a complicated 3D imaging software product. 

However, this document will try to provide some basic guidelines and examples of system resource 

usage and bandwidth consumption when Exceed onDemand runs some common X applications. 

Users can use this information as a reference when deciding the size and capacity of a server 

intended to house Exceed onDemand Server, but they are strongly advised to collect data that 

is unique to their environment. 

21


The Setup 

Exceed onDemand 5 is installed on Sun ® Solaris ® 8, Red Hat Linux Advanced Server 3.0 and 

Microsoft Windows Server 2003. Similar configuration files are created on all Exceed onDemand 

Servers, which will connect the user to Red Hat Linux machine launching various applications. 

Operating System Hardware Specification 

Sun Solaris 8 Sun UltraSparc II Processor @ 360 MHz and 512 MB RAM 

Windows Server 2003 Intel Pentium M at 1.5 GHz and 512 MB RAM 

Red Hat Linux Advanced Server 3.0 Intel Pentium 4 @ 1GHz and 512 MB RAM 

Memory Consumption 

Memory consumption was measured on the various hosts housing Exceed onDemand Server 

to record the memory usage of the ewebhost process. The results were measured in kilobytes (kb). 

X applications Sun Solaris Red Hat Linux Windows Server 2003 

Passive mode, no application (Base line) 5864 3100 4324 

xterm — Single Window Mode 5920 3264 4460 

Idling GNOME Desktop 16000 10204 11292 

Running Mozilla in the GNOME Desktop 18000 11088 12316 

Bandwidth Consumption 

The following table displays the total bytes transferred between Exceed onDemand Client 

and Exceed onDemand Server based on each type of X applications. 

Exceed onDemand Client Exceed onDemand Server 

IBM Thinkpad T40 Intel Pentium 4 @ 1GHz 

Pentium-M 1.6GHz 512 MB RAM 

1024MB RAM Linux Red Hat Enterprise Advanced Server 

22


X Applications Traditional X Server Exceed onDemand) 

Traditional X Servers are not bandwidth-sensitive. Therefore, regardless of whether the X server 

is runs over a LAN or dialup connection, it consumes the same amount of bandwidth and sends 

the same amount of data over the network. Exceed onDemand, however, is not only capable of 

significantly reducing bandwidth usage; it is also bandwidth-sensitive. As the connection speed 

and the bandwidth decline, the advanced compression and caching mechanism is engaged and 

the bandwidth usage decreases. 

As the results indicate, launching a Gnome desktop using traditional X server generated more than 

7MB of data transfer between the Red Hat Linux machine and the PC. Using Exceed onDemand to 

launch the same desktop from the Linux machine over a LAN connection generated 90 times less data 

and brought the total transfer down to 80kb. The same test was performed over a dialup connection 

and data transfer was further reduced to 67kb, or more than 100 times less data. The amount of data 

transfer varies from one application to another depending on the nature of the X application. 

Summary 

Fast Connection Slow Connection 

Gnome Desktop 7,132 80 (1.1%) 67 (0.9%) 

Gnome and Firefox 11,087 324 (2.9%) 254 (2.3%) 

The server requirements for Exceed onDemand Server can be as disparate as the system requirements 

for the X applications themselves. Software evaluators are strongly advised to install Exceed 

onDemand in their environments and monitor the CPU, bandwidth and memory usages, as well as 

the access pattern. Using these statistics, software evaluators will appreciate the uniqueness of their 

environments. Finally, they can make an informed decision on the server hardware requirement that 

can satisfy their expectations. 

23


Installation and Connection 

Installing Exceed onDemand 

Exceed onDemand follows a server/client model that involves installation of both server and client 

components on different machines. In a simplified environment, administrators need to install Exceed 

onDemand Server on at least one of the many UNIX, Linux and Windows server platforms that it 

supports. Then, administrators must distribute Exceed onDemand Client to as many office desktops, 

home desktops and laptops as necessary and as the license permits. Since the installation of client 

software is usually repetitive, Hummingbird took extra care in making this process as simple and 

inexpensive as possible. Post-deployment software management is also necessary in order to create 

a painless administration environment. Exceed onDemand employs various installation technologies 

that reduce the administrative and management overhead for both Server and Client components. 


Exceed onDemand Server for Windows is built on Microsoft Windows Installer technology for 

installation, modification, upgrade and removal of the software. This technology, which was introduced 

by Microsoft in Windows 2000, provides a powerful installation framework across all of the platforms 

of the Microsoft operating system family. Windows Installer provides administrators with consistent 

and reliable methods to customize installations, upgrade applications, and resolve configuration 

problems. It can also manage shared resources, enforce consistent file version rules, and diagnose 

and repair applications at runtime. 

Exceed onDemand Server for xNIX packages are self-extracting executables that are designed to run 

on the specific UNIX or Linux hosts. Each type of xNIX host has its own unique installation package. 

The installation process is script-driven, which helps administrators to install and configure Exceed 

onDemand Server with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. 

By default, Exceed onDemand Server is installed as a Standalone Server with Cluster Manager 

enabled. When Exceed onDemand Server is started, administrators should be able to find EoDPM 

and EoDCM in the process list. For each Exceed onDemand Proxy that is running, there is one 

corresponding ewebhost process. To learn how to add nodes to a cluster, please refer to Section 

6 “Server, User and File Management.” 

24


There are two ways to distribute Exceed onDemand Client to the user base: 


1) distribute the wizard-driven, Windows-based installation program through the regular windows 

deployment tools, or 

2) distribute Exceed onDemand Client through web browsers with the help of Exceed onDemand 

Deployment Wizard. Regardless of which deployment method is used, end users receive the same 

Exceed onDemand Client. 

For more information on deploying Exceed onDemand Client using Exceed onDemand Deployment 

Tools, please refer to Section 8: “Web Deployment.” 

Other Components 

Exceed onDemand also comes with a collection of administrative and deployment tools that help 

administrators manage the product: 

> Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard 

> Exceed onDemand Server Manager 

> Exceed onDemand Print Utilities 

> Exceed onDemand Keyboard Editor 

Most of these tools are Windows-based applications (with the exception of Exceed onDemand Print 

Utilities which can also run on xNIX environments), and they are part of the Exceed onDemand Server 

for Windows installation. Regardless of what platform Exceed onDemand Server is currently running 

on, administrators would have to install Exceed onDemand Server for Windows on a Windows 

platform should they wish to benefit from the additional tools. Exceed onDemand Server component 

should be deselected during the installation. Thanks to Microsoft Windows Installer technology, it is 

a simple and straightforward task to customize the installation. 

Since Exceed onDemand Server can run on most common xNIX platforms, it is an added benefit 

if the Server is installed on the same host where the X applications reside. By minimizing network 

traffic and latency, this configuration can potentially improve overall performance. 

In some other cases, administrators will favor the non-intrusive approach: Exceed onDemand Server 

is installed on a separate machine, leaving the machines running the mission-critical applications 

untouched. In this case, the host does not have to split resources, such as CPU cycles, bus bandwidth 

and memory, between the mission-critical applications and Exceed onDemand Proxies. With more 

resources available to the X applications on one machine and Exceed onDemand Proxies on another, 

users may experience improvement in response time and performance. 

25


Connecting to Exceed onDemand Server 

Regardless of how Exceed onDemand Client is deployed, users will always have a shortcut in the 

Exceed onDemand folder in the Start Menu. Depending on how users respond during the installation 

of the Client or the configuration of the deployment package, they may also find an Exceed onDemand 

Client shortcut on the desktop. Exceed onDemand Client is the entrance to the Exceed onDemand 

Server — it is what users must use to connect to Exceed onDemand Server, through which they can 

connect to other hosts. 

Creating a Connection to Exceed onDemand Server 

Follow the 3 easy steps to create a connection to Exceed onDemand Server. 

1) Double-click the Exceed onDemand Client 5 icon on the Windows desktop or from the Windows 

Start menu, open the Hummingbird Exceed onDemand 5 program group and click on Exceed 

onDemand Client. 

2) Exceed onDemand Client prompts the user to enter connection information such as: 

> Host — Name of the host running Exceed onDemand Server 

> User ID — The user ID for logging on to the host listed in the previous field 

> Password — The user’s password for logging on to the host 

> Xstart File — This configuration file contains remote login and automatic X application startup 

information. The Xstart files reside in the Data Store. 

> Xconfig File — Xconfig file control the look and behavior of the X session. The Xconfig files 

also reside in the Data Store. 

3) Once all information has been provided, click on the RUN icon on the toolbar, or RUN menu 

item from the ACTION menu to establish the Exceed onDemand connection. 

Exceed onDemand Client allows users to save the aforementioned information in an Exceed 

onDemand Connection Document anywhere on the PC. Double-clicking on any of the Connection 

Documents will cause Exceed onDemand Client to launch with the settings specified in the Connection 

Document. Information saved in the Connection Document can either be complete or partial. If the 

Connection Document does not contain sufficient information, Exceed onDemand Client will prompt 

the user for the missing information upon launching. 

26

Figure 5 — Exceed onDemand Client with all information entered 


Exceed onDemand Client also provides some basic logging and monitoring capabilities. 

> Enable Logging — When this option is selected, Exceed onDemand Client records information 

to a client log file. 

> Show Startup Monitor — When this option is selected, a startup monitor appears when connecting 

to a host, which shows the progress of the client connection to the Exceed onDemand Server. 

27


Configuration 

Different Types of Configuration Files 

The Configuration area of Exceed onDemand Client’s main screen describes the configuration files 

that are stored on Exceed onDemand Server. These configured files contain information such as the 

location of the X application, how Exceed onDemand should launch the X application, and numerous 

configuration options related to the appearance and behavior of the Exceed onDemand session. There 

are two types of configuration files: Xstart and Xconfig. 

Xstart Versus Xconfig Files 

Xstart and Xconfig are concepts borrowed from Exceed. As a result, the configuration options and 

the content of the configuration files are similar to those of Exceed. In fact, Exceed onDemand and 

Exceed Xstart files can be used interchangeably. 

Xstart Files 

Xstart automates the process of connecting to a host and starting X applications that reside on it. 

A user can create, configure and manage Xstart files (.xs) using Exceed onDemand Xstart Manager. 

In these files, the user will specify the host to be connected to the startup method, the login 

credentials and the command line parameters necessary to start the X application. 

Users are not required to launch an Xstart file for every Exceed onDemand session. For example, if a 

user wants to connect to Linux host and work in the GNOME environment then there is no need for the 

user to provide Xstart file information. In this case, the user should select None in the Xstart file field. 

Xconfig Files 

Xconfig files contain information that specifies how Exceed onDemand starts an X session and how 

it looks and behaves. Therefore, an Xconfig file is required to launch every Exceed onDemand 

session. Exceed onDemand Xconfig Manager lets users create, edit, and delete Xconfig files. 

28

Global versus User-defined files 


The Xstart and Xconfig files are further divided into two groups: Global and User-defined. 

Global Files 

These files are created, managed and distributed exclusively by administrators. Exceed onDemand is 

installed with two global Xconfig files and two global Xstart files (except for Exceed onDemand Server 

for Windows, where there is no default global Xstart file). These configuration files are available to all 

users the first time they connect to a host. Administrators can create additional global files and make 

them available as well. Please refer to Section 6: “Server, User and Configuration File Management” 

for more information on administering the Global configuration files. 

User-defined Files 

These files are created and/or managed by users. (User-defined files also include files that administrators 

create and distribute to users.) Each user is responsible for his/her own files. Only administrators can 

access, edit, and delete files of other users. 

Figure 7 — Exceed onDemand Xstart Manager shows Global and User-defined Xstart files 

29


Configuring a Profile 

Regardless of whether a profile belongs to Global or User File, it has the same number of configurable 

options that a user or an administrator can customize to meet specific needs. 

Startup Mode Settings 

Exceed onDemand offers 4 different Startup Modes, giving users the maximum flexibility in launching 

any X application from virtually any host. The Startup Modes are grouped into 2 categories: 

Passive and XDMCP. Users can select any Startup Mode based on the location and the type of the 

X application, the connectivity protocols that are available on the host, and the security protocol 

on which the corporation has standardized. 

Passive — Exceed onDemand starts the session without making any initial attempt to connect to 

a specific host or to run an application. This mode is most suitable for use in conjunction with an 

Xstart file. 

XDMCP — Users will connect to XDM hosts and launch an X session. Common Desktop Environment 

(CDE), GNOME and KDE are some of the commonly used X sessions. There are three different startup 

methods under the XDMCP category. 

> Query — automatically makes a connection to the host that was specified, or 

> Broadcast — broadcasts to hosts on the network to determine which hosts are willing to manage 

the X display, or 

> Indirect — sends a query to a host which sends queries to other hosts on the network to determine 

which are willing to manage the X display 

After a startup mode is selected, users can provide further information specific to the startup mode 

in the dialog. 

Figure 8 — Configure an Xconfig file options 

30

Customizing the User Experience 


Users can further customize the look and feel of the Exceed onDemand session based on either their 

personal preferences or specifications that are outlined by X applications. This includes customizing 

the keyboard and mouse input settings, display and screen settings and fonts. 

Keyboard Mapping 

X Window is essentially a window-type graphical user interface designed for UNIX. Users interact 

with it primarily by either typing or pointing-and-clicking with a mouse. Therefore, the ability to 

accurately and effectively communicate with the X application using the input devices is crucial. 

Out of the box, Exceed onDemand supports 16 pre-configured keyboard mapping files, including 

US, UK, French, German and Spanish keyboard mappings. If there is a need to modify an existing 

keyboard file or create a new one, Exceed onDemand offers the XKeys utility which is part of the 

Exceed onDemand Server for Windows installation. XKeys is a Windows application that allows 

administrators to modify or create additional keyboard mappings, if necessary. Each physical key 

can be mapped to any keysym from one of the 26 symbol sets. Administrators can also use this 

application to create keyboard layouts other than the standard 101 and 102 keyboard layouts. 

And to top it off, Exceed onDemand and Exceed keyboard mappings are interchangeable. Existing 

keyboard mappings that were created for Exceed can be used by Exceed onDemand. This capability 

guarantees maximum compatibility between the two software packages. It also benefits users who 

access both Exceed and Exceed onDemand on different occasions — they will not have to remap, 

or worse, re-learn all the keystrokes. 

Figure 9 — Exceed onDemand supports 16 pre-configured keyboard mapping files 

31


Figure 10 — Use Xkeys tool to create or modify keyboard mapping files 

Screen Settings 

Screen settings are not only user preference settings; they are also application preference settings. 

X applications may require the X server to be set up in a particular way in order for the application 

to function properly. Screen settings are mainly comprised of the configuration for the Server Visual 

and Window Mode. 

Server Visual 

Server Visual defines the color characteristics for the specified screen of the X server display. The 

Server Visual is crucial to the successful execution of an X application because it defines the colors 

that are available to an X application. It also determines the ability of the X application to change 

the color maps based on the application’s requirements. Exceed onDemand offers 5 different Server 

Visuals and an option to allow Exceed onDemand Server to automatically select the most appropriate 

Server Visual based on the Windows desktop color depth. 

Under most circumstances, users should let Exceed onDemand detect and select the Server Visual 

that is most appropriate for the current X session. However, some X applications demand a specific 

Server Visual that is not obvious to Exceed onDemand’s detection mechanism. Failing to comply will 

result in an unsuccessful execution of the application, or it will be executed with poor visual quality. 

In this case, users should override the Server Visual setting. 

Exceed onDemand also supports multiple server visuals and multiple color depths, which is required 

by some advanced X applications. 

32

Figure 11 — Select a server visual for the session 

Window Mode 

Exceed onDemand supports two window modes: 

> Multiple Window Mode — Displays each X application in a separate window 


> Single Window Mode — Displays all X applications in a single Exceed onDemand window 

For users who want the most seamless integration of UNIX and Windows work environments, 

Multiple Window Mode will be the most desirable choice — X applications will be wrapped by 

Native (Microsoft) Window Manager by default and blend in nicely to the Microsoft Windows 

desktop. Other X applications may require support for a different window manager, such as Motif 

Window Manager, so Exceed onDemand allows users to change the Window manager from Native 

to any X window manager of their choice. 

Users who want a consolidated view of all X applications in a single window can easily change the 

window mode to Single with just the toggle of a switch. Users are required to launch an X window 

manager to manage all the X applications. 

33


Figure 12 — X applications are displayed in multiple window mode 

Fonts 

Font is the last major configurable item that has crucial impact on the visualization and usability 

of an X server. With the correct font settings, an X application can display the right text on the 

right part of the screen accurately and efficiently. 

Exceed onDemand already comes with a great collection of fonts that are capable of handling most 

of the X font requests. It also comes with numerous double-byte character sets fonts, such as Chinese, 

Big5, Japanese and Korean. The font database contains 19 commonly used font sets. 

The fonts are part of the Exceed onDemand Server installation and they reside on the same machine 

as the Exceed onDemand Server in the native UNIX format (*.PCF). Upon receiving Open Font 

requests from the X application, Exceed onDemand Proxy will search for an exact match in the 

font database. Should the exact match not exist, Exceed onDemand Proxy will attempt to use 

the font from the database that most closely matches the requested font. 

34

Figure 13 — Enable or disable font sets from the list or add new font server to the database 


As rich as the font database collection is, it does include every font that is available in the market. 

That is why Exceed onDemand allows users to add additional UNIX fonts or font servers to the font 

database — the collection is infinitely expandable. 

Once the matching font is found, the UNIX font will be transferred to Exceed onDemand Client 

if the font has not already been cached on the PC. The font will then be converted immediately 

to the Microsoft Windows Font format (FON) for optimized performance. 

Printing and File Transferring 

Exceed onDemand offers users the convenient advantage of being able to print from X applications 

running on Exceed onDemand to Windows printers, instead of printing to a printer in a remote 

location. After all, users can connect to Exceed onDemand Server from anywhere in the world. 

It only makes sense that print jobs should be sent to printers that Exceed onDemand users can 

access. A utility called elpr can help. 

elpr is an X application that accepts print jobs from other X applications and passes the jobs to the 

Proxy. Through Exceed onDemand Server, print jobs travel to Exceed onDemand Client and, in turn, 

to the default Windows printer or any Windows printer of the user’s choice. Since elpr interacts 

directly with the X application, this utility must be installed on each machine running X applications. 

elpr has another responsibility: to provide basic file transfer functionality. Through the same 

mechanism and traveling along the same data path, users can use elpr to transfer files from the 

host to the PC over the Exceed onDemand connection. All data is transferred over the Cluster 

Manager Connection. 

35


Figure 14 — Exceed onDemand Server Files shows all of the available files on the Server 

Performance Optimization 

Exceed onDemand is designed to run on all types of network connections, but especially on remote 

connections such as WAN and Internet. The remote access connection speed varies widely, from a 

dial-up modem connection at 33.6kbps to a DSL connection that can be as fast as 1.5Mbps. Regardless 

of the connection speed, Exceed onDemand Client can efficiently communicate with Exceed 

onDemand Server. 

FAST and SLOW Connection 

Exceed onDemand automatically tests the connection speed when an X session is launched. Based 

of the results of the test, Exceed onDemand decides if the Exceed onDemand Proxy should be set to 

“Fast” or “Slow” Connection. This selection dictates the level of Compression as well as the allowed 

number of Window Exposure events. 

Compression 

Exceed onDemand uses Thin X Protocol to handle the communication between Exceed onDemand 

Client and Exceed onDemand Server. This connection is usually slower because it is more likely for 

Exceed onDemand Client to be running in a remote location, connecting to the Server over dial-up 

or broadband connections. 

One of the characteristics of TXP is its ability to compress data so fewer bits have to travel over 

the network connection. The compression ratio is controlled by Exceed onDemand Proxy, but users 

can override it under certain conditions. If the network connection is FAST, the Proxy will default 

the compression setting to “Large Data Only,” which means that only images and font data will be 

compressed. TXP commands will not be compressed. Users can override this setting to either “None” 

or “All Data.” The “None” setting benefits Exceed onDemand when running on a very fast network, 

one so fast that any performance benefit gained by decreasing the number of bits transferred is offset 

by the time Exceed onDemand takes to compress and decompress data. However, users will observe 

little bandwidth reduction with this setting. “All Data” compression, as the name implies, compresses 

all data. The bandwidth usage is at the minimum. Users cannot adjust the Compression setting if the 

connection is “Slow.” 

36

Font Caching 


Since all fonts are located on the Server and it is the Client that has to display the text on the screen, the 

fonts have to be transferred from the Server to the Client, and this process can be time consuming and 

repetitive. Font Caching can help. Caching is a mechanism that temporarily stores frequently accessed 

information in a location that is easier and faster to access than the original storage place. With Font 

Caching turned on, Exceed onDemand Client caches all requested fonts persistently in local storage. 

Exceed onDemand Proxy consults the Client’s font cache content first before sending the font over 

the network. This mechanism ensures the maximum efficiency and reduces redundant network traffic. 

Users can further specify the maximum number of fonts that can be stored in the cache directory. 

Image Caching 

The concept of Image Caching is similar to Font Caching; large images can take a long time to transfer 

from the proxy to the client. Exceed onDemand can persistently cache large images in local storage 

to save bandwidth and improve performance. Users can also define the image size threshold and the 

maximum storage size for the image cache. 

Figure 15 — Set the connection speed to Fast, Slow or Auto-detect 

OpenGL API 

OpenGL API is the premier environment for developing portable, interactive 2D and 3D graphics 

applications. Since its inception, OpenGL API has become the industry’s most widely used and 

supported 3D graphics application programming interface. Exceed onDemand, while promising 

the performance and functionality of Exceed for the mobile workforce, has harnessed the power 

of OpenGL API. It now supports OpenGL applications, such as scientific and data analysis, 

geographic mapping, content creation, CAD, CAM and CAE. 

37


Figure 16 — Display a CAD/CAM application over a remote connection 

The unique design of Exceed onDemand allows the Proxy to delegate OpenGL API rendering tasks 

to Exceed onDemand Client, thus relieving the Proxy of the heavy computational tasks. As a result, 

the proxy can simultaneously handle a larger number of OpenGL API applications. 

Figure 17 — Exceed onDemand can display X applications with OpenGL API implementation 

Languages 

Exceed onDemand Client is available in the following languages: 

> German 

> English 

> Spanish 

> French 

> Italian 

38 

3D X Application 

3D X Application 

X Protocol 

OpenGL drawing requests are sent 

to Exceed onDemand Proxies 







TXP 

OpenGL drawing requests are being delegated 

to the Exceed onDemand Clients 


on PC # 1 


on PC # 2


Users can switch from one language to another “on-the-fly” using the built-in language chooser 

function. The available languages are determined during the installation. 

Figure 18 — Select language for the user interface 

Other Exceed onDemand components are also multi-lingual. The user interface language of Exceed 

onDemand Deployment Wizard and Exceed onDemand Server Manager is affected by the language 

selection made in Exceed onDemand Client. Exceed onDemand Server, on the other hand, is English Only. 

Hummingbird Language Chooser offers an alternative means of altering the language selection. This 

standalone Windows application is part of Exceed onDemand Server installation on Windows. It 

allows users to change the user interface language of the following Exceed onDemand components: 

> Exceed onDemand Client 

> Exceed onDemand Server Manager 


39


Figure 19 — Exceed onDemand users can switch the UI language 

Using the application, users can either select a specific language for all user interfaces, or allow 

Exceed onDemand to match the language that Windows is using.Server, User and File Management 

40

Introducing Exceed onDemand Server Manager 


Exceed onDemand Server Manager is a Windows-based management tool that administrators can 

use to manage Exceed onDemand Server. This tool is indifferent to the server-platform — it can 

connect to any Exceed onDemand Server running on any supported platform in one or more 

networks. It allows administrators to manage many Exceed onDemand Servers in a corporate 

network from a single location, and thereby minimizes the administrative overhead. 

Exceed onDemand Server Manager is a part of the Exceed onDemand Server for Windows installation. 

Regardless of the platform on which Exceed onDemand Server is currently running, administrators 

must install Exceed onDemand Server for Windows on a Windows platform should they wish to 

benefit from this tool. If the administrator only wants to install Exceed onDemand Server Manager, 

then during Exceed onDemand Server installation other components should be deselected. 

Figure 20 — Exceed onDemand Server Manager manages Server, users and configuration files 

The user interface indicates the four areas that Exceed onDemand Server Manager handles: 

Cluster, Nodes, Users and Files. 

As noted before, Cluster Manager and X Proxy Manager are the main components of Exceed 

onDemand Server, regardless of whether the server is configured as a Standalone server or 

a Cluster. Therefore, both Cluster and Node Management tasks apply to every installation 

of Exceed onDemand Server. 

Cluster Management 

Administrators will use the Cluster Management portion of Exceed onDemand Server Manager 

to perform the following tasks: 

> Configure Cluster Manager Port 

> Modify SSL option 

> Select Authentication Types 

> Setting Cluster Manager Password 

41


> Manage Activation Keys 

> Restart Cluster Manager 

> View Cluster Manager Log 

All tasks, except Setting Cluster Manager Password, apply to both Standalone and Cluster configured 

Exceed onDemand Server. The explanation and usage of most of the tasks are well documented in the 

Help file and manual. However, there are a couple of points that administrators should take note of. 

There are two ways to authenticate a user, Native and PAM. The Native authentication type allows 

Exceed onDemand Server to authenticate the users; more specifically, the host on which the Cluster 

Manager Node resides will handle the authentication requests. Alternatively, administrators can 

select PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) as the authentication type. The PAM option is only 

available if the Cluster Manager Node resides on Sun Solaris or Linux, as PAM has been widely 

adopted on those platforms. In this case, Exceed onDemand Client credentials will be passed to the 

PAM module for verification, but administrators are required to configure PAM to include Exceed 

onDemand services and specify an associated PAM module. If configured properly, Exceed onDemand 

Client credentials can be authenticated by LDAP Server, RSA Authentication Manager, or any other 

authentication/directory services that support PAM. 

Figure 21 — Manage the Cluster in the Cluster Settings dialog 

42


When adding a new node to an existing cluster, the activation key originally associated with the 

newly added node will not be transferred to the Cluster Manager. Therefore, it is necessary for 

administrators to re-enter the activation key using this tool. Similarly, if a node is to be reverted back 

to the standalone status, it will require an Activation Key which can be obtained from Hummingbird, 

or the administrator can remove a key from the Cluster and use it on the new standalone Server. It is 

important to remember that each Activation Key can only used on one server in order to comply with 

the End User License Agreement. 

Figure 22 — View, add and remove activation keys 

Node Management 

Nodes are in fact the individual X Proxy Managers. Therefore, in a standalone Exceed onDemand Server 

configuration, the host itself will be listed in the Nodes sub-tree. Node Management tasks includes: 

> Configure Proxy Manager Port 

> Set Display ID 

> Set the Secure Shell command 

> Select the role of the node 

> Restart the node 

> View Proxy Manager log 

43


Figure 23 — Join or leave cluster in Node Settings dialog 

Administrators will use the Node Management to define the role of the X Proxy Manager and 

determine whether the X Proxy Manager is part of a Cluster. If it is, the name, port and password 

of the Cluster Manager is required in order for the node to successfully join the cluster, followed 

by restarting the soon-to-be added node. 

Similarly, administrators can use this user interface to convert any node (except for the Cluster 

Manager Node) back to a standalone Server followed by a node restart. Be aware that when a node 

is removed from a Cluster, all the Proxies handled by that node are terminated along with the 

sessions. Owners of these sessions are required to reconnect to Exceed onDemand Server and 

restart the session. 

44

User Management 


There are two types of users: administrators and normal users. Administrators have all the rights and 

privileges in controlling and configuring Exceed onDemand Server. They can also set the default 

privileges of the normal user or the privileges of an individual user. For example, if the administrator 

wants to minimize the resources that each user can use then the administrator can turn off the 

Suspend feature, or disallow users from sharing their X sessions, or limit the maximum number 

of X sessions that a user can initiate. 

An administrator can also assign the administrative privileges to any user. 

Figure 24 — Administrators can grant user and All Users permissions 

Administrators can also remove or de-activate user accounts. There are subtle differences between 

remove and de-activate in the realm of Exceed onDemand. In essence, “remove” removes a user from 

Exceed onDemand’s user tree, along with all the user configuration files associated with that user. 

However, it does not prevent users from logging on to the machine in the future. “De-activate” keeps 

the user name on the tree, as well as all of the configuration files. Once an account is deactivated, 

users will not be able to access Exceed onDemand Server using the same login. 

45


In the other words, “de-activate” option can be used as a passive license enforcement mechanism. Imagine 

a situation where 10 assigned/named licenses were purchased and installed. Exceed onDemand Server 

would keep track of all the users that ever logged on to the Server. The first time a user connected to 

Exceed onDemand Server, an active account would be created for that user. All 10 licenses are “assigned” 

after 10 users have logged on to the Server. But let’s assume one of the users was not supposed to connect 

to this Server. Instead of removing the user account, the administrator could deactivate it. The next time 

when the same user connected to the Server, the Server would not create a new active account for that 

user, and the user would be effectively blocked from accessing the Server again. 

File Management 

Xstart and Xconfig files can be easily managed using Exceed onDemand Server Manager. In fact, 

global files can only be created, modified and deleted using the Server Manager. Administrators 

are also given full access and full rights to manage user-defined files. In addition, administrators 

can distribute or relocate both global and user-defined files using this intuitive user interface. 

Figure 25 — Server Manager can also manage global and user-defined configuration files 

46

Advanced Configuration 

Advanced Security Settings 


Exceed onDemand is a connectivity solution that is targeted for all types of network connections, 

including WAN and Internet. In an effort to offer the best security mechanisms and support the 

broadest range of industry-recognized security protocols, Exceed onDemand provides a two-stage 

security system that allows companies to encrypt the connections using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 

and Secure Shell protocols to ensure end-to-end security and the privacy of corporate data. 

SSL 

The SSL support found in Exceed onDemand is an implementation of OpenSSL 0.9.7e. It is used 

to secure the connections between Exceed onDemand Client and Exceed onDemand Server. Once 

enabled, both the Cluster Manager and X Session connections will be secured, in which case, 

the user credentials, configuration data and Thin X Protocol traffic are scrambled. 

X Application 






Figure 26 — Configuration and X session connections are secured by SSL 

Secure Sockets Layer 


Connection Port 5500 


Port 5501 


Only the administrator of Exceed onDemand Server can modify the SSL option. The SSL setting 

affects all connections to all nodes of Exceed onDemand Server. 

47


Figure 27 — Administrator can configure SSL settings in the Cluster Settings dialog box 

Exceed onDemand supports all ciphersuites that are available to OpenSSL 0.9.7e. When using 

ciphersuites that use the Digital Signature Standard (DSS), Exceed onDemand Client verifies the 

identity of the Server before establishing an SSL-encrypted session. Therefore the Server must 

have the private key file and certificate file. All flavors of Exceed onDemand Server come with 

the necessary utility to generate such files. 

Secure Shell 

While the implementation of SSL helps to secure the connections between Exceed onDemand 

Client and Exceed onDemand Server, Secure Shell is used to secure the connections from the Exceed 

onDemand Proxy to the host where the X applications reside. Secure Shell is an additional start 

method that is similar to other Remote command startup modes, such as Telnet, except it uses the 

SSH protocol and is able to offer strong security features that Telnet and other unsecured protocols 

cannot, namely encryption and X11 port forwarding. 

Figure 28 — Making connection using Secure Shell 

48


In order to support Secure Shell Startup mode, the Strong encryption version of Exceed onDemand is 

shipped with the open source OpenSSH client. All features that are normally offered by OpenSSH are 

supported as well. Users only need to configure the host name, username, password and the command 

that will launch the X application. Exceed onDemand Proxy will attempt to communicate with the 

host through the OpenSSH client and authenticate the user. X11 Tunneling is enabled to allow X 

traffic to travel securely through the established X11 Tunnel. 

Users can provide credentials to the host using either password authorization or certificate authorization. 

Exceed onDemand offers a wide range of ciphersuites. Among those is the AES algorithm which 

provides a higher level of encryption than the traditional DES algorithm. AES became the de facto 

standard for encryption in the US Government starting in October, 2003. 

Secure Shell startup mode can be found on Exceed onDemand Server for UNIX and Linux. 

X Application 

Secure Shell 

X11 over Secure Shell 

Port 22 







Connection Port 5500 


Port 5501 

Figure 29 — Exceed onDemand can use Secure Shell protocol to secure traffic between Proxy and X applications 

Desktop Sharing 


One of the many advantages of Exceed onDemand’s architecture is that the Proxy acts as a gateway 

between Exceed onDemand Client and X applications. It is the Proxy’s responsibility to deliver the 

X display to Exceed onDemand Client. The Proxy also has the ability to interact with more than one 

Exceed onDemand Client at the same time and to multicast the X display to multiple Clients. This 

forms the base of the Desktop Sharing function. 

X Application 





X Protocol TXP 


Figure 30 — Exceed onDemand Proxy multicasts the X display to multiple Exceed onDemand Clients 




49


With this function, a number of Exceed onDemand users are able to share the same X session and 

interact with it. Additional access controls are added to provide granular definition of how and with 

whom the X display will be shared. Administrators can give individual users the right to use this 

feature, and each user can define his or her own list of participants in a shared session. This is an 

ideal tool to add collaborative capability to any X application. 

Figure 31 — Users can specify the share list and permissions 

When a group of users share an Exceed onDemand session, each user acquires one license from the 

license pool. The number of licenses available in the license pool determines the maximum number 

of users who can successfully join a shared session. 

50

Suspend and Resume 


Aside from being a gateway between X applications and Exceed onDemand Client, Exceed 

onDemand Proxy also acts as an intermediate buffer or a storage space. The Suspend and Resume 

feature makes use of this unique design; it allows Exceed onDemand Client to store all the X session 

information in the Proxy. Once the Proxy has an exact replica of the X session information, the Client 

can be disconnected from the Proxy, but the session is kept alive in the Proxy. This is, by definition, 

a Suspend action. Later, the same user can connect to the Proxy from any machine and resume 

the suspended session. The Proxy will send the stored X session information back to the Exceed 

onDemand Client and the user will be at the same point as before the session was suspended. 

X Application Exceed onDemand Proxy 

Step 1 — User on PC #1 requests to suspend an active X session. 

X Application Exceed onDemand Proxy 

Step 2 — X session data are stored on the Proxy. 

X Application 


with suspended 

session information 

Step 3 — Suspended session information is stored in the Proxy. 

The connection between Proxy and Client is terminated. 

X Application 


with suspended 

session information 

Step 4 — Suspended session can be resumed back on the same 

PC or another PC. 

Figure 32 — Four-step process of Suspend and Resume 

✘ 


on PC #1 


on PC #1 


on PC #1 


on PC #1 


on PC #2 

51


A suspended session does not use a license. However, when a user resumes a suspended session, 

he or she may consume one license based on the rules stated in Section 2: “Architecture.” 

By default, when a session is in suspended mode, so are the X applications in that session. To maximize 

the benefit of Suspend and Resume, some users may want to enable “Keep Suspended Session Active” 

option so that the X applications continue to run on the proxy after the session is suspended. 

However, not all sessions can be suspended. Exceed onDemand cannot suspend OpenGL sessions 

due to technical restrictions. Users will not have the option of suspending such sessions. 

Suspend on Disconnect (a.k.a. Crash and Resume) 

Exceed onDemand is designed with mobility in mind. We understand that network inconsistency 

and instability can occur and know the frustration it can cause. Based on the same principle and 

mechanism as Suspend and Resume, Exceed onDemand extends the feature to safeguard any 

non-OpenGL session. To enable this feature, users just have to turn on the “Suspend Disconnected 

Session” option. 

Figure 33 — Enable Suspend on Disconnect feature to safe guard your Exceed onDemand sessions 

However, this feature comes at the expense of performance. As indicated in the previous chapter, 

the Client is required to send the X session data to the Proxy as one of the steps in suspending a 

session. But a crash is unpredictable by nature and will never give the Client time to send data to 

the Proxy. To overcome this, the Proxy has to remain in a constant state of preparedness by keeping 

track of all the information it sends to the desktop. The obvious side effect is the added work-load 

and resource consumption on the host. But it may be a small price to pay for uninterrupted work 

and to ensure that the mission critical applications are up and functional at all times. 

52

Web Deployment 


Exceed onDemand comes with deployment tools that ease the deployment of Exceed onDemand 

Client to a large audience, as well as tools that make post-deployment management simple and 

effortless. 

Exceed onDemand Deployment Tools consists of: 


> Exceed onDemand Package Update Wizard 

> Exceed onDemand Index Page Wizard 

Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard fundamentals 

Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard allows Exceed onDemand Client to be deployed through 

Internet Explorer. It offers reduced cost of ownership, centralized deployment and management, 

and exceptional ease of access to X Window systems. 

Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard is designed as an administrative tool, enabling administrators 

to deploy and maintain different versions of software without increasing administrative overhead. 

With Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard, only the web server needs to be updated, ensuring users 

automatically get the latest version of the software with zero-effort. 

By using Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard, an administrator can create a web deployment package 

that contains Exceed onDemand components and a user profile. Once the administrator has finished 

running the wizard, a set of binary and HTML files are presented for installation on any web server. 

Each user wanting to use Exceed onDemand simply has to point his web browser to a web page as 

indicated by the administrator. Once done, Internet Explorer downloads all the necessary components 

and profiles and installs them on the user’s PC. Once installed, the web-deployed software can be 

accessed and managed by users like any other Windows software. The Client can be launched 

regardless of the state of the web server from which it was installed. Practically, there is no difference 

between the web-deployed version and the CD version of the Client. 

The figure on the next page is an overview of the 5 steps involved in deploying Exceed onDemand 

Client over the web. 

53


Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard Working Principles 

Figure 34 — Five easy steps and Exceed onDemand Clients are ready to be deployed on the Web 

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Administration 

Workstation 

4 

5 

1 

2 3 


Deployment Wizard Web Server 

Exceed onDemand Server Exceed onDemand Server Exceed onDemand Server 

Step 1: The administrator installs Exceed onDemand Client and the Deployment Tools on the 

workstation. Optionally, the administrator can also create new Exceed onDemand Connection 

Documents and Server profiles. 

Step 2: The administrator runs Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard and selects the web 

deployment options. The Wizard will then create a web deployment package which contains 

binaries and HTML files ready for deployment. 

Step 3: The deployment package will be copied to any web server. Administrator will notify 

the user community of the availability of the Client. 

Step 4: Users point the web browser to the web page as indicated by the administrator. Web 

package will be downloaded and installed on users’ PC. The files are distributed on-demand only, 

which means a feature will be downloaded only on the first time it is being used. Subsequent 

usage of the feature does not require any download unless an update is available. 

Step 5: Once Exceed onDemand Client is deployed, users will be connected to Exceed onDemand 

Server and through it, connected to a host and display X applications.

Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard Explained 

Web-Deployed vs. CD-Installed 


Exceed onDemand Client can be deployed in two different fashions: traditional CD installation and 

Web deployment. CD installation is when users install Exceed onDemand Client directly from a CD 

or from the setup program that administrators distribute. This type of installation requires users to 

interact with the setup program. Web-deployment means the application is deployed from a web 

browser. User interaction is either not required or minimal. Often, CD-Installed software has more 

features than its web-deployed counterpart but that is not true in the case of Exceed onDemand. 

Regardless of the deployment method that is chosen, the same Exceed onDemand Client is installed 

on the user’s desktop, with the same features and functionalities. Administrators do not have to train 

users for different clients because there is only one client available. 

Download Mechanisms 

Connecting to a host simply requires the user to click on the URL the administrator provides. On the 

first connection to the web server, the user is prompted to accept the Hummingbird certificate, which 

assesses the integrity of the components that will be downloaded to the browser. This certificate 

prompt appears only on the first connection to the web server. 

After the certificate has been accepted, Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard downloads the first set 

of components to the browser. This initial download usually takes less than 5 seconds on a regular 10 

MB Ethernet network. The only factors that can affect the size of the initial download are the number 

of languages supported, and the encryption level. A web deployment package that contains a strong 

encryption Exceed onDemand Client and single language file is slightly larger than 1 MB. 

In order to prevent unnecessary downloads, Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard uses a technology 

called “Feature-on-Demand.” Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard will only download the minimum 

set of components required to establish a connection to the host. All other features of the solution are 

packaged separately in small files that are only downloaded when the user invokes a specific function 

for the first time. 

For instance, the help files will never be downloaded to the user’s PC unless the user accesses the 

Help menu. Also, the Configuration Managers are not included as part of the initial download. 

55


Access and upgrade 

Exceed onDemand, unlike other thin solutions, actually deploys the native Windows client through 

a web browser. After the deployment, the software physically resides on the user’s machine and is 

readily accessible, regardless of the availability of the web server or the web deployment package. 

After the initial download is successful, the web server is only used to provide product updates and 

upgrades. Should the web server fail or the URL be moved to another location, users can still access 

Exceed onDemand Client in the normal manner. It is made possible by the unique ability of Exceed 

onDemand Deployment Wizard to create “intelligent” shortcuts. When launched, the shortcuts first 

detect if the web server is available. If so, the download engine checks to see if any new versions are 

available on the web server, and downloads any that are applicable. However, if the web server is 

not available when the user clicks on a shortcut, Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard skips the 

version checking process and connects the user to the host. 

How to use Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard 

Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard is a three-in-one tool. The Wizard can be broken down into 

three parts: 

> Project Deployment Wizard — Distribute Exceed onDemand Client to both local and remote end 

users over the Web. Pre-configure Exceed onDemand Client sessions that are launched from the 

web page to ensure optimal performance. 

> Project Update Wizard — Update users’ Exceed onDemand Client software automatically by 

deploying the latest version from the web server. 

> Index Page Wizard — Create an HTML index, which contains links to multiple Client sessions 

on a single web page. 

Figure 35 — The flow chart depicts three main functions of Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard 

56 

Index Page Wizard 

Deployment Project Selection 

HTML Page Information 

Wizard Type Selection 

Project Deployment Wizard 

Project Information 

Parameters Selection 

Language Selection 

and Client Settings 

Web Server Information 

Installation Settings 

Project Update Wizard 

Deployment Project Selection

Project Deployment Wizard 

Create a Project 


The first Wizard screen enables the administrator to create a new project or edit an existing one. 

A project consists of a set of parameters that define how Exceed onDemand Client will be deployed 

on the user’s browser through the web server. When a project is completed, Exceed onDemand 

Deployment Wizard generates a set of HTML files that can later be uploaded to a web server. 

An Exceed onDemand Deployment Project file (*.edp) is created and stored in: 

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Hummingbird\Connectivity\5.00\Exceed 

onDemand\ 

Figure 36 — Select the wizard type and create a new project using the Wizard 

Select a Connection Document 

Part of the deployment process is to distribute a Connection Document. When it is launched, users 

will be presented with an Exceed onDemand Xsession with the pre-defined configuration, and the X 

application that the user is supposed to access (if any). All of the information is already defined in the 

Exceed onDemand Connection Document (*.eod). Administrators are given the opportunity to select 

any Connection Document to be included in the Package. If no Connection Document is specified, 

or it does not contain sufficient information, Exceed onDemand Client will prompt the user for 

the missing information upon launch of the application. 

57


Figure 37 — Select one of the Exceed onDemand Connection Document (*.eod) 

Language Selection 

The Deployment Wizard also allows administrators to choose the languages which will be deployed 

in the web package. Administrators can select one or several languages from those available and specify 

a default language. The selection here will determine the available language options in the Client. 

Some Client settings are available that allow administrators to pre-configure the Client settings 

for ease of access and troubleshooting. 

Figure 38 — Pick the languages and Client setting options 

58

Deploying on any Web Server on any Operating System 


One of the major advantages of Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard is the ability to port 

the generated HTML and package files to any operating system and any server. Web deployment 

packages generated by Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard can be hosted on any type of web 

server regardless of the operating system. For instance, administrators can upload the web deployment 

packages to the web server on a UNIX or Windows web server and give their users a URL that points 

to the web server. 

Figure 39 — Specify the Web page properties 

Installation Settings 

The last step in the creation of a Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard profile consists of choosing 

the different modes of download and installation on the end-user workstation and browser. 

As explained in the “download mechanisms” section above, Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard 

automatically copies the binaries and user settings to a location on the hard drive in order to reuse the 

components on the next client startup. By default, Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard stores the 

binaries into “Program Files” and the user settings under user profiles. However, the administrator 

is given the ability to customize those two paths in order to avoid access rights problems. 

Figure 40 Last step, select the installation settings, including path types. Click Build to finish. 

59


Figure 40 — Last step, select the installation settings, including path types. Click Build to finish 

User Rights and Security 

Exceed onDemand Deployment Wizard does not require the user to have any particular access 

rights on the machine. 

On Windows NT, ® both Users and Administrators can install and use ActiveX controls through their 

browser. On Windows 2000 and XP, Microsoft has introduced an additional user group in between 

users and administrators: the power user group. Administrators and Power Users are capable of 

using and installing ActiveX controls with their standard rights. As far as users are concerned, Exceed 

onDemand Deployment Wizard includes a mechanism to allow these users with low privileges to 

perform the deployment without having to change their rights. This mechanism is automatic and fully 

respects the Microsoft Windows security mode. 

A common sentiment among administrators is that ActiveX equates to a security breach on their 

users’ machines. Nothing could be further from the truth. Actually, a signed ActiveX applet has 

no more potential for destruction than a signed Java applet that has been granted the rights to read 

and write on the disk (which is the case with most java web-to-host applets that are available). 

More importantly, ActiveX is not particularly related to the browser. ActiveX is simply a part of the 

COM architecture specification, which allows developers to describe visual interfaces to their COM 

objects. Actually, Windows users use thousands of ActiveX objects every day without knowing it 

and without using a browser. 

60

Update a Package 


Package Update Wizard allows administrators to quickly rebuild multiple packages at once. 

This feature is particularly useful when the administrator has applied a patch to the administrative 

installation. Package Update Wizard can re-generate new packages in batch mode. 

Figure 41 — Use Package Update Wizard to update many deployment packages in batch mode. 

Create an Index Page 

Index Page Wizard allows administrators to specify several existing deployment packages and 

automatically generates an HTML index page that contains multiple links, one for each package. 

Figure 42 — Index Page Wizard create an index page for the selected deployment packages. 

61

Server > Desktop Consolidation > X Window > UNIX integration > NFS v4 > Mainframe > Terminal Emulation > Security > SSL > Web-to-host > Cost Reduction > AS/400 > Mobile Workers > Thin 

beros > Smart Card > X Desktop Sharing > WebNFS > Web Deployment > Linux > PC X Server > Desktop Consolidation > X Window > UNIX integration > NFS v4 > Mainframe > Terminal Emulat 

bile Workers > Thin X Protocol > Public Private Keys Authentication > Secure Shell > Telnet > FTP > Reducing Business Disruption > TN3270E > TN5250E > Easy Migration Path > Bi-directiona 

frame > Terminal Emulation > Conflict Management > PC X Server > Desktop Consolidation > X Window > UNIX integration > NFS v4 > Mainframe > Terminal Emulation > Security > SSL > We 

Transforming Information into Intelligence 

Corporate Headquarters 

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Tel: +1 416 496 2200 

Fax: +1 416 496 2207 

E-mail: getinfo@hummingbird.com 

For more information, visit http://connectivity.hummingbird.com 

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WP-03-00-0033.10/05 

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® — Trademarks and logos are the intellectual property 

of Hummingbird Ltd. 

All other company and product names are trademarks 

of their respective owners.

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