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NCD ThinPATH® Plus

Desktop Support for Terminal Server Edition Applications

Download ThinPATH Plus Evaluation Software

Link to ThinPATH Plus Documentation

NCD ThinPATH Plus enhances Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, and Citrix ICA from ThinSTAR by Neoware Windows-based terminals (WBTs) and desktop PCs to support local printers, peripheral devices and Windows audio.

Highlights
  • For PCs and ThinSTAR Windows-based Terminals
  • Enhances Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, and Citrix ICA
  • Provides support for local parallel and serial attached printers and peripheral devices
  • Audio support for applications running on Windows 2000 servers
  • Support for a local disk drive attached to the ThinSTAR parallel port-Micro Solutions Backpack Diskette Drive, Model 14350
  • Access to local PC disk drives from server sessions running on Windows 2000 server
Enhances Microsoft’s RDP for PCs and ThinSTAR Windows-based Terminals
As organizations deploy Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Terminal Server Edition (TSE) and Citrix MetaFrame and server-based applications to thin client and PC desktops, the need to support local printers, peripheral devices and audio at the desktop grows significantly. NCD ThinPATH Plus software enhances Microsoft RDP and Citrix ICA to solve this customer need. In addition, NCD ThinPATH Plus supports both PCs and ThinSTAR Windows-based Terminals to provide a unified solution and a way to extend the life of installed PC resources.

Desktop Support for Most Requested Functionality
NCD ThinPATH Plus enhances RDP and ICA to provide support for devices connected locally through parallel and serial ports on a PC or ThinSTAR Windows-based Terminal, as well as Windows audio input/output.

Desktop Peripherals
NCD ThinPATH Plus enables the deployment of server-based applications and transparent support for a variety of serial or parallel desktop peripherals that may be used for input or output of data. Supported local parallel and serial devices include printers and bi-directional serial devices (up to 57.6K baud) such as Palm Pilots, check scanners, bar code and credit card readers. NCD ThinPATH Plus also supports shared printers and peripherals to maximize flexibility and resources.

Windows Audio Input and Output
NCD ThinPATH Plus software enables Windows sounds, ranging from the familiar Windows audio cues to WAV and video files to be heard at the PC or ThinSTAR Windows-based Terminal. Audio is a critical component of training or other education applications. The audio data stream dynamically adjusts to the available network load by compressing the data. This feature allows loaded networks or slower links to maintain the original fidelity of the audio without imposing arbitrary limitations.

Industry Applications
NCD ThinPATH Plus can be used to support a variety of industry-specific applications with specialized serial and parallel devices. Examples include: bar code readers, credit card readers and check scanners for point-of-sale retail applications, dictation devices, smart card readers and light pens for point-of-care applications in the healthcare industry, and fingerprint recognition devices for security applications in the banking and airline industries.

Automatically Allows Access to Local files from the Server
Another feature of the product allows users to run server applications that can access the data files stored on their desktop device. All ThinSTAR terminals supports an optional 1.4MB floppy disk drive. PC desktop users have complete access to any of their file systems, including both removable and fixed media. The server administrator can enforce policies on device access, for example to allow data to be read from a floppy but not a hard disk. Additional security rules can be defined based on the user or their NT group. This type of policy can be used to allow specific users to access the floppy drive on the ThinSTAR but not others; computer labs could restrict students access but allow instructors. Security can be limited to a specific desktop itself if PC desktops were used to access server based applications to a controlled station and allow other PCs to act in a "kiosk" mode for customers to retrieve information without the possibility of customers loading their own software or viruses.

World-class technical support
NCD and NCD Diamond Partners provide a decade of experience in thin client computing. As a company, NCD is committed to maintaining an expert support staff that is trained and certified on all current product technologies, including Microsoft Windows Terminal Services and Citrix MetaFrame.

Technical Specifications

Features
  • Flexible mapping of server port to desktop device
  • Supports both parallel and serial ports on local device (PC or ThinSTAR Windows-based Terminal)
  • Support for RS-232 serial peripherals
  • Support to attach local printers through serial or parallel ports (includes any Windows NT 4.0 supported printer)
  • Allows port mappings to follow end-user to different desktop or to bind a serial port to a specific desktop
  • Enables a local printer to become a shared network printer
  • An end-user session in not required on the desktop to operate
  • Support for bi-directional serial transfers - Supports up to 57.6K baud
  • Complete serial flow control support
  • Support for an unlimited number of server ports
  • Full Windows audio input and output (WAV)
  • Active network monitoring to reduce traffic
  • Supports exporting of PC desktop files to mulit user server sessions
  • Security prevents unauthorized network file access
    • Server based file security:
      • Device type (Removable, Fixed)
      • Access (Read Only, Read/Write, Denied)
      • User name
      • NT Group
      • Physical device
  • Supports MicroSolutions 1.4 MB floppy disk drive attached to ThinSTAR
Requirements

Clients Supported
  • ThinSTAR 500.NET Windows-based terminals
  • ThinSTAR 500 Windows-based terminals
  • ThinSTAR 400/450 Windows-based terminals
  • ThinSTAR 332 Windows-based terminal
  • ThinSTAR 300/300TR Windows-based terminal
  • ThinSTAR 232 Windows-based terminals
  • ThinSTAR 200 Windows-based terminals
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 98/95
Servers Supported
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition