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Industry
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Manufacturing
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Business Partner
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Manufacturing Concepts Inc.
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Host Connectivity Solution
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PowerTerm® InterConnect (Linux Edition)
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Host Server
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Red Hat Linux-based IBM xSeries
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The Challenge
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To find a terminal emulation product that worked well in a Linux environment.
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The Solution
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PowerTerm InterConnect (Linux edition) enabled plant workers to connect to data collection and acquisition information seamlessly in real time.
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Benefits
- Implementation proved easy in a terminal server environment.
- Cost-effective licensing model.
- PowerTerm scripting language for automated login.
- Provides excellent Wyse emulation.
"PowerTerm InterConnect for Linux is an excellent terminal emulation product. Compared to the others we looked at, PowerTerm was the best in terms of price and functionality. All in all, we're very happy with it."
Kevin Schell, President Manufacturing Concepts Inc.
Background
Manufacturing Concepts Incorporated (MCI), based in Ontario, Canada, provides integrated solutions to manufacturing companies. Since 1989, MCI has been providing clients with custom software development, enterprise software packages and complete turnkey solutions.
Kevin Schell, President of MCI, came to learn about Ericom Software's PowerTerm products while on a project for a longtime customer, a manufacturer of structural plastic products. The project called for improving overall plant efficiency by providing visibility of real-time data from production machines, and enabling a more accurate depiction of their raw material usage and inventory.
The company's plant shop floor system applications run on Red Hat Linux-based IBM xSeries servers, and they use D3® database from Raining Data where most of their development work is performed. Users access information using Linux-based thin clients from DisklessWorkstations.com.
Robust Connection to Linux Systems
MCI had already installed enterprise resource planning software as well as a radio-frequency bar-code scanning system for inventory when
a terminal emulation product was needed to enable users to connect to the shop floor data collection and acquisition packages in real-time.
"There are a lot of Windows terminal emulation programs out there, but that's not what we wanted," explained Schell. "Our main criterion was to find a terminal emulation program that would provide Wyse 60 terminal emulation."
Using an evaluation copy of PowerTerm InterConnect downloaded from the Web, they found that PowerTerm was easy to use and provided the Wyse 60 emulation they needed. "PowerTerm InterConnect did a perfect Wyse 60 emulation in our thin-client server environment and had an attractive licensing model from the point of cost. Those were two major reasons for choosing PowerTerm."
PowerTerm Features Offer an Advantage
Schell says that PowerTerm's scripting language was an important feature as well. "One of the nicest things about PowerTerm is the way we've configured it. Using PowerTerm and Linux scripting together we were able to make it so users turn the thin-client on, and it boots right into PowerTerm. That's all that the user has to do and that's all that we want them to do. They have no idea they're using a terminal emulator. For them, it's the shop floor data collection system." In terms of actual man-hours, it took less than one day to do the scripting and to integrate PowerTerm into the Linux-based IT infrastructure.
Schell says that plans are to expand the use of PowerTerm as the number of production machines in the plant grows. "PowerTerm InterConnect for Linux edition is an excellent terminal emulation product. Compared to the others we looked at, PowerTerm was the best in terms of price, functionality and in providing perfect Wyse 60 emulation. All in all, we're very happy with it."
