Application serving and portal software giant Citrix Systems Inc. Monday announced Citrix MetaFrame software support for Microsoft’s Pocket PC 2002 OS for handheld computing devices.
Using Citrix MetaFrame with Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA), only screen updates, keystrokes and mouse clicks are transported between client and server over the network. Client devices can access Windows, UNIX or Java applications using a fraction of the normal bandwidth requirement. Users see and work with the application’s interface, but 100 percent of the application executes on the server.
“Accessing certain applications on handheld devices can be difficult — full, rich versions may not be available, attachments may not be accessible or they may require a lengthy download process. Citrix’s MetaFrame Pocket PC 2002 client provides a unique value-add that eases these strains and simplifies the complexity,” said Larry Ritter, director and general manager, client server products at Citrix. “As business professionals continue to embrace the use of handheld devices, Citrix remains focused on enabling these customers to conduct business at any time from any location.”
Citrix ICA is an industry standard for server-based computing. Citrix ICA technology includes a server software component, a network protocol component, and a client software component. ICA separates application logic, which executes 100 percent on the server, from the user interface. This allows efficient, server-based application installation, management, deployment and support.
The ICA network protocol transports keystrokes, mouse clicks and screen updates over standard protocols to the client, typically consuming only 10-15 kilobits-per-second of network bandwidth. ICA client software, which supports virtually any device or platform, lets users view and work with the interface as if the application were running locally.
Citrix offers two families of products that enable virtual access to information: MetaFrame Application Server software and NFuse Access Portal software, including NFuse Elite, NFuse Classic and Enterprise Services for NFuse.
