Application server Tarantella Express is the junior member of the Tarantella family. Out of the box, the new Caldera-SCO combo package will be able to handle up to five concurrent application clients at once. With five-user license packs, the package can handle up to 45 Windows or Unix clients at a time. Those needing to support more and/or mainframe users need to upgrade to Tarantella Enterprise II.
Tarantella has been available on Linux since February. The combination of Caldera eServer and Tarantella is available for deployment starting this week. Although no pricing has been set publicly, the companies claim that the package will be available by July 20 directly from Caldera and its channel partners, as well from as Tech Data.
Putting it together
In practical terms, the result of the Caldera OpenLinux Application Server (OAS) will enable users with a Java-enabled browser to run applications remotely whether the user is on the corporate LAN or fighting to get work done over a 56K modem connection.
As Dan Kusnetzky, vice president for system software research for IDC says "The combination of SCO's virtual user interface serverware, Tarantella, and Caldera's OpenLinux eServer allows users ... to access applications running on Windows, Unix or Linux as easily as the new Web-based applications."
Ransom Love, president and CEO for Caldera, said he expects many companies want to keep their existing infrastructure in place and yet take advantage of the low-cost, stability and reliability of OpenLinux. This specialised server allows them to do just that.
"I can't think of a better way to leverage your existing infrastructure than making applications running on multiple servers available to your employees or customers through a single Web-enabled client," says Love.
The market for remote applications, as seen by the successes of Citrix and ASPs, is clearly there. With a maximum of 45 clients, however, OpenLinux Application Server is more suited for workgroups than it is for application service providers. Thus, OpenLinux Application Server will be competing directly with Citrix MetaFrame in small- and medium-sized businesses.
Here, OAS main selling point will be its total cost of ownership and integration. MetaFrame, available on Windows 2000, NT 4 Terminal Server and Solaris, thanks to the higher system demands and prices of its operating systems should prove a more expensive initial purchase. On the other hand, Citrix will be moving to Linux, as well as AIX and HP-UX by year's end. Only the market will be able to tell for sure.
