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CrossBrand - Restricting the OS/2 Workplace Shell
Applicable to: World-Wide
Summary:
IBM Restricted Workplace Shell Version 3 for OS/2 can help you ensure your return on your company's investment in the latest IT products, and bring your business closer to your customers. You can use it to guarantee that your employees using computer workstations are "flying in formation", not struggling to "do their own thing".
New technology can be a bad dream
Your company is investing large amounts of time and money in the latest Information Technology. You're developing applications to be used by your employees across your network, and investing in the computer hardware for their workstations. You want to be certain this investment is an aid for your employees doing business, not a distraction or worse - a potential barrier.
As you develop your applications, you have to deploy them across your network to all the employees waiting to use them. If each has created a personal operating environment by tailoring their workstation's operating system, that deployment can become an installation and training nightmare. You need a way to control the level of tailoring available, and a means of defining changes to the operating environment as part of this deployment.
Now your employees have their applications, you move from the frying-pan into the fire. New applications mean new users; new users mean new problems; new problems mean reduced productivity and increased work for your support staff. You have to control the ways the new users can alter their operating environment to prevent them changing or even deleting critical components, and to ensure it remains maintainable by your support staff. You need to ensure the Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability of your new applications in each user's operating environment.
Even when all your applications are successfully deployed, things can still go wrong. As your employees tailor the operating environment on their new workstations, you could reach the state where each one can be used by just one user; fine for encouraging a feeling of ownership, but an expensive and inefficient way of using such expensive resources. Users should able to walk up to a vacant workstation and logon to their own operating environment and applications.
Waking from the nightmare
Restricted Workplace Shell extends the IBM OS/2 Warp workplace shell to offer central administration and control on the functions and activities provided to the end user at an OS/2 workstation. This means your development staff can deliver and control the operating environment at your users' workstations, while leaving its basic operation the same as in OS/2 Warp.
Restricted Workplace Shell stores your workplace shell controls on your network servers. When a user logs on to a vacant workstation, Restricted Workplace Shell builds their desktop, so the user may logon to any vacant workstation attached to the server. This improves both the user's productivity and your workstation utilization.
Restricted Workplace Shell even increases workstation utilization when unattended; it includes a screen lockup program which can display a series of screen images or a movie. You can use this to display promotional material if the display is visible to your customers, or instructional material to your staff.
The OS/2 desktop built can use Restricted Workplace Shell's range of extensions. These control access to functions which can damage the application environment; for example, you can prevent the user deleting important applications, or moving them from the desktop. This means your users have a stable operating environment, and if they run into problems, your support staff will already know their desktops' contents and layout.
Highlights
Restricted Workplace Shell provides new components to extend the OS/2 Warp Workplace Shell. They let you tailor your workstation users' OS/2 desktops. You can selectively apply the new capabilities to any or all of the OS/2 basic components to create the desired operating environment.
Advantages:
Restricted Workplace Shell enables user productivity increases and reduces your support staff load by allowing you to:
- define users' OS/2 desktops centrally; when you distribute a new definition to local servers, the workstation users get the new desktop when they next logon
- control access to OS/2 desktop, folder and application menus and "settings" notebooks, preventing unauthorized modifications
- tailor and select applications presented to each user (individually or in groups), simplifying your users' working environment
- restrict access to non-essential, sensitive or vulnerable system components, giving a stable user environment
- start applications directly at logon, saving time, complexity and the opportunity for error.
Features:
User logon:
- When users start to use vacant workstations, the logon process builds desktops tailored to their needs according to profiles held on the servers.
- A user can logon to the same desktop at a different workstation, allowing user mobility.
- Several users can share a workstation at different times, each using their own desktop's applications, increasing workstation utilization.
- Mobile users with lap-top or notebook computers can use stand-alone user authentication. This allows them the same logon process and desktop building as users connected to a server machine over a LAN.
User desktop:
- has the same "look and feel" as the standard OS/2 desktop, so workstation users can use their OS/2 Warp skills and experience
- is tailored for the individual users or user groups, wherever they are located across your network.
Screen lock:
- locks-up on timeout, button or hot key
- displays timed pictures, movies or a screen-saver to use unattended workstations as promotional or information displays
- uses the Restricted Workplace Shell logon password, simplifying workstation sharing and user mobility as it is the
- user's password, not the workstation's.
Password protected folders:
- improve protection for sensitive information on unattended workstations
- protect administration tools from unauthorized access.
Restricted launchpad, shadow, datafile and disk classes:
- extend Restricted Workplace Shell's control to further OS/2 Warp objects to prevent the user changing their settings
- for access to unauthorized programs.
Utilities
These help improve your support staff's productivity, and include:
- Desktop designer, a "wysiwyg" visual tool for defining the users' desktops with drag & drop
- Support folder of Workplace Shell support utilities opened by a hidden hot-key and password protected.
Other features include:
- low overhead (both memory and processor cycles)
- CID installation over network, for support staff productivity
- sample files to simplify tailoring such processes as the Restricted Workplace Shell network logon.
Note - Restricted Workplace Shell features prevent casual users accessing unauthorized applications and OS/2 features; they are not intended to stop the determined "hacker" attacking the your systems.
Version 3 Highlights
IBM Restricted Workplace Shell Version 3 for OS/2 is for OS/2 Warp and later versions only; it does not support earlier OS/2 versions. It is the first Country Program Offering version; the previous two were Service Offerings.
The following features are new with Version 3:
- Desktop designer replaces OCF editor
- CID-enabled installation program allowing install, upgrade, and uninstall
- Restricted shadow and restricted datafile classes
- populate-on-open for restricted folders
- a progress indicator to replace the STARTUP.CMD window
- WIN-OS2 Program Manager controls
- a control to prevent the use of Alt+F1 to get a command prompt at boot
- window list pruning runs all the time
- simplified logon program tailoring
- screen lock may display a series of pictures or a movie.
Ordering Information
Type Model Part Number Program Name
5797-UP4 88H9692 Basic material
Use Packs
Type Model Part Number Program Name
5797-UP4 88H9693 1-Use Pack
5797-UP4 88H9694 5-Use Pack
5797-UP4 88H9695 10-Use Pack
5797-UP4 88H9696 50-Use Pack
Software Advantage for Workstations (ISAW) Agreement
Type Model Part Number Program Name
5797-UP4 88H9697 ISAW agreement
Upgrade Protection Standard Offering
Type Model Part Number Program Name
5797-UP4 88H9698 Upgrade protection
For more details, contact the IBM Software Enquiry Desk:
Telephone: +44 1329 242728
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OS/2 | |
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Date Created |
01-06-98 | |
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Last Updated |
02-06-98 | |
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Revision Date |
01-06-99 | |
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Cross Brand | |
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Various | |
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Various | |
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