New Leostream Connection Broker Version Released
Version 6.5 improves the end-user experience via an improved Web client, and it adds such management features as the ability to establish VPN tunnels for Cisco VPN clients.
Virtual hosted desktop software developer Leostream Corp. has released a new version of its Connection Broker application. Connection Broker 6.5 aims to improve the end-user experience and ease management of the virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
“Virtual desktops have to provide an end-user experience that’s at least as good as that of a traditional desktop,” says Leostream CEO Michael Palin. “And in a large organization, the VDI must be simple to manage.” The latest Connection Broker version, he adds, meets these aims.
According to Leostream, Connection Broker integrates with “an array of clients, back-end systems, and viewers” to create a hosted VDI. Indeed, it integrates with existing network infrastructures without changing authentication services and SSL VPNs.
The new version of Connection Broker enhances the Web client of the software, adding recognition of registry plans, printer plans, and user role settings. “The enhanced Web client provides a more user-friendly and customizable interface,” states Leostream in a press release to EH Publishing.
Connection Broker 6.5 also offers dynamic client display matching. This feature enables the creation of display plans that automatically match the layout and resolution of the client displays for viewer protocols that support it (such as RDP and HP RGS). In turn, this enables virtual desktops to automatically span and orient themselves correctly in multi-monitor setups.
Leostream Connection Broker 6.5 also provides streamlined access to XenApp. This Web client uses the Citrix Client for Java to launch an ICA session, which removes the need for an installed XenApp plug-in to be launched from the Web client.
Lastly, the latest version of Connection Broker enables user logon as a local user while still being authenticated by OpenLDAP. In this way, the Connection Broker supports scenarios in which users log into desktops that are not part of the Active Directory domain, but still need authentication by OpenLDAP.
On the management side, Leostream Connection Broker 6.5 includes a number of enhancements that simplify administration of the VDI, including:
- Search–Administrators can now search at a global or a table level to locate desktops, users, and clients.
- Connection Broker Updates–The new version automatically indicates when an update is available and provides an update process.
- Logging–Log-ins and assignments are now captured in the Connection Broker log files. Administrators can search for these events and create filters.
- Client Locations–Client locations can now be defined using subnet maps that specify a network mask length and a target range for the source and destination.
- Cisco VPN Client Support–VPN tunnels can now be established for Cisco VPN clients.
