Re: Would SBS work for us? (SABRE and SBS)

From: Doug Geary (reply_at_group.please)
Date: 05/26/04 

Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 00:42:39 -0400

It sounds like your Sabre remotes are using the old Nortel Contivity VPN
client - and that is not needed any more. The best case scenario for them is
to get a standard Terminal Address (TA) and have them run Sabre Evoya Web
Client. No VPN client is required for these, it is simply a Java client.
Interestingly, your regular agents within the agency can now use their TA's
from work at home (yes the same one), they just can't have Sabre up at home
and at work at the same time... but it is handy.

Just so you know, much of this conversation depends on where you are in your
Sabre contract. If it's nearing the end, make sure Sabre agrees to let you
keep the Nortel boxes upon upgrade. They are discontinuing Sabre For Windows
this summer. Sabre Evoya WebTop was supposed to replace it, but it is not
rock solid within the agency. Remotes seem to be able to work with it, but
the power users in the agency get keyboard lock a lot.

Sabre has just released MySabre, which is intended to replace both Sabre For
Windows and Sabre Evoya Webtop. We're testing it now in several agencies.

My pick is to keep Sabre For Windows AND the Nortel router for now. If you
have a VPN Router in your mix, your home users can still use Sabre For
Windows by routing their CRS traffic through the Nortel box. It means they
use the host agency's PCC, and not a remote PCC, but that is usually all
good, and cheaper on the Sabre contract too.

I'm not exactly sure what you are saying about Trams and CBPlus. Are you
saying your remotes are running these products remotely through Citrix?

You shouldn't need Citrix with SBS2003... but, you are going to run into an
overhead issue with that number of clients banging away at the database over
VPN, especially if you are fully utilizing CBPlus. There's ways around it
though... but I'd need a lot more detail.

You'll like SBS2003 in an agency environment. It's all we install now... if
you don't have your Contivity passwords, I'd start trying to get them now...
you'll need them to fully deploy SBS... and you usually have to be a little
tricky with Sabre Support now to get them.

Good luck.

> > >>-----Original Message-----
> > >>We are a travel agency with 14 workstations in our main
> > >>location connecting to the internet through a Nortel
> > >>Contivity 100 unit on an ADSL line. We have a second
> > >>major location with 5 workstations also connecting to
> > >the
> > >>internet through an Nortel Contivity 100 unit on an
> > ADSL
> > >>line. We have 6 workstations in single-user locations
> > >>(some in client offices and some at home) connecting
> > >>directly to the internet mostly on ADSL but with two on
> > >>cable. Six people from the main location and two from
> > >>the secondary location at least occasionally work on
> > >>their own computers at home. Again, there is a mix of
> > >>ADSL and cable connections for these and no hardware
> > >>firewalls. We occasionally have to move someone from
> > >the
> > >>main location to one of the client locations to cover
> > >for
> > >>vacations.
> > >>
> > >>Most users have a computer reservation system
> > >application
> > >>called Sabre installed on their workstations. In the
> > >>case of the home and client locations, these connect to
> > >>the Sabre mainframe via the internet by a software VPN
> > >>connection also installed on the workstation. The two
> > >>main locations connect to the Sabre mainframe via the
> > >>internet and the Nortel hardware. Nothing about Sabre
> > >>involves either of our servers.
> > >>
> > >>Our public web site is located on our ISP's server and
> > >>our email goes to our Exchange server directly.
> > >>
> > >>All users currently use MS Office 2000 (especially, and
> > >>in some cases only, Outlook) through an ICA connection
> > >on
> > >>a Citrix server. All users also run either TRAMS (a
> > >>travel agency accounting system) or ClientBase (a
> > >related
> > >>travel agency client database) from the Citrix server.
> > >>The single database for these two applications
> > currently
> > >>lives on our domain controller/exchange server. The
> > >>supplier tells me that TRAMS and ClientBase can be
> > >>configured to connect to an SBS via software VPN.
> > >>
> > >>All of the workstations in regular use are from Dell.
> > >>Most, like mine, are Optiplex GX50 with Celeron
> > >>processors, 128 MB of RAM and 18 GB hard drives running
> > >>XP Pro.
> > >>
> > >>As the lease for our current servers ends this summer,
> > I
> > >>am thinking of running all applications on the
> > >>workstations and consolidating server functions on one
> > >>SBS 2003 machine. I recognize that I would probably
> > >need
> > >>to add memory to the workstations.
> > >>
> > >>Is anyone aware of anything about SBS that would
> > prevent
> > >>or seriously limit it's use in our environment? I am
> > >>particularly concerned about any connection speed
> > issues
> > >>and conflicts with the Sabre VPN.
> > >>
> > >>Thanks
> > >>.
> > >>
> > >.
> > >
>
>

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