Whistle InterJet Release Notes

WhistleWare 2.0.1p1
October, 1997

For the latest information about the current release, click here.

These Release Notes include important information you should know about this release. For InterJet users who are upgrading to WhistleWare 2.0, the new features are described here. These Release Notes also include some tips for using your InterJet effectively.

Important Notes

• Both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer can sometimes fail unexpectedly, display colors incorrectly, or fail to refresh the screen entirely. These problems do not affect your data or your configuration information on the InterJet.
  
  
• For networks running AppleTalk with AppleTalk routers, the InterJet sometimes does not recognize changes to AppleTalk router configurations. If this happens, Macintosh computers cannot connect to the InterJet using AppleShare. To resolve the problem, simply reboot the InterJet so that it can adapt to the changes in your AppleTalk routers.
  
  
• If your monitor's screen resolution is set to 640 x 480, you might not be able to see the entire display for some pages (screens) of WhistleWare. If this happens, use a higher screen resolution.
  
  
• The InterJet lets you specify a time zone when setting the time clock for the InterJet and connected computers. If you need to select a time zone, Whistle recommends that you do so from a Windows 95 computer—certain versions of Netscape Navigator for the Macintosh do not display the entire list of time zones.
  
  
• When you back up or restore the InterJet's system configuration, there are currently no status messages to indicate when you can begin using the InterJet again. For backups, wait approximately one minute after you start the backup process before using the InterJet. For system restores, you see the message "Rebooting . . ." To determine when the reboot process is complete, check the InterJet's LCD screen. Or simply wait a few minutes after you see this message before attempting to use the InterJet.
  

New Features of WhistleWare 2.0

WhistleWare Version 2.0 includes many enhancements.

System Agent

Synchronous Serial Port Options (InterJet 200 Only)

The System Agent’s Network Ports page now includes an option for the new Whistle high-speed synchronous serial port; the Synchronous Port Details page has options for configuring this port.

Perimeter Ethernet Network Option (InterJet 200 Only)

The Network View page shows the new Perimeter Ethernet network in addition to your Office Ethernet network. As shown on the page, your InterJet now has two IP address assignments—one for the internal network (Office Ethernet) and one for the perimeter network (Perimeter Ethernet).

The new perimeter network, which can be accessed by the outside Internet community, allows you to publish your Web site or provide FTP services from the InterJet itself or from another server on your network. Your internal office network is still protected by a firewall and therefore is not exposed to others outside your organization.

Connection Blackouts

The System Agent now provides you with more control over when your InterJet connects to your ISP. When using a dial-on-demand connection, you can use the new Connection page to define blackout periods. These blackout periods specify when no connections can be made to your ISP.

Specifically, you can define up to three separate blackout periods for your InterJet connections. For each blackout period, you can choose any set of days that the blackout is to be in effect. Blackout periods take effect immediately after you define them; however, during a blackout period, you can still connect to your ISP using the InterJet’s LCD screen.

Note: The blackout settings on the Connection page apply only when the InterJet is connected to your ISP via the internal modem port or the external serial (ISDN) port.

Consolidated Features

The InterJet’s backup, restore, restart and upgrade features are now all accessible from the System Agent’s maintenance button.

Primary DNS Support

With WhistleWare 2.0, the InterJet can function as a primary Domain Name Service (DNS) server for your domain. This feature allows people outside your organization to access your external Web site, FTP services, and so on. You specify the DNS configuration for your domain from the System Agent’s Network General page.

Multicast Routing Support

WhistleWare 2.0 provides multicast routing. With this feature, the InterJet can receive and route multicast messages, such as broadcasts or teleconferencing, to users on your internal network. To enable this feature, you type in the IP address of your ISP's multicast tunnel router, which you obtain from your ISP, in the Multicast tunnel router text box on the System Agent’s Network General page.

Firewall Enhancements

The InterJet’s protective firewall has been enhanced to provide better security for your internal office network.


Webmaster Agent

Web-Publishing Setup Options

The InterJet now supports external Web publishing and FTP services directly from the InterJet's /public directory or, if you have the InterJet 200, from a machine on your perimeter network. To access these services, Internet users—both inside and outside your internal office network—use the InterJet's perimeter network IP address, usually in the form of a domain name, such as www.whistle.com.

New Web Page Features

If you host your Web site directly from the InterJet, you can now include a counter that shows you how many people have accessed your public Web site, and a form that your site visitors can use to request more information about your company or products.

Organization Information Maintenance

You can now maintain basic information about your organization, such as the address, phone number, and e-mail address, with the Webmaster Agent. This information, which was formerly maintained with the Personnel Agent, is automatically added to your organization's Web pages if you use the Webmaster Agent's templates.

Proxy Server

The InterJet now includes a proxy server that caches Web pages and files that users access from the Internet. Because the proxy server keeps local copies of these Web pages and files, users can access them again more quickly, without having to connect to the Internet. To use the proxy server, InterJet users must configure their browsers for Internet access through the server.

Changes to Web Page Directories

If you are upgrading to WhistleWare 2.0 and have created Web pages with the Webmaster Agent's templates, the directories in which your organization's public and internal home pages are stored and edited have changed. Previously, these pages were stored in the InterJet's /public/organization and /internal/organization directories. With this new release, users with Webmaster privileges can store and edit your organization's home pages (your index.htm files) directly in the /public and /internal directories. Therefore, when InterJet users view these pages in their browsers, they no longer see an intermediate Web page directing them to the directory where the pages are stored.

If you are upgrading to this release, you can simply move your existing index.htm files from your /public/organization and /internal/organization directories to your /public and /internal directories. Or, if you use the Webmaster Agent's template to update your home pages, these pages will be placed automatically in the /public and /internal directories, and all links are kept intact.

Note: When you upgrade to WhistleWare 2.0, your existing index.html files in the /public and /internal directories are automatically renamed to index.htm.


Mail Agent

E-mail Delivery Improvements

Various enhancements have been made to the Mail Agent for more efficient handling of e-mail with delivery problems. In addition, there are now separate mail queues for internal and external mail. The internal mail queue handles mail whose destination is an address on your office network, and the external mail queue handles mail whose destination is an address outside your network.

Remote E-mail Access

You can now retrieve e-mail on the InterJet from a remote computer—that is, a computer outside your network that is connected to the Internet. When you want to retrieve mail, the InterJet must be connected to your ISP at that time, and you must use a POP3 e-mail client program that supports password encryption. You can use programs that support APOP password encryption, such as Eudora Light 3.0 or later and Eudora Pro 3.0 or later, which are available from QUALCOMM; Claris Emailer 2.0, available from Claris; and Internet Mail for the Macintosh, available from Microsoft. On Windows computers, you can also retrieve mail remotely from the InterJet using Microsoft Internet Mail, which uses its own secure password authentication.

Tips for Using Your InterJet

The following tips will help you use your InterJet more effectively.


Web Publishing

• On the InterJet’s Web-publishing pages, hypertext links are provided that link to the various home pages you can create: the company’s public home page, the company’s internal home page, and your personal home page. Default Web pages are provided for the public and internal (intranet) home pages; however, the link to your personal home page will not work correctly until you create the page.
  
  
• When creating Web (.htm) documents, always use relative URLs (links). To learn more about URLs, consult the online Help for Claris Home Page, which comes with the InterJet, or other Web-publishing sources on the Internet.
  

Web Browsing

To learn more about using your browser, go to the vendor's Web site:

• For Netscape Navigator, go to www.netscape.com
  
• For Microsoft Internet Explorer, go to www.microsoft.com