I can’t tell you how many times I have heard associates, partners and end users ask me this question:
“Can you do anything about my dropped sessions when using All-Touch Terminal Emulationor TelnetCE?”
My answer is always the same: “Absolutely!”
Even the best warehouse and distribution centers can have wireless shadows or areas that are lacking WI-FI coverage. RF site surveys are often conducted in a DC when the facility’s state is atypical. In my past, I have shown up to perform a site survey, only to find that the new facility is completely empty; Literally 4 block walls and a roof. Not the best use of anyone’s time. Might as well site survey the parking lot.
The best surveys are done when a warehouse is close to capacity, giving the environment the best “real world” representation of the facility. At the end of the day, even the best surveys cannot anticipate RF propagation so there will always be shadows and anomalies. In a TE environment, wandering into a shadow is often going to terminate the session. This creates frustration and impedes productivity. So how de we tackle this problem? It’s called Session Persistence Server and it is included with Zebra’s All-Touch TE and legacy TelnetCE applications powered by Ivanti (formerly Wavelink).
What is it?
Session Persistence Server is a Proxy service that allows you to avoid dropped connections and automatically reconnect by acting as an intermediary connection server between the client device and the host application server.
How does it work?
A mobile device is configured to access the WMS Server Host through theSession Persistence Server. The service then initiates a session to the WMS server. If the session is dropped by the mobile device, the Session Persistence Server will hold the session open for a pre-configured time interval. When the mobile device reconnects, the device picks up the session where it was when the device dropped off (see proxy1.png).
Where do I install it?
The server application can run on both 32- and 64-bit Window operating systems including servers, virtual machines and desktop operating systems. It does not require a dedicated server. Session Persistence Server is also available for AIX Unix and AS/400 servers, keeping session persistence local to the host server and making the process very simple in all environments.
Is there a fallback?
Absolutely! Session Persistence Server can be setup as a fallback solution or can be deployed as a load balanced environment. Devices can be directed to one specific Proxy Server or it can fallback to up-to 3 different ones.
Does this solution support SSH, TLS and SSL?
Definitely! This session persistence server supports SSL/TLS or SSH for encryption and verification when connecting to the web interface or for Client-proxy connections.
What kind of resources are required to run Session Persistence Server?
The require service specifications are dependent on your installation (number of devices, logging level requirements, etc. Server requirements can be found here
How long has this solution been available?
Session Persistence Server (Termproxy) has been available since before 2004 and has always been a free add-on with the purchase of licenses and maintenance.
Where can I find the Session Persistence Server (Termproxy) Software?
Is there any technical support for Session Persistence Server?
Support is available through Zebra Support and is included for pre-licensed devices when break/fix maintenance is purchased or when add-on ATTE licenses and ATTE support are purchased.
