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Updated: 03 June 2004 12:22 PM EST
©BCFPI Inc. 2004

Using Citrix/Terminal Services with BCFPI

Introduction

We have received a number of questions about whether or not the BCFPI software will work in a Citrix or Terminal Services environment, and how it can be set up in such an environment.  This document discusses using the BCFPI with Citrix and/or Terminal Services.

What are Citrix and Terminal Services?

Citrix and Terminal Services are terminal servers.  They allow you to remotely control software on another computer.  This means that software installed and configured on one computer can be used on a completely different computer (one that's on your network, or somewhere on the internet).  Contact Citrix (http://www.citrix.com) or Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com) for more information about Citrix and Terminal Services respectively.

Does BCFPI Work with Terminal Services and/or Citrix?

Yes.  You can use the BCFPI software with Terminal Services or Citrix.  However there are some limitations with the BCFPI in these environments, and some things you need to be aware of when setting up the BCFPI in these environments.

Do you support the BCFPI under Terminal Services and/or Citrix?

We don't currently have the resources to test BCFPI on these platforms ourselves, but we have been working closely with a few sites that use these technologies to ensure the BCFPI can work on these platforms.  We can provide you information about basic BCFPI setup on these platforms, but you will need to rely on other resources for the set up and configuration of Citrix or Terminal Services.  We may need to charge additional support fees if you require help going beyond the basic setup described below.

Is anyone using the BCFPI with Citrix or Terminal Services?

There are a number of sites using BCFPI successfully with Citrix or Terminal Services.

Is there anyone I can contact about there experiences with Citrix or Terminal Services?

We hope to contact information for sites using the BCFPI with Citrix or Terminal Services available soon.

Why would I want to use Citrix or Terminal Services with BCFPI?

  1. Remote/Low-speed Access:  BCFPI is designed to work on a LAN.  If you need to give users access to the BCFPI over the internet or a low-speed network connection, then Citrix or Terminal Services will enable you to do this.
  2. Centralize Administration/Installation: Citrix or Terminal Services allows you to centralize the installation of your software.  Rather than installing/updating the BCFPI on every workstation, you simply install/update it on your server, and then you can manage who gets access to the BCFPI from your server.
  3. Reduce Technology Requirements:  When you use Citrix or Terminal Services, only your server needs to meet the requirements for the BCFPI software.  As long as your workstations can run a Citrix/Terminal Services session, you don't need to worry about any requirements such as other software, memory, hard drive space, etc. on the workstations.
  4. Centralize Data: With Citrix or Terminal Services, you can put all data for a number of agencies in a single database.  This will give you full reporting access to the data from all of the agencies sharing the database, as well as the ability to share client and forms.  *Note there are some important limitations to be aware of when multiple agencies share a database.

Do I need to use the BCFPI with Citrix/Terminal Services?

No.  Using Citrix or Terminal Services is simply an option that is available to BCFPI users.  The majority of our sites are not using Citrix or Terminal Services.

Do you recommend that I use Citrix or Terminal Services with BCFPI?

We don't take a stand either way.  Whether or not you decide to invest in Citrix or Terminal Services is completely your decision.  However, we do hope that a future version of the BCFPI will solve a lot of the problems that Citrix or Terminal Services currently solve.  But, it will be a while before BCFPI has this level of functionality.

How do I install the BCFPI on Citrix or a Terminal Services server?

  • Install the BCFPI Server software on your Citrix or Terminal Services Server as a standalone install.  (You do not need to install the workstation install).
    • Consult your Citrix or Terminal Services documentation or Citrix or Terminal Services support for information about installing software on these platforms.
  • Give the appropriate users access to run the BCFPI software.
    • Make sure that BCFPI user have "Full Control" access to:
      • "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Borland\Database Engine" (and all subkeys) in the registry
    • Make sure that BCFPI users have "Full Control" access to the BDE installation folder (and all subfolders) on your server.
      • This is the folder containing the file "idapi32.cfg"
      • This folder can be found by reading the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Borland\Database Engine\DLLPath" key in your registry.
    • Make sure the appropriate users can run the BCFPI software (indicator32.exe and aggmerge.exe).
      • Consult your Citrix or Terminal Services documentation or Citrix or Terminal Services support for information about giving users access to software installed on your server.

What are the Limitations of using the BCFPI software with Citrix or Terminal Services?

  • Installation/Configuration Limitations
    • The BCFPI install only supports a single instance of the BCFPI software on a given server/server farm.  You cannot host separate databases (for example 2 separate databases for 2 different agencies) on a single server/server farm.*
    • You cannot mix LAN access and Citrix/Terminal Services access to the same BCFPI database.  That means that if you provide users access to the BCFPI access via Citrix or Terminal Services, then ALL users must access the BCFPI via Citrix or Terminal Services. Conversely, if you have users accessing the BCFPI through your regular LAN, then you can't let others access the BCFPI via Citrix or Terminal Services.*

*Note:  We may be able to work around these limitations on a fee-for-service basis.  You will need to contact support@bcfpi.com for more information before proceeding with a setup that tries to work around the above limitations.

  • Use Limitations (Note: none of these limitations are relevant when only a single agency is using the BCFPI software via Citrix or Terminal Services).
    • When several agencies share a single database via Citrix or Terminal Services: 
      • All data in the database will be available to all users at all connected agencies
      • Forms must be associated with an enrolment for the single "main" agency for the database (the one that appears in the status bar in the bottom of the main BCFPI window).  Because of this, you will have to create at least 2 enrolments for each client - one for the "main" agency (that you will use when creating forms), and one for agency that the client is involved with. The plug in reports match clients to forms based on form and agency enrolment date (rather than the single specific enrolment assocaited with each form).
      • Programs can only be created for and attached to the single "main" agency for the BCFPI database.  As a result, you can't create separate sets of programs for each agency that shares the database.  This means that the program functionality loses much of its value.

What is a "server farm"?

A server farm is essentially a bunch of servers that work together.  To the "outside world", they appear as a single server.  However, even though there are multiple servers in a server farm, you are still limited to one copy of the BCFPI software on the server farm - just the same as if you only had a single server.

Are there additional costs for using the BCFPI with Citrix or Terminal Services?

There are no additional license fees for the BCFPI software to use it with Citrix or Terminal Services.  However, you will need to buy the appropriate licenses to use Citrix or Terminal Services (available from Citrix and Microsoft respectively).  You will also need the appropriate hardware for setting up a Citrix or Terminal Services environment.

Where can I get more information about using BCFPI with Citrix or Terminal Services?

For general information about Terminal Services, contact Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com).  For general information about Citrix, contact Citrix (http://www.citrix.com).  For questions specifically about using the BCFPI with Citrix or Terminal Services, e-mail us at support@bcfpi.com.
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