WRQ now includes NS/VT in all 3000-ready products

WRQ now includes NS/VT
in all 3000-ready products

It used to be an extra, but now WRQ (800.872.2829) is including the 3000’s NS/VT services in all of its HP-compatible terminal emulation products. The WRQ line of products for linking to HP 3000s through PCs previously included an $89 option to add NS/VT protocol, which only the HP 3000 understands and uses. WRQ recently announced the protocol has become a standard feature in its Reflection for HP with NS/VT product, which replaces the Reflection for HP software that was NS/VT-free. WRQ nudged up the price of Reflection for HP with NS/VT to reflect the new feature: $432 and even cheaper with quantity discounts, down from the $478 users were paying last year. If you’re on a maintenance agreement with WRQ and use the non-NS/VT version, you can upgrade for free by contacting WRQ or your WRQ reseller.

WRQ said most companies had been buying Reflection for their 3000s with NS/VT anyway. The feature has been a standard item in Minisoft’s competing MS92 product, but some are questioning the need for NS/VT in a world where communication standards are beginning to stand for something. Why would you want to use NS/VT? Some 3000 applications demand it, and Reflection’s file transfer services are a lot faster when using it than the telnet options, which WRQ also supports. On the downside, NS/VT connections to the 3000 need more system resource than telnet links, one additional process per session. In some cases the extra load can push 3000 performance beyond the knee of the curve that tracks MPE/iX capabilities – and things seem to go much slower.