Microsoft Host Integration Server facilitates rapid and
flexible deployment, simplified integration of applications, data, and network.
You can use the Host Integration Server to enable data retrieval from a wide
range of database servers, ranging from Microsoft SQL Server to DB2 in Windows
NT, 2000, UNIX, AS400 Servers. Further, you can use the Host Integration Server
to integrate the legacy host systems with the information networks that can
either be client-server based or web based. Actually, "Host Integration
Server is a follow-up release of Microsoft’s SNA Server. It comprises a wide
range of tools and services that gives clients transparent access to data on
mainframes, AS/400, UNIX, Windows 2000, and Windows NT servers. This means you
can continue to use your back-end servers and applications but provide access
to them in new ways, including Web-based interfaces."
According to Microsoft, "Microsoft Host Integration
Server 2006 offers key enabling technologies that allow enterprise
organizations to integrate their mission-critical host applications, data
sources and security systems with new solutions developed using the Microsoft
Windows platform. Host Integration Server 2006 features and technologies,
including network integration, host access with enhanced security, data and
application integration, enable Windows developers to publish business
processes in IBM mainframe and AS/400 data and applications as XML Web
Services, which brings their Host applications and processes into a Services
Oriented Environment."
The major features provided by the Host Integration Server
include:
·
Identity Management
·
Data Integration
·
Application Integration
·
Network integration