Apollo Anywhere Client Software

The ‘remote’ element of the Apollo solution is the Anywhere Client – a software application that is installed on a Windows PC/Netbook, Windows Smartphone or other Windows Embedded devices. The Anywhere Client presents itself as a full network interface to the IP stack and the operating system above it. It is self-installable, simple to roll-out, is activated via a serial number and does not require any changes to the Windows IP stack.

Figure 2 – Apollo Anywhere Client

The Anywhere Client is easily configured by making simple choices in drop-down lists:

• Select a piece of communication equipment connected to the remote machine;
• Select the network to which the communication equipment should connect; and,
• Select the Apollo PAS to which the Anywhere Client will connect.

This simplicity can greatly reduce the burden on a system administrator for whom configuring remote devices can be costly and difficult.

The Anywhere Client can be configured to provide full user-control over advanced features such as:

• Network preferences – allows users to define their preference of which wide area network the Anywhere Client should treat as primary, secondary, tertiary, etc.
• Bonding or switching mode – whether the Anywhere Client should connect to the PAS over a single network with roaming or multiple simultaneous networks with bonding.
• Switching parameters – determines at what signal levels the Anywhere Client will be triggered to switch between networks.
• Session Management – manages how Anywhere Client disconnect situations are handled as well as optimizing how and when IP datagrams are sent or managed over the wide area networks.
• Authentication methods – the client can manage multiple authentications systems including X.509 certificates, EAP, TLS, Active Directory, LDAP, Radius and many one-time token mechanisms such as RSA SecurID and SofToken.
• Hotspot configuration – allows user to list to which Wi-Fi hotspot domains the Anywhere Client is permitted to connect and will automatically negotiate the hotspot login page even with an encrypted tunnel established through alternate bearers.
• Local LAN access – allows remote users to view print and file shares on the local subnet whilst the secure L2TP VPN tunnel is active making it ideal for home workers or remote office working.
• GPS reporting – allows remote users to communicate location information to the PAS from an on-board GPS module.  Clients also provide CellID and RSSI information to the PAS for additional or alternate positioning.

Alternatively, the Anywhere Client can be configured to have some or all of these controls centrally provisioned preventing the user from changing any parameters. Such centralized controls are useful when the administrator wants to block the remote user from making some or all decisions or where the remote device is unattended and must be provisioned and administered centrally.

Figure 3 An example of the Apollo Anywhere Controller Screen expanded; 4 channels are bonded.

The Apollo Anywhere Client provides on-screen status checks and network performance statistics via the Apollo Controller window, providing users with the status of their network connectivity in a non-invasive manner. Individual network availability and aggregate network performance statistics are also made available through an API allowing other applications and services running on the remote device to understand and react in real time to the communications landscape managed by the Anywhere Client. The user remains unaware of the Anywhere Client as it works to provide seamless connections over one or more wide area networks, seamlessly transitioning between them or bonding them without loss of session. The ongoing management of security policy, authentication and certification is also handled seamlessly and transparently.

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