File Transfer Software

Not all networking needs are of a permanent nature, requiring the installation and administration of a LAN. Not all personal computers sit on one desk or worktable all day. Recognizing both the proliferation of portable/notebook computers and the need for occasional or temporary networking of personal computers, a powerful and easy-to-use category of networking software known as file transfer software has devopled.

No single package is likely to provide all the available functionality blocks listed. The function blocks are provided to enable users to decide which are important to support their individual business applications.

Having identified required functionality, possible purchase options can be objectively reviewed by consulting either a recent product comparative review in a professional periodical or manufacture’s literature. Among the current products available in the category are LapLink and FastLynx. Both are available for about $100 to $125, with color-coded cables to connect PCs via serial or parallel ports as well as all necessary software. Some file transfer software products, such as LapLink V, can communicate simultaneously with multiple personal computers.

The key operational characteristic of all file transfer software is that it runs in the foreground on linked PCs. While the fie transfer software runs over DOS or, in some cases, within Windows, no other applications programs ( word processing, spreadsheets, database) can run. This need to run in the foreground limits file transfer software’s business uses to temporary networking requirements such as occasional file transfer, remote file access, or remote printer access. Some file transfer software packages include the ability to control a remote PC. An entire category of software known as remote control or remote access software, such as the NortonpcAnywhere, ReachOut Remote Control, and Carbon Copy, is reviewed in Chapter 15. They sell for around $199.

Another important operational feature is that only one of the two or more linked PCs is really in control of the file transfer session. This active PC, commonly known as the “master” PC, can transfer files to or from the passive or “slave” PC and can access files or printers on the slave PC or the network to which the slave PC is attached. The passive PC merely runs the file transfer software during the session and accepts commands from the active or master PC.