
Telnet is an application that I use daily as I use it to emulate to all the servers that I support. It is a TCP/IP application that allows one to emulate to a server as if they were physically attached to the server. I am 'old school' if you will, so I use the simple 'telnet' command from a Windows Command Prompt most of the time to accomplish what I need. However, there are many Telnet clients out there, so this discussion has been started to review the many versions of the client. I know of PUTTY, which is a free Telnet client, which also allows SSH connectivity, which makes it useful for UNIX type servers. What other Telnet clients do you use? Also feel free to use this discussion to ask Telnet questions or give Telnet tips you may have. Thanks! Edited: malexander on 29th Apr, 2006 - 7:14pm
I do the same as you in most instances and use the telnet client that is built into Windows. This provides simplicity and ease of use. You do not have to worry about what machine you are on or what is installed. I have worked with a few customers in the past running AS400 systems and their software companies insisted on them using a program called Absolute Telnet. This program sells for about 30$ US. This program allows for them to run certain scripts from the workstation, (I am not sure exactly how this all worked) that handled part of their authentication with the software. The program runs very well. It does not have a lot of thrills but what do you really need from a telnet program anyway.
As is stated in my control panel, I work with AS/400 systems, and I actually support IBM's supplied emulator, which is called iSeries Access for Windows. The telnet client uses a 5250 datastream and is very robust. It has also been referred to as Client Access in the past; in fact we still call it that so often. As you know, the AS/400 is known for its 'green screen' interface, and you just don't get the same green screen effect with Windows' telnet client. Also, Windows is using VT-100 emulation instead of a true 5250 datastream.
Malexander,
Have you ever used the Reflections telnet program? We use that at work to get into OpenVMS, AIX, and Linux systems. Its extremely customizable and tunable to your needs. It has twelve different emulation modes and several different keyboard schema's. I also like the built in keyboard mapping capability and the ability to change the font and layout of the screen. I have several different layouts saved to different config files for different systems.
In supporting customers who utilize the Telnet Server on AS/400, I have ran across the Reflections client, but have not used it personally. I have also seen Rumba with a Telnet client out there. In fact, we used to ship a version of Rumba's client with our software at one time.