The intermediate member of the RightFAX server family — RightFAX Enterprise —
has demonstrated steady improvement through its many versions. We should know. We reviewed
version 5.0, and we liked it so much we decided to use it in our own office. Since we were
so pleased with version 5.0, we looked forward to testing 5.2, which not only refined some
of RightFAX Enterprise’s existing features, but introduced several new features.
RightFAX Enterprise, as the name suggests, is intended for organizations that combine
multiple fax servers, the better to share workloads, resources, and fax channels. Thus, as
you might expect, many of the product’s new features enhance resource optimization.
For example, version 5.2 introduces intelligent least-cost routing, which lets companies
save on long-distance and international faxing. Another new feature, load balancing, is
designed to improve the handling of network traffic. Other new features emphasize user and
administrative controls.
INSTALLATION
Because we already had version 5.0 running on our LAN, we chose to install the 5.2
upgrade. Of course, this is much easier than installing a full version, because fax board
configurations, the user database, and system options carry over from the previous
installation. To be safe, we waited until everyone else went home for the day, backed up
the 5.0 directory, and suspended the fax service.
The RightFAX CD-ROM gives four choices: new install, upgrade, add component, and
install a blank database. The two new modules — Docs-On-Demand and TeleConnect —
install by default. Meanwhile, RightFAX recognized our previous Brooktrout TR-114 fax
board installation. Here we have one criticism: We’d like to see an advanced progress
meter. RightFAX installs slowly, and there are occasions when the software will report
that it’s checking something, but not give any status updates. If the product did
provide such updates, it would go far to reassure installers that the installation was
indeed proceeding, albeit sluggishly.
After we entered our choices for basic system options, RightFAX took about 30 minutes
to copy files and to update our 50-user database. But there was more: Like many software
companies, RightFAX periodically posts fixes and patches on its Web site. We downloaded
four of these, which included a fix for various Year 2000 bugs, foreign language labels, a
registry entry, and a patch pertaining to a fax board issue. These were all .ZIP files,
but not of the self-extracting variety.
Server requirements include a Pentium 90 processor, 32 MB of RAM, a 540-MB hard disk,
at least one Brooktrout or Dialogic fax board (though everything seems optimized for
Brooktrout), and NT 4.0 Server. Clients can use any version of Microsoft Windows or DOS
5.0 or higher.
DOCUMENTATION
We have mixed feelings about the RightFAX documentation. Its four manuals are thorough,
but like the version 5.0 manuals, they often lack detail on how something works, or on how
to make something work.
Not only is the documentation occasionally sketchy, it suffers from poor organization.
While isolated bits of text cover most every feature, any particular bit that happens to
be of immediate interest might appear in any of the four books. Too often, the portion of
text you need isn’t where you would expect to find it.
Despite all of this, the documentation did answer most of our questions, but we found
that our answers were usually more difficult to find than they should have been. In this,
the documentation for version 5.2 carries forward the faults we found in the documentation
for version 5.0. Thus, while the documentation has been updated to reflect changes in the
software from previous versions, the same old organizational problems persist, which means
the new information can be hard to find.
FEATURES AND OPERATIONAL TESTING
What is different about version 5.2 are the functional modules. Like other leading fax
products, RightFAX makes a virtue of its modularity. Besides the new Docs-On-Demand and
TeleConnect modules, RightFAX offers a CGI Web client, a sophisticated e-mail gateway, an
OCR module, and a PDF/Postscript module. Other features include intelligent least-cost
routing, load balancing, more powerful client software, better management and
user-configuration tools, and support for more fax boards.
We should point out, however, that a fax server won’t succeed simply because it
includes a selection of fine modules. The true test of a fax server is how well it sends
and receives faxes, especially in bunches.
The mechanics of sending and receiving, from a user’s point of view, are much the
same in version 5.2 as they were in version 5.0. That’s because RightFAX’s GUI
hasn’t changed in any significant way — this is, after all, a minor upgrade.
Tests of the OCR module revealed no enhanced or decreased performance compared to version
5.0, which gave us results in the 90 percent range for accuracy. Based on these limited
evaluations, we would conclude version 5.2 maintains the performance standards set in
version 5.0.
Universal Document Library
Documents published to the library can be retrieved through the LAN, through a Web client,
through the fax-on-demand system, or through any combination of the three. Users with the
appropriate privileges can assign each document its own rules. We like this concept,
because a global library encourages document consistency within organizations.
Docs-On-Demand
This feature, which works only on servers running a Brooktrout fax board, lets users
request faxes via telephone or a Web site. Administrators can set a maximum number of
requests per session. Telephone users can transfer to another extension after they request
their documentation. Documents can have both activation and expiration dates, along with a
brief description for use in the document catalog.
TeleConnect
Like Docs-On-Demand, the TeleConnect module works only with Brooktrout voice-enabled fax
boards. This module lets users retrieve new faxes and catalogs of faxes, as well as change
mailbox options, hear fax statistics, and enter a remote number (such as a hotel fax
machine or alternate user) to direct new faxes to. Users can also forward and print faxes
to a remote location. Retrieved faxes can be sent to the user in two ways — either
directly to the fax machine the user is calling from, or to another number of the
user’s choice. System administrators decide whether to choose one of these options or
to leave the decision to each user.
Web Client
The Web client also has issues related to the user’s choice of browser. Users must
navigate the client pages with RightFAX’s own navigation buttons (the documentation
warns against using the browser’s built-in forward and back buttons). Faxes are
viewed as standard .GIF or .TIFF files, but if the browser has the appropriate RightFAX
plug-in, users can zoom, turn, print, and perform other kinds of page manipulation not
possible when viewing a standard graphics file with a standard browser.
The Web client also lets users attach long notes and files, though attaching files is a
little involved. Finally, users must remember to press the "logout" button after
viewing their faxes to prevent security breeches and to minimize the demand on the server
PC.
E-Mail Gateway
With the RightFAX e-mail gateway, which is compatible with Lotus Notes and CC:Mail,
Microsoft Mail and Exchange, Novell GroupWise, and any SMTP/POP3 gateway, users can send,
track, and receive faxes via e-mail. Users can also receive e-mail notifications of faxes
directed to their RightFAX mailbox. Outbound messages are routed through the RightFAX
gateway, which translates them into faxes and sends them on.
OCR Gateway
The RightFAX OCR gateway hasn’t changed since the last version, which is too bad. We
were never happy with the OCR module. We noticed that it assigns higher priorities to
users with higher placements in the routing table. If an inbound fax mentions more than
one of an organization’s users, the fax will always go to the first one listed in the
table regardless of who the fax is actually intended for. As suggested in our previous
RightFAX review, a left-to-right, top-to-bottom method of scanning an inbound fax to find
the intended recipient might be more effective.
Other Features
Other options haven’t changed much except for minor refinements and software fixes,
with the exception of management tools: RightFAX can now generate 26 kinds of diagnostic
and logging reports, saved as Microsoft Access (.MDB) files, exportable to HTML, text and
rich text (.TXT and .RTF), and MAPI mail. Administrators can preview all fax statistics
and graphs before printing them. But use caution before installing the RightFAX reporter:
it installs portions of Crystal Reports 6.0, and according to the documentation, any other
versions of that software installed on the RightFAX server may cause conflicts.
There are modifications to the RightFAX client, too. A new security option, for
example, lets you configure an outbound fax such that it will be sent only if the field in
its "intended recipient" box matches actual fields at the recipient’s fax
machine. The client provides easy access to phone books, fax groups, and the quick
fax/broadcast fax menus as well. The administrator’s interface was always good, and
it still is, especially in such areas as the least-cost routing and forced scheduling
configuration screens.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
As mentioned, the OCR module is still mediocre, and the documentation needs a second look.
RightFAX’s installation process also could use an overhaul, because it’s
currently very slow and not very user-friendly. We don’t have any problem with the
pricing; although the modules do add up, RightFAX as an enterprise solution is still one
of the best fax programs in the industry. We also like the nearly instant availability of
technical support, and we hope the developers continue to provide new and creative
customizable modules. We caution, however, that they don’t overlook the basic
functionality.
CONCLUSION
Version 5.2 maintains all of version 5.0’s merits, and hence version 5.2, like
version 5.0, is an Editors’ Choice award winner. However, while 5.2 offers some
interesting new options, the product’s functionally remains much the same. But
that’s to be expected with a mere 5.0 to 5.2 change in version number.
If anything, RightFAX under-promises and over-delivers, for while version 5.2
isn’t dramatically different, it does add functionality, as opposed to merely
refining existing functionality. For example, the most notable new features (which include
least cost routing, fax-on-demand, and telephone connectivity) represent excellent
solutions to practical problems.
All the same, we look forward to the next major release. Perhaps future versions will
have text-to-speech conversion for the TeleConnect module, more fax board support, and
better optical character recognition. |
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