Aqua Connect gives SETI employees and students the ability to access shared data and applications from multiple workstations both on and offsite.

SETI Institute had the need for multiple users to access the same server and resources. They needed the ability to have full desktop functionality to run various applications on shared data. They tried many different VNC vendors, all of which did not prove reliable. Screen sharing was a good alternative but at a large cost. It also did not allow for multi user logins. Furthermore, screen sharing was very limited and a huge security issue because it allowed another user to see what was on the screen of another during a remote session. It also only worked on a per user basis.

While getting discouraged with many different types of VNC software not living up to their claims, they found Aqua Connect. It sounded too good to be true, but it was worth a try considering all the other failed attempts to find an adequate solution.

SETI Institute installed ACRDS on their Xserve. They had a mixture of clients running Mac, Windows and Linux. They primarily use their Xserve to run IDL+ENVI, Java, and MATLAB. Now that they have a true multi-user remote access solution, users can simultaneously login and perform the work at hand. Users are no longer hindering someone else’s work, performance, or having to wait until they are complete before logging in to work.

With Aqua Connect, productivity has gone up at least 10 fold. Users are no longer complaining about not being able to work because screen sharing is already in use by someone else. There are no more complaints from users regarding not being able to run applications because it was in use by someone else. ACRDS has made life much easier for people at SETI Institute from an IT point of view and most definitely from a user point of view.

“Thanks to Aqua Connect, IT at SETI is done searching for remote multi user access solutions for the Mac OS. Thank you Aqua Connect!”

- James Brewster
Senior Unix Administrator