Introducing Cyclone
The Cyclone System
Cyclone is
designed to optimize the performance of Internet
and email services over narrow-band communication
links. It uses a client/server
architecture. The Cyclone client
software installed on your computer allows
you to take advantage of the Cyclone system.
When you transmit data from your computer—by
sending email, uploading a file, or browsing
the Web—the Cyclone client
acts as a doorkeeper, optimizing the data
in a number of ways before sending it off
down the communications link. At the other
end of the link, the Cyclone proxy
server receives the data and passes it on
to the intended recipient.
When you
receive data—by receiving email, downloading
a file, or viewing a web page—the data
you receive will have been sent to the Cyclone proxy
server; from there over the communications
link to the client software located on your
computer; and then to your browser or email
program.
Cyclone operates
in the background, allowing
you to use your network applications
in exactly the same way you
always have.
Content
Modes
of Operation
By default,
the Cyclone client
automatically starts up when you log in to
your computer. (See Section on ‘The
Options Dialog’ for instructions on
disabling this feature.) Cyclone terminates
when you log out. You can verify that the
client is running by finding the icon that Cyclone places
in your system tray. The appearance of this
icon will change depending on the current
state of your Cyclone link.
Connected
This is Cyclone's “normal” mode.
It means that the Cyclone proxy
server is ready and able to send data to
(and receive data from) the client. An animated
red arrow means a file or data transfer is
in progress.
User
Disabled
This mode
occurs if you have chosen to manually disable
all acceleration. This is done from the Options
dialog. Data is still sent and received over
the communications link, but not at accelerated
rates.
Not
Connected
This mode
is similar to ‘user disabled’;
however, in this mode, the Cyclone proxy
server is not currently able to provide acceleration,
even though you have acceleration enabled.
Data is still sent and received over the
communications link, but not at accelerated
rates.
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Connection
Types
Cyclone is
designed to improve performance over narrow-bandwidth
communication links. These include wireless
links as well as dial-up connections of 56
kbps or less. Over these types of connections, Cyclone provides
significant acceleration
Cyclone is
not appropriate for high-bandwidth connections.
These include LANs (local-area networks),
ISDN lines, DSL, and cable modems. No acceleration
is typically needed to achieve acceptable
performance over these communications links. Cyclone should
not be used in conjunction with these types
of connections.
If you are
a user who sometimes makes remote, low-bandwidth
connections you will use Cyclone when
connected remotely, but exit the application
at those times when you will be connected
to a LAN.
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The Cyclone Menu
The Cyclone menu
pops up when you right-click on the Cyclone/AcceleNet system
tray icon. From this menu you may select
the following commands:
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Web
Options
The web options
menu provides easy access to image quality
selections and more advanced filtering options.
The same options are available on the web
tab of the Options dialog. The web options
setting determines the quality of
images viewed or downloaded from the web.
Selected options are marked with a checkmark.
Only one option can be selected at a time.
For more information on web options see “Email
and Web Options” in the Options Dialog
section.
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Filters
The filters
option menu provides easy access to web filtering
selections. These options are also available
in the filters tab of the Options dialog.
Filters are more advanced browsing options
that provide you with the ability to block
the download of certain file types. For example,
if you do not wish to view any animated images
select “no animations;” if you
want to browse the web in a text only mode,
select “no images,” etc. Selected
items are marked with a checkmark. Multiple
filtering options can be selected at the
same time.
Content
Email
Options
The email
options menu provides easy access to image
quality selections. The same options are
available on the email tab of the Options
dialog. The email options setting determines
the quality of images sent or received via
email. Selected options are marked with a
checkmark. Only one option can be selected
at a time. For more information on email
options see “Email and Web Options” in
the Options Dialog section.
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Connection
Monitor
This command
displays the Connection Monitor dialog, allowing
you to monitor the status of the Cyclone
AcceleNet link.
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Options
Selecting
this command takes you to Cyclone AcceleNet Options
dialog window. Use this command if you need
to change configuration settings for your Cyclone client.
You can also reach the Options dialog by
double-clicking on the AcceleNet icon.
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Help
This is the
entry-point to Cyclone’s on-line
Help system.
Exit
In the event
that you need to terminate the Cyclone client
application, use the Exit command. This command
terminates the Cyclone client
session and removes the Cyclone/AcceleNet icon
from the system tray.
Content
Re-Starting Cyclone
If you have
terminated the Cyclone application
for any reason, and need to re-start it,
you may do so in either of two ways.
- Click
on the Windows Start button to display
the Start menu. From this menu, select
Programs, then AcceleNet,
and then AcceleNet Client.
- If Cyclone's Auto-start
feature is enabled (as it is by default),
you can re-start by logging out of your
computer and logging back in. This can
be done either by selecting “Log
Off” from the Windows shutdown menu,
or by actually re-booting the system, thus
forcing a new login.
If you wish
to re-start Cyclone while
the client is still running, you may do so
from the Connection Monitor. Simply click
the “Restart” button.
Run
Diagnostics
If a networking conflict with another program
occurs while you are using Cyclone Client,
you may choose to manually run a diagnostic
tool from the Support page of the Options dialog
by clicking the Run Diagnostics button. Run
diagnostics is a tool to help you diagnose
a problem in instances where you experience
a problem with your acceleration. In most cases, Cyclone will
automatically detect and try to resolve any
possible conflicts, but you may choose to investigate
and resolve possible conflicts by clicking
this button. |
