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Application Support
Please see the user and technical information below to access the Northern’s
(Nominations & Scheduling) business application, Throughput Management System
(TMS) via the Citrix ICA client.
Application support and technical information regarding web access for our
remaining business applications Flowing Gas, Invoicing, Contract Management
System (CMS), and Capacity Release System (CRS) is also noted below.
If you require help installing the Citrix client on your PC, or have any
questions regarding the information below, please contact the Northern
N-ergy Helpdesk at 1-866-810-5268. |
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User Information |
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How do I get a user ID for Northern's business applications? |
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New customers needing to obtain a user ID and password
for access to Northern's business applications, must submit the
Northern Customer Activities Sign up Form. When this is completed, a Northern representative will
contact you with additional information. |
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Where do I locate information on how to use Northern's TMS
(Nominations and Scheduling) application or other business applications? |
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This information is located in the User Manuals section of Northern’s web site. |
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What is the Citrix ICA client plug-in and why do I need it? |
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The Citrix ICA is a protocol developed by Citrix Systems, Inc.
The ICA plug-in works with your browser to allow you to connect,
via the internet, to the server where the Northern Nominations
and Scheduling application resides. To ensure the confidentiality
and security of the data we exchange, we require that you use a
version of the Citrix software that supports 128-bit encryption. |
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What browser version do I need to use? |
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Northern follows guidelines for browser versions per the North American Standards Board
(NAESB) Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ). |
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Northern’s web site is supported by the latest Generally Available (GA) versions of both
Netscape and Internet Explorer within nine months of such GA version becoming available. |
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Netscape version 7.0 or higher is recommended. If you do not have Netscape you can download a newer version at:
http://browser.netscape.com/.
Internet Explorer version 5.5 or higher is recommended. If you do not have Internet Explorer you can download a newer version at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/.
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How do I install the Citrix ICA plug-In? |
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You must have the Citrix ICA client installed on your machine to
access Northern’s TMS (Nominations & Scheduling) application.
Click here to download the Citrix ICA Web Client, Version 10.1
and save the file to your local machine. When download is complete,
double-click the ICA Web Client Version 10.1 install application
(located in the location where you designated for it to be saved).
Accept the default prompts as presented. |
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Technical Information |
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Citrix Client and Your Firewall |
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Citrix ICA traffic uses the registered port 1494 with the TCP protocol. |
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Security |
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Northern relies on the Internet for connectivity must contend with security issues.
The following is a brief description of Northern’s applications' security components.
To obtain more information regarding Citrix's web client, please see the Citrix Support page located at
http://support.citrix.com/ |
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Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) |
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SSL is a protocol for transmitting private data via the Internet. SSL creates an encrypted
(128-bit) connection between a client and a server, over which any amount of data can be
sent securely. Both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer support SSL. Verisign Company,
a leading provider of secure Internet communications, verifies the encryption. |
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Citrix Secure Gateway |
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Secure Gateway manages authentication and authorization and is responsible for creating a
secure channel for the Citrix ICA protocol over SSL. With Secure Gateway, the data
exchanged between the client device and servers is transmitted over the secure network. Authentication. |
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User authentication is required to gain access to Northern’s production applications.
Strong password-complexity policies are implemented for increased customer protection.
Transmission of both user IDs and passwords occurs over the secure and encrypted SSL connection. |
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Firewall |
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A firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to a private network or to
restrict certain types of traffic from being sent via the Internet into a secure area. |
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All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which
examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria. |
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Several layers of security are incorporated in the access of Northern's systems over the Internet: |
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SSL - security during external customer's communication with NNG systems (128-bit encryption)
Citrix Secure Gateway - a secure channel for Citrix ICA
Citrix ICA (128-bit encryption)
User authentication with the strong password
Limited access through firewall technologies
Windows security
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In summary, access to Northern applications over the Web utilizes several levels of security.
In view of these considerations, Northern's applications should be considered a secure
method for conducting gas pipeline transportation business over the Internet. |
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Technical Characteristics and Guidelines for Northern’s Customer Activities Web Site |
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The North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) has established standards or
recommendations regarding the client workstations, firewalls and redundancy.
Below is an excerpt from the posted NAESB 1.7 Standards document. |
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Minimum Technical Characteristics of the Operating Systems / Client Workstation: |
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CPU greater than or equal to 500 MHz or higher
Memory greater than or equal to 256 MB Physical
Display Resolution greater than/equal to 1024 x 768 16k color
Multithreaded and preemptive operating system
Connection greater than or equal to 56KB (V90)
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Browser characteristics (includes defined NAESB current versions): |
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Browser Characteristics (includes defined NAESB WGQ current versions): |
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Features as supported by the latest Generally Available (GA) versions of both Netscape®
and Internet Explorer® within 9 months of such GA version becoming available, including - |
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Frames and nested frames
Tables and nested tables
Style Sheets
HTML
Java Script
Frames and nested frames
SSL - 128-bit RSA encryption
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Plug-ins |
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JAVA®
ActiveX® (Plug-in for Netscape®)
Adobe Acrobat Reader®
Systems Incorporated
Independent Computer Architecture (ICA®) - Protocol used for remote control access to an application
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Configuration shown indicates a minimum except where a specific level is established. 'Minimum'
implies a level where a reasonable experience for the user may be achieved. These levels also
indicate the level that a user may expect that a client has been tested. Results may be less
than satisfactory, or may preclude use of a site, if the user chooses to use anything less
than those levels shown. |
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Technical Characteristics and Guidelines for Northern’s Informational Postings Web Site |
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The North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) has established
standards or recommendations regarding the client workstations,
firewalls and redundancy. Below is an excerpt from the posted NAESB 1.7
Standards document. |
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Connection Device |
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33.3Kbs or Direct Connect
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Operating System |
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Multi-threaded & Preemptive
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RAM |
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128 MB or greater
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Browser Capabilities |
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Cookies & JavaScript
Frames & Nested Frames
Tables & Nested Tables
HTML 3.2
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Plug-ins |
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Adobe Acrobat Reader®
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Display Resolution |
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1024x768, 16k colors or greater
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©
Northern Natural Gas. All rights reserved. |
