Startup Linxter developing 'Internet service bus'

A startup called Linxter is set to launch a hosted messaging platform that will enable any Internet-addressable device, application or system to communicate with another.

Linxter is stressing the platform's ease of use, and portraying Web-based connectivity as an increasingly natural condition of the world.

"With everything around us becoming Internet enabled (iPods, clothing, toasters... anything), it is essential that we have a system in place to securely, easily, and dynamically connect all these things," the Plantation, Florida, company's Web site states.

Founder and CEO Jason Milgram claimed in an interview that "Linxter is designed to where even a developer with one or two years of experience can master it in a day."

The platform consists of three components: an "Internet Service bus," which processes the messages being sent; a software development kit; and a Web interface for the administration of Linxter-enabled programs and user accounts. A .NET SDK is ready now and one for Java is in the works.

Linxter baked a series of security measures into the platform, including "endpoint to endpoint" encryption, according to its Web site.

Also, to improve the reliability of transferring larger files, the system will allow message chunking. "Let's say you are transferring a 100MB file, and after transmitting 70MBs you lose your Internet connection... when the connection is re-established, it picks up from where it left off," the site states.

Messages can be sent in a range of formats, such as plain text, XML, MIME and encrypted cipher text.

Developers could build a messaging system using frameworks like Microsoft's Windows Communication Foundation, but Linxter is going after a different customer segment.

"That definitely appeals to the large enterprise customers who have a large IT staff," Milgram said. "We believe our real target market are the SMBs that want to have this ability and doesn't want to have to build their own."

Linxter 1.0, set to launch in November, will be offered both as a hosted service and on-premises. Pricing for the hosted version will include a usage-based option as well as a flat rate. Enterprise license agreements for on-premises use will also be available.

IDG News Service

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