REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 2, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the Microsoft® Windows NT® 4.0 Option Pack has been released to manufacturing, delivering the next phase of the Windows® Distributed interNet Applications (Windows DNA) architecture strategy with powerful new Web and distributed application services for the Windows NT 4.0 platform.
The Option Pack integrates new services into Windows NT Server 4.0 that allow organizations to build powerful web-based applications. The new features integrated with Windows NT Server 4.0 include: Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0, Microsoft Transaction Server 2.0, Microsoft Message Queue Server 1.0, Microsoft Certificate Server 1.0, Internet Connection Services for Microsoft RAS, new data access components, Microsoft Site Server Express, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 and Service Pack 3 for Windows NT 4.0. The Option Pack also includes the Microsoft Personal Web Server 4.0 for Microsoft Windows NT Workstation and Microsoft Windows 95.
“Windows NT Server 4.0 already provided the most complete Web and application services of any network operating system, but we wanted to do more,” said Jim Allchin, senior vice president, personal and business systems group at Microsoft. “The release of the Option Pack delivers on the next phase of the Windows DNA strategy by providing integrated distributed application services, making it even easier to develop applications on Windows NT Server 4.0.”
Outlined at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in September, Windows DNA is an architectural framework and Windows platform strategy that enables organizations to build modern, scalable, multi-tier distributed computing solutions that can be delivered over any network. The Windows DNA strategy integrates the Internet, client/server and PC models of computing to make it easier for organizations to build and deploy distributed computing solutions.
Organizations have asked for technologies to help them quickly and easily build scalable Web-based applications that will enable them to reduce costs and better serve their customers. The Option Pack delivers this capability with Windows-based distributed application services that integrate new Web, transaction, scripting, component and message queuing services directly into Windows NT Server 4.0. These services will allow organizations to build modern, scalable business solutions that improve the flow of information, are dynamic and flexible to change as business needs evolve, can be centrally managed and maintained, and can be easily integrated with existing systems and data.
“We are migrating our Web application infrastructure to Windows NT Server, with Internet Information Server and Microsoft Transaction Server,” said Tony Pizi, first vice president of the private client architecture group at Merrill Lynch. “With Windows NT Server and the Option Pack, we can efficiently build scalable, reliable Web applications that would be much more expensive to develop and deploy on UNIX-based platforms.”
In addition, the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack includes new setup and administration wizards that will help reduce the cost of managing corporate intranets. New support for multiple
Web sites on a single server and updated remote access services allow Internet service providers to deploy powerful, cost-effective Web-site hosting and virtual private networking solutions on Windows NT Server 4.0.
Beginning in January all new units of Windows NT Server 4.0 will include the Option Pack CD-ROM. The estimated retail price of Windows NT Server 4.0 will remain at $1,129 for the 10-user version. Current customers of Windows NT Server 4.0, Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows 95 can acquire the Option Pack CD-ROM for $99.95 from a local reseller or download it at no charge from http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/ (connect-time charges may apply).
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