Microsoft PressPass – Microsoft “Falcon” Enters Beta Test
REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 21, 1996 —
— Microsoft Corp. today announced it has begun beta testing its message-oriented middleware technology designed specifically for the Microsoft® Windows NT® Server network operating system. Code-named
“Falcon,”
this server technology enables developers to build large-scale distributed systems with reliable communications between applications that can continue to operate reliably even when networked systems are unavailable.
The Falcon server technology is designed to reliably tie together thousands of connected and disconnected application nodes through a common queuing model, providing the scalable performance required to solve the largest enterprisewide application problems. Falcon’s efficient design and integration with ActiveX
™
Technologies and tools make it extremely cost-effective and easy to use. In addition, Microsoft is working with Level 8 Systems Inc. to help ensure Falcon technology is available on a large variety of platforms. This will allow businesses to preserve investments in existing applications through interoperation with legacy systems, including message-queuing products such as IBM’s MQSeries.
“Falcon’s tight integration with Windows NT Server provides the highest degree of scalability, reliability and security in an application message-queuing product today,”
said Moshe Dunie, vice president, engineering general management in the desktop and business systems division at Microsoft.
“The availability of fast, reliable message-queuing technology on Windows NT Server delivers on our promise to lower the cost and complexity for even the largest, distributed enterprise applications.”
According to the Standish Group, a software research firm, sales of enterprise message-queuing products exceeded $100 million in 1995 and are growing rapidly. International corporations with complex application requirements, including firms in the finance, manufacturing and distribution industries, use message queuing to link programs running across a wide geography. Applications send and receive information as
“messages”
that are stored and routed through a series of
“queues”
that survive system and network failure.
“Enterprises want to integrate new applications that exploit the power of Windows NT Server with existing systems, including UNIX systems and mainframes,”
said Sam Somech, president of Level 8 Systems.
“The cross-platform support in Falcon, including integration with IBM’s MQSeries through the Level 8 gateway, makes it the best choice for deploying scalable enterprise message-queuing solutions.”
The current beta version of Falcon is being shipped this week to customers and developers. Customers who want to be considered for the initial Falcon beta test should send
e-mail to [email protected].
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Windows NT and ActiveX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
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