REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 10, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the release of the Microsoft® Windows NT® Services for UNIX Add-On Pack. The Services for UNIX Add-On Pack delivers on Microsoft’s commitment to making it easier for customers to integrate Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and the Windows NT Server operating system 4.0 with their existing UNIX environments.
The Windows NT Services for UNIX Add-On Pack provides customers with access to core interoperability components in a single, integrated, fully supported package. Customers will benefit from lower deployment costs, improved supportability of mixed environments, and the most complete integration with current and future Windows NT-based technologies and initiatives.
“Today Microsoft is delivering on a promise we made to customers just a few months ago, to provide a tool that helps simplify interoperability between Windows NT-based workstations and servers with pre-existing UNIX installed base,” said Yusuf Mehdi, director of Windows® marketing at Microsoft.
“Customers are increasingly turning to Windows NT-based solutions to achieve an integrated business environment and lower the total cost of ownership.”
Working Together for a Total Solution
Microsoft has teamed up with key technology players including Intergraph Corp. and Mortice Kern Systems (MKS) Inc. to help build the Windows NT Services for UNIX Add-On Pack and to provide a total interoperability solution that third parties can build upon.
Intergraph, a leading vendor of Windows NT- and UNIX-based interoperability solutions, provided Network File System (NFS) client/server software for Services for UNIX. With NFS, users of Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server will be able to access files on UNIX systems, and UNIX workstation users will be able to access resources on Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server.
“As an early adopter, Intergraph has been evangelizing the adoption of Windows NT in the technical marketplace for the past seven years,”
said Jim Meadlock, chairman and CEO, Intergraph.
“Contributing our resource-sharing technology to the Microsoft Services for UNIX Add-On Pack was a natural next step for Intergraph that further accelerates the adoption as a whole. In addition to continuing to provide enterprise engineering and technical solutions based on Windows NT, Intergraph complements and extends the Microsoft Services for UNIX offering with resource-sharing solutions such as DiskAccess for clients for Windows 95 and Windows 98, AccessNFS Gateway, a Windows NT Server-based solution, and access to Intergraph’s extensive migration expertise.”
“With MKS Toolkit, we have been providing UNIX interoperability solutions for more than 14 years and now we are pleased to work with Microsoft to deliver our combined solution to mutual customers,”
said Randall Howard, MKS chairman and CEO.
“As well, we have created the MKS Toolkit Update Edition to augment Windows NT Services for UNIX Add-On Pack, providing the full commands and utilities of MKS Toolkit to customers requiring additional UNIX command support and interoperability tools.”
Based on Customer Demand
The Windows NT Services for UNIX Add-On Pack delivers the most frequently requested features and benefits, including resource sharing, remote administration, password synchronization and common scripting across platforms:
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Resource sharing. Users of Windows NT Workstation 4.0 will be able to access files on UNIX systems, and UNIX workstation users will be able to access resources on Windows NT Server. To provide resource-sharing capabilities, Microsoft is licensing Network File System client/server software from Intergraph. Intergraph is a leading vendor of Windows NT and UNIX interoperability solutions.
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Remote administration. Remote administration through Telnet client and server will give users the ability to remotely log into and execute commands on Windows NT- or UNIX-based systems.
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Password synchronization. One-way password synchronization will allow customers to maintain a common password between their Windows NT- and
UNIX-based machines. Password changes made on Windows NT Workstation or Windows NT Server will automatically synchronize on UNIX systems. This reduces the burden of maintaining separate passwords for multiple systems.
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Common scripting across platforms. Windows NT Services for UNIX will also allow users to use common UNIX commands and utilities in a Windows NT environment. As part of these scripting capabilities, Microsoft has licensed from MKS more than 25 UNIX scripting commands and its leading KornShell, which gives users the ability to automate common processes and administrative tasks across both Windows NT and UNIX platforms. MKS is a leading provider of Windows NT scripting and migration tools and software configuration management (SCM) products.
Delivering on a Single Desktop With
“
No Compromises
”
With this release, Microsoft is delivering on its commitment to a
“no-compromise”
workstation. For a technical workstation user or administrator, a single installation of
Windows NT Workstation 4.0 provides a superior alternative to today’s common scenario of a Microsoft Windows operating system-based PC for productivity tasks sitting side by side with a second UNIX workstation used only for specific technical tasks.
In addition to the Services for UNIX Add-On Pack, Microsoft has launched a new Web site specifically built for customers that are working on integrating Windows NT Workstation into their UNIX environments ( http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/compare/
singleDesktop/default.asp ). Through this Web site, customers can learn about recent developments that enable them to deploy a single desktop running Windows NT Workstation 4.0 as a strong alternative to UNIX-based solutions.
Windows NT Services for UNIX illustrates Microsoft’s broad commitment to enterprise interoperability, which also includes products or services for Apple Macintosh, Novell NetWare, mainframes and IBM OS/400. Microsoft supports common industry standards such as TCP/IP, LDAP and Kerberos.
Pricing and Availability
Windows NT Services for UNIX will have an estimated retail price of $149 and will also be available through the Microsoft Select and Open Licensing programs. The Windows NT Services for UNIX Add-On Pack is expected to be widely available in four to six weeks.
For additional information on Windows NT Workstation, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/ . For additional information on Windows NT Server, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/ .
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
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