IBM Delivers Networking Power with OS/2 Warp Connect
NEW YORK, May 17, 1995 ... With the theme, "Make Your Connections," IBM today used Grand Central Terminal as a backdrop to announce the availability of OS/2 Warp Connect, which gives small businesses and workgroups easy, open connections to worlds of information -- whether they are on the PC in the office next door, the Internet, or a local area network -- all in a powerful, refined, stable operating system.
OS/2 Warp Connect follows the commercially successful, technically acclaimed OS/2 Warp which began shipping in November 1994. OS/2 Warp Connect combines OS/2 Warp and its BonusPak of productivity applications with a full set of integrated networking capabilities and software that provides peer and remote connections along with TCP/IP for dial-up and LAN access to the Internet, access to the most popular online services, and Lotus Notes Express.
OS/2 Warp Connect includes built-in requesters for IBM LAN Server and Novell NetWare, and can coexist with IBM LAN Server, Novell NetWare, Microsoft's NT and Windows for Workgroups, Banyan Vines, and LANtastic from Artisoft. It features easy and advanced installation options and Configuration, Installation and Distribution (CID) for efficient installation across a networked enterprise.
"OS/2 Warp Connect has everything you need to connect to the world, to connect to your existing network or to create a peer network," said Lee Reiswig, general manager of IBM's Personal Software Products division. "It is the easiest networking solution to use and simplest to install for the foreseeable future. With OS/2 Warp's multitasking prowess, users can really optimize network resources by sharing files, modems, and printers - simultaneously."
Single Box Business Network Solution for Small Businesses
OS/2 Warp Connect is a complete software solution for anybody who is starting or running a small business. The operating system, with its built-in peer-to-peer networking, combined with the BonusPak of productivity software and Lotus Notes Express gives a small business what it needs to get a staff connected and productive, in a single box. Notes Express will include seven productivity templates. Five of them consist of those that Lotus ships in the retail version: discussion databases, client/server mail, phone book, reference databases, news databases; plus two of Lotus' other most popular templates.
Peer Networks Made Easy
OS/2 Warp Connect comes with everything needed to set up a peer network right out of the box. The built-in peer capability gives connected users an inexpensive, easy-to-use way to share resources, such as files, printers, and modems. In addition, users can share resources around the office or on the road with OS/2 Warp Connect's remote access capabilities.
Customers can use IBM Peer for OS/2 in a wide range of network environments. The peer software interoperates with OS/2 LAN Server version 3.0 or later editions, Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft LAN Manager 2.x, PC LAN Program 1.3, and Artisoft LANtastic 6.0.
A Perfect Fit in Existing Networks
For customers in large enterprises, OS/2 Warp Connect seamlessly links desktop machines to each other and to all major network operating systems, including IBM OS/2 LAN Server, Lotus Notes, Microsoft NT Server, Novell NetWare, and a variety of Internet servers. The OS/2 Workplace Shell offers a graphical view of LAN resources by server and a hierarchical view of resources within domains.
OS/2 Warp Connect demonstrates IBM's commitment to Open Blueprint by supporting communication via NetBIOS, TCP/IP or IPX on Ethernet, Token Ring, and FDDI networks, eliminating the need to purchase network transports or client code when attaching to the industry's leading servers.
OS/2 Warp Connect will ship with TCP/IP for OS/2 Version 3. This version lets users simultaneously connect to local/wide area networks and to the Internet with a complete set of applications for browsing the World Wide Web, mail and file transfer.
Because of its multiprotocol support, OS/2 Warp Connect provides a client/server platform so that customers can install DB2 for OS/2, Lotus Notes and Oracle server, for example, without any additional software.
"By including connectivity to industry-leading network operating systems, full support for TCP/IP and the Internet, and remote access, IBM has made OS/2 Warp a solid network citizen," said Jamie Lewis, president of the Burton Group, a consulting firm in Salt Lake City, Utah. "Because OS/2 Warp Connect will be network-enabled right out of the box, managers will no longer have to scramble to get the network software they need. With OS/2 Warp Connect's streamlined install, customers can get connected quickly in a variety of environments."
IBM is planning a release this summer of an additional CD for enterprise customers that will contain advanced networking support, including mobile file synchronization that enables users to disconnect from LAN Server, perform network operations and resynchronize their work after a session is re-established. The enterprise features include IBM System Performance Monitor/2, that allows system resources to be monitored on a single workstation; Personal Communications/3270 for OS/2 - IEEE 802.2 Entry Level, which provides 3270 mainframe emulation capability for up to two sessions; Communications Manager/2 SNA Application Environment, that allows users to run Advanced Program-to-Program Communication (APPC) applications; NetView Distribution Manager/2 (NVDM/2) StartUp, which provides for connection to a NVDM/2 server for easy download of the full NVDM/2 client, that is licensed separately; and the OS/2 Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) client, which allows an OS/2 system to participate in client/server applications based on the Open Software Foundation (OSF) remote procedure call.
Connect Provides Network Access for Employees on the Road or at Home
OS/2 Warp Connect provides remote features that allow users to remotely connect to their LANs from anywhere by phone, providing real-time access to network resources. The remote features are based on LAN Distance, IBM's comprehensive remote LAN access software solution. With the peer software included with OS/2 Warp Connect and LAN Distance, users can set up a simple peer network over a telephone line.
"Secure remote access to office networks is becoming a necessity for almost all business users," said Frank Dzubeck, president of Communications Network Architects, Inc., a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. "Whether it be for telecommuting from home or conducting business from your car or hotel room, OS/2 Warp Connect's rich remote access features will unequivocally help to create a true virtual office."
OS/2 Warp Connect Integrated Installation
Installation is made easy through the integrated installation options with OS/2 Warp Connect. Users can select between easy or advanced installation options depending upon the amount of customization they want to achieve. Network administrators can use CID to install OS/2 Warp Connect across the enterprise.
OS/2 Warp Connect will initially ship in a blue spine version that includes IBM WIN-OS/2, also known as "fullpack" for a list price of $299 and will be available through IBM Direct for $215. For a limited time, registered users of OS/2 2.1 will qualify for a $25 rebate when they purchase OS/2 Warp Connect.
Registered users of OS/2 Warp with WIN-OS/2 will qualify for a $50 rebate when they purchase OS/2 Warp Connect. Volume discounts will be available.
OS/2 Warp Connect with IBM WIN-OS/2 is shipping this week and will be generally available in the United States and Canada through IBM dealers, superstores and a variety of general retail outlets by the end of May. A version of OS/2 Warp Connect that uses customers' existing Windows will be available this summer.
OS/2 Warp Connect with WIN-OS/2 and OS/2 Warp Connect will be available in 20 additional languages.
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