MICROSOFT SHIPS SERVICE PACK 1 FOR SNA SERVER VERSION 2.11

In Addition to Maintenance Fixes, Adds Several Requested Features and Makes
it Easier to Access Host Data through the Internet

REDMOND, WASH. - JAN. 31, 1996 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the
immediate availability of Service Pack 1 for Microsoft SNA Server version
2.11, a free maintenance upgrade to the industry-leading SNA gateway
product that runs on Microsoft Windows NT Server. The Service Pack
includes fixes to all problems reported since SNA Server 2.11 was released
in July 1995, provides a number of enhancements to existing features and
adds several new features to improve the integration of SNA Server with
TCP/IP networks and to simplify access to IBM host data through the
Internet.

"As with all Microsoft BackOffice products, we're committed to providing
periodic maintenance updates to SNA Server that address all problems
reported to date by our customers or are found in our internal testing,"
said Vesa Suomalainen, general manager of the SNA Server product unit at
Microsoft. "At the same time, we wanted to take the opportunity to include
a number of important features that our customers have been asking for."

NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN SERVICE PACK 1 FOR MICROSOFT SNA SERVER 2.11

DISTRIBUTED GATEWAY SERVICE. The Service Pack delivers the Distributed
Gateway Service which is the key component of SNA Open Gateway
Architecture (SOGA). SOGA, a comprehensive framework for enterprise SNA
gateways, was announced by Microsoft on December 11, 1995. It consists of
three deployment models for SNA gateways: branch-based, centralized, and
distributed. To date, customers have been deploying SNA Servers either in
branch-based or centralized configurations - the Distributed Gateway
Service enables the new distributed deployment, which combines the
strengths of the two existing models. The distributed deployment improves
host response times and saves WAN bandwidth compared to the centralized
model, while making host access more reliable and simplifying network
management compared to the branch-based model. For more details on SOGA,
the full press release is available on the Microsoft SNA Server home page
on http://www.microsoft.com/sna.

SUPPORT FOR TN3270E CLIENTS. The Service Pack adds RFC 1647 support for the
TN3270 Server which was included in SNA Server 2.11, making SNA Server
compatible with new TN3270E emulators now available from the leading
vendors. The TN3270 Server enables any vendor's TN3270 emulator on any
desktop operating system to gain access to 3270 applications via SNA
Server without installing the expensive and CPU-intensive TCP/IP stack on
the mainframe. These TN3270 emulators are gaining in popularity but
previously had some functionality limitations compared to standard SNA
3270 emulators, such as lack of LU1 and LU3 printing support. Most of
these limitations are removed in RFC 1647, which was recently approved by
IEEE and is now supported in SNA Server.

FTP-AFTP GATEWAY. The Service Pack includes a new server-based function to
convert FTP file transfer requests into AFTP. Support for the AFTP file
transfer protocol, which is IBM's implementation of FTP over APPC/LU6.2,
shipped in SNA Server 2.11. This feature makes it possible to perform
high-speed file transfers between IBM hosts and systems running Windows NT
Workstation and Windows NT Server without installing the TCP/IP stack on
the host. The new FTP-AFTP gateway in the Service Pack enables the theuse
of any standard FTP client application to access mainframe or AS/400 files
by using the AFTP protocol. Users benefit by being able to get access to
host files without installing additional software on their workstations.
AFTP requires the APPC Application Suite, available from IBM for most host
operating system versions, to be installed on the host.

AFTP API SUPPORT. The Service Pack adds a new API to automate AFTP file
transfers programmatically. SNA Server 2.11 included a command- line
interface to initiate and automate AFTP file transfers, but several
customers requested that the initiation of AFTP commands be enabled from a
custom-built application. To satisfy this request, the Service Pack adds
support for the AFTP API, which is an IBM-defined API that effectively
provides the command-line interface to any 32-bit Windows-based
application running on the Windows 95, Windows NT Workstation, or Windows
NT Server operating systems. Users can now automate AFTP file transfers to
take place based on program logic, simplifying the configuration of their
applications.

SUPPORT FOR ESCON CHANNEL ATTACHMENT. The Service Pack adds support for the
first PCI-bus ESCON adapter for SNA Server from Polaris Communications. It
also includes drivers for Polaris Communication's PCI-bus Bus&Tag and
Bus-Tech's EISA-bus Bus&Tag adapters. SNA Server 2.11 introduced support
for direct channel connections to IBM mainframes, allowing the replacement
of expensive IBM channel-attached cluster controllers and front-end
processors with inexpensive and scalable PC servers. Drivers for Barr
Systems' ISA-bus and Bus-Tech's MCA-bus Bus&Tag adapters were included in
the SNA Server 2.11 release. Bus&Tag, also known as the parallel channel,
is IBM's original channel attach technology. Running at up to 4.5
Mbytes/second, it provides significant speed advantages over a token ring
or SDLC connection. ESCON, also known as the fiber channel, is IBM's new
channel-attached technology. Running at 17 Mbytes/second, this technology
has a speed advantage over Bus&Tag connections, and can utilize modern
flexible fiber cabling.

WINDOWS 95 CLIENT FOR SNA SERVER. The Service Pack includes the Windows
95-based client for SNA Server, which was previously available only by
downloading over the Internet. In addition to the functionality announced
September 5, 1995 (see the full press release on the Microsoft SNA Server
home page at http://www.microsoft.com/sna), the Service Pack adds support
for Banyan VINES IP transport for the Windows 95 client.

SUPPORT FOR SQL/DS AND STORED PROCEDURES IN THE ODBC/DRDA DRIVER. The
Service Pack adds several new features in the ODBC/DRDA driver which first
shipped in the SNA Server 2.11 release. The ODBC/DRDA driver enables
standard Windows-based applications to access data on IBM DB2R databases
without requiring any additional host software. Developed for Microsoft by
StarWare Inc., the ODBC/DRDA driver has been enhanced to be compatible
with the IBM SQL/DS database, recently renamed DB2 for VM. The release
also adds stored procedures support which enables users to build
higher-performing applications that access data on IBM DB2 databases both
on mainframes and AS/400s. SNA Server includes a single ODBC/DRDA driver
license per server, additional licenses are available from StarWare.

COMPATIBILITY WITH IBM S/36, S/38 AND AS/36 HOSTS. The Service Pack makes
SNA Server compatible with the predecessor systems to the IBM AS/400 --
the System/3x family of computers. Customers have been able to utilize SNA
Server 2.11 to gain access to IBM mainframes and AS/400s. The Service Pack
expands this list to include IBM System/36, System/38, and Advanced
System/36. Customers can use token ring, ethernet, or SDLC connections to
access 5250 applications and data on these systems. The compatibility
requires that the IBM PRPQ for PC Support be installed on these systems.

DRIVERS FOR SEVERAL NEW SDLC AND X.25 ADAPTERS. The Service Pack includes
drivers for several new SDLC and X.25 adapters, giving customers an
ever-increasing choice of adapters to use with SNA Server. Microgate's T1
adapter and the DigiboardR Digi-Sync adapter are now supported for SDLC
connections. X.25/QLLC support was added for the Attachmate Advanced SDLC
adapter. The Service Pack also comes with SDLC and X.25/QLLC drivers for
Eicon Technology's EiconCard family of ISDN, dial-up and leased-line
adapters. This functionality, previously available only as an extra-cost
item as part of Eicon's WAN Services for Windows NT, are now included with
SNA Server at no extra cost.

The full details of the Service Pack are documented in a Windows Help file,
SNASP1.HLP, which can be downloaded from the Microsoft SNA Server home
page on the Internet: http://www.microsoft.com/sna.

EASIER ACCESS TO IBM HOST APPLICATIONS AND DATA THROUGH THE INTERNET

The Service Pack also includes tested integration between SNA Server and
the upcoming Microsoft Internet Information Server, which also runs on
Windows NT Server. Arguably, the majority of the world's electronic
information still resides on IBM mainframes and AS/400s. Being able to
make this vast amount of data easily available to the public Internet or
to the company's private intranet users is a priority to many
organizations.

With SNA Server's support for TCP/IP as one of the client-server protocols,
it is possible for desktops to access SNA Servers across the Internet or
an intranet. To make the most of the strict, user-based security features
in SNA Server, the Service Pack includes documentation for configuring SNA
Server clients and servers on different sides of an Internet firewall, to
enable controlled access to precious host data from public networks.

Users can provide hyperlinks from Web pages on the Internet Information
Server to files that reside on IBM mainframes or AS/400s, thanks to the
FTP-AFTP gateway feature that ships in the Service Pack. Host
administrators can now make live host data files available on the Internet
without either copying them to the Web server or having to install TCP/IP
services on the host.

Because Internet Information Server includes the capability to access any
ODBC-compliant data source, the 32-bit ODBC/DRDA driver that ships with
SNA Server can be used to create forms-oriented data links between IBM DB2
databases and the Internet. It is possible, for example, to configure the
Internet Information Server to provide a stock-ticker application that is
updated every five minutes with live stock data stored on a remote
mainframe DB2 database. This data is then presented as a Web page and can
be viewed with any standard Internet browser -- no special tools or custom
programming required.

SNA SERVER BACKGROUND

Using advanced client-server architecture, Microsoft SNA Server offloads
the communications processing from host computers and desktop PCs. Each PC
uses standard LAN protocols, such as TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, Banyan
VINES IP, or AppleTalk to connect to one or more SNA Servers. The SNA
Servers then connect to IBM mainframes and AS/400s using SNA protocols.
SNA Server supports up to 2000 clients and 10, 00 host sessions and offers
advanced tools for easy system setup and centralized graphical
administration. It supports all standard PC and network operating systems,
LAN protocols, SNA host connections, and host types. Client computers and
administrator workstations can connect to SNA Servers across LAN and WAN
bridges, routers, and over dial-up lines. A key component of Microsoft
BackOffice, SNA Server takes full advantage of the Windows NT Server
operating system to deliver the power, scalability, and security of this
robust foundation. Combined with the industry-standard SNA APIs, this
foundation makes SNA Server the most flexible platform for integrating PC
and host environments.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The Service Pack is available now and is free to current SNA Server 2.11
customers. Customers can download the Service Pack over the Internet
(ftp.microsoft.com: bussys/winnt/sna-public/fixes/sna211), or order a
compact disc from Microsoft for a $14.95 handling fee by calling (800)
426-9400. The Service Pack is automatically applied to new retail copies
of SNA Server 2.11 and will also be included on the next available
Microsoft Select, TechNet, and MSDN subscription compact discs. The
estimated retail pricing for SNA Server 2.11 remains unchanged at
approximately $409 per server license and approximately $65 per client
access license, before volume discounts.

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.
 
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