MERIDIAN DATA OFFERS NEW CD NETWORKING MINISERVER THAT INSTALLS IN MINUTES
WITHOUT NETWARE SERVER DOWNTIME

New Product is First Truly-Scalable CD ROM Networking Solution for Novell
NetWare Networks: Supports Several or Thousands of CD ROM Drives

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (April 8, 1996) -- Meridian Data, Inc. (NASDAQ/NMS:
MDCD) today announced CD NETLINK MINISERVERS, scalable CD network
appliances which allow administrators to add thousands of 7- or 14-CD ROM
drive subsystems at any point on a Novell NetWare network. The CD NetLink
Miniserver 7 or CD NetLink Miniserver 14 can be installed in typically
less than 15 minutes--without interrupting access to the network
server--compared to alternative CD server installations which can take up
to several hours.

"With the CD NetLink Miniserver products, Meridian provides a
cost-effective, very easy-to-install CD networking solution," said
Gianluca Rattazzi, president and chief executive officer of Meridian Data.
"Customers can now take advantage of an affordable, yet fully scalable,
architecture. This means unprecedented CD networking convenience and
support, ranging from small organizations that may have limited
budgets--like K-12 libraries or university reference centers--right up to
a large corporate network with departmental needs."

"We're pleased that Meridian Data is enabling our users to control and
connect to an expanded number of CD ROMs, enhancing their access to
information across NetWare networks," said William Donahoo, vice president
of marketing for the NetWare Products Division at Novell, Inc. "The
ability to easily scale CD storage and manage related applications --
across single and multiple NetWare servers--is a significant value-add for
our large installed base of NetWare users."

Administrators may choose whether to install the CD NetLink Miniserver as a
dedicated, peer-to-peer solution or, using Meridian's Remote Drive
Connectivity software, as a CD ROM subsystem which runs under control of
an installed NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) on the Novell server. NLM-based
solutions include Meridian's CD Net for NetWare, offering an advanced
suite of administrator and user applications. In either case, with
Meridan's industry-unique architecture, the Novell server remains up
during CD NetLink installation.

With this flexibility, CD NetLink allows organizations to easily integrate
CD ROM storage modules--such as Meridian's high-performance CD NetROM
Subsystems--on the network, then add more later as the number of CD titles
and users grow. CD NetLink's software "virtual interface card" makes it
possible to configure thousands of drives on a Novell network, including
adding more drives to NetWare servers with existing CD ROM drives
installed.

The CD NetLink Miniserver 7 supports up to 7 SCSI CD ROM drives; the CD
NetLink Miniserver 14 supports up to 14 drives. Each configuration
supports an unlimited number of NetWare users when used as a remote CD ROM
subsystem, or 100 concurrent users when used as a peer-to-peer
miniserver.

Management Tools

CD NetLink Miniservers include Meridian's CD Net Plus v6.1 Software, a
suite of advanced Windows-based administrative management applications and
easy-to-use client interface. The applications provide a single control
point for CD ROM resources across multiple servers and allow an unlimited
number of CD volumes to be mapped to one or more user desktop drive
letters.

Meridian's all-new CD Net Tools--another industry-unique management
application--is also included with CD NetLink. The software toolkit allows
an administrator to monitor how the CD server is accessed by users,
providing the ability to assess CD ROM usage and system performance and
easily troubleshoot problematic drives.

CD Net Tools Pro, an optional upgrade package, provides advanced system
utilities offering detailed drill-down information on individual drive
performance, saving usage statistics as data files and gathering real-time
or historical data. These features are important not only to diagnose the
network, but to generate equipment and CD ROM license justification
reports.

Pricing and Availability

Available immediately, CD NetLink Miniserver 7 has a suggested list price
(U.S.) of $895; the CD NetLink Miniserver 14 is priced at $1,195. The
miniservers include SCSI port(s), cabling, power supply adapter and CD Net
Plus v6.1 Software. The products are compatible with Novell NetWare 3.12
and NetWare 4.1, or higher.

The optional CD Net Tools Pro is priced at $495.

About Meridian Data

Founded in 1986, Meridian Data, is a leading provider of CD ROM networking
software and servers. Its high-productivity CD solutions are widely
employed throughout Fortune 500 and government businesses.

Meridian Data is headquartered in Scotts Valley, Calif., and maintains
offices in Lawrenceville, N.J., Herndon, Va., Atlanta, Ga., Naperville,
Ill., and London, England. Meridian's products are available through
leading distributors and value-added resellers.
 
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