WINDOWS SOCKETS 2 INTEROPERABILITY TESTING EVENT DEMONSTRATES SUCCESSFUL
OPERATION OF ATM APIs FOR WINDOWS

ATM Vendors and Software Developers Participate in WinSock 2 ATM API
"Connectathon" to Test Interoperability Between Windows Applications and
Native ATM Networks

REDMOND, Wash., May 28, 1996 -- Leading software developers and ATM
providers came together to test and demonstrate successful interworking
between Windows" applications and native ATM protocols at a recent ATM
"connectathon" held May 13-17. The ATM "connectathon," hosted by Intel and
Microsoft, was a component of a larger WinSock 2 interoperability testing
event held at Microsoft's Development Labs in Redmond, Wash. A total of
eight companies participated in the industry-open ATM testing: ATM
Limited, Efficient Networks, Inc., First Virtual Corporation, FORE
Systems, Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Whitetree and ZeitNet
Inc.

The ATM testing "connectathon" employed the recently developed WinSock 2
Application Programming Interface (API) and ATM extensions recognized by
the ATM Forum. Results of the interoperability testing provide a clear
indication to the software development community that a standards-based
method to support interoperable, native ATM applications in a Windows
environment is now accessible.

WinSock-2 API for ATM

The WinSock 2 API specifies how to write applications under Windows that
can take direct advantage of the unique features of ATM, including Quality
of Service (QoS) guarantees and point-to-multipoint communications. The
ATM Forum recently released a statement from its April 1996 meeting
indicating that WinSock 2 has been reviewed by the ATM Forum and that it
is compatible with the Forum's recently adopted ATM API semantic model
specification. Now applications written to the standard communications API
for Windows can detect and utilize the QoS capabilities of ATM networks,
including bandwidth control and traffic priorities.

ATM "Connectathon" Findings

The "connectathon" provided an opportunity for developers to meet and
verify that the ATM portion of the WinSock 2 specification with ATM
extensions is complete and clearly defined. The test setting brought
together a combination of ATM protocol stacks, ATM switches (155mbps and
25mbps), testing software to verify interfaces and ATM-enhanced
applications, all operating in a Windows environment. The results showed
that applications can now use ATM networking services directly, bypassing
legacy protocol stacks for direct access to ATM. The participating
companies have plans to conduct a subsequent ATM "connectathon" event
later this year with additional industry participants.

"The ATM Forum recognized the need for applications access to the unique
features of ATM networks," said George Dobrowski, chairman of the ATM
Forum's Technical Committee. "We fully support the efforts of the WinSock
2 ATM group to implement the Forum's API specification."

Wide Industry Support

The WinSock 2 API effort has quickly garnered broad support from various
industry segments dedicated to the development of ATM technology.

"Microsoft strongly supports ATM and is pleased to see its progress within
WinSock 2 and to have hosted the ATM connectathon," said Tim Kwok, chief
ATM architect for Microsoft's Consumer Platforms Division. "Having ATM API
functions in the Windows environment will enable developers to create more
quickly a new class of broadband multimedia applications that directly
take advantage of the ATM QoS capabilities."

"The rapid adoption of WinSock 2 by the ATM community ratifies it as the
API for all forms of data communications and ensures ATM's place as a 'big
media pipe' to the Intel Architecture PC," said Dan Ohlemacher, product
marketing manager for Intel Corporation's WinSock 2 program.

"This event provided an opportunity for ATM providers and software
developers alike to dig in and do some focused testing," said George
Marshall, director of product marketing for ZeitNet. "It clearly showed
the maturity ATM APIs have achieved and helped identify key areas where
applications can get maximum benefit from the technology."

"The availability of WinSock 2 over ATM allows applications such as voice
and video collaboration to take advantage of ATM's quality of service over
a variety of ATM stacks," said Allwyn Sequeira, founding partner of First
Virtual Corporation. "This will expedite the deployment of these critical
applications in the business environment."

"We are excited to finally have a standard, interoperable API to access ATM
devices," said Doug Calderon, program manager for Lockheed/Martin's Media
Systems Integration Group. "We're using FORE Systems' version of the
WinSock 2.0 API to port our multimedia application set."

WinSock 2 Availability

The ATM extensions to the WinSock 2 specifications were developed by the
WinSock Group to add connection-oriented capabilities to the WinSock APIs.
Microsoft will ship WinSock 2 in the forthcoming Windows NT 4.0 release
and incorporate WinSock 2 into the standard Win 32 SDK. A WinSock 2 SDK
for Windows 95 will ship several weeks later. The SDK will provide the
means for ISVs to upgrade Windows 95 systems to WinSock 2 when their
application or service provider is installed.

WinSock 2 is currently available for beta testing by software developers.
The WinSock 2 SDK and specifications can be reviewed and downloaded from
the Intel web site: http://www.intel.com/ial/winsock2.

WinSock 2 Background

The WinSock 2 specification was created by the WinSock Group, an informal
coalition of leading PC industry companies working together to further
enhance the capabilities of the Windows Sockets specification.

In support of the WinSock 2 specification, Intel Corporation's Architecture
Labs (IAL) and Microsoft Corporation have been working together to create
the SDK for Microsoft's 32-bit operating systems, which include Windows 95
and Windows NT. The SDK contains all of the components necessary for
software developers to create data communications applications, including
specifications, sample applications code and the DLL components. Key
features of the new version include:

* Protocol Independence: Ability to support multiple protocols, including
native ATM services along with traditional transport stacks (TCP/IP,
IPX/SPX, OSI), LANs and wireless networks. This enables Windows Sockets 2
developers to create Internet and general communications applications that
are independent of underlying networks.

* Quality of Service: An interface for applications to query and request
performance attributes such as bandwidth and latency from the underlying
network - a capability required for real-time multimedia and
communications.

* Multi-point and nulti-cast features to enable end-user capabilities like
multi-player games, conferencing and distance learning. 100% binary
compatibility with the current Windows Sockets 1.1 specification, ensuring
that Windows Sockets 2-compliant systems will have immediate compatibility
with the hundreds of existing Windows Sockets applications.

* Native ATM extensions allowing applications to directly access and
utilize the unique features of ATM and forego the inefficiencies of LAN
Emulation.
 
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