Novell TO SHIP NetWare Asynchronous Communication Services as NETWARE LOADABLE MODULE Provides Complete Control and Security for Asynchronous Communications; Establishes Asynchronous I/O Specification for Hardware Independence Sunnyvale, Calif. -- March 31, 1992 -- Novell Inc., announced today it is shipping its powerful asynchronous communication software, NetWare Asynchronous Communication Services (NACS), as a NetWare Loadable Module (NLM). NACS v3.0, which supports Novell's Asynchronous I/O (AIO) and NetWare Asynchronous Support Interface (NASI) programming interfaces, enables NetWare users to access and share communications resources such as modems, asynchronous hosts and X.25 network services. The new release provides additional security, management and control for network administrators. "NACS v3.0 software provides manageable, full featured asynchronous communication services. Because it's tightly integrated with NetWare 3.11, users benefit from NetWare's built-in network management, high-performance, security, name services and multiple LAN topology support ," said Gerry Machi, vice president and general manager, NetWare Systems Group -- Sunnyvale. "Also, because NACS supports the AIO development interface, it is hardware independent, so users are free to choose the communications adapters that work best for them." "We use NACS v3.0 extensively at the Cerro Gordo County Courthouse," said Larry Schunk, director of MIS. "The IS department uses NACS to dial out and connect to our vendor's bulletin board systems. This allows us to download software patches and product information or to post support questions about their products. The NACS is also used by the county attorneys who need to access specific computers like the Attorney General's bulletin board system or the West Law database." "Over all, installation and management has been surprisingly easy and the remote access through NACS is completely transparent to the caller. We've set up all of this with four modems instead of the 20 it would have required without NACS." NetWare Asynchronous Communication Services NACS v3.0 enables NetWare users to access and share communications resources, such as modems, asynchronous hosts and X.25 network services. With NACS v3.0, users can share access to modem pools--reducing communication costs--to dial out of the LAN and access bulletin boards, information services and asynchronous minicomputer hosts. Also, remote users can dial into a NACS server and access individual workstations on the LAN, as well as application servers. Available in two-, eight- and 32-port versions, NACS v3.0 can be configured for any level of asynchronous communication need. Multiple NACS v3.0 can be installed on a single network. Organizations can run NACS on a NetWare v3.11 server along with file and print or other NLMs. In organizations with heavy asynchronous traffic, NACS can run on a server dedicated to asynchronous communications. The eight- and 32-port versions ship with NetWare v3.11 Runtime. Management, Administration and Security NACS v3.0 sets the standard for managing asynchronous communications; it gives network administrators complete control over the management, administration and security of asynchronous communication services. A menu-driven server console displays and stores statistics, and provides audit trail information. Additional utilities administer the enhanced features and assist in troubleshooting. The product also delivers enhanced security by giving network administrators complete control over asynchronous access to and from resources on the LAN. In a related news release, Novell today announced the availability of the NetWare Communication Services Manager, a Windows-based application that provides extensive network management capabilities for configuring, monitoring and maintaining NetWare Communication Services--including NetWare Asynchronous Communication Services (NACS) v3.0--from anywhere on the network. It provides a comprehensive set of network management tools for fault, performance and configuration management. Hardware Independence - AIO The NetWare Asynchronous I/O is a development specification which provides the NetWare environment with a single point of control through which all asynchronous communication services can be accessed. Asynchronous communication adapter vendors that write drivers to the AIO specifications are guaranteed compatibility with any Novell asynchronous communication service built on NetWare. Software Applications - NASI NACS supports the NASI interface which is used by more than 30 independent asynchronous communication software vendors. Compatible communication products include: Application Company ASCOM/IV, network v1.41 Symantec BLAST Professional DOS, v10.5 US Robotics Software BLAST Professional Server, v10.5 US Robotics Software CO/Session LAN II Triton Technologies CROSSTALK Mk. 4, v1.1 Digital Communications Assoc. CROSSTALK for Windows, v1.2 Digital Communications Assoc. DynaComm Asynchronous, v3.00.28 Future Soft LEXUS 2000 LAN, v2.5 Mead Data Central, Inc. On/LAN PC, v1.2x Novell, Inc. pcANYWHERE IV/LAN, v4.5 Symantec poly-STAR/T, v2.31 Polygon Software PROCOMM PLUS, Network version Datastorm Technologies Reflection/7+, v1.0 Walker, Richter, & Quinn RELAY Gold/LAN, v3.0 Microcom, Inc. Smartcom Exec, v2.1 Hayes Microcomputer Products SmarTerm 340, v3.0 Persoft Softerm PC, v2.0 and above Softronics VsComm/LAN, v7.6 The M/H Group WESTLAW /WESTMATE v2.2 West Publishing Co. ZSTEM 340, LAN version 1.0.3 KEA Systems, Ltd. New Third Party Support ~ A variety of third-party vendors have developed hardware and software solutions that use NACS v3.0 as the asynchronous communications link to the enterprise. Following is a list of vendors who have announced new support: ~ Citrix Systems Inc. has announced its Network Application Server and Citrix Remote Link. These products support NASI and allow users to dial into the LAN through NACS v3.0 and directly connect to a Citrix server to run OS/2, Windows, and DOS applications remotely. ~ DigiBoard has announced a multi-port asynchronous communication adapter board which supports Novell's Asynchronous I/O specification. This allows DigiBoard solutions to provide AIO-aware services such as NACS v3.0 with access to large numbers of serial ports. Newport Systems Solutions Inc. has enhanced its Asynchronous Communications Interface (ACI) and X.25 Communications Interface (XCI) adapters to provide asynchronous and X.25 communications support for the Asynchronous I/O specification and NACS v3.0. NetWare Communication Services Novell first announced the concept of NetWare Communication Services in June, 1990 and began delivering the first modules of the platform with the shipment of NetWare for SAA v1.0, Novell's premier LAN-to-host connectivity product, in May, 1991. NetWare Communication Services products give users access to host resources and wide area networks. It's the first completely integrated LAN communications system designed to support any combination of LAN-to-host, LAN-to-LAN or remote LAN access services. Pricing and Availability NetWare Asynchronous Communication Services (NACS) v3.0 will be available April 10, 1992. Pricing in the United States and Canada is as follows: ~ NACS (2 port) $ 595 ~ NACS (8 port)* $1795 ~ NACS (32 port)* $4995 *Ships with NetWare Runtime For pricing outside the United States and Canada, customers should contact their local Novell authorized Reseller. Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) is an operating system software company and the developer of network services, specialized and general purpose operating system software products, including NetWare and DR DOS. Novell's NetWare network computing products manage and control the sharing of services, data and applications among computer workgroups, departmental networks and across business-wide information systems.