SHORT TAKES

SUSE ANNOUNCES LINUX VERSION FOR SPARC PROCESSOR

Oakland, CALIF. — SuSE Linux, an international technology leader and solutions provider in open source operating system (OS) software, announced the availability of SuSE Linux 7.0 for the SPARC architecture from Sun Microsystems. With the addition of Linux for the SPARC platform, SuSE Linux continues providing the superior features of the Linux operating system to other applications within the professional environment. “The community of Linux users worldwide continues to grow and we are meeting the current and future needs of the market. With the addition of the SPARC architecture, SuSE continues to support the porting of Linux to the enterprise level.” said Dirk Hondel, CTO of SuSE Linux AG. “The SPARC platform is extremely stable and the addition of Linux creates an ideal server environment.”

SuSE Linux currently supports PowerPC, S/390, RS/6000 and Alpha processors in addition to the Intel platform. With the addition of the SPARC architecture, SuSE Linux is an ideal common server platform within the professional environment. Sun, a leading manufacturer of high availability SPARC processor based workstations and servers, enjoys a very loyal following with Internet Service Providers and universities due to the reliability and scalability of the SPARC architecture. The high-performance platform from Sun enjoys wide recognition in software and electronic development, mechanical construction, printing and electronic media, telecommunication, banking, insurance and finance. With its extended hardware support, SuSE has shaped Linux into one of the top server Operating Systems, further complementing the SPARC platform. SuSE Linux excels through comprehensive networking, stability and flexibility. Additionally, uniform and rational administration of cross platform, heterogeneous networks provides reduced costs for the development and purchase of strategic software products within an enterprise. The minimum capital expenditure for the Linux operating system and greatly reduced administration overhead allow a significant reduction in the ownership costs of large server farms. The complete version of SuSE Linux 7.0 for SPARC is now available free of charge under ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/sparc .

YGGDRASIL SHIPS WORLD’S FIRST LINUX DVD9-ROM

San Jose, CALIF. — Yggdrasil Computing, Inc., the company that created the Linux CDROM industry, has shipped the world’s first Linux DVD9-ROM, a successor format to CD-ROMs, with over twelve times the capacity. Linux DVD Archives contains over eight billion bytes of open source software (over 23 billion bytes uncompressed), giving Linux users a new level of convenience and access to open source software. “The value of every product we have ever shipped is convenience,” said Adam Richter, President of Yggdrasil Computing. “The growth of free software has increased the size of our Archives product to eight CDs. If you have to switch among that many discs, it’s not very convenient. So, we decided to really push the technology to address this problem.”

DVD-9 is the state of the art in disc manufacturing, requiring equipment that can bond together two different metal layers: the conventional aluminum used on CDs and single-layer DVDs, with a second layer made of gold, giving the discs their distinctive look: silvery on top and gold underneath. Although the manufacturing process may be more exotic that with smaller DVDs, Linux DVD Archives should be compatible with all DVD-ROM drives. Because of the high level of technology risk inherent in building the first DVD9, Yggdrasil chose to begin with a very simple product. A user cannot install Linux from Linux DVD Archives, so it is only useful as an accessory for current Linux users. What the product does provide is the largest collection of source code from the metalab.unc.edu and ftp.gnu.org software archives ever assembled on a single medium. The software selected for this DVD was that that the company believed was compatible with the GNU General Public License.

ANADIGICS PRESENTS RECEIVER SOLUTION

Warren, N.J. — ANADIGICS, a leading supplier of wireless and broadband communications solutions, introduced a new rate-agile optical receiver solution and announced that Stratos Lightwave, Inc. has selected the product for use in its small form factor (SFF) transceivers for storage area networks (SANs). The AMT8301T46F/L offers the unique flexibility to operate at both 1X and 2X Fibre Channel data rates using one high performance solution, enabling network designers to easily scale up capacity in SANs. “This design win at Stratos represents a significant revenue opportunity for ANADIGICS beginning in the fourth quarter of 2000,” remarks Dr. Bami Bastani, President & CEO of ANADIGICS. “ANADIGICS has developed this rate-agile solution to enable system designers to upgrade capacity without costly hardware replacement. We are pleased to announce that Stratos has selected our rate-agile product, and we believe that this solution will continue to be adopted by several of the major manufacturers of high-speed datacom transceivers.”

“Demand for bandwidth continues to double each year and scalability has become a major concern for the providers of high-speed datacom networks,” remarks Jim McGinley, President and CEO of Stratos Lightwave, Inc. “ANADIGICS’ new rate-agile MSM-TIA delivers optimized sensitivity without sacrificing bandwidth, enabling us to provide a scalable solution that delivers superior performance for both 1X and 2X Fibre Channel systems.” ANADIGICS was able to design this innovative MSM-TIA (integrated photodetector and transimpedance amplifier) by leveraging its LPIII manufacturing process, a newly designed MESFET process that includes MSM photodiodes. The new LPIII process allows high performance circuits to be designed to operate at low voltages with low power dissipation. As a result, the parts demonstrate industry-leading sensitivity of better than -19 dBm over voltage and temperature at 1.0625 and 2.125 Gb/s data rates at a supply voltage of 3.3V with less than 45 mW power dissipation.

SIMULATIONS PLUS ADVANCES STATE-OF-THE-ART

Lancaster, CALIF. — Simulations Plus, Inc. ( http://www.simulations-plus.com ), a leading provider of ADME neural net and absorption simulation software for pharmaceutical discovery and development, announced that it has released a major upgrade to its QMPRPlus software for predicting certain critical physicochemical properties of new chemicals from their molecular structure. This upgrade, called Version 2.1, incorporates new artificial neural network mathematical models to predict water solubility and logP for new chemicals, with only their molecular structures as inputs. “Two of the most important parameters that affect how a potential drug compound behaves are its solubility and its logP,” said Dr. Michael B. Bolger, director of Life Sciences of Simulations Plus, Inc. “Solubility refers to how much of a compound can be dissolved in a fixed amount of fluid, and logP relates to how a chemical will divide itself between water and a fatty liquid. Chemicals with higher logP will move more into the fatty liquid, and are more likely to be able to permeate cell walls, and therefore to be absorbed. So this property has very special importance in ADME. Other companies have worked on predicting logP for many years, but it appears that we have made a major breakthrough and that we now have the world’s most accurate logP prediction software.”

“Our Life Sciences team is really on a roll lately,” said Walt Woltosz, chairman and chief executive officer. “Not only have we just finished a fiscal year with over double the sales of our previous year, and recently introduced major improvements to our world-renowned GastroPlus program, but now we have upgraded QMPRPlus in a very significant way with improved logP and solubility models. We’ve also added a number of convenience features that make the program ever more useful and friendly.” Simulations Plus, Inc. is a premier developer of groundbreaking drug discovery and development simulation software, which is licensed to and used in the conduct of drug research by major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. The Company has two other businesses, Words+, Inc. and FutureLab, which are based on its proprietary software technologies. Simulations Plus, Inc. is headquartered in Southern California and trades on the OTCBB under the symbol “SIMU.OB”.

FLUENT ADDS PAKSI TO ITS OFFERINGS

Lebanon, N.H. — Fluent Inc., a world leader in flow and heat transfer modeling software, and Optimal Corporation of San Jose, California, will work together to market Optimal Corp.’s IC package design and analysis tool, PakSi-TM and PakSi-E. Described as a win for end users by both companies, the software products will be sold exclusively by Fluent worldwide except in Taiwan. Optimal’s PakSi products have complementary capabilities to Fluent’s ever-more-popular electronics cooling simulation software, Icepak. PakSi supports three-dimensional modeling of integrated circuit package components such as the die, die attach, die attachment pad, and lead frame. PakSi-TM is a thermal and mechanical simulation tool, which performs thermal, hydro (moisture), fluid dynamics (molding), and mechanical simulations. PakSi-E is an electrical simulation tool, which enables a designer to create a solid, three-dimensional Finite Element model, extract the equivalent electrical circuit (including all parasitic R, L, C, and G), analyze critical net, power/ground nets and electrical performance. Both products are user friendly, fast, and feature direct CAD input for efficient design integration.

“Icepak has already taken the electronics cooling software market by storm,” says Optimal’s President Ying Chang. “It helps designers to see the thermal issues in their system designs. PakSi lets those who are working on packages go even deeper. By working together, we can offer enhanced capabilities to Fluents’ growing customer base with a product that very clearly complements Icepak,” he adds. According to Fluent Vice President Rick Sam, “We were attracted to the PakSi suite because it is a truly comprehensive tool for package-level design. It also has the additional benefit of being easy to use, in keeping with our goal to provide electronics designers with the best tools to efficiently model and analyze the performance of their designs, without a long learning curve. We want to help make it more widely available,” Sam concludes.

INFORTREND LAUNCHES RAID MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Santa Rosa, CALIF. — Infortrend, a leading manufacturer of high performance RAID controllers, announced the release of its custom Java-based RAID management software, RAIDWatch. RAIDWatch provides a user-friendly graphical interface for configuring and monitoring RAID systems using any of Infortrend’s stand-alone controllers. A quick glance gives the user an instant grasp on the status of all RAID arrays, enclosures, UPS’s, fans, temperatures, and power. Individual disks can also be rapidly identified in a virtual construct of the enclosure. RAIDWatch supports remote array management over a LAN or the Internet. Event notifications and error reports can be sent to a network workstation or can be distributed via email, pager, or fax.

“This GUI interface, supporting multiple operating systems, has been requested by many of our OEM customers,” said Don Naples, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Infortrend Corporation. According to OEM customer Greg Morris, Vice President of Services and Support at RAID Incorporated, “Infortrend’s RAIDWatch is a valuable software tool that is used in our StorageNOC to allow us the ability to both monitor and support our customers’ arrays in the field. The software package has helped us to enhance our service and support packages along with providing a simple, clean GUI for the customer.” Multiple platforms are supported, including Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Solaris 7 or 8, HP UX 11, and Red Hat Linux 6.1.

VA LINUX OFFERS STORAGE APPLIANCE

San Diego, CALIF. — VA Linux Systems, the supplier of high-end Intel servers running Linux, has taken the plunge into the storage arena with a Linux-based storage appliance. The VA Linux 9205 Network-Attached Storage system can hold up to 2.1 terabytes – or 2,100 gigabytes – in a rack-mount space that amounts to eight of the 42 slots available. Rack-mount devices are the configuration of choice for many Internet service providers, application service providers and other suppliers of hosted services over the Internet. The core of the system is a unit about 3.5 inches high – or “2u” by the rack-mount measure of 42u per rack – that runs Linux on a Pentium III processor, alongside five 73-GB drives. For maximum capacity, this master or control unit connects to three other units of the same height in the rack, each holding an additional eight 73-GB drives, said Ali Jenab, senior vice president at VA Linux. Such a 9205 system would be priced at $132,000, he said.

VA Linux believes a configuration with less than half that capacity, however, will prove to be the “sweet spot” in the rapidly expanding storage market, where Internet companies want to capture and store information about their Web site customers. VA Linux plans to sell such a unit with 949 GB of storage for a price of $66,000. It will also offer a base unit with 300 GB for $29,998. The Linux-driven storage units are Network-Attached Storage (NAS), or a device that is ready to plug into a Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol network. Such a device is expected to operate as a pooled resource for several servers on the same network. At the same time, it is a lower cost alternative to a Storage Area Network (SAN), which is based on a separate subnetwork made of fiber-optic cable and serving only storage devices, Jenab said. “NAS is much simpler than SAN. You can install it a 9203 unit in 30 minutes,” he said. Jenab noted that taking the step from producing Linux rack-mount servers to Linux-based, rack-mount storage units loaded with high-capacity disk drives wasn’t as great as it might seem for the system integrator, which went public in December 1999.

CONCEPT ENGINEERING SOFTWARE AVAILABLE

Freiburg, GERMANY — Concept Engineering has announced that its NLview Widget 64-bit software components are now available for use in Sun Microsystems’ Solaris 7 Operating Environment, and in Hewlett-Packard Company’s HP-UX 11 UNIX computing platform. Concept’s graphical user interface (GUI) building blocks will enable 64-bit electronic design automation (EDA) systems to handle the most complex designs more quickly and reliably, enabling electronic design engineers to shorten design cycles. “By introducing 64-bit components, we can ensure a higher level of performance and capacity for our customers,” said Gerhard Angst, president and CEO of Concept Engineering. “Working with advanced operating systems, they need software technology that use those systems to their greatest potential. Our NLview Widget enables software engineers to build EDA tools that can handle multi-million-gate designs in much less time, allowing them to focus on the most important aspect of their software project – the EDA application itself.”

“It’s imperative that the EDA end-user community have applications in the design flow that run at the same level as the operating system and have the capability to support larger designs,” said Darryl Parker, senior director, Market Development, Sun Microsystems. “Concept’s products running on the Solaris 64-bit platform provide the flexibility and reliability needed by end users to tackle larger hardware designs. The extended platform will enable new design models such as compute farms to play an integral role in design cycle.” NLview Widget comprises a family of schematic generation and viewing software components that can easily be put to work in the most popular GUI environments, including Java, Tcl/Tk, MFC and ActiveX. Using these customizable components, software teams are better able to speed through design cycles flexibly and reliably, for lower development and maintenance costs while adding higher product quality at the same time.

EVOLOCITY 1240S CLUSTER SERVER MAXIMIZES UPTIME

Sandy, UTAH – Linux NetworX introduces Evolocity 1240s, designed for managing and optimizing Web traffic in the Internet market. By placing all Web services on an Evolocity 1240s, Internet service providers (ISPs) and application service providers (ASPs) can achieve maximum system uptime by taking advantage the redundancy, failover and scalability clustered server technology offers. Cluster technology, on which Evolocity 1240s is based, is a method of linking multiple computers, or compute modules, together to form a powerful, unified system. The server contains all of the tools needed for high availability Web serving. Linux NetworX will unveil the Evolocity 1240s at the Networld+Interop 2000 trade show Sept. 26.

“To meet the enormous demand for an extremely reliable Web server, Linux NetworX has put together a complete solution in the Evolocity 1240s,” said Glen Lowry, president and CEO of Linux NetworX. “We know the number one concern for ISP and ASP managers is system uptime. The Evolocity 1240s contains the full fault tolerance of a traditional enterprise class server at an affordable price.” To limit service downtime, ISPs often have many different machines dedicated for single services. For example, an ISP might have one machine handling mail, one for Web serving, one for DNS, and multiple machines handling static Web content. If any one machine goes down, then that service is lost. With the cluster technology in Evolocity 1240s, it is possible to eliminate service downtime, while at the same time maximizing the use of system resources. Each compute module in the system handles a portion of each of the services – so if an individual module fails, only a small portion of overall capacity is lost, there is never a threat of a single service being completely lost. Pre-configured and ready-to-use, the Evolocity 1240s provides all essential Web services including Apache Web server, Sendmail, and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Web server functionality is pre-built to include PHP, ModPerl, and MySQL. Secure remote access is provided by Secure Shell (SSH). The Evolocity 1240s also includes software-level firewall and load balancing, and proprietary Linux NetworX cluster management software, ClusterWorX.

SPEARHEAD RELEASES AIRGAP AG300 VERSION 2.5

Melville, N.Y. — The era of hackers having fun at the expense of e-commerce conglomerates has come to an end. Hackers who crash these commercial sites will soon be facing a much more stringent security measure – the AirGAP network security system, manufactured by SpearHead Technologies. SpearHead recently announced the introduction of the latest version of the AirGAP AG300 series, which begins shipping on November 1, 2000. This upgrade, called Version 2.5, is equipped to handle all Internet protocols, and will support enhanced authentication of data. Spearhead will present Version 2.5/3 at Networld + Interop 2000 in Atlanta, and will be located in booth 368. GAP technology, which is the basis for Spearhead’s AirGAP products, prevents disabling network assaults by physically terminating the live TCP/IP session and disassembling the TCP. The program then performs a number of high-level security checks, including web protocol inspection, analysis of protocol messages, and file and document content verification, before generating a new live session.

“No other security technology provides this level of protection while maintaining the high data rates needed for Internet applications,” states Yossi Hod, SpearHead’s Executive Vice President of Marketing. “GAP technology is ideal in handling attacks like those recently experienced by Yahoo, eBay and others. AirGAP provides a layer of protection for networks and servers connected to the Internet that today’s firewalls cannot provide.” AirGAP is designed to “shut the door” when it detects particularly heavy traffic arriving from certain IP addresses. It controls the maximum number of concurrent sessions and the amount of data exchanged per session. SpearHead’s GAP technology also works to prevent an Internal Distributed Denial of Service (IDDOS) by terminating the TCP/IP session while maintaining the performance of common on-line Internet connections. Additionally, if hackers attempt to use unauthorized protocols or “illegal” messages in a “legal” protocol, AirGAP filters the messages and prevent them from entering the LAN. SpearHead Security Technologies, Inc., founded in Israel in 1998, develops and markets Internet and computer network security products for the government and the financial, telecommunications and healthcare industries. SpearHead’s management team formed the company following careers as officers in the Israel Defense Forces, where they worked extensively in data communication technology, security, electronic engineering, and systems development.

TOSHIBA UNVEILS MAGNIA ENTERPRISE SERVERS

Irvine, CALIF. — Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. (TAIS), Computer Systems Group (CSG) announced the Magnia 7100 series enterprise-class server featuring quad Intel Pentium III Xeon processor support and increased availability, reliability and redundancy features. Designed to deliver unsurpassed performance, the new Magnia 7100 is an ideal enterprise server solution for mission-critical environments running advanced applications that require high storage capacity, fast data throughput and a robust feature set. The new enterprise server is equipped to support the latest and most powerful technology and with a starting price of $9,010, the Magnia 7100 provides businesses with long-term investment protection.

“In today’s highly competitive marketplace the need to access mission critical data around the clock without worry of downtime is vital to any company’s operations,” said Steve Andler, vice president, marketing, Toshiba, CSG. “Toshiba recognizes this concern and is committed to providing solid, dependable servers our customers can count on. The Magnia 7100 delivers a flexible, scalable and reliable solution for medium to large enterprises.” Developed to provide enterprise companies with a world-class performing, robust server solution, Toshiba’s new Magnia 7100 series is equipped with the industry’s latest feature sets including: Quad Intel Pentium III Xeon 700MHz processors with either 1MB or 2MB level 2 cache and 512MB of ECC SDRAM expandable to 16GB, increasing overall system performance and ability to handle memory-intensive applications. One of the industry’s most storage-rich enterprise servers, the Magnia 7100 is engineered with six standard 3.5-inch hot-swap SCA drive bays that support one-inch 9GB or 18GB, 7.2K RPM drives and 36GB 10K RPM drives. Using an optional second drive cage with six one-inch hot-swap drive bays, the robust enterprise server can support up to 12 drives and reach a maximum storage capacity of 432GB (nearly half a Terabyte).

CONNEX DELIVERS SANAVIGATOR

San Jose, CALIF. — Connex, a developer of Storage Area Network (SAN) and Network Attached Storage (NAS) solutions, announced the availability of SANavigator, an innovative SAN management tool that eliminates the complexity and vendor-specific limitations of existing SAN management products. SANavigator combines an automatic discovery engine with a visual topology display, producing a simple, safe and scalable SAN management solution that can remotely monitor and manage SAN installations from anywhere in the world with a simple-to-use Java-based console. The status of SAN devices can even be monitored at multiple locations through SANavigator’s innovative event forwarding feature.

Connex’ SANavigator is the first true vendor- and platform-independent SAN management application, freeing IT managers from the restriction of using separate, vendor-specific tools to manage multiple pieces of a SAN. The initial release of SANavigator is the only comprehensive SAN management application to support all Microsoft Windows platforms (98, NT and 2000). Solaris and Linux are also supported. As a pure Java application, SANavigator can quickly and easily be ported to any other OS that supports a Java Virtual Machine. Connex has completed interoperability testing for SANavigator for compliance with all leading suppliers of SAN connectivity hardware, including Brocade, Crossroads, Emulex, Gadzoox, JNI, Qlogic, Pathlight, Vixel and others, ensuring comprehensive support for any customer’s SAN installation. “SANavigator breaks down the complexity and vendor-specific barriers that have precluded the availability of simple to use, heterogeneous SAN management tools,” said Robert Wright, Vice President Software Engineering at Connex. “SANavigator will enable our customers to take full advantage of their investments in best-of-breed SAN hardware technology.” For more information on Connex, visit the company’s web site at http://www.Connex.com .

VA LINUX 9205 NAS DELIVERS RELIABILITY

London, ENGLAND — VA Linux Systems, Inc. introduced the VA Linux 9205 NAS system-a convenient, ultradense 2U (3.5-inch-high) storage appliance that leverages VA’s expertise in Open Source software and high-density Linux systems engineering. The VA Linux 9205 NAS is VA’s first network-attached storage (NAS) solution, complementing the company’s product line-the industry’s broadest selection of 1U and 2U rackmount Linux servers. Open Source NAS with Industry-Leading Storage Density Scalable to 2.1 terabytes in an ultradense 8U form factor, the 9205 NAS provides industry- leading storage density-over 10TB in a standard 42U rack-providing the ideal network file sharing solution for e-businesses in ISP data centers, where space is at a premium. The VA Linux 9205 NAS offers seamless file sharing across multiple platforms-Linux, UNIX, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS-enabling transparent file access in heterogeneous network environments.

“VA Linux is bringing the power of Open Source software-reliability, innovation and reduced costs-to the NAS market,” said Ali Jenab, senior vice president and general manager of VA Linux’s Systems Division. “E-businesses today need to manage and store more data than ever before, and Open Source is the key to keeping up with this rapid pace. VA Linux is re-defining the storage market by bringing scalable Open Source NAS solutions to our customers, and backing them with an extensive, best-of-class service and support package.” International Data Corporation (IDC) has projected that the NAS market will grow from $850 million in 1999 to $6.57 billion by 2003, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 66 percent. The VA Linux 9205 is the first in a family of NAS solutions from VA Linux Systems. All VA Linux NAS products feature an extensive service and support package-VA’s award-winning “Total Linux Coverage (TLC)”‘ for NAS- including one year of unlimited 24×7 technical support and onsite service and three years of comprehensive warranty coverage. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with offices across North America and Europe, VA Linux is located on the Web at http://www.valinux.com .

NEW LINE OF JUKEBOX SERVERS PROMISES INTEGRATION

Herndon, VA. — Rising Edge Technologies introduces a way for OEMs and integrators to bring the benefits of optical storage on-line. The company’s new family of Jukebox Server products supports the direct connection of optical library systems to host computers without the need for special software or drivers. Built upon the pioneering optical RAID technology first developed by the company in 1996, this third generation hardware platform offers a variety of integration possibilities previously unavailable to traditional jukebox applications. Products in the Jukebox Server family, the ESM5100 and ESM5200, simplify the connectivity, integration and management of high capacity optical jukebox storage in a variety of computing environments.

The ESM5100 is designed to support the direct connectivity of up to 5 independent optical libraries to a host processor. The ESM5200 is designed for RAIL (Redundant Array of Independent Libraries) applications and offers high data availability, increased capacity, and faster data I/O rates through the parallel operation of multiple libraries. Once connected, Server-supported jukeboxes appear as a logical volume to the host for storing and retrieving user data. Jukebox Servers feature high performance caching, integrated media management, media spanning, and drive letter access for rewritable optical formats in MO and DVD-RAM library systems. All library connectivity is supported through a single UltraSCSI host connection. Planned interface options include a 10/100T-network interface capable of supporting web browser-based control and NAS applications and a Fibre Channel interface for SAN environments. The company has qualified several MO and DVD-RAM libraries as well as multiple operating systems with the Jukebox Servers. Visit http://www.risingedge.com for more information.

MAXTOR SHIPS 1U-HIGH NETWORK STORAGE SERVER

Milpitas, CALIF. — Maxtor Corp. announced it has broken its own network storage world record set in July with the introduction of its newest rack-mount network storage server. Maxtor’s MaxAttach NAS 4000 now holds up to 320 GB of data in an industry-standard 1U (1.75 inch-high) box. Available immediately with a suggested price of $4,499, the new MaxAttach NAS 4000 offers IT administrators file serving and data storage relief that installs in less than 10 minutes with no network downtime. Maxtor’s new network attached storage (NAS) servers are designed for outstanding ease of setup and management, cost only $14 per gigabyte, and provide nearly one terabyte (1,000 GB) in just five and a quarter inches of rack height. “The advances Maxtor has made in network storage are phenomenal,” says Dave Stinson, an engineer in IT network management at 3Com. “Since we replaced our NT boxes with MaxAttach servers, our high-volume data backups and restores have dropped from 2-3 hours to less than 15 minutes. Network availability, due to smaller backup windows, has dramatically increased.”

“Increasing capacity density and cost-effective price points of ATA-based NAS are being rapidly adopted by mid-range enterprises for a variety of customer applications,” says Robert Gray, research manager at IDC. “Maxtor’s MaxAttach NAS 4000 is at the leading edge of both metrics, and should help accelerate this already hot market.” In August, the MaxAttach NAS 4000 family received CRN Test Center’s Editor’s Choice Award for Best Overall NAS Device. CRN, a leading industry publication, awarded MaxAttach NAS 4000 an A+ for setup, management and cost per gigabyte, and an A for overall technical achievement. “For our customers doing business on the Internet, the amount of data is growing exponentially, past the point that network administrators can accurately predict their future needs,” says Victor Jipson, president of Maxtor’s Network Systems Group. “MaxAttach NAS 4000 is a very attractive solution for IT managers in need of easy-to-attach, highly available storage servers.”

VERILOG SIMULATOR ENABLES AMD TO REACH MILESTONE

Mountain View, CALIF. — Synopsys, Inc. announced that its Verilog Compiled Simulation (VCS) tool has enabled AMD to achieve a major milestone in regression throughput. AMD significantly shortened its verification time by achieving more than four billion simulation cycles per day. This performance was attained by running Synopsys’ VCS Verilog simulator on a Linux-based server farm using the new AMD Athlon processors. In addition, Synopsys and AMD have signed a multi-year, multi-million dollar volume purchase agreement to provide the VCS simulator to all of AMD’s design communities. Based on the latest EDA Consortium reports, Synopsys believes that VCS is the No.1 Verilog simulator in terms of overall market share over the last four quarters. Two key factors to AMD’s decision were maximizing performance and minimizing risk, both essential for design verification. Combining VCS, the industry’s fastest Verilog simulator, with the high-performance AMD Athlon microprocessor on a Linux server farm achieved the performance goals without the risk and expense of proprietary simulation acceleration hardware.

“VCS has already been used to verify our AMD Athlon processors, and is currently being utilized on the next generation Sledgehammer project,” stated Fred Weber, vice president of engineering at AMD. “Given VCS’ strong track record and commitment to performance improvement, we will be well positioned to take advantage of a scalable high-performance verification platform that will enable future microprocessor development.” “Verification is increasingly becoming the biggest bottleneck in complex IC designs,” said Manoj Gandhi, senior vice president and general manager of the Verification Technology Group at Synopsys. “The relentless pursuit of simulation performance that has made VCS the market leader, has enabled AMD to meet its demanding verification requirements. Our VCS simulator, running on Linux-based AMD Athlon processors, provides the highest possible regression throughput at the best price/performance point in the industry.” Visit Synopsys at http://www.synopsys.com .

AELITA RELEASES SERVER CONSOLIDATION WIZARD

Columbus, OHIO — Aelita Software, which provides award-winning Microsoft-centric products to Fortune 1000 companies worldwide, today released Server Consolidation Wizard, a complete software solution that enables online data migration and server consolidation with zero server downtime. Consolidating servers with Server Consolidation Wizard allows enterprise network administrators to optimize and simplify their systems infrastructure by reducing the number of supported servers without impacting users or network operations. “Our vision is to make the management of complex networks simpler,” said Ratmir Timashev, Aelita’s president and CEO. “Our customers are increasingly looking to server consolidation as one way to accomplish this. With the release of Server Consolidation Wizard we have leveraged our data migration experience to provide a zero impact approach to server consolidation.”

Aelita Server Consolidation Wizard supports the Windows NT, Windows 2000, and NetWare platforms as well as alternative storage devices, such as network attached storage appliances. It provides flexible, complete migration of data, including files, folders and shares with on-the-fly updates of security settings to eliminate server downtime during the consolidation. Aelita’s unique RegWalker technology automatically updates client computers and share mappings as part of the consolidation, so that any server changes are transparent to end users. Server Consolidation Wizard not only provides zero impact on users, it also controls the impact of the consolidation on network resources. Data movement agents and migration jobs can be managed from a central location and file copying can be scheduled for off-peak hours. According to Timashev, the release of Server Consolidation Wizard is another example of Aelita’s market-driven product development process in which the company involves its customers in the development cycle to reduce development times and ensure products meet the rapidly changing requirements of real world enterprise networks. The company is on the World Wide Web at http://www.aelita.com .

SYBASE BRINGS MAINFRAME INTEGRATION PRODUCTS

Emeryville, CALIF. — Sybase, Inc., a leading provider of e-Business solutions, announced two new mainframe application integration products, Sybase XJS/390 Enterprise Integrator and Sybase Mainframe Event Adapter, to speed the integration of mainframe applications and events with the Web. The applications are designed to lower the cost of conducting business on the Web and to allow businesses to leverage and reuse existing investments in technology. The two products are fully compatible with Sybase Enterprise Portal and form part of a comprehensive portal framework to integrate enterprise applications and data with the Web. “An effective portal framework fundamentally depends upon a robust application server and integration server foundation,” said Nicholas Gall, vice president and director, server infrastructure strategies for the META Group. “Vendors that combine these complex technologies successfully will provide the most comprehensive portal solutions.”

The Sybase XJS/390 Enterprise Integrator speeds creation of Web interfaces to mainframe processing and data. Using XJS/390 Enterprise Integrator, developers can implement mainframe-based components in Mscript, a JavaScript-compatible language or in XML. Small, efficient, easily built components can be used to extend e-commerce, mobile commerce and B2B applications to interact with mainframe processes and data. With XJS/390 Enterprise Integrator, developers build new applications in a developer-friendly environment running on Windows NT or Sun Solaris. From this tool, a developer can become immediately productive, creating applications in Mscript that read and write to mainframe data sources and transactions. The XJS/390 tool includes class libraries and data type conversion tools to keep developers working in Mscript even when interacting with COBOL transactions and mainframe data stores. The XJS/390 Enterprise Integrator provides classes to interface XML and Mscript to DB2, VSAM and IBM MQSeries data queues. The XJS/390 Enterprise Integrator also includes a class to access CICS transactions written in COBOL or other languages. With these tools, XJS/390 Enterprise Integrator can provide Web site developers with access to any data or processing available to a CICS COBOL transaction program. The company’s Web address is http://www.sybase.com .

PROGENI ANNOUNCES 1SPEC 8.3

Pine Mountain, GA. — The Progeni Corporation, at its annual users conference, announced the latest release of its Universal Applications Development Environment – 1Spec 8.3. An advanced application development environment tool, 1Spec is based on Microsoft’s 32-bit Windows operating system. 1Spec is a professional developer’s environment for the natural extension of the COBOL language. It greatly assists in the development, maintenance and migration of COBOL code by allowing programmers to write only one specification, one time, for many different platforms ranging from a wide variety of mainframes, midrange, NT or UNIX systems.

Application developers and programming professionals utilizing 1Spec tool can expect to experience a savings of up to 90% of the typical application development time when contrasted to manual coding. Additional benefits expected to accrue are: Maintenance on generated code is 50% less than comparable COBOL programs; full integration of legacy system with best-of- breed software and technical acquisitions; and a return-on-investment (ROI) that is completely recovered in staff time savings alone. A major feature of 1Spec is its ability to generate programs for multiple platforms from a single specification. For more information about The Progeni Corporation, its products and services, visit their web site, http://www.progeni.com .

LSI LOGIC PRESENTS MERLIN3 CORE

Milpitas, CALIF. — LSI Logic Corporation, a leader in the development of high-performance I/O, communications technology and storage network solutions, introduced the Merlin 3 Fibre Channel core family, the field-proven fourth generation of its popular Merlin Fibre Channel protocol architecture. With its modular design that is fully compatible with LSI Logic’s CoreWare library of cores, designers can easily select the Fibre Channel features they need from the Merlin3 family and combine them with an extensive library of pre-designed and pre-verifed cores to create high-performance, single chip disk controllers, tape controllers, RAID disk array controllers, intelligent hubs, switches and Fibre Channel host adapters. The Merlin3 family functions as a cost-effective Fibre Channel protocol controller, which delivers the highest available Fibre Channel data rate, specified to date, to a wide range of SAN applications required to support the increasing data storage demands critical to the Internet. By taking advantage of Merlin3’s modularity and the configurability of the various add-on components, designers can develop products that span a range of performance levels and price points. Since the Merlin3 core can be easily integrated with other members of LSI Logic’s CoreWare library, the flexible architecture facilitates the development of complex designs while accelerating a customer’s time-to-market requirements.

Merlin3 provides extremely fast context search and switch capabilities making it ideal for high performance Fibre Channel implementations. As with its predecessors, Merlin3 addresses single-and dual-loop topologies. Merlin3’s modular architecture includes Link Layer Controller, Functional Layer Controller, and a variety of Bolt-On Modules. Each of these sub-cores has the capability of being used singularly or in multiples, depending upon the application. This flexibility enables designers to develop fully customizable Fibre Channel solutions while maintaining interoperability and remaining compliant with all ANSI X3T.11 Fibre Channel standard requirements for Class 2 and 3 point-to point or Arbitrated Loop-2 operations. “This fourth generation flexible architecture strengthens our leadership in the Fibre Channel market by leveraging our serial Fibre Channel experience,” said David Jones, vice president and general manager of LSI Logic’s Storage ASIC Division. “As part of our overall solutions strategy for SAN interconnections, storage subsystems, and SAN adapter markets, we will continue to develop high performance Fibre Channel cores in order to meet our customers’ price, performance and delivery requirements.” For more information visit http://www.lsilogic.com .

PATHLIGHT DELIVERS VIRTUAL PRIVATE MAP

Ithaca, N.Y. — Pathlight Technology, the leading provider of complete Storage Area Network (SAN) solution to OEMs and Enterprise Developers, today introduced Version 2.5 of its SAN Director end-to-end SAN management software. Version 2.5 introduces support for powerful new features including Virtual Private Map (VPM) SCSI LUN mapping access security technology for SCSI-attached hosts. Pathlight Executive Vice President Said Rahmani said, “SAN Director 2.5 reflects Pathlight’s focus on continually building on the flexibility of the SAN Gateway and SAN Router products for implementing robust, heterogeneous SAN solutions. With Virtual Private Map, we have extended our access security technology to deliver SAN resource sharing to SCSI hosts. These new features enhance the position of SAN Gateway and SAN Router as the leading platforms for creating fully integrated SAN solutions that bridge the gaps between legacy and leading-edge technologies.”

VPM provides full mapping and access security for legacy hosts in a SAN environment, enabling any SCSI-based host to seamlessly integrate directly within a heterogeneous SAN. VPM is completely host independent and requires no software or hardware changes on the host. It also has no interface dependencies and automatically supports both Fibre Channel and SCSI connected devices. VPM is completely independent from all attached storage elements and requires no changes to the individual devices to implement. VPM is easily configured via Pathlight’s SAN Director 2.5. An easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface allows mapping of any SAN device to any desired ID or LUN on a SCSI host – even for mapping between Fabric-attached Fibre Channel devices. This method of access security enables SAN Gateway and SAN Router to provide the protected secure data paths between Fibre Channel and SCSI needed for implementing reliable resource sharing.

THE MATHWORKS INTRODUCES MATRIXVB

Natick, MASS. — The MathWorks, Inc., the leading supplier of technical computing software for engineers and scientists, today announced the availability of MatrixVB, a new library for Visual Basic for mathematical computation. Functions in the library range from fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) and singular value decompositions to random number generators. For the first time, powerful mathematical functionality is available in the Visual Basic environment. MatrixVB will enable increased productivity for the thousands of programmers who develop technical applications using Visual Basic, including engineers in the financial, chemical, communication, automotive, and information technology fields, by providing valuable functionality for matrix computation, data analysis, and engineering graphics. As an integrated math and graphics library for Visual Basic, MatrixVB greatly accelerates its users’ productivity. Offering more than 600 math functions, built-in MatrixVB significantly reduces the amount of Visual Basic code required to create a complex application. The easy-to-learn, comprehensive mathematical library not only minimizes the need to learn and incorporate C/C++ code into Visual Basic, but it also can improve the performance of some Visual Basic applications. Because the math functionality in MatrixVB is written and tested by experts in mathematics and computer science, MatrixVB helps users deliver higher quality, reliable results.

“With MatrixVB, we offer engineers and scientists using Visual Basic the advanced mathematical functionality they require,” said Robert Quinn, marketing manager at The MathWorks. “Now that Visual Basic users have the comprehensive math and graphics tool they have been looking for, they’ll find they can develop math-intensive applications faster.” MatrixVB enables programmers to develop more sophisticated programs than they otherwise would because of the time and effort involved. The software offers Visual Basic users the ability to perform comprehensive math and graphics functions not currently available in Visual Basic. Routines include: one- and two-dimensional fast Fourier transforms (FFTs), linear equation solvers, singular value decompositions, linear and quadratic optimizers, algorithms for polynomial fitting, functions for filtering, several robust random number generators, and much more. Visit http://www.mathworks.com for more information.

UNIGRAPHICS ANNOUNCES PARASOLID XVL CONVERTER

St. Louis, MO. — Unigraphics Solutions Inc. announces the availability of the Parasolid XVL (eXtensible Virtual world description Language) Converter from Lattice Technology Inc. (Lattice). The XVL Converter was developed using UGS’ Parasolid geometric kernel and is used to convert Parasolid XT data into XVL, which is suitable for Web 3-D applications. XVL can be displayed by the XVL Viewer, a software plug-in available with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Lattice’s XVL technology enables a complex 3-D shape to be represented with a simple lattice structure. As a result, the shapes of Parasolid models can be described using as little as 10% of the conventional 3-D data formats. This enables rapid and easy transmission, as well as viewing and sharing of 3-D images or animation over the Internet. The lattice structure is composed of free-form surfaces and simple polygon meshes. It is a compact 3-D data format with high quality surface representations, but of a far smaller file size. Standard 3-D CAD data can be converted to XVL data by using Lattice’s IGES-XVL converter. In addition, since XVL technology is based on XML, a next-generation web description language, XVL data can be transmitted over the Internet and used by web applications. This will aid in the creation of online 3-D manuals and virtual showrooms.

XVL can provide tremendous benefits to the more than 600,000 Parasolid users worldwide, including Unigraphics and Solid Edge users. Also, with the ability to publish 3-D data on the Internet, all departments in an organization will now be able to view quality 3-D models using a web browser. In fact, by utilizing XVL technology TOYOTA group companies have begun to share 3-D CAD data within its engineering, sales, marketing and procurement divisions. Previously this kind of access to data was only available to users of CAD/CAM/CAE products. “We believe XVL is a revolutionary technology allowing access to 3-D data on the Internet,” says Dr. Hiroshi Toriya, president, Lattice. “Our vision is to standardize on this format and enable the conversion of any CAD data to XVL. We chose Parasolid because it is a leading kernel solid modeling product in the mid-range CAD market with a broad customer base.”

MATHSOFT ANNOUNCES DESIGN PACK FOR MATHCAD

Cambridge, MASS. — MathSoft, Inc., the provider of a broad line of technical design, calculation and analysis software for business and academia, today announced the Communication System Design (CSD) Pack for Mathcad. Available immediately, the CSD Pack combines an extensive set of wavelet, image and signal processing functions with the modeling and simulation capabilities of Visual Solutions, Inc.’s, award-winning VisSim/Comm Personal Edition software. The result is a powerful, affordable and easy-to-use software tool that allows design engineers to perform virtual prototypes on their desktops, saving design time and money associated with physical modeling. The new CSD Pack creates an integrated environment for performing dynamic system simulations for communications, signal processing and control systems. This powerful software package enables professionals in industries such as telecommunications, controls and instrumentation, automotive, aerospace and process control, to quickly develop virtual prototypes of systems or processes in conjunction with the Mathcad desktop environment. These capabilities allow users to experiment mathematically with variations of designs to demonstrate their behavior interactively while modeling a system, effectively saving time and money while shortening the production process. The CSD Pack includes “no programming required” OLE compliant integration between VisSim/Comm PE and Mathcad, resulting in a truly seamless solution.

“The CSD Pack gives engineers the added Mathcad function libraries for digital signal processing with the visualization and modeling power of VisSim – all rolled into the same environment,” said Mike Borrello, senior technical manager of systems development for Mallinckrodt, Inc., a Saint Louis-based medical equipment manufacturer. “MathSoft and Visual Solutions have eliminated the boundaries between these two programs to create a powerful application for design work that really saves time.” “Mathcad is the desktop design and calculation package of choice for engineers throughout the world,” said John Gould vice president of Sales and Marketing for Visual Solutions, Inc. “By working with MathSoft to combine the convenience and power of VisSim/Comm Personal Edition with the comprehensive digital signal processing resources and visual calculation environment of Mathcad, we have created the ideal design tool for this broad audience of engineers.”

NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR INTRODUCES SUPER I/O DEVICES

Santa Clara, CALIF. — National Semiconductor Corporation introduced the latest addition to its industry-leading line of Low Pin Count (LPC) Super I/O devices, the new PC8739x family. The family’s four members, the PC87391, PC87392, PC87393 and PC87393F, are the only notebook Super I/O devices that support the forthcoming LPC notebook chipsets from Intel and others while still providing complete support for existing legacy functions. This support includes two serial ports, IrDA capability, an IEEE 1284-compatible parallel port and a floppy disk controller, and the PC87393 and PC87393F also support MIDI and Game ports. The devices in the PC8739x family communicate with the host chipset over the new LPC bus interface, a reduced pin-count ISA bus. The LPC interface provides chipset vendors with both greater design flexibility and improved performance by freeing up pins and increasing the bus’ data path and clock speed. However, since many system peripheral chips are not yet compatible with this interface, National has designed an LPC to ISA/X-bus bridge into the PC87393 and PC87393F devices. The bridge allows notebook designers to implement their usual peripherals – using the ISA interface into the LPC bus – with no extra logic, development time or costs.

The PC87393F Super I/O device also recognizes Firmware Hub (FWH) transactions on the LPC bus, enabling designers to mix and match flash memory types or even replace the FWH flash – which houses the system BIOS – with standard, parallel flash memory. This key feature enables greater flexibility in flash memory selection, which can significantly reduce overall system costs during the industry’s current memory shortage. “The entire PC8739x Super I/O family offers key features that will enable National’s customers to reduce their costs while maintaining full system compatibility,” said Jonathan Levy, director of National’s Advanced I/O business unit. “National has once again designed and developed a complete family that addresses future industry trends, yet doesn’t ignore designers’ current needs.” Visit http://www.national.com/pf/PC/PC87391.html .

IP-SAN CONNECTIVITY REALIZED

Atlanta, GA. — SAN Valley Systems, Inc., “The Internet SAN Company,” announced today that they will debut and demonstrate their groundbreaking SL1000 IP-SAN technology at this year’s N+I show in Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center, in booth 3798. “We chose this show to preview the SL1000 because N+I represents one of the world’s most prestigious launching sites for debuting leading-edge technology to the IT and datacom industries,” asserts Sandy Helton, President and CEO of SAN Valley Systems. The first-of-its-kind demonstration will showcase the SL1000 performing a series of real-life applications including replication of data across the Gigabit Ethernet network at wire speeds and performing a network management application to demonstrate how to manage the infrastructure. “The SL1000 delivers a wide range of value to the service provider, enterprise and next generation carrier markets with unmatched IP-SAN connectivity,” continues Helton. “We see the product as an evolutionary tool for enabling rapid deployment of applications such as outsourced storage, remote data replication, and synchronous mirroring for business continuance and disaster recovery.”

The SL1000 provides a complete Fibre Channel-to-IP connectivity solution by tunneling Fibre Channel data across a Gigabit Ethernet network. The hardware-based encapsulation methodology enables cost-effective wire speed performance without creating bottlenecks caused by similar software-based architectures. Its innovative flow control methodology minimizes jitter and latency for maximum data throughput. It also provides traffic congestion management capabilities by utilizing standards based Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms over IP networks to provide cost-effective delivery and reliability for storage traffic. The system’s technology supports high-bandwidth storage applications and allows for interoperability with existing GbE (Gigabit Ethernet), DWDM (Dense Wave Division Multiplexing) and FC (Fibre Channel) products. In addition, the SL1000’s high availability platform provides redundant power and cooling for increased product reliability and longevity. The SL1000 is designed with the user in mind and comes equipped with extensive network statistics for measuring performance, channel integrity monitoring, business intelligence and monitoring Service Level Agreements. Further, the system includes San Patrol, SAN Valley’s comprehensive Network Management Application that collects and displays performance data for network administrators. Visit http://www.sanvalley.com for more information.

SOLID EDGE VERSION 9 LAUNCHED

St. Louis, MO. — Unigraphics Solutions Inc. announces Solid Edge Version 9, the latest release of the company’s award-winning mechanical design software. Delivering more than 300 customer- and productivity-driven enhancements for 3-D computer-aided design, Solid Edge Version 9 includes industry-first capabilities that automate, accelerate, and simplify a wide range of mechanical design tasks. Key features of Solid Edge Version 9 include new capabilities to assist in machinery and large assembly design, web publishing tools, an engineering handbook and new utilities to assist in the migration from 2-D design techniques to 3-D solid modeling.

Solid Edge Version 9 expands functionality to meet the demanding needs of machine design professionals working with very large assemblies. The new functionality in Version 9 continues to build upon Solid Edge’s exclusive STREAM technology, which applies inference logic and decision management concepts to raise industry standards for CAD system learning curves, ease of use, and productivity. “Solid Edge Version 9 allows our existing customers to very easily outpace their competitors who are still designing with inefficient 2-D or cumbersome 3-D systems,” says Bill McClure, director of the Solid Edge line of business at Unigraphics Solutions. “Throughout Solid Edge Version 9, these innovations make machine designers more productive and their companies more profitable as a result. Solid Edge Version 9 not only expands the scope, size and complexity of machines that can be designed, it also maintains an industry- leading ease-of-use status.” Visit http://www.ugsolutions.com for more information.

DELMIA ANNOUNCES DPM ASSEMBLY PROCESS SIMULATION

Troy, MICH. — DELMIA Corp. announced the general availability of DELMIA Version 5 Release 4 solutions for native Windows NT and IBM, SUN and SGI UNIX Platforms. With Release 4, DELMIA introduces the third new product under the Version 5 architecture and the first of the family of DPM, Digital Process for Manufacturing solutions, DPM Assembly Process Simulation. “DPM Assembly Process Simulation is a new paradigm for developing and validating the assembly process for complex products”, says Philippe Charles, CEO of DELMIA.

“The manufacturing engineers and assembly process planner now have an end-to-end solution. It begins adding value in the pre-planning stages by making it easy to reuse best practices and existing designs for production tooling that have been proven out in production. This same solution supports the detailed planning of the assembly process and provides the shop floor instructions and documentation, making sure that it is always up to date with the latest engineering changes to product and process data. It is an enterprise solution that is easily accessible across the supply chain to speed products to market faster.” DPM Assembly Process Simulation (DPM Assembly) is a new product offering from DELMIA for the planning and verification of assembly operations. This is a geometry based solution with the ability to link and view the product data from any major CAD system, author and view the assembly sequences and processes and link each process step to the manufacturing resources utilizing a single, unified user interface. The assembly process and links to the product and resource data are stored in The DELMIA Manufacturing Hub, a shared database of Product, Process and Resource (PPR) information. It contains a library of process “best practices” to facilitate reuse and a catalog of the manufacturing resources that can be assigned to each process step with a mouse click.

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