SHORT TAKES

RTI PROVIDES REAL-TIME ANALYSIS CAPABILITY WITH STETHOSCOPE

Sunnyvale, CA — Real-Time Innovations, Inc. today released StethoScope(R) for Linux(R), the visualization tool for monitoring and analyzing embedded and real-time applications. As the leading real-time monitoring tool in the embedded industry, StethoScope empowers developers to understand and debug complex real-time code. Now embedded software developers who want to use the Linux operating system have an off-the-shelf analysis tool to help them improve their software quality and reduce development time.

“Embedded developers face huge challenges working with systems that require small footprints, speed, reliability, and short development schedules. Proven tools like RTI’s ScopeTools(TM) help,” relates Stan Schneider, president and chief executive officer of RTI. “StethoScope, a long-time member of the ScopeTools suite, provides developers the insight they need to test, debug and improve their embedded applications. StethoScope analyzes data activities on production Linux code running at full speed with virtually no impact.”

About StethoScope for Linux

StethoScope, the real-time data monitor, lets you watch any variable or memory location in your system while it runs. You can watch any set of variables, see peak values and glitches you would otherwise miss, trigger data collection on specific events, change variables from the host GUI while your program runs, and save all your data to the disk. It is built for minimal intrusion and impact on system performance. One of the original ScopeTools(TM) visualization tools, StethoScope is one of the most popular off-the-shelf tools for embedded development. StethoScope gives users the visibility needed to understand their real-time system and make it work.

Availability

StethoScope v5.3 for Linux is available from Real-Time Innovations, January 12, 2001. Pricing for individual seats of StethoScope for Linux starts at $995. It is free to university users through Real-Time Innovations’ university program.

Web site: http://www.rti.com

ANSYS, INC. ANNOUNCES CADFIX FOR ANSYS 5.7

Southpointe, PA — ANSYS, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANSS) today announced the release of CADfix(TM) for ANSYS(R) version 5.6.2 and 5.7. The CADfix for ANSYS product developed in association with the International TechneGroup Incorporated, intelligently repairs computer-aided design (CAD) model geometry to improve, enhance, and expedite the import into the engineering simulation process.

One requirement for the effective deployment of simulation tools in the manufacturing design process is having an accurate and robust representation of the CAD geometry. CADfix for ANSYS works directly with native CAD or geometry file formats and automatically or interactively makes modifications to correct the tolerance discrepancy inherent in CAD systems, thus saving time and allowing for a more effective deployment of simulation.

The primary focus of this release is to improve the import and repair of CAD models from CATIA Modeling System by Dassault Systemes. Previously, CATIA IGES models were imported into CADfix for ANSYS. Now, CADfix for ANSYS will also read native CATIA files directly, eliminating the need to translate the native CATIA files to an IGES format. In addition, the import and export functionality of the product has been expanded and now includes import and export of IGES, STEP, Parasolid, and ACIS (SAT) files.

Web site http://www.ansys.com

VERBATIM EXPANDS REMOVABLE STORAGE OFFERINGS

Charlotte, NC — Verbatim Corporation established its presence in the rapidly expanding Flash Memory Card market today with the unveiling of two new product lines. The new miniature storage solutions include Verbatim CompactFlash(TM) (CF(TM)) cards with capacities ranging from 16MB to 128MB and SmartMedia (SM) cards with capacities of 16MB to 64MB. Featuring the inherent reliability, optimized performance and competitive pricing that resellers and end users have come to expect from Verbatim brand products, the new flash memory devices will be used to expand the storage capacity of digital appliances such as cameras, audio players, camcorders, PDAs and “smart” cellular phones.

In addition to costing substantially less than SRAM, Verbatim Flash memory cards offer removable storage convenience. A 128MB Flash Memory card can store up to 560 high-resolution photographs or 32 CD-quality songs. A 32MB device provides MP3 player users with an extra 60 minutes of listening pleasure. Data stored on the cards remains intact, even when the power to the device is switched off. For digital camera users, this means the card can be removed to download captured images to a PC for viewing, manipulation, e-mailing or printing.

CompactFlash Cards — 16, 32, 64 and 128MB

Verbatim CompactFlash cards are ultra-small removable devices designed to store audio, data or images according to the CompactFlash Association standard. About the size of a matchbook, the cards are ideal for enhancing the storage capacity of hand-held PCs, PDAs and mobile communication devices.

Unlike most flash memory cards which depend upon the host’s processor speed for performance, Verbatim CF cards feature an integrated fast controller chip which performs the Flash management functions transparent to the user.

Verbatim CF cards can be used in a Type II or Type III PCMCIA slot with a low-cost adapter to expand the capacity of many laptop and palmtop computers. There are also a number of readers available that can interface with the card through a floppy drive or a USB port.

SmartMedia Cards — 16, 32, and 64MB

Fully compatible with SmartMedia specification standards, Verbatim Smart Media (SM) cards are smaller than the CompactFlash cards but do not include an integrated controller chip. The SM cards do, however, offer wide compatibility and very low power consumption when used to expand the storage capacity of digital cameras, digital audio (mp3) players, and audio/video recorders.

According to a recent IDC report, the Flash Memory Card market will grow from 12 million units in 1999 to 66 million in 2003 and CompactFlash (CF) and SmartMedia (SM) will continue to dominate the digital camera market. The digital camera market in North America in 2000 is expected to have reached 6.7 million units, twice the 1999 number. By 2005, the market is expected to grow to 42 million units.

Windows(R) 2000, 95/98, NT, CE and Macintosh(R) compatible, Verbatim markets its flash memory devices to OEMs and resellers.

Web site: http://www.verbatim.com

BAKBONE INTRODUCES NEWEST NETVAULT

BakBone Software (TSE: BKB, OTC: BKBOF), a global provider of storage management software, today announced a new era of ease in the storage of corporate-critical data, with the commercial introduction of the latest version of its NetVault(tm) software, reinforcing BakBone’s position in the backup and restore software market.

The new version, 6.03, features added support for network-attached storage (NAS). It enables users, from workgroups through enterprises, to use the same software across the widest range of data storage topologies, from direct- attached storage to NAS, and ultimately to storage area networks (SANs).

Most importantly, NetVault is designed to grow with a company’s escalating storage needs. A study, conducted exclusively for BakBone Software, found that even small and mid-sized business will need to backup average loads of between one and two terabytes this year.

NetVault 6.03 is available in North America and Europe through BakBone’s exclusive network of storage-centric channel partners. With its added features, pricing remains the same, beginning at GBP1,000 for Windows 2000/NT and Linux implementations, and GBP3,725 for Unix configurations.

Web site: http://www.bakbone.com.

DOT HILL RELEASES FULL FIBRE CHANNEL SANNET 7000 SERIES

Carlsbad, CA — Dot Hill Systems Corp. (NYSE:HIL), a designer, manufacturer and supplier of data storage and storage area network (SAN) solutions, today solidified its position in storage technology industry with the release of its full Fibre Channel SANnet(TM) 7000 series. The SANnet 7000 series is the newest member of Dot Hill’s SANnet family of storage solutions and boasts significant enhancements in management, performance, reliability and capacity.

The initial member of the full fibre SANnet 7000 series, the SANnet 7100, delivers seamless migration from the SANnet 3000 series (SCSI/SCSI) and the SANnet 4000 series (SCSI/fibre), both successfully installed worldwide. This allows customers to maximize their investment by integrating the new system into their existing SANnet-based storage area networks. Now, customers can take advantage of full fibre technology for high-speed data connectivity that can span distances of over six miles.

The system delivers unparalleled capacity and scalability with a SAN-ready redundant Fibre Channel network that directly supports up to 16 servers and can scale to over 58 terabytes (TB). The SANnet 7100 also features Fibre Channel server-attached RAID controllers that can support up to 160 disks each, depending on configuration. Usable disk space is 5.8TB space per controller pair with 10,000-RPM 73GB drives. The SANnet’s industry-leading scalability also means that additional storage capacity can be seamlessly added as businesses grow.

The SANnet 7100 delivers unmatched levels of performance and throughput to support I/O intensive applications. Data throughput is 400 MB/second with transaction rates of up to 36,000 IOPS. The system also features industry-leading 99.999 percent reliability and is the only storage system on the market to be independently NEBS (Network Equipment Building System) Level 3 certified. This means the solution has a survivability level equal to that of global telephone networks and is able to remain operational during and after a disaster.

Web site: http://www.dothill.com

ETI LAUNCHES NEW SOFTWARE

Austin, TX, — Evolutionary Technologies International,Inc. (ETI), a leading provider of data integration management software, today introduced the Data System Library (DSL) for C/DB2(r). A new addition to the ETI-EXTRACT(r) Tool Suite, the DSL for C/DB2 offers users the ability to utilize the C programming language to natively access data stored in DB2 databases. Designed to provide flexible, high performance access, the product can be used to read from and write to DB2 databases employed in e-business applications, enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM) and data warehouses.

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), the RDBMS (Relational DataBase Management Systems) market was $11 billion in 1999, and expected to grow to $26 billion by 2004. They place IBM’s revenue with DB2 in 1999 at $2.3 billion, equating to a 21% marketshare. In addition, a recent study by Yevich, Lawson and Associates stated that most of the largest customer data warehousing implementations use IBM’s DB2 database.

A large part of this growth is due to new e-business and CRM applications, as well as the building of large data warehouses to support analytical applications like Siebel(r).

To create a complete view of data for analytical applications, the DSL for C/DB2 features data transformation capabilities that include cleansing, modification, lookup, aggregation and selective retrieval. It also supports the efficient parallel loading processes of DB2 UDB.

About ETI-EXTRACT

The ETI-EXTRACT Tool Suite is an extract, transform and load (ETL) software solution that automates the exchange of information between incompatible systems. ETI’s family of Data System Libraries enables ETI-EXTRACT to generate programs in the language most appropriate for the database being accessed and platform on which it resides, a more cost-effective and less time consuming solution than hand-coding.

Web site: http://www.eti.com

GENSYM UNVEILS NEW NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Cambridge, MA.– Gensym Corporation (nasdaq: gnsm), a leader in adaptive software products for modeling, simulating and managing e-business infrastructure, today announced the immediate availability of NetSleuth(tm) version 1.1, software for network auto discovery and ip reachability analysis. Gensym designed this new version of NetSleuth to discover the latest devices from the industry’s leading manufacturers and has increased netsleuth’s integration with hp openview.

Customers can purchase the software or download a copy for evaluation at http://www.getnetsleuth.com .

Now, organizations using NetSleuth will be able to add more network devices to their maps from the industry’s leading manufacturers, providing a more detailed, comprehensive view of their network. Netsleuth also integrates with HP Openview easier and faster than ever.

NetSleuth is the latest addition to gensym’s family of software products for network management. NetSleuth automatically creates a model of a network and all of its devices. It performs ip availability analysis to help quickly reveal the root cause of a network outage. When network problems inevitably occur, NetSleuth enables network managers to arrest the troubles and keep their complex systems running smoothly.

System requirements, pricing and availability

NetSleuth runs on the Windows NT operating systems with a minimum of 256 MB of RAM or higher. NetSleuth is available online at www.getnetsleuth.com or from Gensym and its distribution partners. The product has a U.S. list price starting at $1,995. For more information, call 1-800-896-3030 (U.S. and Canada only).

LACIE LAUNCHES NEW RAID SYSTEM

San Francisco, CA –LaCie launched the TX12000, a new high-speed RAID system, at Macworld SF/2001, Booth 416 today. Specifically designed for applications where fault-tolerance, high data throughput, extensibility and economy are prime requirements, the TX 12000 is a complete, turnkey solution.

With a 2ms average access time and a capacity of up to 1.7 TB, the powerful TX12000 can be attached to virtually any SCSI host computer with no special device drivers or software required. In addition to providing a huge storage capacity and data security, the TX 12000 also inaugurates a new modern design for the LaCie RAID product line. Key features of the design include modules with rounded, easy-to-grab handles and an attractive dark blue enclosure.

Equipped with an Ultra 160 connection, the fastest SCSI interface on the market, the LaCie TX12000 delivers the outstanding performance required for environments such as Server Attached Storage (SAN), NT clustering and applications such as e-commerce, databases and data warehousing, imaging systems and Internet services. The U160 interface also offers backward compatibility with legacy SCSI drives or hosts.

The controller supports up to eight concurrent RAID sets, allowing custom configuration to provide either blinding speed or unrivalled data safety. For desktop video, editing and transferring giant Adobe PhotoShop files, or searching massive databases requiring high- speed processing, the RAID 0 configuration can be used.

Other RAID configurations (1, 0+1, 3 and 5) offer fault-tolerant data redundancy — the ability to recover data that would otherwise be lost by a failed drive. The array automatically rebuilds the data from the failed drive on a spare drive — without any system downtime.

The LaCie TX12000 comes with standard 160MB/sec SCSI host connectivity, dual ingress power architecture and 12 hot-pluggable disk drive modules that can accommodate 10k rpm hard drives with capacities ranging from 18GB to 73GB.

Capacity and Flexibility

To enable low-cost expansion as system requirements grow, the TX12000 will support an additional chassis. The tower runs from the existing RAID controller and adds 12 hot-pluggable disk-drive modules to the array. The LaCie RAID system can then easily be scaled from 3 to 24 drives, with capacities of 36GB or 73 GB each for a total capacity ranging from 108GB to 1.7 TB. Future Ultra 160 10k and 15K rpm disks with higher capacities will also be compatible, offering an additional path for expansion.

Exceptional fault tolerance

Because the TX12000 is a modular system, all major components can be replaced, including the optional redundant RAID controllers. All drives, both power supplies, and the 6 fans are also hot-swappable. In case of a failure, they can be replaced while the system is powered on and without system downtime. In a Windows environment, the TX12000 provides failure notification to the system administrator over the network.

Sophisticated features

The array can be set up and administered via an LCD display at the back of the device. Once installed, a movable LCD panel at the front of the device can be used to conveniently view the drives’ status. The system can be designed as a tower or several towers can be stacked in a compact Rack mount configuration.

Pricing, Availability

The LaCie TX12000 will be available in mid-January 2001 through LaCie’s authorized VAR ONE resellers and is backed by a 3-year warranty.

For additional data security, LaCie recommends frequent backups and offers a choice of AIT or DLT backup units and libraries.

Web site: http://www.lacie.com

ROGUE WAVE SOFTWARE ANNOUNCES LARGE-SCALE OBJECTS SOLUTION

Boulder, CO — Rogue Wave Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: RWAV), today announced a large-scale objects solution, developed to help solve the complex problem of large distributed environments interacting in real time with comprehensive relational database stores. This solution targets customers with the need to persist objects within relational databases over truly large, widely dispersed applications and is available together with Rogue Wave Consulting Services.

The business application solution model formulated by Rogue Wave is a foundation upon which large-scale, object-based systems can be rapidly created. The key elements in this solution rest in the object-oriented expertise of Rogue Wave developers combined with the customer’s domain experience. This unique mix ensures data integrity and enables transparent integration with industry-specific business logic.

The components of this solution cover a number of important functional requirements for large scale, robust object applications, including object persistence mechanisms that respect existing relational models, and transaction journaling to ensure data integrity.

Availability and Pricing

Packaged with Rogue Wave Consulting Services and priced accordingly, the large-scale objects solution is available now. Please contact your Rogue Wave sales representative for more information.

Web site: http://www.roguewave.com (RWAV)

LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES INTRODUCES SECOND-GENERATION SOFTSWITCH

Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) today unveiled its second-generation softswitch, the “brains” of a new network architecture that enables communications service providers to quickly introduce new services and more efficiently manage the convergence of voice and data traffic on their networks.

Lucent’s Softswitch is designed to meet the reliability, performance and scalability needs of even the largest global carriers, including mobile third generation (3G) network operators. It is highly programmable, allowing carriers to introduce new services quickly, and adapt to evolving industry standards and protocols. The Lucent Softswitch supports both Internet Protocol (IP) and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)-based networks.

The second-generation Lucent Softswitch is the product of a merger of technology developed by Bell Labs and the experience and capabilities from two acquired companies, Ascend Communications and Excel Switching Corp. It features two layers of programmability, allowing developers to create or customize services at the applications layer, and to modify the system to adapt to evolving standards at the call control layer.

At the applications layer, the Lucent Softswitch provides an open development environment for creating innovative new services using industry-standard development tools. Lucent’s Full Circle Applications Programming Interface (API) is based on an open Java (r) Telephony-based Applications Programming Interface (JTAPI) that enables service providers and independent software developers to create applications and end-to-end business solutions that will operate on the Lucent Softswitch, and other compatible platforms.

At the protocol and call control layer, the Lucent Softswitch features a unique graphical programming language called PPL (Programmable Protocol Language) that enables Lucent to rapidly make changes and introduce new capabilities to keep pace with today’s dynamic environment. As new protocols emerge, or as service providers expand into new markets, Lucent can rapidly add new capabilities or deliver expanded functionality, sometimes in a matter of days.

Over the next nine months Lucent plans to deliver a series of new softswitch releases through software upgrades. Forthcoming releases will include a standards-based interface designed to work with multiple vendor gateways, support for a wide range of media and application servers, and evolutionary Class 5 features.

Web site http://www.lucent.com

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