Press Announcement: Informix OnLine for Netware

INFORMIX ANNOUNCES ONLINE FOR NETWARE New Database Server Combines OLTP Power with Ease-of-administration for Client/server Applications MENLO PARK, Calif., (September 14 1992) Informix Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:IFMX) today introduced its INFORMIX-OnLine database server as a NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) for the Novell NetWare v3.11 network operating system. The database server, called INFORMIX-OnLine for NetWare, Version 4.1 supports DOS and Microsoft-Windows clients and the Novell SPX/IPX networking protocol. INFORMIX-OnLine for NetWare combines the high-performance and resiliency of the company's UNIX-based OnLine server with the combination of power, functionality, and ease of administration that has been lacking in other SQL-based database servers for NetWare. Applications developed for the INFORMIX-OnLine UNIX server -- including the thousands of packages available from Informix value-added resellers (VARs) -- can be easily ported to "downsized" environments incorporating Novell LANs. "OnLine for NetWare advances our goal to provide broadly scalable client/server solutions to our customers," said Carol Lamberson, product marketing manager at Informix. "It delivers on the promise of NetWare v3.11 by fully exploiting NetWare's inherent capacity and robustness. With INFORMIX-OnLine, now available on the Novell platform, information systems executives can downsize to NetWare with confidence, because finally a NetWare database server has arrived that delivers the capacity, high availability and data integrity they need. Just as important, OnLine is easy to install and to administer, something unheard-of until now in SQL-based network database servers of this caliber." "We are very pleased Informix has ported their popular UNIX-based database management system to the NetWare v3.11 platform as a NetWare Loadable Module," said Jan Newman, executive vice president and general manager of Novell's NetWare Systems Group. "This product enhances the ability of NetWare-based networks to integrate into enterprise-wide computing environments and meets our customers' needs for support of multimedia and imaging applications." Robust, flexible database server for NetWare users The INFORMIX-OnLine for NetWare server features a number of advanced capabilities. The server: - Is highly robust and reliable, with automatic fast recovery, on-line and incremental archiving, and disk mirroring features to ensure continuous availability and resiliency. - Supports multimedia and imaging applications by allowing users to store non-character data, such as images, documents and audio, as Binary Large Objects (BLOBS) directly in the database, so they can be accessed as easily as more traditional data types. - Features ease-of-installation and ease-of-administration through a utility that provides three levels of installation for beginning, intermediate or advanced database administrators, and DB-Monitor, the only menu-driven monitoring utility for SQL-based NetWare servers. DB-Monitor enables administrators to track database usage without having to learn a new set of commands. - Features a multi-threaded architecture, shared memory and group commit facilities, to deliver performance optimized for on-line transaction processing (OLTP). - Supports a wide range of popular development and end-user tools, including 4GL development tools and end-user data access tools from Informix, and GUI tools from Channel Computing Inc., Gupta Technologies, JYACC Inc., Lotus Development Corp., Matesys Corp., Pioneer Software, Powersoft Corp., UniFace Corp., and others. - Supports distributed database operations for users linked across multiple NetWare servers. - Is compatible with both INFORMIX-OnLine for UNIX and INFORMIX-SE for UNIX and DOS, the company's enterprise and departmental servers. Distribution, Pricing INFORMIX-OnLine for NetWare, now scheduled to be available in October, will be distributed through Informix's established, 1000+ VAR community, as well as through direct sales to large corporate customers. The company has the largest base of VARs among relational database management system (RDBMS) suppliers, and many are already planning to port their applications to the new server. To appeal to a broader distribution base, Informix is offering a three-band pricing structure for INFORMIX-OnLine for NetWare: $4,995 for 16 users; $8,995 for 32 users and $16,995 for an unlimited number of users. The pricing structure was developed in an effort to encourage VARs to make NetWare available on their systems. About Informix Informix Software, Inc., is a leading supplier of information management software providing solutions from the database through the desktop. Informix products include powerful distributed database management systems, robust application development tools and graphical- and character-based productivity software for delivering information to every significant desktop platform. With corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Informix has European headquarters in London, and Asia/Pacific headquarters in Singapore. INFORMIX LAUNCHES INFORMIX-SE VERSION 4.1 FOR DOS, NETWARE Support for Windows, NetWare 2.2 Added To Popular SQL Database Server MENLO PARK, Calif., (September 15, 1992) Informix Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:IFMX), today announced INFORMIX-SE Version 4.1 for DOS and NetWare v2.2. A full-featured SQL database management system optimized for small companies and self-contained departments, INFORMIX-SE offers performance, data consistency, security and standards compliance in an easy-to-administer, low-cost package. Informix also announced today INFORMIX-OnLine for NetWare, a robust SQL database server for NetWare v3.11 platforms. Together, INFORMIX-SE Version 4.1 for DOS and INFORMIX-OnLine for NetWare bolster Informix's strategy toward providing a complete line of scalable client/server technologies for the rapidly changing information systems needs of large- and medium-sized companies. "With the wholesale movement toward 'downsizing', 'upsizing,' and 'rightsizing,' many companies are looking for the right level of computing power and resiliency at the right price," said Carol Lamberson, product marketing manager at Informix. "At the same time, they must have scalability and flexibility for future growth. Our two new servers -- INFORMIX-OnLine for NetWare and INFORMIX-SE for DOS and NetWare v2.2 -- provide solutions optimized for specific client/server environments, while still offering broad scalability and portability for future needs. INFORMIX-SE for DOS and NetWare v2.2 is ideal for low cost development and geographic deployment within a corporate environment." Portability between UNIX and NetWare servers INFORMIX-SE for DOS and NetWare is compatible with INFORMIX-OnLine for NetWare and Informix's OnLine and SE UNIX database servers. This means users can easily connect applications developed on DOS and Windows to NetWare v3.11 and UNIX servers, and can also scale their system upward for additional capacity and performance as their needs grow. New features add power, flexibility