---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3COM TO OFFER SUN'S ENHANCED RPC TECHNOLOGY WITH 3COM DEVELOPER TOOLS SunFLASH Vol 18 #1 June 1990 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Addition of Transport-Independent Remote Procedure Calls Expected by End of 1991 MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. --May 9, 1990-- Sun Microsystems Inc. and 3Com Corporation today announced joint plans that will permit the development of distributed, protocol-independent applications for 3Com networks. By supporting Sun's enhanced remote procedure calls (RPCs), 3Com will make it easier for developers working in 3Com's 3+Open environment to build applications that will run, without modification, across a wide range of operating systems, hardware architectures and networking products. Current plans call for Sun Microsystems to deliver the transport-independent (TI) RPC code for integration into a developers kit for 3+Open Systems. 3Com will ship the kit by the end of 1991. The plan solidifies commitments made at Networld '89, where 3Com, along with Novell, Inc., and Banyan Systems Inc., pledged to support a common platform for distributed computing based on Sun's Open Network Computing (ONC)(TM) technology. "3Com's support for TI RPC represents another proof-point in our continuing commitment to multivendor connectivity in heterogeneous network environments," said Trudi Jackson, Director of 3Com's Services and Applications Operations for the Distributed Systems Division. "Incorporating TI RPC technology into our 3+Open products will provide greater interoperability with heterogeneous networks of PCs, workstations, minicomputers and mainframes. We will continue to support 3+Open's current APIs, Named Pipes, NetBios and sockets." "Transport independent RPCs are the basis for faster, simpler cross-system communications that optimize hardware and networking investments," said Geoff Baehr, Sun's vice president of distributed systems. "Until now, the first step toward establishing a standard platform within an organization has been to enforce a standard protocol. TI RPCs have introduced a whole new approach. Developers can now write applications that function no matter what the standard protocol is. This way, companies can use whatever networking hardware and software platform they like and get transparent company-wide data sharing to boot." Applications developed with TI RPCs can be accessed transparently by multiple users, regardless of geographical location, department, local hardware and software configuration, or network transports (TCP/IP, IPX, OSI, etc.). TI RPCs are compatible with existing ONC RPCs, giving developers a flexible "mix and match" development environment. According to Baehr, "Developers can start writing applications now, and just port over when the new tools are ready." 3Com's Support Builds Momentum for Common Platform The new plan reaffirms Sun's and 3Com's commitment to promote the development of industry-standard operating systems and communication protocols. "3Com believes that TI RPCs will drive the expansion of the distributed computing industry and the proliferation of applications across diverse operating systems," said Jackson. Many other industry leaders have pledged support for TI RPCs and the common platform based on Sun's ONC technology. Endorsers include Lotus Development Corp., Netwise, Inc., Novell, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Sybase, Inc. Ashton-Tate Corporation, Banyan Systems Inc., Ingres, Microrim, Inc., Interactive Systems Corporation, CMC, DAZIX, Informix and others. Sun's Open Network Computing (ONC) has been licensed by 290 hardware, software, and system vendors. ONC is also shipped as a standard part of AT&T's UNIX(R)System V Release 4. 3Com Corporation is a computer networking systems company providing multivendor connectivity and information sharing for workgroups, departments and corporate environments worldwide. The company designs, manufactures, markets and supports a wide range of networked client-server computing systems based on industry standards and open systems architecture. Sun Microsystems, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is a leading worldwide supplier of network-based distributed computing systems, including professional workstations, servers and UNIX operating system and productivity software. ### UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T. ONC is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All other products and services mentioned in this document are identified by the trademarks or service marks of their respective companies or organizations. 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