sunflash-Distributed to mailing list sunflash@suntri sunflash-Send requests and problem reports to owner-sunflash@suntri.east.sun.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash Third Party Product Announcements SunFLASH Vol 51 #42 March 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Informix Ships On SunSoft Solaris 2.1 SDRC Introduces Revolutionary Mechanical Design Software TIVOLI ANNOUNCES NEW SOFTWARE FOR SUN WORKSTATIONS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Informix Ships On SunSoft Solaris 2.1 Contact: Tom Miller phone: 415-737-3615 fax: 415-952-9297 Org: Informix Software Address: 1000 Marina Blvd, Suite 650 Brisbane, CA 95005 email: tmiller@informix.com Menlo Park, Calif. (March 16, 1993) Informix Software Inc., (NASDAQ:IFMX) today announced that its family of database information management software is now available and shipping for SunSoft's Solaris 2.1 distributed computing environment on SPARC-based systems. Informix is also the first database vendor to support and ship on Solaris 2.1. Among the Informix products available today for the Solaris 2.1 environment are INFORMIX-OnLine, a powerful online transaction processing (OLTP) database server, INFORMIX-4GL, a fourth-generation application development and production environment and INFORMIX-STAR, the company's connectivity software product for distributed client/server environments. "The Solaris 2.1 environment brings both leading-edge DBMS functionality as well as an easier end-user environment to our customers, giving them more productivity over the long term," said AJ Brown, director, Product Marketing for Servers and Connectivity Products at Informix. Pricing for INFORMIX-OnLine on Solaris 2.1 begins at $ 3,300 (single user). For INFORMIX-4GL, pricing begins at $2,150 (single user). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: SDRC Introduces Revolutionary Mechanical Design Software Contact: Jere Brooks Hunter Org: SDRC Phone: (513) 576-2469 SDRC Introduces Revolutionary New Software for Mechanical Design Automation MILFORD, OH March 9, 1993 Structural Dynamics Research Corporation (NASDAQ:SDRC) today unveiled a dramatic new generation of software products for mechanical design automation, the IDEAS Master Series(TM). The new release is the culmination of the most extensive product development undertaking in SDRC's 25 year history. With the IDEAS Master Series, SDRC has completely re-architected its IDEAS(TM) software system. On top of this new technological foundation, SDRC has added 30 new software modules and thousands of new features and enhancements. The IDEAS Master Series is now the easiest to use system, and offers unprecedented functionality for improving the productivity of individual designers as well as company wide product development teams. Ronald J. Friedsam, SDRC chairman and chief executive officer said, "Because it offers both startling ease of use and unprecedented new functionality, we believe that the IDEAS Master Series will revolutionize the way in which companies design and manufacture their products. The initial reactions from our customers confirm that SDRC has ushered in a dramatic new era in mechanical design automation with this new product. Customers are no longer forced to choose between systems that are either extremely easy to use or high in functionality. The IDEAS Master Series satisfies both of these requirements." Throughout the development of the IDEAS Master Series, a dedicated team of SDRC customers worked with SDRC software developers to shape the features, functions and performance of the new release. This "Cooperative Review Team" consisted of experienced CAE/CAD/CAM software users from some of the world's most respected manufacturers, including Abbott Laboratories, Fiat Research, GE Aerospace, Lockheed, Siemens and Symbol Technologies. Their participation in the actual development process ensured that IDEAS will satisfy the design through manufacturing needs of the most demanding world class manufacturers. As a result, the IDEAS Master Series is now the easiest to use system, and also offers the broadest range of powerful applications for the complete mechanical product development process. Startling Ease of Use A completely new user interface has transformed IDEAS into the easiest to use mechanical design automation system in the industry an assertion verified by the Cooperative Review Team members. The unique IDEAS Dynamic Navigator(TM) interface, enhanced to operate in 3D, guides designers by anticipating their actions and preselecting their commands. This intuitive user interface, when coupled with IDEAS' new streamlined command structure, allows users to execute virtually all commands with just a "click and drag" of the mouse and dramatically improves the speed and accuracy of their work. For typical operations, the IDEAS Master Series requires 70 percent fewer commands than competitive systems, while offering significantly more functionality. Customers who have been testing the new software release have reported significant increases in productivity over the prior version of IDEAS. They have also verified that the IDEAS Master Series can be learned in approximately half the time. Concurrent Associativity in a Team Environment The IDEAS Master Series is now the only integrated software system to effectively support concurrent engineering for multi-user, multi-application product development teams. Using IDEAS, the user creates a single "master model" or product definition that incorporates every aspect of the product from initial design to final manufacturing. A new capability called Concurrent Associativity(TM) provides complete, simultaneous associativity across all IDEAS modules and applications throughout an organization. Concurrent Associativity goes far beyond bi-directional associativity. It enables authorized design changes to be automatically reflected in all IDEAS applications, regardless of where they are used in an organization. Major New Applications and Enhancements The IDEAS Master Series adds 30 new software modules and thousands of enhancements when compared to the prior IDEAS product line. The more significant new modules and enhancements are described below: The new IDEAS Master Modeler(TM) is a feature based, dimension driven solid modeler, with a fully integrated variational geometry constraint management system. It far surpasses the capabilities of traditional solid modeling tools by combining solid, surface and wireframe representations into a single, unified data structure allowing it to serve as the nucleus for all IDEAS applications. The resulting "master model" incorporates virtually every aspect of the design, including dimensions, variational constraints, assemblies, drawings, tolerances and manufacturing data. Because the IDEAS Master Modeler eliminates the need for users to re-create data at any point in the product development process, it is the only mechanical design automation system to truly support effective concurrent engineering. The new IDEAS Generative Machining(TM) module is a unique, rules driven system for solids based machining. It uses geometric dimensions and tolerances to automatically select tools, generate tool paths and define optimum process parameters required to precisely machine parts. If a change is made to the master model such as changing a dimension, material or stock IDEAS Generative Machining automatically regenerates tool paths and updates the machining process to compensate for the change. The embedded rules base can be customized according to users' site specific requirements to capture expertise, experience and manufacturing practices. The new IDEAS Simulation Advisor(TM) is an intelligent, knowledge based application that makes it easy for design engineers to simulate product performance and manufacturing issues early in the design stage. The forms based user interface guides inexperienced users through the process of creating, solving and interpreting results from finite element analyses. As a result, design engineers are able to develop structurally sound design concepts quickly and easily, taking advantage of the embedded knowledge of experienced analysts. The addition of the p-element method to IDEAS Finite Element Modeling(TM) and IDEAS Model Solution(TM) modules, which presently support h and r method adaptive analyses, allows IDEAS to deliver the industry's first combined r h p adaptive analysis capability. This combined solution allows users to achieve precise analysis results faster and more reliably than ever before. IDEAS Team Data Manager(TM) works in conjunction with the IDEAS Master Modeler to control data access and monitor design changes in a team environment. It orchestrates all IDEAS project data generated throughout the product development process, including information about parts, assemblies, engineering analyses, drawings, test results and numerical control data. IDEAS Team Data Manager determines the impact of a change on all work in process, informs team members of design modifications and authorizes design updates. IDEAS Smart View(TM) is an innovative, on line documentation system that makes IDEAS easier to learn and use. It provides users with immediate, electronic access to all IDEAS reference documentation, replacing thousands of printed pages. This on-line documentation system contains text, embedded graphics and hypertext links to quickly assist users with the specific operations they wish to perform. It resides in a single location within a network and can be customized with site specific notes. With this new release, SDRC has improved the open architecture of IDEAS. Two new modules IDEAS Open Link(TM) and IDEAS Open Data(TM) significantly increase the ease by which users and application developers can fully integrate IDEAS modules with their own custom or third party software applications. Using an application programming interface, the IDEAS Open Link is a framework that provides external programs with direct access to IDEAS commands and computations. IDEAS Open Data provides external programs with direct subroutine access to information contained within IDEAS master models. Pricing and Availability Prices for the new products range from $6,000 to $69,000 per simultaneous user, depending on the software modules selected. On average, prices for the IDEAS Master Series are approximately 5 percent higher than the prior IDEAS release. Current IDEAS users with maintenance agreements will receive the new release at no additional cost. The new IDEAS Master Series is fully data compatible with previous versions of IDEAS software. First customer shipments of the IDEAS Master Series will begin in the second quarter of 1993. IDEAS software will be available on leading workstations and computers from Digital, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Silicon Graphics and Sun Microsystems. A new software licensing capability provides increased flexibility to customers with UNIX workstations in a heterogeneous network. Customers now have the option to purchase a heterogeneous licensing feature that allows them to share IDEAS licenses across different brands of hardware in a UNIX network, thus maximizing IDEAS' availability to the organization. SDRC's IDEAS software is the industry's most complete solution for mechanical design automation, with 70 tightly integrated software modules that automate the entire mechanical product development process. SDRC currently has more than 66,900 IDEAS licenses installed at over 7,900 customer sites worldwide. SDRC is a leading international supplier of mechanical design automation software and engineering services used by aerospace, automotive and industrial manufacturers for the design, analysis, testing and manufacturing of sophisticated mechanical products. The Company's products and services significantly reduce product development time and cost, and result in superior quality products by enabling customers to optimize product designs prior to production. SDRC employs more than 1,100 people in 50 offices in 15 countries throughout North America, Europe and the Far East. SDRC is a registered trademark and IDEAS, IDEAS Master Series, IDEAS Master Modeler, Concurrent Associativity, Dynamic Navigator, IDEAS Finite Element Modeling, IDEAS Model Solution, IDEAS Generative Machining, IDEAS Simulation Advisor, IDEAS Team Data Manager, IDEAS Smart View, IDEAS Open Data, and IDEAS Open Link are trademarks of Structural Dynamics Research Corporation. Digital is a registered trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation. Hewlett Packard is a registered trademark of Hewlett Packard, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Silicon Graphics is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Sun Microsystems is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: TIVOLI ANNOUNCES NEW SOFTWARE FOR SUN WORKSTATIONS Contact: John Hime Org: Tivoli Systems, Inc. Phone: (512) 794-9070 Contact: Janice Brown <0003548141@mcimail.com> Org: Janice Brown and Associates, Inc. Phone: (617) 332-8066 TIVOLI SYSTEMS INTRODUCES NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR MANAGING LARGE, DYNAMIC NETWORKS New Software Speeds, Simplifies Configuration and Change Management in Enterprise-Wide Client/Server Networks UniForum 1993, San Francisco, March 17 -- At the UniForum 1993 conference, Tivoli Systems, Inc., today announced a new version of its systems-management software that makes it much easier and less expensive to manage large, dynamic networks of computers. The Tivoli Management Environment(TM) Release 1.6 incorporates new technology -- called configuration and change services -- that simplifies and automates the process of setting up, maintaining and changing enterprise-wide networks of server and client computers. This process can consume 50% or more of system managers' time, according to Tivoli. The new software will be available on workstations from Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard running the UNIX operating system. Release 1.6 includes the first application to use the new services, Tivoli/FSM (TM), which manages UNIX client/server file-sharing mechanisms -- the complex series of relationships that gives users access to network data. Tivoli/FSM gives senior-level system managers a central point of control over these critical relationships and lets them securely and confidently delegate file systems management tasks to more junior staff. The Tivoli Management Environment is the leading set of software products for managing distributed computers and the basis of object-oriented standards for systems management. It provides a vastly simplified, proactive approach to managing distributed co mputers, dramatically reducing its cost and complexity. Tivoli applications use a point-and-click interface instead of complex commands, dramatically improving productivity and allowing companies to take a collaborative, team approach to systems management by sharing tasks among senior and junior systems staff. "Configuration and change management is the black hole of today's networks," said Scott Harmon, Tivoli's director of product marketing. "Our customers, system managers in large corporations, tell us they spend more than half their time making changes to the network -- adding new users, installing new client and server machines, distributing software updates, and mounting file systems. And, with the ready availability of inexpensive workstations and client/server applications, the problem is getting worse." "Our new configuration and change services let customers manage and change their networks with fewer steps and lesser-skilled people. The services also help system managers ensure configuration consistency and uniformity and more easily accommodate network growth," Harmon said. "As networks grow in size and complexity, configuration and change management can be a major barrier to success. Today's distributed systems require a distributed approach to systems management. Only Tivoli provides this today. " Configuration and Change Management Made Easy The new services are implemented on Tivoli's object-oriented software framework for systems management. The services comprise three primary components: a configuration definition database a change automation service a scheduling service The configuration definition database lets system managers develop and store "templates" of key configuration information -- for example, a description of an accounting workstation, a development workstation, or a workgroup server. Templates eliminate th e need to recreate configuration information from the ground up each time a change is required and help ensure configuration consistency. Senior system managers can develop templates, and allow more junior staff to apply or implement the templates on clients and servers under their control. The configuration definition database gives the system management team a central point of control for large networks of clients and servers. With the change automation service, systems management staff can make consistent changes to hundreds or thousands of workstations with a few simple steps. They simply select a configuration template, identify the target workstations, and apply the templ ate. The template automatically updates the target resources with the new configuration information, eliminating the need to make the changes manually to each system. The scheduling service gives system managers control over the timing of changes -- particularly important in networks with hundreds or thousands of workstations. For example, a system manager could select a template, define a list of resources to be upda ted, and schedule the system to make the change after hours. Tivoli/FSM Tivoli/FSM is the first Tivoli application to use the new services. Tivoli/FSM provides system managers with a simplified method of managing the UNIX network file system -- the most widely used mechanism for file sharing in open computing environments. UNIX's network file system allows computers to "mount" or access files and directories from anywhere in the network and have them appear as if they were local. However, this process is difficult to set up, manage, change and maintain. A typical network has thousands of constantly changing file-sharing relationships, and each new workstation must be configured before it can access network file systems, requiring vast amounts of administration time. "Of all configuration and change management tasks, managing client/server file-sharing relationships is one of the more problematic. It eats up a disproportionate amount of senior administrator time because the organization of network data is constantly changing, and it requires extensive experience and UNIX knowledge to make configuration changes," said Harmon. Tivoli/FSM provides a powerful, graphical interface to file system management and automates the various tasks required to maintain file systems. System managers can: group related sets of workstations and manipulate their network file-system configurations as a single unit -- allowing system managers to make changes to many workstations with a single operation, instead of repeating the same operation numerous times; define the files and directories they want to make available, and "export" them to the network and designated workstations with a few simple steps; and make changes in file systems and propagate them throughout the network much more quickly -- eliminating inconsistent file-sharing relationships and failures of key servers that can reduce user productivity. Pricing and Availability Tivoli Release 1.6 will be available on workstations and servers from Sun Microsystems in April. A version for HP 9000 Series 700 and Series 800 systems will ship in the third quarter of 1993. Release 1.6 includes Tivoli/Works(TM) the basic Tivoli configuration-management application; Tivoli/FSM; Tivoli/Courier(TM), for software distribution; Tivoli/Sentry(TM), an application for remote systems monitoring; and the Tivoli/Application Extension F acility (Tivoli/AEF[TM]) , a toolkit that lets system managers customize Tivoli applications without programming. Tivoli also offers the Tivoli/Advanced Development Environment (Tivoli/ADE[TM]), a toolkit that lets corporate and independent software deve lopers build custom Tivoli-compatible applications and applications compatible with the Open Software Foundation's Distributed Management Environment (DME) standard when it becomes available. Pricing for Tivoli Release 1.6 starts at $40,950 for a 50-node network, which includes the Tivoli Management Framework, Tivoli/Works, Tivoli/Courier, Tivoli/FSM, Tivoli/Sentry, and Tivoli/AEF. Tivoli/ADE is priced starting at $30,000 for a three-seat de velopers' license. System requirements for Release 1.6 are a Sun Microsystems SPARC workstation or server running Solaris 1.0 (SunOS 4.1.1 or above) with 32 MB RAM, 64 MB+ swap space, and 70 MB free hard disk space recommended (for Tivoli host system only) and 8 MB free har d disk space (for Tivoli client only); Open Window 3.0 or later or OSF/Motif 1.1 or above; NFS recommended; and a quarter-inch tape drive for installation. Founded in 1989, Tivoli Systems is an industry force and the leading provider of comprehensive, standards-based software solutions for managing the distributed computer, with more than 70 major installations managing thousands of workstations and servers. Tivoli is dedicated to supporting major industry standards affecting systems management, and actively participates in the Open Software Foundation, UNIX International, and the Object Management Group. ### March 1993 Tivoli, Tivoli Management Environment, Tivoli/Works, Tivoli/Courier, Tivoli/FSM, Tivoli/Sentry, Tivoli/AEF and Tivoli/ADE are trademarks of Tivoli Systems, Inc. All other products and services are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective c ompanies. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For information send mail to info-sunflash@Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@Sun.COM. Archives are on solar.nova.edu, ftp.uu.net, sunsite.unc.edu, src.doc.ic.ac.uk and ftp.adelaide.edu.au All prices, availability, and other statements relating to Sun or third party products are valid in the U.S. only. Please contact your local Sales Representative for details of pricing and product availability in your region. Descriptions of, or references to products or publications within SunFlash does not imply an endorsement of that product or publication by Sun Microsystems. John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@Sun.COM. +1 305 351 4909.