New OS/2 Warp Server Manages Windows NT Servers
Provides New Server Management and Universal Device Driver Support
AUSTIN (June 29, 1998) – IBM* today announced the next release of OS/2 Warp Server will allow users to administer Windows NT** 4.0 servers from an OS/2* Warp Server screen, eliminating the need for signing onto multiple servers and simplifying network access.
The new release also will provide industry standard support for Intelligent Input/Output (I2O) device drivers and adapters such as Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), and Local Area Network (LAN) ethernet and token rings. This will give customers immediate availability of I2O SCSI and LAN device drivers.
“As we roll out the next version of OS/2 Warp Server early next year you will see that we are putting a strong emphasis on the needs of our enterprise customers,” said Jeff Smith, director of IBM’s OS/2 Business Unit. “Both the Windows NT server management and our support of the I2O device driver specification are enhancements that should help our customers to better manage their enterprises.”
Windows NT Server Management
The new server management capabilities in the upcoming version of OS/2 Warp Server should help system administrators to better manage their multi-vendor network through an OS/2 Warp Server. The new Windows NT server management gives administrators the ability to create, update and delete user accounts (IDs), passwords, and groups, via OS/2 Warp Server’s simple graphical user interface or rich command line interface. The user information can be synchronized seamlessly with Windows NT servers in the OS/2 Warp Server network. In addition, end users will only need to log on to one server to access all files, applications and printers — rather than entering multiple IDs and passwords to access information on different server platforms.
In a typical scenario user accounts (IDs), passwords, and some applications would reside on an OS/2 Warp Server while other servers in the network would host (or serve) applications such as databases or transaction software. In addition, one or more servers would also host (or serve) Windows NT for file/print and Win32 applications. With the new version of OS/2 Warp Server, end users will be able to access all servers, files, applications and printers through a single OS/2 Warp Server.
Universal Device Driver Compatibility
The next version of OS/2 Warp Server will also support the Intelligent Input/Output Architecture Specification adopted by the I2O Special Interest Group Membership. The specification defines a standard for classes of device drivers such as SCSI, and LAN ethernet and token rings. Enterprises can now be confident that as long as a device driver supports the I2O specification, OS/2 Warp Server will support that device driver. Compliance with this specification also ensures that OS/2 Warp Server users will not have delays in availability of I2O SCSI and LAN device drivers.
The Next Version Of OS/2 Warp Server
OS/2 Warp Server is a member of IBM’s family of enterprise servers which offer extraordinary scalability, reliability and performance. In addition to the feature and functionality found in today’s OS/2 Warp Server, the new release will offer customers out-of-box Year 2000 and euro currency readiness. It will also include a high-performance Journaling File System offering faster performance, improved scalability and enhanced Web serving capabilities. The next version of OS/2 Warp Server is planned for beta availability in late 1998 and general availability in 1999.
Source: IBM