AirSoft Introduces First Remote Node Accelerator; Powerburst Doubles Application Performance over Remote Node While Maintaining Full Compatibility With Customer's Existing Environment and Complete Transparency to User.CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 1995--AirSoft(R), Inc. today introduced Powerburst(TM), the industry's first remote node A terminal or computer located apart from the main network. It may refer to a branch office or a traveling user with a laptop. Access to the company LAN is typically made via an Internet or dial-up connection. See remote control software. accelerator. By more than doubling the performance of file-system-based applications over remote node connections, Powerburst addresses the most critical problem facing the fast-growing remote node method of remote LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. access: slow performance. Powerburst provides this dramatic performance improvement while maintaining full compatibility with the customer's existing network environment and complete transparency to the end-user. "Our research confirms that performance was the key missing piece of the otherwise compelling remote node story -- Powerburst zeroes in on this issue and directly addresses it," said Bill Ablondi, Vice President of Mobile Computing Using a computing device while in transit. Mobile computing implies wireless transmission, but wireless transmission does not necessarily imply mobile computing. Fixed wireless applications use satellites, radio systems and lasers to transmit between permanent objects such as buildings at BIS Strategic Decisions. Market Overview The market for dial-up remote LAN access, also known as "remote node," has exploded in recent years, with over five million users today and a projected 1994-1998 compound annual growth rate of over 50% (IDC, 1994). However, as this market continues to grow, remote node users have become increasingly aware of the serious performance problems associated with this otherwise powerful method of accessing the LAN. These performance problems are a direct result of the fact that dial-up modem and ISDN ISDN in full Integrated Services Digital Network Digital telecommunications network that operates over standard copper telephone wires or other media. links offer a fraction of the bandwidth of office-based LANs. Many popular applications, such as e-mail, are extremely slow -- unusable by some measures -- when running under remote node. As a result, remote node users are extremely frustrated. AirSoft Powerburst directly addresses this performance problem by applying a range of advanced techniques which result in a dramatic speedup in the performance of file-system-based applications over remote node connections. The speedup is 2x on average but as much 10x for many individual operations. "I have seen performance improvements as high as six times what I had before implementing Powerburst," says David Zbonski of CNA (Certified NetWare Administrator) See Novell certification. Insurance. "Powerburst will revolutionize remote computing." Powerburst accelerates a wide range of applications, including e-mail products (such as Lotus cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail An earlier and simple messaging system from Microsoft that runs on PC and AppleTalk networks. Gateways are available to a variety of mail systems including X.400, PROFS and MHS. Microsoft Mail-enabled applications are written to the MAPI programming interface. See Microsoft Exchange. ), file-system-based databases (such as dBase and Microsoft Access A database program for Windows, available separately or included in the Microsoft Office suite. Access is programmable using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Access can read Paradox, dBASE and Btrieve files, and using ODBC, Microsoft SQL Server, SYBASE SQL Server and Oracle data. ), and office-productivity packages (such as spreadsheets and word processors), in addition to accelerating overall Windows system performance. Powerburst requires no additional client-side hardware and achieves its performance gains by improving the efficiency of communication over the link. As a result, much more information can be exchanged in many fewer data packets, providing a dramatic speedup in application performance. Powerburst's patent-pending algorithms are not data compression data compression Process of reducing the amount of data needed for storage or transmission of a given piece of information (text, graphics, video, sound, etc.), typically by use of encoding techniques. techniques (such as LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) A data compression method that stems from techniques introduced by Jacob Ziv and Abraham Lempel. LZW has been used in many hardware and software products, including V.42bis modems, GIF, TIF and PDF files and PostScript Level 2. ), which are now commonly implemented in hardware in modems and remote node servers, but advanced caching and redundancy-eliminating algorithms which eliminate the inefficiencies inherent in modern networked applications. Because Powerburst addresses both the bandwidth and latency issues associated with dial-up links, it provides a much greater increase in actual application performance than can be achieved by simply upgrading modems from 14.4Kbps to 28.8Kbps. Furthermore, Powerburst doubles the performance of 28.8Kbps modems and ISDN connections as well. 100% Compatible with Existing Network Environments Powerburst consists of a client component which runs on the remote node client PC, and a LAN-based Agent, which runs on a dedicated PC able to access the file server. It requires no changes of any kind to the network or remote node server configuration. Powerburst maintains 100% compatibility with existing protocols (such as IPX (Internetwork Packet EXchange) The network layer protocol in the NetWare operating system. Similar to the IP layer in TCP/IP, it contains a network address and allows messages to be routed to a different network or subnet. and IP), remote access servers (such as those made by Cisco, Shiva, Novell, 3Com, and others), and media (PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) The worldwide voice telephone network. Once only an analog system, the heart of most telephone networks today is all digital. In the U.S. , ISDN, frame relay A high-speed packet switching protocol used in wide area networks (WANs). Providing a granular service of up to DS3 speed (45 Mbps), it has become popular for LAN to LAN connections across remote distances, and services are offered by most major carriers. , etc.). Powerburst is also 100% compatible with all security systems, including traditional login/password schemes, token-based and challenge-response authentication systems, and dial-back systems. In fact, since it does not introduce any new means of compromising your existing security system, Powerburst requires no additional security mechanisms. "I like the fact that Powerburst doesn't affect, or change in any way, existing network security systems," said Marc Norman of Prefix Consulting Inc., consultant to KinderCare Learning Centers KinderCare Learning Centers was founded in 1969 and takes pride in helping kids prepare today for the world of tomorrow. One of the world's largest for-profit operators of child care facilities, KinderCare provides educational programs for kids from six weeks to 12 years old. Inc. "It operates transparently in the background." Furthermore, because it is implemented using a modern 32-bit VxD-based architecture, it takes up no real memory on the client system and is tightly integrated with the Windows system. Because Powerburst is a 100% software-based solution and supports network installation, it is inherently much more cost effective to deploy for large numbers of mobile users than hardware-based solutions. Such solutions are not only more expensive to purchase, but have large deployment costs associated with them. Extremely Easy to Use Powerburst is extremely easy to install and use. One of the most powerful features of Powerburst is its complete transparency to the user. Once it is installed, Powerburst requires absolutely no user intervention. It can be configured to start up automatically when Windows starts up, and it runs completely in the background. The only difference the user notices is the dramatically-accelerated performance. "We didn't have any compatibility problems with our network file server, remote node server, or any other component of our network," said Ron Rich of Advanced Corporate Networking, consultant to Southern New England Telephone The Southern New England Telephone Company (commonly referred to as SNET by its customers) started operations on January 27, 1878 as the District Telephone Company of New Haven. It was the founder of the first telephone exchange, as well as the world's first telephone book. (SNET n. 1. The fat of a deer. v. t. 1. The clear of mucus; to blow. ). "The entire installation and configuration procedure took less than a half-hour for the Agent and only a few minutes for the client. We've had it up and running for several weeks now and it requires virtually no ongoing management once it is set up." System Requirements Powerburst requires a NetWare 3.x or 4.x file server, a remote node server, a remote node client PC with 8 MB of free disk space (16 MB recommended) running DOS 5.0 or higher and Windows 3.1 or higher, and a PC with DOS 5.0 or higher on the LAN to run the Powerburst Agent. Pricing and Availability Powerburst is currently in beta and will ship in volume in September 1995. It will be available through AirSoft and its OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and partners. Pricing is volume-based and ranges from $170 per client for a 10 license pack to $60 per client for a 1,000 license pack. Powerburst Agent pricing ranges from $995 per Agent in the 1-pack to $498 per Agent in the 25-pack. Each Agent supports up to 64 simultaneous clients. AirSoft, Inc. AirSoft, Inc., founded in 1993, develops high performance software for low-speed networks such as those found in wide-area network environments. Since its founding, the company has won numerous awards for its innovative technology. -0- Note to Editors: Screen shots and photographs are available upon request. AirSoft is a registered trademark and Powerburst is a trademark of AirSoft, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. CONTACT: AirSoft, Inc., Cupertino Mike Staiger, 408/777-7500 or GCI GCI Ground Circuit Interrupter GCI Getty Conservation Institute GCI Global Commerce Initiative GCI Green Cross International (non-profit international environmental organization) GCI Growth Competitiveness Index GCI Great Cities Institute Jennings Julia Scarisbrick, 415/974-6200 |
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