CMX-MicroNet Sets Portability Standard for Processors Requiring Embedded Internet Connectivity.

Business/Technology Editors

Embedded Systems Conference

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 2001

Real-time demos at ESC highlight the flexibility of CMX-MicroNet's

small-footprint, high-performance TCP/IP software solution

Today at the Embedded Systems Conference (Booth #3016), CMX Systems, a leading supplier of real-time operating systems and TCP/IP software, announced that design engineers can look forward to even greater design flexibility because CMX has now ported their CMX-MicroNet(TM) TCP/IP software stack to several new 8- and 16-bit platforms. CMX-MicroNet's embedded Internet support for such a wide array of 8-bit and 16-bit processors means product developers gain considerably more flexibility when designing communications functionality for new or existing products. It also means that they can continue to use legacy hardware in their current products without significant design changes.

CMX-MicroNet provides full support for all derivatives of the 8051, the Atmel AVR, Hitachi's H8S/300H and H8S/2000, the Infineon 80C16x, the STMicroelectronics ST10, and most recently, the Microchip PIC18CXXX, the Mitsubishi M16C, the Philips 8051-XA, and ZiLOG's Z80 and Z180 series of processors. Additional processors, such as ZiLOG's eZ80, will be released in the coming months, and because of CMX-MicroNet's inherently flexible design, developers have the option to port to other platforms as well.

"CMX-MicroNet heralds a new era in embedded systems networking by offering designers a TCP/IP software stack that supports more 8-bit and 16-bit microprocessors than any other existing solution," said Chuck Behrmann, president and CEO of CMX. "The combination of CMX-MicroNet's amazingly small footprint, high-performance functionality, and ever-expanding portability options truly establishes a new standard for processors requiring Internet connectivity."

Demonstration at ESC Spring 2001

At the Spring 2001 Embedded Systems Conference in San Francisco, April 9-13 (Booth #3016), CMX Systems will be demonstrating CMX-MicroNet's networking connectivity capabilities via a selection of popular evaluation boards, including the ZiLOG Z80S183, the Triscend iKit2000 (E5/8051), and the KEIL 167NET (Infineon 80C167). In addition, Questra Corporation will be on hand at the CMX booth demonstrating their own proprietary A2B(TM) (Appliance to Business) solution, which uses an embedded 8051 processor and CMX-MicroNet to provide Internet connectivity. The demonstration will involve Questra's software solution connecting a mechanical motor to the Internet. When the motor is prevented from operating, the device will automatically contact a remote implementation of Siebel Systems' customer service database via the Internet, and ultimately a service technician via his/her cell phone, alerting that person to the problem. All of this will occur in real-time at the CMX booth.

About CMX-MicroNet

CMX-MicroNet is a high performance TCP/IP implementation specifically designed for 8- and 16-bit embedded applications. Depending on the processor and configuration, CMX-MicroNet's TCP/IP stack uses anywhere from 3.5Kbytes to 19Kbytes of ROM, and 50 bytes to 350 bytes of RAM (not including buffer sizes). CMX-MicroNet is the first system that allows TCP/IP and other standard protocols to be run natively on the host 8-bit processor without the need for an expensive PC or gateway. Having these powerful protocols and functionality running directly on the processor means that developers now have an economical solution to networking, especially for devices that will be running in remote locations.

CMX-MicroNet can operate stand alone or in conjunction with an RTOS, and provides support for UDP, TCP, IP, SLIP, PPP, TFTP Client, FTP Server, HTTP Web Server and a Virtual File System. It also provides support for Direct, Dial Up and Ethernet connectivity. The HTTP Web Server fully supports any graphics file, CGI script, or Java applet that the application may require.

Pricing and Availability

CMX-MicroNet is currently available, starting at US $5,500 for the base system. CMX offers a low, one-time fee and there are no royalties on deployed products. As with all CMX products, full source code and technical support is included free with the software.

About CMX Systems, Inc.

Since its inception in 1990, CMX Systems, Inc., has focused on providing its customers with all of the tools needed to program their embedded applications. The company's core business is to develop and support real-time multi-tasking operating systems (RTOS) for a wide variety of 8-, 16-, and 32-bit microcomputers, microprocessors, and digital signal processors. The company's CMX-RTX(TM) Real-Time Multi-Tasking Operating System supports more than 35 processor families and over 30 C-compiler vendors. CMX also develops and supports products that enhance the user's ability to create, test and debug application code, including CMXKAware(TM), CMXBug(TM), and CMXTracker(TM). The company's newest product, CMX-MicroNet, is a TCP/IP stack that uniquely provides networking connectivity for most 8- and 16-bit processors. CMX TCP/IP(TM) - a ROM-able, full-featured TCP/IP stack for 16- and 32-bit processors - also is sold by the company. In addition to developing RTOS's, debugging tools, and networking software, CMX also distributes a wide variety of C tools, including compilers, assemblers, linkers, librarians, simulators and ROM debuggers from many well-known manufacturers.

CMX-RTX, CMXKAware, CMXBug, CMXTracker, CMX-MicroNet, and CMX TCP/IP are trademarks of CMX Systems, Inc. A2B is a trademark of Questra Corporation. All other products are the trademarks, service marks, or registered trademarks of their respective holders.