Cisco Joins Growing List of Vendors Supporting Sun Microsystems' Solstice Enterprise Manager.

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1997--

Industry leaders SAS Institute, Platinum Technology, Landmark,

Compuware, Bay Networks, and Auto-trol Integrate with Advanced

Network Management Platform -- Sun Enterprise Manager

Sun Microsystems Inc. announced today that the new CiscoWorks 4.0 from Cisco Systems Inc. is certified to run with Sun(TM) Solstice(TM) Enterprise Manager(TM), a premier enterprise-class network management platform.

Network Management Certification shows customers that third-party products have been tested and proven to be fully compatible and interoperable with Sun network management products, making it easier for customers to manage their networks and leverage the power of the WebTone, the 21st century equivalent of today's dial tone.

Cisco joins leading companies whose products have been certified with the award-winning Sun(TM) Enterprise Manager(TM), Sun's distributed multi-user management environment for building and maintaining scalable and reliable high-performance networks. Sun Enterprise Manager is designed to accommodate network changes as a company expands without changing a company's network management strategy. It manages larger and more complex network computing environments through a distributed fault, event, and performance management system.

"The power and interoperability that Sun Enterprise Manager and CiscoWorks 4.0 now offer help both companies deliver high-quality products and services faster to the commercial and telecommunications markets," said Stephen DeWitt, vice president and general manager of network management at Cisco Systems Inc.

"We are seeing great interest in CiscoWorks 4.0 especially because of backward compatibility with the complete Sun network management product line. Together, Sun Enterprise Manager and CiscoWorks are a powerful combination for companies whose business depends on the network."

CiscoWorks 4.0 joins the impressive library of third-party applications certified to run with Sun Enterprise Manager. Certified applications are also interoperable with Sun Solstice(TM) Site Manager(TM) and Sun Solstice(TM) Domain Manager(TM) software. Other industry leaders whose products have recently been certified to Sun Enterprise Manager include SAS Institute, Platinum Technology, Landmark Systems, Compuware, Bay Networks, and Auto-trol and a number of other top-notch network software vendors.

"We are very excited to have Cisco join the group of leading companies that can demonstrate interoperability with Sun Enterprise Manager," said Brian Kirschner, general manager of the Network Operations Software Products Group, Sun Microsystems.

"Sun Enterprise Manager is a true multi-read and multi-write environment, which allows a company to cooperatively manage its network to help reduce time and money expenditures associated with network management."

Recently-certified applications include:

-0- Auto-trol Technology Corporation's KONFIG Bay Networks, Inc.'s Optivity LAN Cisco Systems' CiscoWorks Compuware Corporation's EcoTOOLS Landmark Systems' PerformanceWorks Platinum Technology's AutoXfer SAS Institute, Inc.'s SAS/CPE for Open Systems -0-

"As corporate networks grow more complex, so do network management needs. And no single product can perform all network management functions. A total solution requires that several applications from a variety of vendors work together seamlessly to monitor and manage enterprise-wide data, voice, and video networks," said Bill Beichley, KONFIG product manager, Auto-trol Technology.

"For customers who have built their networks on Sun's Enterprise Manager platform, Enterprise Manager certification takes a lot of the guess work out of selecting management applications that are compatible and interoperable."

Network Management Certification Program

For customers, the Network Management Certification program ensures that third-party network management applications adhere to a set of rules and guidelines. For the solution provider, the program also offers marketing support and provides technical guidelines for developing new applications that remain compatible with future releases of Sun Enterprise Manager, Sun Domain Manager, Sun Site Manager, and Sun's full network management product line.

"Sun's Enterprise Manager certification is a solid sign of commitment on at least two levels," said Christy Garison, SAS Institute's program manager for IT service management.

"Participation illustrates SAS Institute's commitment to the network-management platforms. Overall, the certification program shows that vendors are working together in the customers' best interest -- an important guarantee in today's competitive business environment."

"This collaboration combines the strength of Compuware's EcoTOOLS in networked applications monitoring with Sun's strength in network management and is a big step forward in providing a more complete solution for EcoTOOLS customers who are using Sun Enterprise Manager," said Jerry Hoetger, Group Manager, Product Management EcoTOOLS.

"Compuware will continue to work closely with Sun to go beyond SNMP-level product integration toward MIPS-level integration, further simplifying network management for our customers."

Sun Microsystems Inc.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer(TM)," has propelled Sun Microsystems Inc., (NASDAQ:SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $8.5 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com . -0-

Note to Editors: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Solstice, Solstice Enterprise Manager, Solstice Site Manager, Solstice Domain Manager, and "The Network Is The Computer" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems Inc. in the United States and other countries.

CONTACT: Sun Microsystems, Inc., SunSoft Business Unit

Judy Zimbelman, 650/786-4708

[e-mail]