Osicom and Industrial Automation Leaders Join to Advance Open-Networking on the Factory Floor.WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 1998-- Strategic Partners Expect NET+ARM to Help Foster Migration from Proprietary Networks to Ethernet and Internet Osicom Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :FIBR FIBR Forward Indicator Bit Received ), today announced it has joined with an alliance of market leaders in Industrial Automation (IA) united in their commitment to Internet and Ethernet-based industrial control networks. Hirschmann, a Germany-based leading supplier of "industrial strength" networking products; Schneider Automation, a France-based world leader in industrial control products; Object Automation, a US-based innovator in IA software - and Osicom have joined in a strategic partnership intent upon transforming factory networks from proprietary "islands of automation" into globally manageable information and control systems. The alliance's mission is to encourage the growth of open networking in industrial automation through identifying and resolving issues; providing forums and generating publicity. The companies' collective vision is based on using widely accepted standards such as Ethernet, Internet, and Web-based technologies to advance factory floor connectivity, leveraging the benefits of browsers, Internet mail See Internet e-mail service. , and File Transfer Protocol A communications protocol used to transmit files without loss of data. A file transfer protocol can handle all types of files including binary files and ASCII text files. See Kermit, Zmodem and FTP. (FTP FTP in full file transfer protocol Internet protocol that allows a computer to send files to or receive files from another computer. Like many Internet resources, FTP works by means of a client-server architecture; the user runs client software to connect to ) throughout. Automation Research Corporation (ARC) is a leading consulting and market research firm. ARC vice-president, Dick Caro comments, "ARC strongly believes that, over the next 3-5 years, migration to open networking through the use of Ethernet and Internet is likely in the majority of industrial automation applications. These technologies will rapidly unify the data communication needs of the factory floor and may soon emerge as the preferred networking approach." IA networks are used in both discrete and process applications. These applications are hierarchically divided into three main levels: plant, control, and device. Historically, each level has been characterized by a confusing array of proprietary networks -- including Profibus, ControlNet, LonWorks, and Fieldbus -- creating isolated "islands of automation" along the way. This has impeded advances in their underlying technologies, and has also made it difficult for these networks to communicate with traditional business information systems. Osicom will focus upon preserving the intelligence now contained in Fieldbus objects, creating an easy migration path to open networking. The company's solution will have a combination of Fieldbus objects being transported over TCP/IP TCP/IP in full Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol Standard Internet communications protocols that allow digital computers to communicate over long distances. and web-based HTML HTML in full HyperText Markup Language Markup language derived from SGML that is used to prepare hypertext documents. Relatively easy for nonprogrammers to master, HTML is the language used for documents on the World Wide Web. screens for status and management. "There exists an enormous potential for increased productivity in all sorts of industrial automation applications," comments Cornelius "Pete" Peterson, president of Osicom's Embedded Networking Solutions Division. "But thus far, it has been stalled in a quagmire of proprietary networks." "What's more," he continues, "today none of these proprietary applications can take advantage of the significant cost benefits of Internet technologies. In this age of global economy, dispatching technicians to far away sites for installation, calibration, diagnostics, and software tweaking tweaking Vox populi Fine-tuning to produce optimal results can be a drag on Verb 1. drag on - last unnecessarily long drag out last, endure - persist for a specified period of time; "The bad weather lasted for three days" 2. the equipment suppliers' bottom line. In most instances, these tasks can now be performed remotely through the use of familiar web browsers The following is a list of web browsers. Historical Historically important browsers In order of release:
Recent advances in Ethernet technology combined with the continued success of several standardization bodies are strengthening the argument for Ethernet based control networks. While the faster 100Mbps Ethernet already reduces the probability of collisions, the IEEE 802.1p IEEE 802.1p is a standard that provides traffic class expediting and dynamic multicast filtering. Essentially, it provides a mechanism for implementing Quality of Service (QoS) at the MAC (Media Access Control) level. message prioritization standard addresses concerns over Ethernet's lack of determinism. Likewise, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, www.ieee.org) A membership organization that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. 802.12d provides the ability to add redundancy to the networks. Additionally, switching hubs which remove all collisions are now available at reasonable cost. Even the most deterministic proprietary control networks limit the number of devices per network segment to preserve determinism. Hence, the judicious network segmentation Network segmentation in computer networking is the act or profession of splitting a computer network into subnetworks, each being a network segment or network layer. Advantages of such splitting are primarily for boosting performance and improving security. of Ethernet networks can both achieve determinism and deliver all the added benefits of a completely open and standard network. "Hirschmann expects to take a leading position in providing open and standards-based industrial networking products and solutions," declares Rainer Schenkyr, executive division manager, Networking Systems Division of Richard Hirschmann GmbH & Co. "We have formed a strategic partnership with Osicom that combines our extensive experience in industrial applications with the benefits of the NET+ARM chip's technology. This alliance will allow us to deliver a connectivity solution with deterministic and redundancy features offering higher reliability at a lower cost." Schneider Automation is one of the first industrial control companies to embrace open technologies and has now chosen NET+ARM to facilitate integration of control networks with business information systems. Schneider Automation's vision of the "transparent factory Transparent Factory is the English name of an automobile production plant owned by German carmaker Volkswagen and opened in 2002. The original German name is Gläserne Manufaktur (factory made of glass). " promises the ability to gather production data from control networks and freely distribute it across the enterprise. "We are pleased to be part of this alliance because we think it will help bring more focus on the rapidly emerging trend of open networking," says Mark Fondl, Schneider's vice president. The availability of open architecture software solutions for industrial control networks both reflects and lends additional strong force to the migration towards open networking. Object Automation, Inc., has been a pioneer in this effort, offering what it believes to be the first Universal Control system, OAenterprise, providing a wide-open bridge between industrial automation and enterprise business systems. Dave Smith Dave Smith is the name of:
tr.v. per·vad·ed, per·vad·ing, per·vades To be present throughout; permeate. See Synonyms at charge. [Latin perv and dominate industrial automation into the new millennium. As such, Object Automation is pleased to join the strategic alliance of industry leaders setting the standard." With regard to NET+ARM and its relevance for IA applications developers, he continues, "Object-Based Control (OBC OBC Other Backward Classes OBC Ontario Building Code OBC On Board Computer OBC Organization for Bat Conservation OBC Outline Business Case (UK government procurement) OBC Oriental Bank of Commerce (India) ) embodies a software control object that may be hosted in a hard or soft control environment on a PC, or may run unchanged on a new breed of distributed, embedded controllers and intelligent I/O through products like NET+ARM." Osicom is fully committed to the global Industrial Automation market. The company plans to customize the NET+ARM chip for IA with new hardware and software. Planned versions will support DSP (1) (Digital Signal Processor) A special-purpose CPU used for digital signal processing applications (see definition #2 below). It provides ultra-fast instruction sequences, such as shift and add, and multiply and add, which are commonly used in math-intensive as well as A/D A/D See advance-decline line (A/D). and D/A converters, making it easier to integrate devices at a lower level. Software enhancements will include new industry-specific APIs and Fieldbus protocol gateways and web mapping for Fieldbus objects. Osicom expects to expand NET+ARM operations into Japan and Europe this summer and fall respectively. For further information, please visit the NET+ARM web site, www.netarm.com/netarm.html. In addition, interested parties may visit the Industrial Automation Open Networking Alliance official web site at www.iaopennetworking.com, beginning this month. About Osicom Osicom Technologies is a leading provider of integrated networking and bandwidth aggregation solutions for enhancing the performance of existing data and telecommunications networks. The Company combines expertise across multiple disciplines to offer fiber transport, remote access, virtual private networking, video switching and transport, and network systems-on-silicon to carrier and enterprise customers. The Company brings value to its customers by offering end-to-end, single vendor solutions as an integrated set. Osicom's offerings feature open architectures, offer complete scalability and fully support industry standards. The Company's flagship products are the GigaMux(tm) family of Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexers (DWDM (Dense WDM) The term given to wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) when significantly more channels were being added. Since WDM is increasingly more "dense" all the time, both terms are used synonymously. See WDM. DWDM - wavelength division multiplexing ) for short-haul Metro applications, the NET+ARM system-on-silicon for network connectivity, and the IQX-200 family of scaleable Remote Access Servers. For additional company, product or financial information, visit the Osicom website, www.osicom.com, or call toll free 888-OSICOM8. For calls originating outside the United States, call 301-317-7710. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Actual results may differ materially due to a variety of factors, including without limitation the company's ability to develop, produce, and market products that incorporate new technology on a timely basis, that are priced competitively and achieve significant market acceptance; higher expenses associated with the development and marketing of new products; changes in product mix; risks of dependence on third-party component suppliers; inventory risks due to shifts in market demand; the presence of competitors with broader product lines and greater financial resources; intellectual property rights and litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. ; needs for liquidity; and the other risks detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. GigaMux and NET+ are trademarks of Osicom. ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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