How Chameleon^™ works with Microsoft Windows^® NT Services Add-on for UNIX^®

Chameleon UNIX^® Link Questions & Answers

Microsoft has announced Windows NT Services Add-on for UNIX, which is expected to ship in September of 1998. It will be sold as a separate package similar to Microsoft’s current NT add-on offerings for NetWare, SNA and Macintosh connectivity. The package will contain: 

• A Windows NT NFS client and server
• A Telnet client and server
• A set of UNIX commands and a UNIX shell (ksh or K-shell) for Windows NT
• Password synchronization between Windows NT and UNIX

NetManage has a long history of selling Windows connectivity products for the UNIX marketplace. NetManage has a broader and richer suite of connectivity products for that environment than Microsoft or any other competitor. Our view is that Microsoft’s entry in the UNIX connectivity market strengthens NetManage’s position, because it underscores the importance of UNIX interoperability with Windows. Also, NetManage and Microsoft’s UNIX products are complementary. NetManage provides complete UNIX connectivity for Windows 3.X, Windows 9X as well as NT. The Microsoft solution only addresses file sharing and basic terminal emulation and only on the NT platform.

Absolutely not. Microsoft offers only one piece of core functionality for PC-to-UNIX connectivity-–namely NFS and only for Windows NT. Chameleon UNIX^® Link provides full Windows-to-UNIX connectivity including X-Windows, NFS, FTP, TFTP, LPR and LPD.

UNIX^® Link supports not just NT, but also Windows 9x and 3.x users. Chameleon UNIX^® Link includes a broad range of high-powered terminal emulators including 3270, 5250, VT420, VT340-VT52, Wyse 50/60, Televideo 950/955 and SCO Color ANSI.

NetManage is working closely with Microsoft development, sales, and marketing staffs to provide complementary UNIX connectivity solutions to different market segments. NetManage also has a strong history of working with Microsoft on interoperability solutions between Windows to mainframes and Windows to AS/400^® computers.

How does NetManage’s UNIX strategy differ from Microsoft's?

We focus on complete solutions with one-stop shopping. Most customers require more than just NFS with basic terminal emulation. UNIX^® Link is a complete PC-to-UNIX solution that addresses a fundamental reality: most customers have mixed versions of desktop operating systems. Microsoft’s solution is only for NT.

Our products offer a single user interface, single-source technical support, and one-stop shopping. The latest version of Chameleon UNIX^® Link includes real-time support to reduce connectivity support costs. NetManage is the only connectivity vendor applying technology to increase support effectiveness and to reduce its costs.

For more detail on how NetManage complements the Microsoft offering, see the comparison below.