IBM UNIX Operating System Tops D.H. Brown Report

Business Wire, Nov 24, 1998

SOMERS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 24, 1998--

Internet Functions Lift AIX over Solaris, Digital UNIX and NT

IBM's UNIX operating system, AIX, outpaced competing operating systems from Compaq, Sun, Silicon Graphics, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft in a new consultant review.

The report, published by D.H. Brown Associates, Inc. (www.dhbrown.com), notes AIX's superior performance in two key categories: Internet/Intranet Capabilities and System Management.

According to the study, AIX has the industry's strongest set of Internet features with a broad range of TCP/IP technologies including IPv6, the "next-generation" Internet Protocol. It goes on to praise AIX's secure Virtual Private Network offering, and unmatched options for electronic commerce. When it comes to user-friendly system management, D.H. Brown reports AIX long ago set the standard and that the latest revision "retains a wide lead...thanks to its Java-based system management...and provides remote management capabilities via Java-enabled Web browsers."

The report evaluates AIX Version 4.3.2, announced Oct. 5. AIX supports both 32- and 64-bit IBM RS/6000 systems, from workstations, to web servers, to many of the world's most powerful computers.

"True to its e-business marketing themes, IBM has taken the most active role among the major operating system vendors in providing electronic commerce software for its AIX customers," said Tony Iams, senior analyst in D.H. Brown's Systems Software research program.

"This report reaffirms IBM's technology leadership as we accelerate our UNIX development," said Rajiv Samant, general manager of UNIX, IBM Server Group. "IBM is working with SCO, Sequent and Intel to take the best technology from each company and build the leading UNIX operating system for computers based both on IBM and Intel microprocessors."

D.H. Brown also singled out AIX for its clustering capabilities noting that the operating system distinguishes itself with overwhelming advantages for disaster recovery and remote data replication.

AIX scored a number of other "firsts" this year including:

- being named the top operating system in a survey conducted by VAR

Business magazine (1);

- the first 64-bit operating environment to receive UNIX 98

branding from the Open Group;

- the first server operating environment to receive Virtual Private

Network certification from the International Computer Security

Association, and;

- the first 64-bit operating environment to achieve the high

E3/F-C2 level security rating by the Bundesamt fuer Sicherheit

Informationstechnik, a German government certification authority.

About D.H. Brown

D.H. Brown Associates, Inc. (DHBA) is a leading research and consulting firm concentrating on the strategic analysis, assessment and evaluations of technologies, products and market trends in the "Information Industry." DHBA concentrates on thoroughly understanding and continuously updating its knowledge of the core technologies and trends underlying current and future products.

(1) Source: "IBM Tops at Desktop," VAR Business, June 22, 1998.

AIX and RS/6000 are registered trademarks or trademarks of the IBM corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. Other company, product and service names, which may be denoted by a double asterisk may be trademarks or service marks of others.