Computer Associates Introduces Linux Edition of Ingres II With Innovative Open Beta Program

Business Wire, Oct 19, 1998

ISLANDIA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 1998--

Enables Customers To Leverage Popular Free UNIX Platform To Build

Core Business Applications

Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) today announced the activation of its Ingres II Linux Edition Open Beta program. This Open Beta program will enable clients and prospective clients alike to preview the new version of CA's RDBMS and to provide feedback to the development team prior to the scheduled release of the production version in December.

The beta version of Ingres II Linux Edition can be downloaded for free from www.cai.com/products/betas/. When the generally-available version is released, it also will be offered as a free download.

The Open Beta program allows CA to make Ingres II Linux Edition available to a much larger user base than traditional Beta programs. This program benefits both CA and the Linux user community by ensuring that the product is used in a wide range of computing environments, and that CA receives invaluable feedback from Linux users before the product is generally available.

"CA's commitment to Linux underscores their support for clients on every platform being used for business processing," said Robert Young, president and CEO, Red Hat Software, Inc., a leading source of support and expertise for Linux development. "Ingres II Linux Edition gives Linux users worldwide more options than ever for deploying highly scalable database management systems, setting the stage for expanded wide-scale adoption of Linux in the market."

Geared toward the same markets that have adopted Linux - such as higher education and "bootstrapping" E-commerce ventures - Ingres II for Linux provides a full function, industrial-strength RDBMS that can be easily and economically implemented in a wide range of computing environments. The ease-of-learning associated with the new version makes it particularly attractive for educational institutions.

"Our successes with Ingres on HP platforms has allowed the University to reduce costs and increase productivity while providing better quality of data that is more readily available," said Tom Freestone, database administrator Brigham Young University and an active Linux user. "The Ingres II for Linux Beta Program makes it clear that Ingres II is a terrific choice for open systems. By allowing user participation in the Ingres II Linux Edition Open Beta program, CA is allowing us to take advantage of an emerging technology from both an academic and IT services standpoint."

The Ingres II Linux Edition offers users a full copy of the Ingres II database engine, along with core database functions. These include variable page size, row-level locking, support for binary large objects (BLOBs), interfaces for C, compatibility with IngPerl (database access from the Perl scripting language), and Internet publishing capabilities that allow for development using the Apache Server. The Ingres II Linux Edition is also fully compatible with other versions of Ingres II. Code written for the Ingres II Linux Edition will be fully portable to other platforms, paving the way for production applications based on work accomplished by Linux users.

"We're offering Linux developers the opportunity to develop with Ingres for free," said Don LeClair, CA vice president of information management marketing. "We expect this program to be very successful in helping us produce the most robust, useful RDBMS for Linux."

Ingres II is an integral part of CA's Harmony family, a comprehensive information management strategy that allows organizations to exploit new technologies while integrating existing applications and data sources. Ingres II's unique solutions span a variety of platforms including Windows NT, VMS, UNIX, and now Linux.

The Linux operating system, originally designed by Linus Torvalds, is unique in that it provides the power and reliability of UNIX for the personal computer and that its source code is readily available as a free download from the Internet.

Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE: CA), with headquarters in Islandia, N.Y., is the world leader in mission-critical business software. The company develops, licenses and supports more than 500 integrated products that include enterprise computing and information management, application development, manufacturing and financial applications. CA has over 11,000 people in 160 offices in 43 countries and had revenue of $4.7 billion in fiscal year 1998. CA can be reached by visiting www.cai.com on the World Wide Web, emailing info@cai.com, or calling 1-516-342-5224.

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