Sun Unveils Most Complete Set of Internet Business Solutions Available Today

Sun Unveils Most Complete Set of Internet Business Solutions Available Today

Internet Pioneer Delivers on Challenge of Electronic Commerce

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - May 23, 1995 - With more than a dozen years of Internet experience and innovation, Sun Microsystems, Inc. today detailed its strategy to make the Internet a viable business tool by announcing a suite of products, services and partners. The company is offering access products, innovative security solutions, interactive publishing tools and commerce infrastructure to give businesses what they need to conduct electronic commerce.

"There has been an explosion of interest in the Internet in the last year, and the popular focus has been on consumers," said Scott McNealy, chairman and chief executive officer, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "We see an enormous opportunity, and so do our customers, for business-to-business electronic commerce, as well as for business-to-consumer commerce. Today Sun provides the tools to do both."

The access products announced today include a new Netra™ Internet Server, with enhanced Web publishing capabilities, a new, easy-to-use administration tool, and first-of-its-kind Netware compatibility. Sun also announced a software-only solution, the Internet Gateway for Solaris™ software, for x86 platforms.

New security solutions include the Solstice™ SunScreen™ product family, delivering the most advanced Internet security and privacy solution, and a new version of the Solstice™ FireWall-1™ package.

Sun also formally announced what has been heralded as the next generation of Web browsing technology. The HotJava™ dynamic browser is the first browser to bring real-time interactivity to Web pages. The HotJava dynamic browser is powered by the Java™ language, a secure, cross-platform, dynamic programming language developed at Sun. In addition, Sun is offering the Netscape Navigator, Communications, News and Commerce Servers, which provide electronic commerce infrastructure capabilities.

Simplified Internet Access

Leading the company's move to provide easy access to the Inter- net is the new Netra Internet Server -- a complete and easy-to-install hardware and software system that provides simple and secure access to the Internet, without requiring an in-depth knowledge of the UNIX® operating system. The enhanced system now includes Web server software based on NCSA httpd server software, new easy-to-use configuration and administration tools with a graphical user interface and support for providing Netware client access for Internet applications such as the Netscape Navigator.

In addition, Sun announced the Internet Gateway for Solaris x86 Software, which gives Solaris x86 OEMs and systems integrators the ability to create Netra server-like solutions on the Solaris x86 platform. Lastly, the company announced an expansion of its SolarNet™ PC Networks solution, providing Microsoft Windows users an integrated set of tools to access the Internet from their desktops. The SolarNet™ PC Internet client software includes a Web browser, file transfer utility, mail tool, news reader and a complete high performance TCP/IP stack.

Is It Safe?

The Solstice™ SunScreen™ product is a dedicated, hardware and software security solution. The SunScreen unique "stealth" architecture makes it hard to detect on the network and therefore difficult for hackers to attack. By integrating advanced packet screening with authentication and encryption technologies, the SunScreen solution enables geographically dispersed companies to use the Internet as a virtual secure private network. Delivering very high levels of security for complex, commercial networks, the SunScreen solution includes services for installation, configuration, security audits and key management.

In addition to the SunScreen package, Sun Microsystems announ- ced a new release of its best-selling Firewall -1 1.2 software, a layered network security tool for the Solaris software environment. The new release includes user level authentication and an enhanced graphical user interface (GUI). Both the FireWall -1 1.2 and SunScreen packages offer advanced packet filtering, which is significantly more effective than the more common static packet filtering, and both systems are transparent to end users and applications, reducing end-user training and application maintenance costs.

Publish or Perish

Sun Microsystem's HotJava browser, based on the Java language, revolutionizes the World Wide Web experience. An innovative new object-oriented programming language developed at Sun, Java is simple, portable, extensible and secure.

"Java is the first language that provides a comprehensive solution to the challenges of programming for the Internet," says McNealy. "Java provides maximum protection against viruses and makes the headaches of application porting and software installation a thing of the past."

The Java language makes the HotJava dynamic browser an inter- active experience that brings the Web to life with real-time, fully interactive graphics, audio and video.

HotJava is now available for the Solaris software environment, and for Windows 95 and Windows NT environments. It will be available on MacOS 7.5 in late summer 1995.

Sun also offers the Netscape Communications Server for customers needing high performance publishing capabilities.

Getting the Business Done

With Netscape's Commerce Server, Sun provides the infrastruc- ture required to handle business-to-consumer transactions over the Internet, and with its SunScreen solution, Sun provides the infrastructure for complex, networked business-to-business electronic commerce.

"We expect the Internet to be at the forefront of electronic enterprise in the decades to come," said Sun Chairman McNealy. "With the tools that we've made available today, early adopters in business-to-business settings can begin conducting electronic commerce now. Within the next few years, business-to-consumer electronic commerce could begin to replace much of the world's existing business infrastructure."

Sun's History on the Internet

An early participant in developing the Internet, Sun Micro- systems has expanded its initial involvement in the long term vision for the Internet through an ongoing commitment to open computing and networking. Sun developed the NFS® program, the Internet standard for file sharing, and became one of the first vendors to standardize TCP/IP network protocols in its systems. The result is that 56 percent of the hardware backbone of the existing Internet superstructure is Sun™ servers* and 80 percent of Internet applications are first developed on Sun systems.** Likewise, Sun's reputation for providing state-of-the-art networking systems has been built, in part, on its pioneering efforts with the Internet.

With revenues in excess of $5 billion, Sun Microsystems, Inc., is a world leader in the design, manufacture and sale of open network computing products and services, including workstations and servers, microprocessor and application-specific IC design, system software, networking products, professional service and support and aftermarketing services. The company's SPARC workstations, multiprocessing servers, SPARC microprocessors, Solaris operating software and UNIX service organization each rank No. 1 in the UNIX industry. Founded in 1982, Sun is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and employs more than 13,000 employees in 32 offices worldwide.

* According to an Internet Society survey, September 1984.
** According to Sun research.

Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, The Network is the Computer, Solaris, Solstice, SolarNet, NFS, Netra, SunScreen, Java, HotJava and Internet Gateway for Solaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. FireWall-1 is a trademark of CheckPoint Software Technologies, Ltd., used under license by SoftSoft, Inc. All SPARC trademarks, including the SCD Compliant logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Press announcements and other information about Sun Microsystems are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web using a tool such as Netscape or NCSA Mosaic. Type http://www.sun.com at the URL prompt.