Open Software Foundation announces pricing for OSF/1 operating environment

Business Wire

March 26, 1990

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- This week at the Hannover Fair in West Germany, the Open Software Foundation announced an aggressive, simplified pricing schedule for its innovative OSF/1 operating environment.

``Today's announcement demonstrates our commitment to offer reasonable and stable licensing terms,'' said David Tory, OSF president. ``The binary fee structure will ensure proliferation of OSF/1 across all systems, from PCs to supercomputers.''

The fee for a single-CPU source code license with full redistribution rights has been set at $50,000, and a single-CPU source-code license without redistribution rights is priced at $25,000. In both cases, source code for each additional CPU costs $3,000.

A new licensing option offered by OSF enables licensees to purchase a commercial site license for $50,000, after the purchase of the initial source license.

The single binary license fee ranges from $65 down to $13 per copy for a maximum volume discounted per-copy price for all systems.

Universities may purchase a special $5,000 site license, which allows the licensee to distribute both source and binary copies throughout a given campus site.

Included in the OSF/1 source code at no extra fee are the TCP/IP networking protocols, B1 security and an NFS-compatible file system from the University of California at Berkeley.

The OSF/1 operating environment is based on the Mach kernel from Carnegie-Mellon University, and in its initial release requires a minimum of an AT&T System V.2 license. The modular, portable OSF/1 operating system provides fully symmetric multiprocessing, B1-level security, and advanced internationalization capabilities.

OSF/1 is compliant with POSIX and the X/Open Portability Guide Issue 3. In addition, OSF/1 will comply with AT&T's SVID as tested by AT&T's verification suite for UNIX System V.3 and V.4 compatibility.

This operating system offering reflects the needs of OSF membership -- system vendors, independent software vendors, end users, and educational and research institutions -- for an open portable, scalable, interoperable operating system.

Through an early access snapshot program, the OSF/1 operating environment is available now to OSF members. Under this program, OSF members who choose to license OSF technology receive bimonthly snapshots of the code in development prior to general product availability. The fully integrated, tested system will be generally available to the industry in November 1990.

Open Software Foundation (OSF) is a non-profit research and development organization dedicated to develop and deliver an open software environment, based on standards, for the benefit of the industry.

OSF utilizes an innovative open process, soliciting technologies from the industry at large, and inviting member participation in setting technical direction for the Foundation's development efforts.

CONTACT: Open Software Foundation, Cambridge Donna Ruane, 617/621-8772