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From: Owner-OS2News@teamos2.org
Subject: OS2News: IBM's Eagle Set to Take Flight
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   PC Week Online March 25, 1996
  
   IBM's Eagle set to take flight 
   
   By Norvin Leach
                                      
   IBM will officially launch its server software suite this week with
   aggressively priced bundles, including a free version of its  
Internet
   Server Connection software.
   
   The seven packages in the company's Software Server Series,  
previously
   called Project Eagle, bundle more than 50 IBM products, as well as
   upgrades to such products as CICS for OS/2 and SystemView for AIX.
   
   The packaging, particularly the lower pricing, represents a strong
   shot across Microsoft Corp.'s BackOffice bow in the fight for large
   corporate customers, observers said.
   
   Each Software Server Series package is built on a common code base,
   designed to integrate easily with the other packages. Pricing for  
the
   IBM bundles, which will run on Warp, AIX, and Windows NT, will be
   significantly lower than IBM's separately packaged versions, sources
   said.
   
   For example, the AIX Transaction Server bundle, which includes CICS
   and Encina, will cost $12,558 for a package of 50 users. Currently,
   CICS alone costs $17,750 for a similar package.
   
   The Database Server package will cost $999 for either Warp, AIX, or
   Windows NT. DB2 currently costs $1,359 for Warp and $3,199 for AIX,
   while Microsoft's competing SQL Server database costs $995.
   
   Giving away the Internet Server will also answer Microsoft's  
strategy
   of bundling its Internet Information Server free with each NT Server
   package.
   
   IBM, of Armonk, N.Y., is also attempting to escalate the feature war
   for the products. The Internet Server, for example, will include
   built-in Hypertext Transport Protocol, File Transfer Protocol, and
   Gopher proxies, allowing a browser to access remote servers by  
proxy.
   
   Microsoft's proxy server, code-named Catapult, which will ship as an
   add-on to IIS, is in the second round of beta testing.
   
   The Communications Server for OS/2, which combines IBM's AnyNet/2  
and
   Communications Manager/2 products, lets workstations communicate  
with
   mainframes and AS/400 hosts through Systems Network Architecture or
   TCP/IP. The product supports networks with a mixture of protocols.
   Applications written to either protocol can run without changes.
   
   The base price for the Warp version is $699. The base price for the
   AIX version is $879 for one user.
   
   The server also provides peer networking support. The gateway can
   support as many as 2,000 clients and 20,000 host sessions.
   
   The OS/2 version of the Transaction Server package incorporates a  
new
   32-bit version of CICS and adds support for Advanced
   Program-to-Program Communications with clients, support for 32-bit
   COBOL compilers from IBM and Micro Focus Inc., interfaces for  
external
   security and file managers, CEMT (Master Terminal) support, a
   performance analyzer, and API extensions to allow easier porting for
   applications written to other platforms. The package also includes  
the
   CICS for OS/2 client, with an Internet gateway, a Notes gateway, and
   REXX access. The Warp package price of $699 is the base for a new
   user-pricing model.
   
   The Database Server package, available on all three platforms,
   includes the DB2 server, a DB2/World-Wide Web connection, and a DB2
   development kit.
   
   Pricing was not available for the OS/2 version of the Directory and
   Security Services Server, but the AIX version will cost $17,350 for
   the highest RS/6000 processor.
   
   Avco Financial Services Corp., which uses many of the IBM server
   applications separately now, plans to buy the new suite because it
   lends itself to easier administration, said Bill Howey, senior  
systems
   consultant with the Irvine, Calif., company.
   
   "It allows us to take control of where the software is and  
eventually
   control the licenses, without having 16 zillion copies of everything
   floating out in the company," Howey said.
   
   Additional reporting by Lauren Abraham
   
   Copyright (c) 1996 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights  
reserved.