F O R    I M M E D I A T E    R E L E A S E

FacetCorp Releases FacetWin Version 2.1

Simple Sign-On™ Added

5 October 1998
FacetCorp, (Plano, TX, USA), announced FacetWin Version 2.1, which includes new Simple Sign-On (SSO) functionality. Simple Sign-On initially consists of two major features, CIFS Authentication and Auto-User Creation.

The CIFS (Common Internet File System) Authentication feature simplifies the login procedure for PC users who access UNIX® systems. With this new feature, users need only provide their network login at their PC once. After they have entered their network login and password on the PC, they can (under system administration control) automatically be given complete user level access to any UNIX system on the network running FacetWin. So, with this CIFS Authentication, they can have transparent file and printer access to UNIX, as well as complete terminal emulation access, without having to re-enter their user name or password. With most other implementations, the user may be required to enter their user name and password up to 3 times to obtain the same level of UNIX system access. For people who access UNIX systems from PCs, this will noticeably reduce the number of times they must login, as well as eliminating the "hassle factor" every time they want to go to a UNIX system.

Another significant feature within the Simple Sign-On is Auto-User Creation. This is a mechanism to automatically create new user accounts on UNIX. This feature is designed for corporate networks that use a Microsoft NT® server as a primary domain controller (PDC) where they want to manage the user account and password lists on NT. FacetWin's Auto-User Creation will automatically create a new user account on a UNIX system, based on proper authentication from the NT PDC, or backup domain controller (BDC). So with this feature, the customer has the option of essentially managing only one list of user names and passwords on the network, without compromising the users' ability to access and use the UNIX system(s) as needed. This is a tremendous time saver for system administrators in mixed NT/UNIX networks.

"The combined use of NT and UNIX is a key differentiator for Sequent, both now and as we move forward," said Randy Kalmeta, Director of Systems Management with Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. "Sequent's NUMACenter framework is directly targeted at enabling joint NT and UNIX operating environments. FacetWin's file and print sharing capabilities, along with its terminal emulation functions are a key component in this NT/UNIX integration,” continued Kalmeta. "The recent Simple Sign-On enhancements within FacetWin are important not only because they relieve end-users from the burdens of logging into multiple NT/UNIX hosts, but also because they greatly improve the manageability of the mixed NT/UNIX computing complex by allowing system administrators to manage through a single user/group database shared by both NT and UNIX."

"The Simple Sign-On Feature is a nice addition for many of our customers," said Bill Demers, Marketing Manager with FacetCorp. "The Auto-User Creation function is something our larger customers with mixed NT and UNIX enterprise computing have asked us to include in FacetWin," Demers explained, "FacetWin Version 2.1 greatly simplifies the system administration for these environments."

FacetWin provides a complete solution for Windows-to-UNIX integration, including transparent file & print services, terminal emulation, PC backup/restore, POP 3 email server, and remote computing support. FacetWin includes an all-in-one feature set that allows users of Windows and Windows NT PCs to transparently access and use the UNIX network resources (such as files, disks, Windows applications, and printers).

FacetWin differs from existing connectivity alternatives in several ways. FacetCorp based the file and print services in FacetWin upon the Common Internet File System (CIFS) formerly known as SMB. This is the primary system that Microsoft Windows uses for networking PCs. Many other connectivity products use the UNIX-oriented Network File System (NFS) method of loading NFS software on the PC to enable it as a UNIX NFS client. Instead, FacetWin provides a UNIX CIFS server (that requires no additional software to be loaded on the PC) to get transparent file and print services. CIFS was chosen for FacetWin because it is very easy to install and administer (since FacetWin administration can take place from the UNIX server), and because of its good performance. The FacetWin terminal emulator was designed as a native 32-bit application for Windows 95/98 and NT 4.0. In creating the terminal emulator, FacetCorp was able to leverage the terminal emulation technology built into FacetTerm® (the company’s award winning multi-session product).

FacetWin Version 2.1 is priced at $195 with discounts for multi-user licenses. FacetWin Version 2.1 is available to all Version 2 users at no charge. FacetCorp offers free 30-day evaluation copies of the product from their World Wide Web site (www.facetcorp.com) and through their established channel of worldwide distributors.

FacetWin FEATURE SUMMARY