SANTA CLARA, Calif. (October 22, 1997) -- Bay Networks, Inc. (NYSE: BAY) today announced that it is working with Netscape Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: NSCP), Mountain View, Calif., to define policy-enabled networking capabilities using open standards-based directory services. Bay Networks will deliver network solutions based on the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) specification which will interwork with Netscape Directory Server software.
As part of Bay Networks Adaptive Networking strategy, Netscape Directory Server is a key component of Bay Networks' IP Services cornerstone - a new category of open products and technologies that move beyond IP and allows customers to optimize business applications and innovate. Bay Networks IP Services solutions leverage open Internet standards to provide the enabling services, including Directory/Policy Services, Progressive Traffic Management, Virtual Private Networks and Security, necessary for the creation of and migration to IP-optimized networks.
Bay Networks' NetID product family provides an IP Services foundation allowing Bay Networks to deliver policy-enabled IP capabilities using Internet and Intranet directory services today. NetID is a multi-administrator platform for managing IP addressing, Domain Name Services (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Services (DHCP).
LDAP has attained wide support as a standards-based technology for accessing and managing directory information on IP networks with Netscape Directory Server. Netscape is an industry leader in the area of LDAP-based directory services for the Internet. Bay Networks sees adopting LDAP as key to its IP Services Directory/Policy Server objective to interwork with standards-based directories on customer sites.
"Because applications, computing systems and networks continue to converge around IP, there is a great need for major vendors to collaborate so customers are able to build end-to-end optimized solutions," said Dave House, chairman, CEO and president of Bay Networks. "Bay Networks is excited to work with Netscape, a leader in standards-based directory server technology, to deliver open, policy-enabled networking applications."
"Netscape has been an early and vigorous supporter of LDAP for open, interoperable Internet and Intranet directories," said John Paul, senior vice president of the Server Product Division at Netscape. "Together, Netscape and Bay Networks are integrating network resources with systems and application software using LDAP. This integration will provide a unified mechanism to manage users, systems, and network resources."
POLICY ENABLED NETWORKING
Because IP has become the predominant networking protocol, Bay's customers require the ability to grant use of network resources based on user/group/application and rules associated with access controls, bandwidth allocation, etc. Bay Networks terms this Policy Enabling Networking. As part of a broader industry initiative to adopt directory services for networking purposes, Bay Networks and Netscape plan to collaborate in the area of policy enabled networking.
"Our customers are designing a new breed of 'network intelligent' applications which need industry-standard network directories," said Bill Hawe, vice president of architecture at Bay Networks. "Bay Networks' Adaptive Networking IP Services is built upon the use of open directory services."
BAY NETWORKS NET ID SOLUTION
Bay Networks NetID application is an open interoperable solution for service provider and enterprise IP address, Domain Name Service (DNS), and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) management services. NetID also provides unique features, including the ability to track information such as a user's name, location and phone number. Such information is critical to administrators of enterprise and service provider networks.
Bay Networks is committed to open industry standards with a fundamental goal to interoperate with all current and future directory services implementations.
NETSCAPE DIRECTORY SERVER
Based on LDAP, Netscape Directory Server enables organizations to build global directories -- or central repositories of shared user information and application data -- on Intranets, Extranets and the Internet. Netscape Directory Server 3.0 is now available for download and beta testing from Netscape's Internet site. The new software helps liberate users from the desktop with a network-based registry of services, data and user preferences that enable roaming users to access applications and data as if they were using their own desktop machine. Netscape Directory Server 3.0 lets customers build global directories that are accessible across the enterprise and extend to include customers and partners on an Extranet. Support for International character sets in LDAPv3 enables multi-lingual directory data from around the world to be managed in the global directory.
ABOUT NETSCAPE
Netscape Communications Corporation is a premier provider of open software for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet. The company offers a full line of clients, servers, development tools and commercial applications to create a complete platform for next generation, live online applications. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California.
ABOUT BAY NETWORKS, INC.
Bay Networks, Inc. (NYSE: BAY) is a leader in the worldwide networking market, providing a complete line of products that serve corporate enterprises, service providers and telecommunications carriers. The company offers frame and ATM switches, routers, shared media, remote and Internet access solutions, IP services and network management applications, all integrated by Bay Networks' Adaptive Networking strategy. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, Bay Networks markets its products and services around the world, providing 7x24 support coverage. For additional information visit the company's World Wide Web site at http://www.baynetworks.com or call 800/8-BAYNET.
This release, other than historical financial information, may consist of forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. For instance, factors which could cause results to differ from future events include the rate of adoption of new technology, competitive pricing actions and marketing programs, among others. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Bay Networks with the S.E.C., specifically the most recent reports on forms 10-K and 10-Q, which identify important risk factors which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
Bay Networks is a registered trademark and NetID is a trademark of Bay Networks, Inc. Netscape, Netscape Navigator, and the Netscape N logo are registered trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries. Other Netscape logos, product names, and service names are also trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation, which may be registered in other countries. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.
Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com or by sending email to moreinfo@netscape.com. Corporate customers can call 650/937-2555 while consumers can call 650/937-3777 for more information.