mikeh@lupine.ncd.com (Mike Harrigan) (08/29/90)
NCD X TERMINALS TO SUPPORT SNMP NETWORK MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, June 18, 1990 -- Network Computing Devices, Inc. has become the first supplier of X terminals to implement and support the industry-standard Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). All NCD monochrome and color X terminals shipping beginning in August will implement the "agent" portion of SNMP, which allows collection of network data from the devices by an SNMP "management station." Without SNMP the NCD units, like other X terminals, had to be physically accessed individually to retrieve statistics such as device identity, function, status and performance. NCD Executive Vice President Judy Estrin said, "SNMP is the last critical element required for efficient gathering of network-level information from our products. X terminals are inherently easier to manage than other networked devices, such as PCs or workstations, because they run no local operating system or applications. And the NCD X terminals' remote configuration capability -- which allows them to download configuration information from a central host -- makes them even easier than most. "With SNMP we've added the ability to do centralized monitoring of network data -- which is becoming an absolute requirement in large installations where the network administrator can't effectively visit every unit, " she said. Besides providing an interface to standard SNMP data types, NCD has taken advantage of SNMP's concept of vendor-specific extensions to add selected "private" data types to optimize X terminal use. Among these are the abilities to gather X terminal memory and CPU utilization data. SNMP was recommended as a network management protocol standard in February 1988 by the Department of Defense Internet Activities Board, and has subsequently become the industry's most widely adopted open standard. Pricing/Availability Beginning in August all new NCD X terminals will support SNMP as a standard feature. Currently free charge under NCD's software support program, or for a fee of $50 per unit. Network Computing Devices, Inc., formed in February 1988, is a leading supplier of network display stations providing users simultaneous access to multi-vendor computers on a network via the industry-standard X Window System. The NCD16, NCD16e and NCD19 monochrome units, and the NCD17c color unit, offer workstation-style multi-user interfaces for users in the UNIX, VMS and ULTRIX operating system environments. NCD is privately held. Company Contact: Judy Estrin, Network Computing Devices, Inc. (415) 694-0650 info@ncd.com