Apple & More Than 40 Companies to Evaluate Proposed Standard For Internet Networking

More than 40 companies, including AT&T Corp., Apple Computer Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Novell Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. are joining Microsoft Corp. Aug. 26 and 27 in Redmond, Wash., for the first technical conference on the common Internet file system (CIFS) protocol, a proposed standard for remote file-sharing over the Internet and corporate intranets.

Providing the first plug-and-play infrastructure for business networking, CIFS will let millions of computer users collaborate over the Internet without having to install new networking software, buy new hardware, or change the way they work.

Because CIFS is based on protocol standards already widely used in corporate networks, tens of thousands of existing business applications will be able to operate over the Internet and share data easily with applications for the World Wide Web.

"In much the same way that French became the universal language of diplomacy, and English the common language of business, CIFS is poised to become the common `language' for business networking," said Gary Voth, group product manager, strategic technologies and standards at Microsoft. "CIFS helps create a world in which companies can mix and match network clients and servers, regardless of operating system, so users can collaborate easily across different business projects."

CIFS defines a common access protocol for sharing files and business information of all types over the Internet and corporate intranets, not just Web pages. CIFS is an enhanced version of Microsoft's open, cross-platform server message block (SMB) protocol, the native file-sharing protocol in the Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 95, Windows NT(R) and OS/2 operating systems and also widely available for UNIX, VMS and other platforms.

With support from other industry leaders, Microsoft submitted the CIFS specification to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as an Internet- Draft document in June 1996 and is working openly with the industry for CIFS to be published as an informational RFC. CIFS SMB has been an Open Group (formerly X/Open) standard for PC and UNIX interoperability since 1992 (X/Open CAE Specification C209).

CIFS Implementors Workshop

The goals for the CIFS Implementors Workshop are to ensure broad interoperability of CIFS implementations on all platforms and to provide a forum for detailed working sessions on the draft CIFS 1.0 protocol specification. In addition to Microsoft presenters, the conference will include presentations by other vendors on implementing CIFS for non-Microsoft platforms, including UNIX and MacOS. Among the other companies and groups expected to attend are Advanced Computer Communications, April System Design, Artisoft Inc., Auspex, Axis Communications, Bristol Technology Inc., Congruent Corp., Cornell University, Cygnus Software, Dansk Data Elektronik A/S, Facet Corp., InterCon Systems Corp., Kernel Mode Systems, Lightspeed Software, Linux, NetStream Inc., Network Appliance, Open Group, Oxford University, Platinum Technologies, Samba, Santa Cruz Operation, Sequent Computer Systems Inc., Siemens Nixdorf, Softlab GmbH, Software AG, Stac Inc., Stelias Computing, Storage Dimensions Inc., Symmetrical Technologies, Syntax, Thursby, Tracer Technologies Inc., Transarc, Transitional Technology Inc. and Unisys Corp. Netscape Communications Corp. also has been invited.

CIFS is not intended to replace HTTP or other standards for the World Wide Web. CIFS complements HTTP while providing more sophisticated file sharing and file transfer than older protocols such as FTP. CIFS is designed to enable all applications, not just Web browsers, to open and share files securely across the Internet.

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