Linux device driver

Linux: Olicom Announces Broad Support for Linux Operating System; Comprehensive Linux NIC Driver Support is an Industry First - Company Business and Marketing

Olicom Inc. (NASDAQ\NMS:OLCMF), the leader in fault-tolerant enterprise networking solutions, Tuesday announced that it will roll out broad support for the free Linux operating system across its entire line of Token Ring, Ethernet and ATM network interface cards.

"As one of the first in the industry to offer this level of support for Linux drivers, we recognize that Linux has been steadily gaining momentum and popularity in the industry, and is important to many of our customers," said Jorgen Hog, Olicom's vice president of Product Marketing. "Linux is becoming increasingly important to network installations, and the number of PCs and servers running Linux is increasing rapidly."

Users of the Linux operating system, a free, UNIX-like OS with freely available source code, are often frustrated at the lack of device drivers. Linux users must often turn to complicated workarounds or substitutions, or write their own device drivers to make their NICs functional.

"Linux has been making major inroads into areas that have in the past been reserved for other operating systems," added Hog. "More companies are turning to Linux for Web and Internet functions, databases, and file- and print-sharing. Some industries have even begun to replace their high-end UNIX clusters with inexpensive Linux clusters."

With this offering, Olicom positions itself in the lead of the recent surge in acceptance for the free OS. Linux has gained substantial industry acceptance in recent months, as major vendors, including Caldera Systems, Computer Associates, Compaq, Corel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Informix, Intel, Lotus, Netscape, Novell, Oracle, SAP and Sybase have launched support for the Linux operating system.

"Olicom will be offering broad Linux support across our entire product line of Token Ring, Ethernet and ATM NICs," said Hog. "We are strongly committed to offering our customers support across a wide range of platforms -- and we are one of the few NIC vendors in the industry to offer this broad level of support." Olicom offers optimized drivers for several other operating systems, including Microsoft Windows 95 and 98, Windows NT 3.51, 4.0 and 5.0, Novell NetWare 5.0, and IBM OS/2 Warp 3.0.

Olicom now offers Linux driver support for its RapidFire 3139, 3140, 3141, 3540, 3137, and 3118 Token Ring adapters; driver support for Olicom's entire line of NICs is underway. Support for Olicom's Ethernet line will be available in August 1999. ATM support will be available the first quarter of 2000.

Olicom's Linux drivers support the newest versions of the Linux kernel, including 2.0.35, 2.0.36, and 2.2.x. The drivers will be available at no charge from authorized Olicom resellers or from the Olicom Web site at http://www.olicom.com or http://www.olicom.dk.

Olicom is a leading global provider of mission-critical networking solutions. The company is dedicated to helping large enterprises with networks in transition achieve their business objectives. For small and medium-sized organizations, Olicom provides scalable, cost-effective solutions tailored to the growing market need for speed and interoperability. To ensure the high availability of mission-critical applications for its clients, Olicom builds fault tolerance into all of its networking solutions. The company works with a worldwide network of strategic partners and resellers. For more information, see http://www.olicom.com.