As reported briefly last month (CI No 1,615), Systems Center Inc has signed a deal with Fujitsu Ltd to support and develop an integrated network management system managed by Net/Master Network Computer Language. The agreement is worldwide, but is primarily aimed at the Japanese and Asia Pacific markets – it does not stretch to ICL, or as yet to the US and Europe. Under the deal Fujitsu’s COMS-I and Systems Center’s Net/Master will link, so that COMS-I users on M-series hosts can control network resources operating under COMS-I – for example, IBM MVS systems running Net/Master or NetView. This is to be done via Net/Master’s Network Control Language, which Fujitsu will back as the de facto market standard once the development work has been done – the new software is due to be delivered to Japanese customers third quarter 1991. The development work also includes converting Net/Master applications, such as Network Error Warning System, Advanced Operation management, Expert System Foundation, Info/Master Problem Management and Configuration Management, to run under COMS-I. This deal with Fujitsu follows a series of agreements with companies such as AT&T, DEC, Tandem Computers, NCR Comten and Motorola Codex, which have been struck to ensure that IBM is not able to promote its master-slave attitude to network management with everyone subservient to IBM systems. Systems Center says it is pursuing a peer-to-peer approach for heterogeneous environments with Net/Master supporting OSI/NM via FTAM. As for the near future, Systems Center is developing products for the Unix mid-range market, thanks to its Unitech acquisition, and will also soon announce an agreement with Tecnet to enable Net/Master to identify and action environment control systems, for security and air-conditioning.
