Banyan Systems Inc, Westborough, Massachusetts has announced version 5.53 of its Vines network operating system, which adds support for different computing systems and peripherals. The product is not, however, being shipped as a standard Vines release, but only to users that specifically request it: Banyan says this is because it is currently preparing a new release of Vines, which is expected at the end of the year, which pulls together this and other enhancements. In the meantime, however, it wanted to get the new version to market specifically for those companies needing the new functionality. Banyan says that the system now supports RAID adaptors from Compaq Computer Corp, Dell Computer Corp and Mylex Inc, SCSI adaptors from Adaptec Inc, Compaq, NCR Corp and Ing C Olivetti & Co SpA, and tape support devices from Exabyte Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co and IBM Corp. In addition, it is said to support new Cabletron Systems Inc and Hewlett-Packard Ethernet drivers and the NCR Wavelan wireless network adaptor. It is available immediately, and existing users can upgrade to the new release for free; new customers who need this release will pay the existing Vines pricing. Separately, Banyan announced a partnership with Legato Systems Inc on enterprise storage management, and that it has made a $500,000 equity investment in the company (CI No 2,252). Banyan says that the first product to be developed as a result of the new partnership is to be Enterprise Back-up and Restore, which as the name implies, is a software product enabling customers to back up their entire enterprise network from a single centralised location. The product is to be launched around the middle of next year, with pricing being set closer to the time.
