FTP focuses on IP

FTP Software (FTPS) took the first step in reinventing itself as a provider of utilities for networks based on Internet Protocol (IP), the standard for communication over the Internet.

FTP Software previously sold a TCP/IP stack for Microsoft Windows operating systems, a lucrative niche until Microsoft decided to include the stack with its operating systems. Now, with products like Secure Client 3.0, available today, the company hopes to extend the functionality of IP networks.

The Secure Client allows an administrator to diagnose and monitor IP connections, allows a user to connect from a variety of locations using the same IP address, and supports the emerging IP version 6.0 standard, as well as the Mobile IP, IP Multicasting, and WinSock 2.0 standards.

The Secure Client provides an IP connection using a standard Windows 95 interface, which enables users to be easily networked, according to J.D. Stanley, a senior product manager.

The product will also be able to take advantage of a set of Java-based management agents that FTP Software will roll out in the coming months for administrators who want to include "push" technology as part of their networks' communication and distribution methods.

FTP Software also announced new versions of its InterDrive server and client Network File System (NFS) software products that allow NFS clients access to Microsoft Windows 95 or NT file systems across a network.

Secure Client 3.0 is priced at $300 per copy and $95 for a migration copy.