ABSTRACT
THE INTEROPERABILITY OF WINDOWS 2000 WITH IBM (AND COMPATIBLE) mainframes, AS/400s, UNIX systems, and Novell NetWare environments is addressed by a set of Microsoft-developed features currently code-named “Babylon.” This interoperability with non-Windows systems is crucial to the success of Windows 2000, given that it is the newly re-architected, strategic replacement for Windows NT Servers and eventually also for Windows 95/98. From the perspective of IBM system users, Babylon in essence is a new version of the well-known Microsoft SNA Server gateway product which, as a component of Microsoft’s BackOffice suite, provides NT-centric host connectivity, SNA application access, and host data interchange. However, given that Babylon also addresses UNIX and NetWare related interoperability, its scope extends beyond SNA Server and also embraces other Microsoft offerings, such as:
• Services for UNIX • Services for NetWare • Microsoft Data Access Components (MDACs)
A formal definition of Babylon, a la Microsoft, would be that it is an Enterprise Integration Server platform for application and data interoperability between Windows 2000 and IBM OS/390 (including MVS), IBM OS/400 for AS/400s, UNIX, and NetWare. In addition, a complementary initiative
code-named “Latinum” deals with business process integration, document interchange, and workflow management across applications on both an intra-and inter-company basis.
