CREN's IRA product comes in several pieces. The first piece is an IBM P/370* board (VM co-processor) designed to be installed in a PS/2* or an RS 6000*. Because the ethernet support essential for the IRA application is not yet available for the RS 6000, only the PS/2 version of the product is currently operational.

The second IRA component is the bundled software consisting of VM/ESA 370 Feature, the application pieces of VM necessary to run RSCS and FAL, and CREN-provided software. The IBM software is licensed in two versions. A single-user license allows the VM co-processor to be used as a network server. A multi-user license allows the VM co-processor to be used as a time-sharing system supporting up to 16 simultaneous users.

The third piece is a maintenance contract. Maintenance will cover the card and bundled software. If the card fails while under maintenance CREN will replace it. The first year maintenance cost is bundled into the price of the system.

The fourth piece consists of application software provided by other vendors not included in IRA, such as VMnet. You will need to license that software directly from the source.

Of course you will also need to acquire a suitable Micro Channel* PS/2* computer running OS/2*. Upon request, we will provide you with advice on how to configure a system for your application.

If your institution is a member of the IBM Higher Education Software Consortium (HESC) with a license to run VM/ESA 370 Feature, RSCS, FAL, and the C and VS/Pascal run-time libraries, the cost of the system is reduced because you will be able to use Software licensed under that agreement on this system as long as you hold a license to that software. If you discontinue your HESC license you will have to pay a one-time fee equal to the difference between the HESC and non HESC prices applicable at that time to continue to operate this system.

The prices which follow cover the card and the bundled software. These have been described above as pieces one and two and constitute the CREN product IRA. They also cover the first year of maintenance. They do not cover software provided by other vendors such as VMnet or acquisition of a suitable PS/2. For institutions that are members of HESC with licenses covering the IBM licensed software described above, and that sign an agreement covering this system under their HESC agreement, the cost of IRA is $5995 for CREN members and $7995 for non CREN members for both the single-user and multi-user versions of IRA. For institutions not holding HESC licenses for the IBM licensed software described above: the cost of IRA for the single-user version of IRA is $11995 for CREN members and $14495 for non CREN members; and the cost of the multi-user version for members of CREN is $16995 and $19,995 for non CREN members. We expect the annual maintenance cost after the first year to be about $1000 per year for CREN members and $2000 per year for non CREN members.

The product is currently available to run on PS/2 systems and CREN has a small number of cards in its inventory for immediate delivery.

Information about this CREN product including pricing and availability can be obtained by contacting CREN at 1150 18th Street, N.W., Suite 1030 Washington, DC., 20036. Or call 202-293-5909. Or send e-mail to IRA@cren.net.

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* Indicates trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.