Both AIS and Microsoft have licensed the Sybase Open Architecture [Open Client, Open Server, and the Tabular Data Stream (TDS)] to implement the underpinnings of their respective client/server architecture products. Therefore, AIS not only implements the interfaces of the Microsoft architecture, but the underlying technology and peer-data-protocol (TDS) are the same. This affords UniAccess native mode compatibility with both Microsoft and Sybase products and technologies.

Common Technology Base

Sybase Open Client and Open Server is the foundation for all Sybase products as well as third-party and custom written applications. Open Client is the basis of Microsoft DB-Library, and Open Server is the basis of Microsoft Open Data Services. The AIS UniAccess Product Suite is a source code-based, licensed implementation of Sybase Open Client and Open Server. Any application developed to utilize Sybase Open Client can interoperate with Unisys OS 2200 applications and databases through the UniAccess Transaction Server. As an implementation of the Sybase Open Client, applications written on the Unisys OS 2200 mainframe using the UniAccess Transaction Client may interoperate with remote Sybase Open Server applications or the Sybase SQL Server.

Sybase Architecture

Sybase Open Client is the client-side Application Programming Interface supported by hundreds of tools across all leading platforms from the desktop to the mainframe. Sybase Open Server is a powerful server-side interface for distributed database systems designed to fully integrate any client application (CT-Lib, DB-Lib, ODBC, JDBC, Web), SQL and non-SQL data sources, and application services regardless of hardware platform, operating system or data format. The Open Server engine gives application programmers the flexibility to create solutions for a wide range of distributed computing problems. Together with Open Client (CT-Lib, DB-Lib) - Sybase's client-side interface for communicating to SQL Server or Open Server applications, customers receive a framework for building and deploying applications in a heterogeneous distributed computing environment.

Support for the Sybase architecture and Sybase Open Client and Open Server expands the interoperability of UniAccess. For example, an IBM mainframe application may call the Sybase Open Client for MVS and make SQL or RPC calls to UniAccess on the 2200. Through support of the Sybase architecture, UniAccess enables Unisys OS 2200’s to become clients or servers to all the Sybase Open Client and Open Sever supported platforms which includes all leading UNIX platforms, VAX/VMS, OS/2, IBM MVS, AS/400, among others. Information on Sybase Open Client, Open Server, and TDS can be found at http://www.sybase.com/.

By supporting both the Microsoft and Sybase architecture, UniAccess enables all OS 2200 applications and databases to become clients or servers to virtually all platforms and tools. This interoperability is also provided to the thousands of third party products which support the Microsoft and Sybase architectures for enterprise decision support, data integration, data warehousing, and high speed, distributed transaction processing.