Media Contact:
Naomi Pearce
Pearce Communications
510/528-0824
mailto:naomi@well.com
SOPHISTICATED CIRCUITS ANNOUNCES REBOUND! NOW AVAILABLE TO GENERAL PUBLIC
-- Auto-Restart ADB Device Ensures Server Reliability, Automatically --
BOTHELL, Wash., June 29, 1998 -- Sophisticated Circuits today announced
Rebound!(tm) is now available to the general public. Previously available
exclusively with WebSTAR 3.0, the leading Web server on the Macintosh
platform, Rebound! is the newest member of the PowerKey family of products
which continuously monitors an active server for failures and, when
necessary, automatically reboots the system by sending the keyboard restart
key sequence. A highly integrated hardware/software solution, Rebound!
provides a fully automated system for ensuring reliability and optimal
up-time for Mac OS-based servers worldwide. Rebound! is now available to
the general public for a street price of $99 at
(http://www.sophisticated.com/).
"Every well-designed web site or mission critical server should have a
Rebound!," said Eric Zelenka, product manager for WebSTAR. "Our WebSTAR
customers are using Rebound! as an essential part of their overall server
reliability strategy, addressing one aspect of back-end fault tolerance.
Rebound! is inexpensive enough that no server should be without one."
"The Macintosh Server G3 is built on the strength of the PowerPC G3
microprocessor, delivering twice the network performance of previous Apple
server products," said Stan Ng, Apple Computer product manager. "Rebound!
provides a great tool for increased server reliability. Its simple, yet
powerful, capabilities fit extremely well with the ease of use and
flexibility of Apple's new G3 servers."
Rebound! is World-Ready
Sophisticated Circuits has been refining its proven Server Restart Option
(SRO) technology since January of 1997, however, Rebound! is the first
product in Sophisticated Circuits' PowerKey family of products to be
available to all international users. Rebound! is powered by the ADB rather
than the wall current, allowing it to work in any part of the world,
regardless of line voltage. Rebound! is fully CE compliant and FCC
approved.
"Rebound! brings PowerKey Pro's Server Restart Option to markets where that
product is not yet available, making it a very attractive reliability tool
for international users," said Jonathan Feinstein of Sophisticated
Circuits.
How Rebound! Works
Rebound!'s patent-pending technology starts working immediately and
constantly watches the operating system by communicating with the OS
itself. An update to the Rebound! Extension software is also being released
today (see related release dated 6.29.98). The Rebound! Extension software
sends a ping to the Rebound! device, which resets its timer at regular
intervals. Once set, this timer starts counting down to zero. As long as
the operating system is running, the Rebound! Extension software will
continue to reset the timer so it never actually reaches zero. If, however,
the system freezes or crashes, the timer will naturally expire and Rebound!
will send a command-control-power-on keyboard restart sequence. Rebound!
uses a background application, rather than a driver, allowing the widest
range of potential freezes and crashes to be detected.
"This has to be one of the coolest things I have seen," said John
Bertagnolli from US West Dex in Aurora Colorado. "I am running some batch
processes and have had to deal with network hangs by babysitting six
machines about 16 hours a day. Now I have the Rebound!s installed, and a
startup application that pages me whenever the machine restarts, which
means I only have to deal with the machines whenever I get a page. I am
able to get so much more accomplished."
Fully scriptable, Rebound! software can receive and respond to AppleEvents.
Rebound! has Apple Guide online help built-in. The market-leader for Mac
auto restart devices, Sophisticated Circuits has been in the Macintosh
business since 1984 and has a tremendous amount of support from the
developer community, allowing Sophisticated Circuits to be the only company
offering multiple levels of protection and application-level crash
detection.
Only Restart Device with Application-Level Support
In addition to watching the operating system, Rebound!, like its sibling
PowerKey Pro, can also watch server applications with sophisticated
application-level crash detection. Sophisticated Circuits has created an
Application Programming Interface (API) which software developers use to
support Rebound! and PowerKey Pro in their products. A product with
Rebound! support periodically sets a timer in the Rebound! software, in
much the same way that the Rebound! software sets a timer in the hardware.
Rebound! includes patent-pending technology which allows it to
simultaneously monitor multiple applications, ensuring each application is
functioning the way the developer intended. Rebound! keeps separate timers
for each application, and if any application stops responding, Rebound! can
restart the system.
"Developers immediately saw the advantage of providing their own
'heartbeat,'" Feinstein explained. "Each developer knows the workings of
their software better than anyone on the outside ever could. By relying on
status information provided from within the running applications, we can be
sure that Rebound! does not confuse a heavily loaded server for a crashed
machine."
Vendors with software supporting this technology include: StarNine
Technologies, Inc.; Maxum Development Corp.; Imagina, Inc.; Purity
Software, Inc.; Stalker Software, Inc.; Spider Island Software; MDG
Computer Services, Inc.; Social Engineering Inc.; and Fog City Software. We
expect a number of companies to announce support for this technology in the
near future.
"Rebound! is quite simply the most elegant tool available for increasing
your server's reliability," stated Nathan Nunn, president of Purity
Software. "I highly recommend this product for use with any Mac OS-based
server -- especially when you consider how much money it saves you each and
every time your server could potentially go down for hours on end without
it."
Pricing and Availability
Rebound! is priced at $99US and is available today directly from
Sophisticated Circuits by calling 800/769-3773, +425/485-7979, or accessing
the Web site at (http://www.sophisticated.com/). A Crash Test Application
is also available to test the functionality of the set-up. Special volume
and dealer pricing is available by contacting Sophisticated Circuits.
About Sophisticated Circuits
Founded in 1984, Sophisticated Circuits, Inc. is a privately held
corporation located in Bothell, Wash. Sophisticated Circuits, Inc. develops
elegant, highly integrated hardware/software tools which make the lives of
computer professionals easier by enhancing the reliability, remote access
and automation capabilities of servers and personal computers. Further
information on Sophisticated Circuits may be obtained by accessing
Sophisticated Circuits' Web site at (http://www.sophisticated.com/),
calling 800/769-3773, or sending mailto:info@sophisticated.com.
International inquiries can also reach Sophisticated Circuits by calling
+425/485-7979, or by sending a fax to +425/485-7172.
