In this Issue:

*	Update on WFW Support for other Networks
*	Update on WFW Support for other Protocols
*	Whitepapers available for WFW!!
*	Latest info on WFW support from 3270 and other mainframe emulation vendors
*	WFW Myths & Realities
*	Novell Update
*	COMDEX Awards
*	WFW Momentum Document

I.	Update on WFW support for other networks

VINES: Banyan has now publicly announced that they will support WFW in their 4.11 and 5.0 
releases of VINES by the end of the year. We have been working closely with them and expect them 
to go into beta with their WFW install and modified files in December. Beta details should be 
available soon.

Pathworks: Digital has also announced support for WFW as a client on a Pathworks network. They 
have been doing extensive testing in their environment and have completed a draft technote on how 
to install WFW on a Pathworks network. This document should be available from Digital's product 
support group. 

PC-NFS: We have also been busy with Sun's engineers working on issues between Windows for 
Workgroups and PC-NFS. While there are no concrete things to announce at this time, it looks likely 
that WFW will interoperate with Sun machines in the near future.

II.	Update on WFW Support for other Protocols

MS TCP/IP: The Corporate and Networked Systems group is hard at work on a package that makes 
the LAN Manager TCP/IP protocol stack available to customers running WFW(they need not be 
running LAN Manager at all).  The box will include the current real mode TCP stack with a 
graphical install designed for WFW. This product will NOT include the TCP/IP utilities, but will 
support the Windows sockets interface and so it should work with other 3rd party utilities that are 
written to sockets. We plan to be in beta test with this product by late December with RTM scheduled 
for the first quarter. In the meantime, if customers have LAN Manager servers installed today 
running TCP, we will support them getting TCP working with any WFW clients they may want to 
purchase through their paid LAN Manager support contract. But you should know that until we have 
the WFW version of  the stack, this will not be a simple process(see WFW Resource Kit for the gory 
details) so you should manage your customers expectations accordingly.

DLC: The story is very similar here. We are working on separate product for WFW. It should RTM 
late in the first quarter and we plan to be in beta by mid December.

3rd Party TCP's: Both NetManage with their Chameleon product, and Spry Technology with their 
Air product have announced support for Windows for Workgroups. NetManage is based in the Bay 
Area and Spry is based out of  Seattle.

III.	Whitepapers available for Windows for Workgroups!!

We are pleased to announce the imminent availability of whitepapers from the Windows for 
Workgroups Product group on the following topics:

"How Windows for Workgroups Can Add Value to Your Existing Network;" This 24 page paper is a 
(relatively) succinct summary of both the compelling points for putting WFW on a large corporate 
network and the responses to typical corporate concerns(ie security, integration with existing LAN 
and mail systems, performance, mainframe connectivity, remote access, administration, etc). It is a 
must read/have for any large account rep. We are in the process of having nice copies produced and 
obtaining an orderable part number. The papers should be widely available shortly.

"How Microsoft Windows for Workgroups Version 3.1 Can Help Your Small Business" This 24 page 
paper is written to a more basic level and focusses on the benefits of connectivity to a small business. 
It is full of screenshots of the product. It covers the basics of file and printer sharing, email, and group 
scheduling and finishes with a discussion of how WFW is uniquely positioned to grow as the 
company's needs grow. This paper is slightly ahead of the first one in development  and so it has an 
orderable part number now. That number is: 098-50178. Stock should be available imminently if it 
isn't today. 

"Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.1 -- Architectural Highlights" This 25 page paper 
goes into more detail on some of the impressive technical aspects of Windows for Workgroups 
including: the 32-bit VxD network components, automatic netcard detection, interoperability with 
other networks, network DDE, password caching and the encryption algorithms used to protect the 
password cache. Again this paper does not have a part number yet but will be available shortly.

IV.	Latest info on WFW support from 3270 and other mainframe emulation 
vendors

We've had many questions on how WFW connects to mainframe environments. The answer in 
general is "the same Windows 3.1 does." Here is the specific info we have on which mainframe 
connectivity packages support WFW at this time:

Mainframe connectivity products typically run in one of two ways, 1) direct connect to mainframes 
running 3270 emulation software or, 2) on a LAN, through an SNA gateway (like comm server) and 
the wksta still runs 3270 emulation software.

In case 1, the workstation must be running DLC, and to date MSDLC.EXE is the only DLC that has 
been found to work with Windows for Workgroups.  In case 2, the gateway handles the SDLC 
interface to the host, and the workstation communicates with the gateway using their NOS (usually 
netbios).

Here are the key host connectivity vendors, their phone numbers, and their
products with a brief description.  To repeat, all of these companies claim to have tested with WFW 
and to work fine. Attachmate is the only product where problems have been found and I note the fix 
needed to address this situation.

Attachmate - 800-426-6283
=======================
Extra! for Windows
3270 emulation
Direct to host or through gateway product on LAN (they sell one)
Details:  WFW running VxD netbeui, MSDLC, and Attachmate's Extra! doesn't
work today.  Attachmate is working on fix, which they may be distributing
already.  WFW running real mode netbeui, MSDLC and Extra! works fine today
with some tweaks (load MSDLC last, "dynamic=yes" statement needed in MS$NETBEUI section of 
protocol.ini).

Wall Data - 206-883-4777
=======================
Rumba
3270 and 5250 emulation and VAX running VMS or Ultrix (by Feb 1)
Direct to host or through gateway on LAN

Eicon Technology - 514-631-2592
===============================
Access for Windows
3270 and 5250 emulation
Direct to host or through gateway product on LAN

Network Software Associates (NSA) - 714-768-4013
=============================================
DynaComm/Elite
3270 emulation
Direct to host or through gateway on LAN

Walker Richer Quinn - 800-872-2829
================================
Reflection 1 and Reflection 2
HP 700/92 and 2392A emulation and VT320  emulation
Direct to host or through gateway on LAN

V.	WFW Myths & Realities

This section is a place where we regularly debunk common misperceptions that exist about WFW.  Here 
are a few to start:

Myth:  WFW is great if you're running all Windows machines but it leaves DOS and Mac users out 
in the cold.

Reality: There are several ways in which WFW interoperates with DOS and Mac machines:

1. DOS clients are easily made part of the WFW network by purchasing the Workgroup Connection 
product. This product lets a DOS user:

*	Connect to a WFW or a LAN Manager server machine and read or write information 
from/to that machine;
*	Print to a WFW or LAN Manager server machine;
*	Exchange email with WFW mail users.

Additionally, there are several companies (Performance Technology with their PowerLAN product is 
one) that have announced DOS based file and print servers that will interoperate with Windows for 
Workgroups networks. This means that running their product on a DOS machine will allow it to be a 
server that WFW machines can copy files from and send print jobs to.

2. For Mac users, customers can purchase WFW plus the Mail and Sched+ Extensions product to 
upgrade their mail post office and add support for Mac clients. Then they would need client licenses 
for their Mac machines and they would be setup to exchange mail with a WFW network.

For file and printer sharing the customer would need to install a NetWare or LAN Manager server 
with Mac services.

Myth: WFW does not work properly with Novell networks.

Reality: The code we use to achieve NetWare connectivity is 95% written by Novell themselves. They 
wrote it for Windows 3.1 and we just re-used it for WFW. There is one small piece of code that  
provides an interface between  Novell's IPX transport protocol and our Protocol Manager code that we 
wrote and that's it. We have done extensive testing with NetWare and WFW and despite alot of hand 
waving and "noise," there is virtually nothing that does not work just fine. Here are the things that 
don't work so you know them:

1. If a customer is running NetWare over ArcNet cards, we will not support simultaneous connections 
to both the NetWare server and other WFW machines over this network. The customer would have to 
switch to Ethernet or Token Ring cards to get that capability.  We do support EITHER NetWare OR 
WFW connections on ArcNet, just not both simultaneously.

2. If a customer is currently using NetWare with Novell's ODI drivers for their network cards and 
they are not willing to switch to the NDIS drivers for their cards(most cards  have both drivers 
available), then Windows for Workgroups will not run on the machines since we currently only 
support NDIS drivers. This will be a problem for customers that are heavily invested in Novell's LAN 
Workplace product for TCP connectivity since that product requires ODI drivers to work properly. 
But LAN Workplace is the only ODI dependent application that we have seen in any quantity among 
customers.  We are working on addressing ODI support in the next release of the product, but do 
NOT promise anything to customers at this time.

3. Novell and named pipes: Windows for Workgroups does not support Novell's implementation of 
named pipes so any application running on the NetWare server that uses named pipes will not work 
with WFW. The important thing to know here is that SQL Server, which is by far the most common 
situation like this that you're likely to find, has a resolution. Microsoft has announced the SQL Server 
NIK(Network Integration Kit) that will remove SQL Server's dependence on named pipes and 
therefore address this problem for customers.

4. Finally, customers running NetBIOS applications(like Notes) from their NetWare server will find 
that they need to do four things in order to have those applications work correctly on WFW  
machines:

1. Install WFW
2. There will be a line with "netbios.exe" in it from their previous autoexec that they will have to stick 
back in their WFW autoexec file.
3. Run a little Windows utility we've created called novconf.exe from the FileMan or ProgMan. This 
will automatically modify some config files.
4. Reboot their machine.

Anyone that needs novconf.exe can get it from their local Microsoft rep or from the Windows for 
Workgroups forum on CompuServe.

Myth: WFW is not a secure client for the enterprise network

Reality: Windows for Workgroups is as secure as any other LAN client available today. Some of the 
important things to understand here are:

*	Windows for Workgroups respects any existing server-based security scheme that may already be 
in place. So the organization's server-based mission-critical, sensitive data is no more at risk with 
WFW on the network than it was with Win 3.1.
*	WFW's use of password caching means that users don't have to resupply passwords each time 
they log onto the corporate servers b/c those passwords are stored in a **very secure** password 
cache on their hard disk. The encryption algorithm for this cache is certified by the National 
Security Agency. The only way to unlock this cache is for the user to supply their unique master 
logon password. This configuration can actually enhance security in a corporate setting b/c when 
people have to retype passwords everytime they logon they often write them down somewhere in 
case they forget them. This becomes unnecessary with WFW.
*	The peer to peer sharing capabilities in WFW are perfectly secure. The only way to gain access to 
resources on a WFW machine is to know the password or to gain access to the machine, which is 
no different than with Windows 3.1 or any other LAN client available today.
*	The peer sharing capabilities of WFW can be selectively enabled by either the user or the 
administrator at install time. So an administrator can setup the WFW files on a server so that 
when an end user installs the product they have either capabilities for both file and printer 
sharing, capability to do one or the other, or no capability to do either. This is very 
straightforward to do and is documented in the WFW Resource Kit.

For more information on this and other enterprise network issues, see the whitepaper announced 
above on "How Windows for Workgroups Can Add Value to Your Existing Network."

VI.	Novell Update

To briefly update you on the Novell situation.  Our current public position is:

*	WFW is shipping with the NetWare client software as licensed by Novell. We have a valid license 
and will continue to ship this code.  Their has been no recall or stopping of shipments due to the 
Novell dispute.

*	There has been some confusion/disagreement with Novell over the licensing of these components for 
WFW.  Microsoft and Novell are in discussions now and hope to resolve this situation as soon as 
possible.

*	WFW works on NetWare networks and has been extensively tested by Microsoft and thousands of 
beta testers.

VII.	COMDEX Awards

WFW had a great COMDEX show. In addition to thronging masses at all WFW stations and theatres, 
the product won three very key awards:

PC Magazine Technical Excellence Award for Network Operating Systems
PC Computing MVP Award;
Best of COMDEX in Networking category as chosen by BYTE Magazine editors

These awards are good evidence that people that evaluate software products for a living think WFW is 
a hot product!!

Finally, the most recent PC Magazine(December 12th Issue) features an extremely positive review of 
Windows for Workgroups. PC Magazine is widely respected as a source for objective reviews of new 
products in the PC marketplace.

VIII.	WFW Momentum

Momentum for WFW continues to build. Our current run rate of product is nearly at our steady state 
expectations and already makes us nearly the market leader in the peer to peer category. Egghead, our 
largest retail partner, has told us they are pleased with the the product's performance in their stores 
and has ordered more quantity. We also continue to hear about successful seminars that you all are 
running around the country -- these seminars seem to be the most effective way of helping customers 
understand the product well enough to move ahead to trial. We will continue our corporate sponsored 
introductory seminars through February. Finally, we continue to get feedback through CompuServe 
and even the press that gives us a sense of growing enthusiasm for the product. Check out the 
following message from a CompuServe and excerpt from Corporate Computing's January 1993 issue:
=============================================================
FROM COMPUSERVE....
#: 3935 S1/Wrkgrp Non Tech Srv
    14-Dec-92  08:50:53
Sb: WFW is Great!
Fm: William Wolf 76420,3346
To: August Hahn 72360,1177 (X)

August, I want to congratulate the Microsoft team on the WFW product and publicly puff it in hopes 
of encouraging others to implement WFW at their worksites.  I have had great sucs so far connecting 
15 users on two floors of our building using existing twisted pair wiring and Asante smart hubs in 
three phone closets.  I plan to add 15 more users.  Thus far I have had to spend minimal time and 
money, have had almost no hassles, and I am thrilled to not have to master arcane configurations and 
administration procedures.  The WFW result is a functioning network that is blindingly fast for file 
transfer and printing, has a great user interface, and a very impressive suite of workgroup software 
that we enjoy using.  When sharing resources on my 386dx the performance degradation is  
imperceptible for local computing, and were it not for the cpu meter I often wouldn't notice when my 
machine is also working for someone else.
     I had purposely been avoiding Novell and Lan Manager because of the steep investment and 
learning curves.  When NT is released we wiprobably add a dedicated peer running it.  Thanks again-
-from the Center for AIDS Prevention Research at the University of California, San Francisco.
==============================================================
From CORPORATE COMPUTING's January 1993 Issue. The article is "Best Buys for 1993 -- 
Fifty Tools You'll Need to Improve The Way Your Enterprise Works."

#26 Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.1: "Trade show attendees know there's always at least one 
session in which the PC software giants promise to deliver workgroup productivity. These bull 
sessions used to be a superb time to catch up on magazine reading.
	Now that Microsoft has weighed in with Windows for Workgroups, however, that's no longer 
true. In 1993, look for Windows-based enterprises to move to the new software, lured by its file-
sharing features, bundled mail, and group scheduling applications.
	Windows for Workgroups injects outstanding networking features and functionality into 
Microsoft's flagship Windows 3.1 operating environment. By providing plug-and-play simplicity for 
installing, configuring, and customizing Windows clients on a PC network, Windows for Workgroups 
makes short work of what used to be one of IS's most arduous and thankless jobs. More important, the 
software also lets users share information on their PC's hard disks without having to copy files to a 
centralized server. Users can work with files on remote drives as if they were located in their own 
computers.
	If this kind of decentralized networking seems like a support nightmare, think again. The time 
savings offered by immediate access to strategic information, coupled with the productivity increases 
resulting from effective collaboration, can translate to a significant competitive advantage for your 
company."
==============================================================

That's it for this issue. Stay tuned for more news as it breaks.

Windows for Workgroups Product Management
Windows for Workgroups Product Update		Page 5

"The Windows for Workgroups Update"
The latest news affecting the Windows for Workgroups Product

Issue 1	January 4, 1993




