For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Naomi Pearce
Pearce Communications
510/528-0824
Email: naomi@well.com
Investor Contact:
Fiona Ross
The Financial Relations Board, Inc.
(310) 442-0599
Email: far@la.frbd.com
STARNINE AND MEN & MICE COLLABORATE TO ADD LOAD BALANCING AND FAULT
TOLERANCE TO WEBSTAR WEB SITES
— Free WebSTAR Plug-in Communicates with QuickDNS Pro Domain Name Server —
BERKELEY, Calif., July 23, 1997 — StarNine Technologies, Inc., a
subsidiary of Quarterdeck Corporation, and Men & Mice, Inc. today announced
the completion of a collaborative development project to increase
performance of WebSTAR Web sites and provide fault tolerance for sites
running more than one copy of WebSTAR. StarNine’s WebSTAR QuickDNS
Responder Plug-in provides server load and status information to Men and
Mice’s new QuickDNS Pro 2.0 domain name server, allowing QuickDNS to
efficiently allocate server load and to redirect hits if a server is not
responding.
Available today for download at (http://www.starnine.com/quickdns/),
QuickDNS Pro 2.0 minimizes misdirected visitor hits, enhances server
performance and includes new features for more flexible administration.
When used in conjunction with WebSTAR and the free WebSTAR QuickDNS
Responder Plug-in, Webmasters can achieve the highest available reliability
and Web site performance on the Mac OS. QuickDNS Pro will be available for
$290 from StarNine, and WebSTAR is priced at $495. Existing WebSTAR sites
can purchase both products for a combined price of $585, a savings of $200.
“Webmasters need to insure that their site is always available and
performing at its peak,” explained Eric Zelenka, WebSTAR product manager at
StarNine. “A site with at least two WebSTAR servers and a copy of QuickDNS
Pro is getting peak performance because of the intelligently distributed
load. Plus, they’re protected in case one of the servers fails for any
reason, because QuickDNS notices the server is not responding, and
redirects hits to the other server. This also makes it easier to take a
server down for maintenance or upgrades.”
Intelligent Load Balancing Enhances Performance
The Intelligent Load Balancing capabilities enhances site performance by
intelligently assigning a “load factor” to different machines based on
their predetermined capacity. Useful for RAIC configurations, load
balancing is a significant improvement over load sharing, since loads are
assigned intelligently, rather than randomly. Besides improving site
performance, intelligent load balancing also eliminates inconsistent server
responses.
Intelligent Fault Tolerance Insures Maximum Server Availability
QuickDNS Pro 2.0 keeps track of servers on the network and only sends hits
to those that are responding. The WebSTAR Responder Plug-in periodically
sends a message to a QuickDNS Pro 2.0 server. Based on the response,
QuickDNS Pro 2.0 can instantly determine if a WebSTAR server is active, and
redirect hits to another server when necessary.
About Men and Mice
Men & Mice, Inc., headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, are pioneers in the
development of DNS technology for the Mac OS. In addition to developing and
marketing the QuickDNS Pro DNS server, Men & Mice is committed to the
continued development of innovative Internet software that enhances the
functionality and performance of Internet and intranet Web sites on the Mac
OS. Men & Mice can be reached via the Internet at
(http://www.menandmice.com/), by email at (info@menandmice.com), or by
phone at +354/552-2045.
About StarNine
StarNine Technologies, Inc. is a subsidiary of Quarterdeck Corporation
located in Berkeley, California, leading the development of Internet server
software, content creation tools, and email connectivity products. Best
known for its WebSTAR Web server software, StarNine also offers ListSTAR
list server software, WebCollage automated content creation software,
WebCatalog and WebMerchant electronic commerce products, Quarterdeck Mail
and Mail*Link Internet email gateways. Further information on StarNine may
be obtained by calling 510/649-4949, accessing StarNine’s Web site at
(http://www.starnine.com/), or by emailing info@starnine.com.
Quarterdeck Corporation, StarNine’s parent company, develops, markets, and
supports software that enhances the performance, user productivity and
cost-effectiveness of personal computing in standalone and networked
environments. Current products address diagnosis and resolution of software
and hardware conflicts, PC based communications and Internet connectivity,
storage and hard disk management, system performance, and Internet/intranet
information search and content management. The Company provides its
software solutions worldwide to individual, business, and
government/education users through retail distribution, resellers, direct
marketing operations, and Internet downloads.
Quarterdeck’s worldwide headquarters are in Marina del Rey, California,
with Dublin, Ireland serving as its European headquarters and Sydney
serving as its Australian headquarters. Further information on the Company
and its products may be obtained by calling 800-683-6696 toll free, or
813-523-9700, by accessing Quarterdeck’s Web site at
http://www.quarterdeck.com/, or by sending an email request to
info@quarterdeck.com.
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Quarterdeck, StarNine and WebSTAR are registered trademarks of Quarterdeck
Corporation or its subsidiaries. ListSTAR is a trademark of Quarterdeck
Corporation or its subsidiaries. QuickDNS is a trademark of Men & Mice,
Inc. All other brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to
the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions such as
“expected to” and “plans,” reflecting something other than historical fact
are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the
exclusive means of identifying such statements. These forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the
timely development and market acceptance of products and technologies,
successful integration of licensed technology, the ability to secure
additional sources of financing, the ability to reduce operating expenses
and other factors described in the Company’s filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. The actual results that the Company achieves may
differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and
uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligations to revise or update
any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances
that may arise after the date of this release.