Question: What is the next planned release of Open Transport?
Answer: Open Transport 1.5 is the next planned release of Open Transport. OT 1.5 is planned to be feature-driven, and is expected for release in first quarter CY1997. Some of the key features planned include:
* AppleScript support in AppleTalk and TCP/IP control panels
* API for developers to access configuration data
* Integrated PPP for AT & TCP
* Multi-homing for AT & TCP
* Multi-node support for AT & TCP
* SNMP support
Question: What about the Apple Internet Router? Will it be revised for Open Transport?
Answer: Apple is not announcing future plans regarding this product at this time.
Question: Will Apple or Novell deliver an Open Transport-ready Mac OS client that uses IPX protocols?
Answer: Novell currently offers the NetWare Client for Mac OS v5.1, providing access to file, print, and NetWare Directory Services (NDS) using NCP/IPX protocols. An Open Transport-ready implementation of NetWare protocols and client services is currently under investigation. The two companies are not ready to announce product details or availability at this time.
Question: Will Apple or Microsoft deliver an Open Transport-ready Mac OS client that uses NetBIOS/TCP protocols?
Answer: Windows NT AS currently includes strong Mac OS connectivity solutions based on AppleTalk protocols. Other protocol options are under investigation at Apple, Microsoft, and with third parties. No additional details are available at this time.
Question: What standards are to be supported by OT/PPP?
* RFC 1661 - PPP
* RFC 1662 - PPP in HDLC-like framing
* RFC 1570 - PPP LCP extensions
* RFC 1334 - PPP Authentication protocols
* RFC 1663 - PPP Reliable transmission
* RFC 1378 - ATCP AppleTalk Control Protocol
* RFC 1332 - IPCP Internet Protocol Control Protocol
* RFC ???? - IPsec
* RFC ???? - DHCP Client ID
Question: What about IP version 6 (IPv6) support in Open Transport?
Answer: IPv6 is an proposed update of the current Internet Protocol (IPv4), part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols used to allow computers to communicate with each other over the Internet. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is in the process of specifying the standards for IPv6.
IPv6 is being designed to respond to the limitations of IPv4 - including an upcoming shortage of new IP addresses - to allow for the continued expansion of the Internet and deployment on corporate networks. IPv6 also incorporates new functionality to provide security, multimedia support, and plug and play capabilities, features necessary to usher the Internet into the twenty-first century.
At the October 1995 Networld+InterOp trade show, Apple and Mentat demonstrated a prototype of Internet Protocol Version 6 running on Open Transport. The demonstration showed the flexibility of the Open Transport environment - with current IPv4 applications such as Fetch, Netscape, and Web*Star running unmodified with IPv6 support - and showed the benefits of Open Transport's underlying standards based architecture - facilitating code portability. The demonstration also included basic interoperability testing with IPv6 prototype implementations from DEC and HP, using standard IP utilities such as Ping and Telnet.
Apple and Mentat will continue to work together to ensure timely availability of IPv6 for Mac OS once the standard has been completed.
Question: Will Open Transport v2.0, for Mac OS 8, offer any new capabilities?
Answer: Yes. Open Transport v2.0 is being designed to take full advantage of the new microkernel services available in Mac OS 8. As a result, Open Transport networking on Mac OS 8 is planned as a set of multithreaded, preemptively scheduled tasks running in protected memory.
To a user, this will mean that networking will be even more robust and higher performance. To a developer, this will mean that a rogue application running in another memory space will not be able to corrupt system level networking task.
In addition, Open Transport v2.0 is expected to incorporate a second generation update to the human interface introduced with Open Transport v1.0.
Current plans call for this release to include support for features such as:
* Configuration selection will be integrated with system level workspaces
and the location assistance toolbox;
* Advanced end-users and network administrators will be able to configure
a protocol stack for simultaneous support of multiple network
connections (multihoming);
* Administrators will find additional trouble-shooting tools (such as
Ping, traceroute, local ARP cache, access to local routing tables, and
others) integrated with the configuration utilities;
* Support for AppleScript*; and
* Desktop aliases for network configurations to allow double-click
reconfiguration of services.
Open Transport 2.0 is also planned to include integrated support for NetWare/IPX, X.25, ATM, and ISDN.