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FOR RELEASE: Immediately
CONTACT: Lyndon Holmes (978) 975-7570

Knowledge Host® Client/Server Solutions Now Available from Aries Systems

London -- December 2, 1996. Building on a decade-long legacy of innovation in medical literature retrieval, Aries Systems Corporation (North Andover, Massachusetts, USA, tel 978-975-7570; fax 978-975-3811, e-mail kfinder@ariessys.com) today announced the immediate availability of Knowledge Host, its high-performance client-server software for medical reference and full-text databases.

The Knowledge Host client/server computing environment offers efficient, flexible and comprehensive access to Knowledge Finder ® medical literature databases across local and wide area networks, partitioning traditional database search and access functions to optimize use of system resources. Compute-intensive database search processes run on powerful central network servers, while sophisticated client software provides intuitive user query formulation, browsing control and content presentation at distributed network workstations. Data compression and TCP/IP protocols minimize demands on valuable network bandwidth.

Use of industry-standard communications protocols, hardware platforms and operating systems makes Knowledge Host the distributed architecture of choice in small and large institutional network environments. Knowledge Host server software is available for Sun Sparc® /Solaris® , IBM® RS-6000/AIX, Windows^TM NT, and Apple® Macintosh®.

A Knowledge Host server system may be configured with single or multiple server systems and/or processors. When configured with more than one server element, Knowledge Host uses Aries' Clustered Host Asymmetric MultiProcessor (CHAMP) architecture. CHAMP provides modular growth, redundancy and reliability configuration options. As search service requirements and loads grow over time, processing capacity can be increased by adding CPU(s) to an existing machine, adding additional, similar machines or adding additional, dissimilar machines.

Knowledge Host incorporates the acclaimed Knowledge Finder search methodologies and database technologies. These include Fuzzy and Boolean logic free-text searching, thesaurus browsing, search results relevance ranking, integrated bibliographic and full-text database access, and highly compressed space-saving database configurations.

All of Aries Systems' Knowledge Finder CD-ROM medical reference and full-text databases can be used with Knowledge Host, and include the option for magnetic hard drive uploading to enhance server performance. Bibliographic databases include the MEDLINE®, CINAHL® for nursing and allied health from CINAHL Information Systems; PsycLIT® from the American Psychological Association; and EMBASE Alert® from Elsevier Science B.V. In cooperation with journal publishers, Aries also produces a number of full-text journal CD-ROMs, incorporating the full-text, images, charts graphs and tables from the journal, as well as MEDLINE abstracts linked to article bibliographies. These titles include The New England Journal of Medicine, Anesthesiology, Anesthesia & Analgesia, Neurosurgery, British Journal of Anaesthesia, Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia, Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American Edition).

Knowledge Host has undergone extensive beta testing during the past 12 months, and test sites in Europe and the United States consistently report on ease-of-installation, outstanding performance, and a high level of end-user satisfaction. Lyndon Holmes, president of Aries Systems, said "The enthusiastic responses we've had from our institutional and academic customers confirm that we're right on track with both the concept and implementation of the Knowledge Host client/server. We now have sites using all of the supported server and client configurations, demonstrating the ability of Knowledge Host and CHAMP technology to integrate economically with the organization's existing technology infrastructure."

Aries Systems Corporation was founded in 1986, to develop innovative information retrieval and dissemination products, with special emphases in the fields of biomedicine and science. Aries Systems works cooperatively with other organizations in the information and health care industries, to identify and deliver improved knowledge access and delivery tools.

Knowledge Host, Knowledge Finder, "Enhancing the Power of Knowledge" and the Pennant logo are trademarks of Aries Systems Corporation. All other trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners. Copyright © 1996, Aries Systems Corporation. All Rights Reserved.