IBM Corp and Cascade Communications Inc have announced a joint technology project to provide direct communication between CMOSbased, IBM System/390 Parallel Enterprise Servers and the Internet, intranets and wide area networks, reports Network Briefing. Providing a direct connection between networks and S/390 servers will significantly reduce the need for intermediate network gateway products, it says. The result will be faster, less expensive network access to S/390 data and applications, says IBM. The companies will write microcode to give users a direct connection between the S/390 Open Systems Adapter 2 feature and Cascade or selected IBM Nways switching equipment. It will give customers a more attractive alternative to leased, private lines to communicate with remote sites, says IBM. The project extends the technology alliance which was formed between the two companies last March (CI No 2,883).