<s>
Network	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
Reference	I-Device
Profile	I-Device
(	O
NC	B-Device
reference	I-Device
profile	I-Device
,	O
NCRP	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
specification	O
for	O
a	O
network	B-Operating_System
computer	I-Operating_System
put	O
forward	O
by	O
Oracle	B-Application
Corporation	I-Application
,	O
endorsed	O
by	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
,	O
IBM	O
,	O
Apple	O
Computer	O
,	O
and	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
finalized	O
in	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
this	O
specification	O
was	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
NC1	B-Device
Reference	O
Profile	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
software	O
requirements	O
were	O
support	O
of	O
IP-based	O
protocols	O
(	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
,	O
FTP	B-Protocol
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
)	O
,	O
www	O
standards	O
(	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
,	O
HTML	B-Language
,	O
Java	B-Device
)	O
,	O
email	O
protocols	O
,	O
multimedia	O
file	O
formats	O
,	O
security	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
used	O
were	O
NCOS	B-Operating_System
or	O
JavaOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
this	O
initial	O
NC	O
standard	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
promote	O
the	O
diskless	B-Device
workstation	I-Device
model	O
of	O
computing	O
,	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
preclude	O
computers	O
with	O
additional	O
features	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
operate	O
either	O
as	O
a	O
diskless	B-Device
workstation	I-Device
or	O
a	O
conventional	O
fat	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
an	O
ordinary	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
(	O
PC	O
)	O
having	O
all	O
the	O
required	O
features	O
,	O
could	O
technically	O
be	O
classified	O
as	O
a	O
Network	B-Operating_System
Computer	I-Operating_System
;	O
indeed	O
,	O
Sun	O
noted	O
that	O
contemporary	O
PCs	B-Device
did	O
indeed	O
meet	O
the	O
NC	O
reference	O
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reference	O
profile	O
was	O
subsequently	O
revised	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
StrongARM	B-Device
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
a	O
trip	O
by	O
Ellison	O
to	O
Acer	O
Group	O
headquarters	O
in	O
1996	O
,	O
he	O
realised	O
the	O
importance	O
to	O
industry	O
of	O
having	O
products	O
based	O
on	O
Intel	O
(	O
x86-compatible	O
)	O
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
NCs	O
operated	O
via	O
protocols	O
such	O
as	O
BOOTP	B-Device
,	O
DHCP	B-Protocol
,	O
RARP	B-Protocol
and	O
NFS	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
for	O
ISP-bound	O
and	O
LAN-based	O
reference	O
implementation	O
NCs	O
,	O
a	O
smartcard	O
option	O
was	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allowed	O
user	O
authentication	O
to	O
be	O
performed	O
in	O
a	O
secure	O
manner	O
,	O
with	O
SSL	B-Protocol
providing	O
transport	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
configuration	O
data	O
was	O
not	O
required	O
for	O
LAN-based	O
NCs	O
.	O
</s>
