Digital Expands PC Server Family With Reliable, Scalable Pentium
Application Servers

Launches Prioris Brand Name And New Power Scale Architecture

MAYNARD, Mass. -- December 5, 1994 -- Digital Equipment Corporation today
announced its Prioris HX family of highly-scalable PC servers. The first
two systems in a new class of Pentium symmetric multi-processing
applications servers from Digital, the Prioris HX systems feature the
company's new Power Scale architecture and are the first PC servers in the
industry to integrate a PCI-to-PCI bridge, unleashing the full performance
of the PCI bus. Digital also announced that it is shipping Remote Server
Manager, which allows system and network administrators to remotely manage
servers worldwide. At the same time, the company said its existing DECpc
MTE and DECpc XL Server lines will now carry the family name, Prioris MTE
and Prioris XL Server.

The Prioris HX introduction rounds out a series of major new product
announcements this fall from Digital's Personal Computer Business Unit.
Like the other new lines, the Prioris HX family features a new naming
convention and new "Getting Started" software that helps users become more
productive, more quickly.

"Digital now is a full-line supplier of competitively priced PC products,"
said Bernhard Auer, vice president and general manager of Digital's PC
Business Unit. "With this announcement, we now have a full range of
feature-rich servers, desktops and notebook systems."

The Prioris HX systems are optimized to meet customers' needs today and in
the future with processor, disk and memory scalability. Digital's
rackmount option, available on all Prioris servers, helps minimize the
amount of floor space required in IS environments. The Prioris HX systems
are targeted at IS managers running network operating systems,
industry-standard databases and business-critical applications. The
systems are available through Digital's channel partners, including master
resellers, wholesalers, distributors, dealers, VARs and system
integrators, as well as Digital's direct sales organization.

Unique Power Scale Architecture Affords Flexibility

Digital's unique Power Scale architecture features a
motherboard/daughtercard design placing CPU-specific components on the
daughtercard and common system components on the motherboard. This modular
approach offers excellent flexibility in configuring systems, while
providing customers with a superior migration path for future generations
of single and multiprocessing Intel processor technologies.

"As our customers' applications grow, the Power Scale architecture offers
unprecedented scalability in processors and option capability," said Duane
Dickhut, vice president of Digital's PC Server Product Line. "Combined in
our one-footprint design, the new servers provide users with a compelling
and precedent-setting value proposition."

"The scalability and reliability of the Prioris HX server make it the
leading server in its class," said Scott Rackliffe, assistant vice
president, information services, Farm Credit Banks, Agawam, Mass. "All our
upgrade needs -- from the small to the large office -- are fully met in
one platform."

The Prioris HX is the first PC server to implement PCI-to-PCI bridging
providing a total of six bus-master PCI slots. Along with the six EISA
slots -- for a total of 12 slots -- users can merge existing and new
industry standard technologies as well as take advantage of the
ever-increasing growth of high-performance PCI options.

Designed for Reliability

"Digital has been producing industrial-strength servers for more than 20
years," said Dickhut. "We understand enterprise-wide networking and we
drew on Digital's years of engineering experience at building in quality
and reliability when we developed these new highly-reliable PC servers."

Digital's Prioris HX systems are superior departmental application servers
for workgroups numbering in the hundreds. Ideal for LAN consolidation, and
in environments where the highest degree of confidence in data integrity
is mandatory, Prioris HX systems deliver excellent reliability and
fault-tolerant features, such as:

  - Seven hot-swap device bays with various levels of RAID support;
    Support for Digital's RAID controller with 1 or 3 channels for
    internal and external SCSI support;

  - 512KB write-back cache standard;

  - Error Correction Code (ECC) memory support up to 256MB to guard
    against data corruption;

  - A second 450 watt redundant power supply (optional) supporting
    automatic failover and current sharing;

  - Redundant cooling system with failover fans;

  - Operator Control Panel connected to an IIC interface to display
    system status;

  - Dual channel hot swap backplane for increased redundancy; and

  - Remote Server Manager option to maximize system availability.

Because today's businesses rely on a variety of network and operating
systems, the Prioris HX servers are designed to support the widest range
of operating environments, including Novell NetWare 3.X and 4.X; Microsoft
Windows, Windows for Workgroups, and Windows NT Server 3.5; SCO UNIX;
Novell UnixWare; IBM OS/2 SMP; Banyan VINES; and Digital PATHWORKS.

The new Prioris HX servers are covered by a three-year, on-site limited
warranty, with next-day response standard from Digital's Multivendor
Customer Services organization or a Digital channel partner.

High-Performance Delivery Machine

The Prioris HX architecture optimizes applications server system
performance, particularly in the CPU and I/O subsystems with PCI Fast-Wide
SCSI-2 controllers and drives; 512MB of parity memory; 512KB write-back
cache; single- and dual-processor 64-bit memory support; support for
Pentium 90 and future Intel CPU chips; and extensive high-performance PCI
options, including PCI Ethernet.

Digital has opened the way for users to take advantage of a wide range of
SCSI controllers, including single- and multi-channel, EISA- or PCI-based.
Ten external SCSI knock-outs, coupled with Digital's external storage
cabinets, enable further systems disk capacity expansion.

Managing Servers Around the World

The new Digital Remote Server Manager provides IS managers with reliable,
low-cost remote management worldwide for Digital's EISA-based servers.
With its network independent Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) interface,
Remote Server Manager helps administrators control and monitor servers
remotely using a telephone line and modem.

Operating system independent, Remote Server Manager needs only one package
to monitor servers running any major operating system. Central site
monitoring of remote stations reduces costs by using the multitasking
capabilities of Windows NT, displaying multiple sessions running
simultaneously on one management console.

Remote console and diskette control allow downloading of software or remote
boots from a diskette over a serial line, eliminating the need for on-site
updating of software and minimizing service calls. Prior to calling a
technician, system administrators can run remote diagnostics, thereby
saving time and unnecessary service visits. Enhanced system security with
multi-level password and dialback enables system access control and
protection by assigning various levels of security. In addition,
environmental sensors can be set to alert system administrators of
internal and external voltage and internal temperature.

Pricing and Availability

A base-level configuration of the Prioris HX 590 server is $5,699, and
includes one 90MHz Pentium processor, 16MB of memory, and a PCI Fast-Wide
SCSI-2 adapter. A Prioris HX 590DP server with two 90MHz Pentium
processors and 32MB of memory, and a PCI Fast-Wide SCSI-2 adapter is
priced at $8,699. A RAID-based Prioris HX 590 system is priced at $8699
and includes one 90MHz Pentium processor, 16MB memory, a high-performance
EISA RAID controller and two hot-swap Fast SCSI-2, 1 GB drives. All models
come standard with 512KB writeback cache, dual speed SCSI CD-ROM drive,
and a keyboard, mouse and floppy disk drive. The Prioris HX is available
immediately in the U.S.; the Prioris HX 590DP will be available in the
U.S. in early January. Digital's Remote Server Manager, shipping this
month, is priced at $799 for the hardware controller and $999 for the
controller and management station software.

Digital Equipment Corporation is the world's leader in open client/server
solutions from personal computing to integrated worldwide information
systems. Digital's scalable Alpha platforms, storage, networking, software
and services, together with industry-focused solutions from business
partners, help organizations compete and win in today's global
marketplace.

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