COMPAQ RAISES THE STANDARD FOR MAINSTREAM SERVERS -- NEW PLATFORMS PROVIDE
CUSTOMERS MISSION-CRITICAL CAPABILITIES AT UNEXPECTED ENTRY-LEVEL PRICES
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Compaq today announced:

Two new servers, the Compaq ProSignia 300 and Compaq ProLiant 1500. These
servers, targeted primarily at the Novell NetWare server market,
incorporate mission-critical features previously found only on high-end
server products. New FlexSMP dual-processing capability for the ProLiant
1500 offers additional processor scalability and performance.

Compaq SmartStart enhancements -- support for NetWare 4.1, IBM OS/2 Warp
3.0 and LAN Server 4.0. New Express Install and Replicated Install make
installing and configuring NetWare on Compaq servers even easier.

New Storage Options provide customers with increased performance, greater
storage capacity and enhanced data security.

Disaster Recovery Services, through a partnership with Comdisco, which
provide Compaq customers access to disaster recovery service bundles and
planning software as part of CompaqCare for Systems.

Price reductions of up to nine percent on Compaq ProSignia 500 models.
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HOUSTON, February 13, 1995 -- Recognizing that customers consider every
network server to be "mission critical," Compaq Computer Corporation
(NYSE: CPQ) today announced two new servers, the ProSignia 300 and
ProLiant 1500, primarily targeted at the mainstream NetWare server market.
These servers answer customer demands for robust, fault-tolerant,
manageable workgroup and departmental networking platforms at unexpected
prices. Engineered with functionality previously found only in high-end
mission-critical servers, the ProSignia 300 and ProLiant 1500 redefine the
value standard for mainstream servers.

Compaq, the number one provider of NetWare servers worldwide, also
reinforced its market leadership role by announcing the following:
significant enhancements to Compaq SmartStart and Compaq Insight Manager;
new storage options that increase the storage capacity of Compaq servers
to over 300 GB and provide high performance, high capacity and more
reliable back-up; an agreement with Comdisco to provide disaster recovery
services; and price reductions of up to nine percent on Compaq ProSignia
500 models.

"Networked servers have become critical to the productivity and operations
of both large and small organizations. To address this, we've incorporated
into our mainstream servers features once associated only with
"mission-critical" networking platforms," said Michael Lambert, vice
president, Marketing, Compaq Systems Division. "By moving these high-end
features into our mainstream line, at unprecedented prices, the
reliability of even the smallest workgroup network is significantly
increased. This translates into benefits that customers value highly:
increased productivity and reduced costs."

The ProSignia 300: A Mainstream Workgroup Server Priced Like a Desktop PC

Starting at under $3,400 (NOTE 1), the ProSignia 300 is the only mainstream
server to incorporate high-end server dependability and manageability
features such as ECC (Error Checking and Correcting) memory, ASR
(Automatic Server Recovery) technology, Compaq SmartStart, Compaq Insight
Manager, CD-ROM capability and optional rack-mountable platform --
previously found only on the Compaq ProLiant 2000 and Compaq ProLiant 4000
and higher-end competitive products. Available today with either a 75 MHz
or a 90 MHz Intel Pentium processor, the ProSignia 300 is up to 41 percent
faster (NOTE 1) than competitive systems and is targeted primarily at
price-sensitive medium-to-small businesses, as well as small workgroups
and remote sites within large companies, that use Novell's NetWare
operating system. To ensure that the ProSignia 300 can accommodate future
business computing needs, the processor subsystem is board- or
chip-upgradable to future Intel processors and the latest Intel Pentium
OverDrive technology, when they become available.

The ProSignia 300 also utilizes Compaq's TriFlex/PCI system architecture.
This architecture is the first and only true PCI system architecture
optimized for the second-generation Intel Pentium processor. Compaq's
TriFlex/PCI delivers all the speed and power of Intel's Pentium processor
by optimizing the three critical server subsystems -- processor, I/O and
memory -- into three separate high-bandwidth buses. Just as Compaq's
TriFlex/PCI architecture is optimized to take advantage of Intel's
second-generation Pentium processor, the ProSignia 300 has also been
optimized for maximum performance under Novell's NetWare operating
system.

Offering flexibility and increased efficiency to customers looking to
consolidate workgroup servers into one location, the ProSignia 300 can be
placed into highly serviceable rack-mountable platforms. Using the
optional ProSignia 300 Rack Mounting kit, customers can obtain all the
advantages associated with a rack-mountable server such as centralized
management, security and control.

The ProLiant 1500: An Affordable, Mission-Critical Server

Starting at under $5,700 (NOTE 1) the ProLiant 1500, like the ProSignia
300, is targeted primarily at the NetWare server market. The ProLiant
1500, with either a 75 MHz or a 100 MHz Pentium processor, now
incorporates mission-critical functionality to deliver new levels of
dependability, manageability, and performance. Up to 64 percent faster
(NOTE 1) than competitive systems, the ProLiant 1500 can be deployed as a
departmental file server (using NetWare) or entry-level application server
(using Microsoft Windows NT).

Expanding on the award-winning ProLiant 1000, the new ProLiant 1500 offers
standard features previously found only on the ProLiant 2000 and ProLiant
4000 servers including: ECC memory, TriFlex/PCI systems architecture, as
well as support for Fast-Wide SCSI-2, ASR-2, hot pluggable drives, disk
arrays and optional redundant power supplies. The ProLiant 1500 system
processor is board (incorporating faster Intel processors as they become
available) and chip (via future Intel Pentium OverDrive processors)
upgradable.

Responding to customer needs, Compaq also announced a rack-mountable model
of the ProLiant 1500. This model, called the Rack-Mountable ProLiant
1500R, provides customers with the same features and functions of the
ProLiant 1500 in a rack-mountable form factor.

For those customers whose environments require additional performance
scalability from a mainstream server, Compaq will begin shipping its first
FlexSMP dual-processor upgrade board for the ProLiant 1500 late in the
first half of 1995. This implementation, a dual-processor single cache
design, will be fully compliant with the newly developed Intel
Multi-Processing Specification Version 1.1. The FlexSMP processor board
upgrades will be supported only on ProLiant 1500 models. In the second
half of 1995, Compaq expects to offer an additional FlexSMP upgrade board
based on a two-processor, two-cache design.

Compaq SmartStart Enhancements

With today's announcement, SmartStart Version 2.10 makes installing and
optimizing NetWare on Compaq servers even easier. For customers with a
small single-server network environment and relatively little network
installation and integration expertise, today's release of SmartStart
offers Express Install. The fastest way to get a server up and running,
Express Install prompts customers to answer three or four simple questions
(language spoken, country lived in, etc.) and then conducts a full NetWare
software installation, hardware configuration and software/hardware
optimization using predefined parameters. (Compaq Insight Manager is
installed as a part of this process.) Express Install is supported on all
ProSignia and ProLiant servers and is available for use only with NetWare
Version 3.12 and Version 4.1.

To make duplicating server configurations easier for customers who
typically purchase and identically configure a large number of servers at
one time, today's release of Compaq SmartStart supports Replicated
Install. Replicated Install allows customers to reproduce the exact
installation, configuration and optimization parameters of one server on
others. This process is supported only with NetWare and NetWare/Oracle
installations and can be used only on servers with identical hardware
configurations. Replicated Install is supported both on the ProSignia and
ProLiant families of computers.

Additional enhancements supported on SmartStart Version 2.10 include:
proactively selecting database disk partitioning and the ability to
install, configure and optimize Cheyenne's ARCServe tape backup software
directly from SmartStart (support for NetWare Version 3.x and Version 4.x
only). SmartStart also now supports NetWare Version 4.1, IBM OS/2 Warp
Version 3.0 and LAN Server Version 4.0, in addition to Windows NT Version
3.5 and SCO Unix.

Finally, with this announcement, Compaq Insight Manager Version 2.40
provides greater Telnet support (interoperable with Novell's XConsole;
auto-detection of Telnet connection), as well as support for NetWare
Version 4.1 and OS/2 Warp.

New Storage and Retrieval Options

Compaq also introduced today four new storage options which provide
customers with increased performance, greater storage capacity from the
same number of drives, and enhanced data security. The new 32-Bit
Fast-Wide SCSI-2/E EISA and 32-Bit Fast-Wide SCSI-2/P PCI controllers
maximize data throughput and minimize CPU utilization. Both controllers
support both Fast-Wide SCSI-2 and Fast SCSI-2 hard drives.

For high-capacity, high-throughput storage of mission-critical data, Compaq
now offers 4.3 GB and 2.1 GB Fast-Wide SCSI-2 hard drives. With the
introduction of the 4.3 GB hard drive, Compaq servers can accommodate more
than 300 GB of storage capacity.

To help customers combat the shrinking time window for data backup, Compaq
is introducing a new tape backup unit. The 10/20 GB DLT (Digital Linear
Tape) Tape Drive, a more reliable, high-capacity, high-performance storage
system, supports all the major network operating systems (NetWare, OS/2,
SCO Unix, Windows NT) and two leading network backup software packages --
Cheyenne ARCServe and Legato Networker. Available immediately in an
external table-top form factor (and later in an internal format for tower
and rack models of the ProLiant and ProSignia families), the 10/20-GB DLT
Tape Drive transfers 10 GB of uncompressed data or 20 GB of compressed
data to a single tape.

The ProLiant Storage System has also been upgraded to offer support for
both hot-pluggable Fast SCSI-2 and Fast-Wide SCSI-2 hard drives.

A Service First: Disaster Recovery Services

Recognizing that unexpected disasters often wreak havoc with the best laid
plans, today Compaq announced an agreement with Comdisco, the world's
leading provider of disaster recovery services ranging from the workgroup
to the enterprise. Through this agreement with Comdisco, Compaq customers
will have access to disaster recovery service bundles and planning
software. These services will become a part of CompaqCare for Systems,
Compaq's extensive service and support program for server customers.

For $495 (NOTE 1), the Recovery Planning Software product, a condensed
version of Comdisco's full-service planning software focused on the LAN
environment, provides customers with a proven methodology for creating a
disaster recovery plan.

For protection against the unexpected loss of a Local Area Network (LAN),
Compaq and Comdisco offer the Mobile Cluster. Starting at $3,500 (NOTE 1),
the Mobile Cluster gives customers access to the essential equipment
needed to rebuild a LAN, which will be shipped to a Comdisco warm-site or
customer-designated location within twenty-four hours of disaster
declaration. Twenty-four hour technical support to help rebuild the LAN is
included in the fee for the Mobile Cluster.

For customers who desire more extensive services, Compaq and Comdisco offer
the Emergency Response Bundle. Starting at $22,000 (NOTE 1), the Emergency
Response Bundle provides customers immediate access to a Comdisco Work
Area Recovery Site, annual test time and five days of business recovery
consulting and LAN planning.

ProSignia 500 Price Reductions

Continuing to provide extraordinary value to customers, Compaq today
announced price reductions on all ProSignia 500 models by up to nine
percent. Compaq ProSignia 500 models now start at under $4,150 (NOTE 1).
Introduced in November 1994, the ProSignia 500 offers a 90 MHz Pentium
processor; TriFlex/PCI architecture; the flexibility of both EISA and PCI;
and an integrated PCI network interface card and Fast SCSI-2 controller.

Company Background

Compaq Computer Corporation is a world leader in the manufacture of desktop
and notebook personal computers and servers. Founded in 1982, the company
reported 1994 worldwide sales of $10.9 billion. Compaq products are sold
and supported in more than 100 countries through a network of more than
38,000 Compaq marketing partners. Compaq also sells directly to customers
through Compaq Direct Plus at 1-800-888-5858.

For Compaq Customer Support and Information, Call 800-345-1518.

NOTE 1: Estimated selling price; actual price may vary.

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