Directory-enabled Netware 5 Outperforms Microsoft Windows NT 4 by 34 Percent

PROVO, Utah — January 4, 1999 — In a series of performance tests conducted by KeyLabs, NetWare 5 performed approximately 34 percent faster than the latest release of Windows NT 4, confirming the findings and opinions of leading computer industry publications, analysts and customers. With the higher performance of NetWare 5, customers can quickly and efficiently manage their networks, run applications and access the information necessary to their business success.

KeyLabs, the IT industry's largest independent, full service testing lab dedicated to testing hardware and software products in network environments, conducted three tests on a multi-processor Compaq ProLiant 1850R, using Ziff-Davis Benchmark Operations' NetBench. The average peak throughput for NetWare 5 was 253.3 Megabits per second (Mbps), achieved at 60 clients. The averaged peak throughput on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 was 189.5 Mbps, which it reached at 76 clients. For a complete look at Keylabs' testing methodology, configurations, and results, visit http://www.keylabs.com/results.

NetWare 5 continues to be the platform of choice while co-existing nicely with other industry operating systems such as Windows NT and Unix. "The superiority in performance and scalability of NetWare 5 coupled with the power of Novell Directory Services® makes NetWare the most compelling server operating system on the market today," said Monty Sharma, Chief Technology Officer for Maritime Telephone and Telegraph. "We have not seen anything in the market that even comes close."

KeyLabs' findings also support evaluations found in recent computer industry publications. Kevin Young and Jeffrey G. Witt, in PC Magazine Online, said, "NetWare is faster than Windows NT: There's no big surprise in that. On our server NIC tests, the Intel PRO/100 Intelligent Server Adapter delivered 341 Mbps throughput on our flat network with NetWare, and 209 Mbps with Windows NT." "At a recent NetWorld®+Interop show, all of the gigabit Ethernet vendors said Windows doesn't even come close to handling gigabit I/O, and it has to be tweaked to hit 400 Kbps out of any given machine," said John C. Dvorak, also in PC Magazine Online. "Meanwhile, Novell has no problem pumping data around at gigabit speeds."

"Most analysts say that NetWare 5 is ready for immediate deployment, with about 20 percent of its 10 million lines of code being new," said reviewer Logan Harbaugh of InformationWeek. "On the other hand, most analysts recommend that Windows 2000 Server not be deployed for 12 to 18 months after it's released, with nearly 80 percent of its 40 million to 50 million lines of code being new."

NetWare Faster Than Ever

Not only are industry publications placing NetWare 5 ahead of Windows NT 4 in performance, they are also touting NetWare 5 as faster than its own predecessor. "We ran the Ziff-Davis Benchmark Operation's NetBench on a Compaq 400MHz Xeon-based Proliant with 1GB of RAM and found that, even when using a single processor, NetWare 5 blew away performance turned in by NetWare 4.0 on a system with four Xeon processors," said PC Week Labs.

Industry Awards

In addition to positive reviews by trade publications, NetWare 5 has also received the following industry awards since its release in September:

• World Class Product — Network World awarded NetWare 5 its World Class product distinction. NetWare 5 received an overall 9.65 score, with perfect 10 scores in directory services, performance, networking/connectivity, security, enterprise scalability and stability.

• One of the Most Important Products of 1998 — NetWare 5 received this distinction from InformationWeek in its Dec. 14 issue.

• Best of the Best — VARBusiness, as part of its Top 100 Products listing, recognized NetWare 5 as one of the five "Best of the Best" products in 1998.

• Flying Colors Award — Network Computing awarded NetWare 5 its Flying Colors Award in its Dec. 1 issue. NetWare 5 received a perfect 5 for ease of installation and a 4.5 for performance.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) is the leading provider of network software enabled by directory services. Novell Internet solutions make networks more manageable, secure and affordable for organizations of every kind and size. Novell's worldwide channel, developer, education and technical support programs are the most extensive in the network computing industry.

For information on Novell's complete range of products and services, contact Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272), or visit Novell's Web site at http://www.novell.com. Press may access Novell announcements and company information on the World Wide Web at http://www.novell.com/pressroom.

Novell, NetWare and Novell Directory Services are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

PC Week quotation reprinted from PC Week Sept. 14, 1998; Copyright © 1998 ZD Inc. All rights reserved. PC Magazine quotations reprinted from PC Magazine Sept. 9, 1998 and Nov. 17, 1998; Copyright © 1998 ZD Inc. All rights reserved. InformationWeek quotation reprinted with permission from InformationWeek Nov. 9, 1998; Copyright © 1998 by CMP Media Inc., 600 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY 11080.

All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Julie Geer-Brown
Cunningham Communication, Inc.
Phone: (650) 858-3706
Internet: jgeer-brown@ccipr.com