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Press Release
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external:/img/h_arrow.gif SGI, SUSE Announce OEM Alliance, Development Agreement

SGI to Deploy SUSE Linux on SGI Altix 3000 Servers; SUSE Joins SGI in Scaling Linux to 128 Processors

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and OAKLAND, Calif. — 08/25/2003 — SGI (NYSE: SGI) and SUSE Linux today announced plans to extend Linux to new levels of scalability and performance - offering, for the first time, a fully supported 64-processor system running a fully supported, enterprise-grade Linux operating system.

Available in October, SGI will bundle SUSE Linux Enterprise Sever 8 on SGI® Altix(tm) 3000 servers and superclusters. SUSE Linux will provide support for the unique 64-processor single-node scaling capabilities of the SGI Altix 3000 platform. SUSE will also provide 3rd-level support to SGI customers in a seamless support agreement with SGI.

The companies also announced that SUSE and SGI will work on co-development efforts, including SGI's program to scale Linux to 128 processors, which the companies anticipate will be available next year.

While other hardware vendors and Linux distributions support only small systems and partitions running Linux, SGI and SUSE have the ability to deliver large-scale systems - with nodes from 8 to 64 and soon to 128 processors - capable of addressing high performance computing and technical database requirements. This collaboration opens doors for further expansion of standard Linux in the marketplace.

"Oracle welcomes SGI and SUSE partnership as it will enable Oracle customers on that platform to avail themselves of Oracle's support for Linux," said Dave Dargo, vice president Platform Partners, Linux and Performance, Oracle Corp. "SGI servers, coupled with solutions based on Oracle Database and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, will give customers increased choice for their enterprise Linux applications."

"The partnership of SGI and SUSE will drive the adoption of high-performance Linux systems, and creates further distinctions between symmetric multiprocessing systems and NUMA-based shared memory architectures," said Stacey Quandt, independent industry analyst.

Not only will the companies continue to expand the capabilities and reach of SUSE Linux, the new offering broadens the market opportunities for both SGI and SuSE. Together the companies will develop and deliver an offering for customers whose technical or scientific applications interact with additional large-scale databases and other infrastructure software. Ideal for a broad range of markets - from bio-informatics to automotive design - the combined offering provides industry-leading computing power, bandwidth and database performance.

"SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8, certified for the industry's key hardware and software, will enable Altix customers to leverage the inherent security and stability of Linux," said Uwe Heine, chief alliance officer, SUSE Linux. "Together, SUSE and SGI can deliver high-performance Linux systems capable of handling the unique system load demands of scalable integer processing, throughput and memory."

The SGI Altix 3000 family of servers and superclusters combines SGI® supercomputing architecture with Intel® Itanium® 2 processors and the Linux operating system. Since its introduction, the SGI Altix 3700 supercluster has been recognized as the first Linux cluster that scales up to 64 processors within each node and the first cluster ever to allow global shared-memory access across nodes. Inspired by the success of the SGI Altix family and the powerful combination of standard Linux on Intel® processors, more than 60 high-performance manufacturing, science, energy and environmental applications have been ported by their commercial developers to the 64-bit Linux environment, more than two-thirds of which have been certified and optimized for the platform.

"SUSEsupport of advanced Linux features, such as scalability, the XFS filesystem, security, and native 64-bit environments provide SGI and SUSE with a wealth of opportunities to collaborate going forward," said Dave Parry, senior vice president and general manager, Server and Platform Group, SGI. "As a highly respected and experienced provider of open source solutions, SuSE shares SGI's vision of a broadly scalable and robust Linux environment for technical and scientific computing."

August 5, 2003 SGI announced plans to extend the Altix platform to encompass a record 128 processors within a single instance of Linux. See the press release entitled "SGI Leads Effort to Scale Linux to 128 Processors in a Single-System Configuration" on www.sgi.com/newsroom.

Availability

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 will be available on Altix systems from SGI and SUSE in October 2003. SGI Altix 3000 servers and superclusters supporting 64-processor nodes, in configurations up to 128 Intel Itanium 2 processors, are available today from SGI. For customers demanding even larger Altix superclusters, SGI expects to support configurations of 256 processors in September and 512 processors in October 2003. Additional Altix system technical and availability information is posted on www.sgi.com/servers/altix.

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding SGI technologies and third-party technologies that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely unduly on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future or current performance. Such risks and uncertainties include long-term program commitments, the performance of third parties, the sustained performance of current and future products, financing risks, the ability to integrate and support a complex technology solution involving multiple providers and users, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's most recent SEC reports, including its reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.

About SGI

SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., is the world's leader in high-performance computing, visualization and storage. SGI's vision is to provide technology that enables the most significant scientific and creative breakthroughs of the 21st century. Whether it's sharing images to aid in brain surgery, finding oil more efficiently, studying global climate or enabling the transition from analog to digital broadcasting, SGI is dedicated to addressing the next class of challenges for scientific, engineering and creative users. SGI was named on FORTUNE magazine's 2003 list of "Top 100 Companies to Work For." With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and can be found on the Web at www.sgi.com.

Media Contact:
Ginny Babbitt
SGI
650-933-4519
ginnyb@sgi.com

Silicon Graphics, SGI and the SGI logo are registered trademarks and Altix is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE Linux AG. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Intel and Itanium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

About Novell
Novell, Inc. is a leading provider of information solutions that deliver secure identity management (Novell® Nsure™), Web application development (Novell exteNd™) and cross-platform networking services (Novell Nterprise™), all supported by strategic consulting and professional services (Novell NgageSM). Active in the open source community with its Ximian and SUSE Linux brands, Novell is firmly committed to open source and offers comprehensive Linux products and services for the enterprise, from the desktop to the server. Novell's vision of one Net - a world without information boundaries - helps customers realize the value of their information securely and economically. For more information, call Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272) or visit http://www.novell.com. Press should visit http://www.novell.com/pressroom.

Novell is a registered trademarks; Nsure, exteNd and Nteprise are trademarks; and Ngage is a service mark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE Linux AG. * All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Press Contact:
Jasmin Ul-Haque
Novell, Inc
Phone: +44 (0)1344 326-900
E-mail: juh@novell.com

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