06/29/2004 — Santa Clara, Calif. - June 29, 2004 - NEC Solutions (America), Inc., a premier provider of integrated solutions for the Connected Enterprise in North America, announced today a new TPC benchmark score conducted on a 32-way NEC server running Oracle^® Database 10g Enterprise Edition, BEA Tuxedo^® and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server^®. Testing was conducted on a 32-way, NEC Express5800/1320Xd server based on Intel^® Itanium^® 2 processors. TPC-C¹ is an industry-standard benchmark for measuring a system's processing performance based on an enterprise transaction model for handling orders.

The new 683,575 transactions per minute (tpmC)² benchmark score and price-performance ratio of $5.99/tpmC was achieved, in part, by leveraging NEC's highly scalable, ccNUMA system architecture utilizing 32 Intel Itanium 2 processors. Oracle Database 10g is designed to take advantage of system and processor advancements such as those made by both NEC and Intel Corporation. Oracle's enhancements enable the database to scale to the next generation of 64-bit computing environments. Developed in close collaboration with Intel and Oracle, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Intel Itanium Processor Family is designed to meet the highest requirements in terms of scalability and performance. Integrating BEA TUXEDO with NEC's highly scalable ccNUMA system architecture demonstrates the full power of NEC's solution in the rugged TPC-C test environment. Indicating the power these solutions can have in real-world enterprise solutions.

"NEC's new TPC-C benchmark results are a testimony to our ongoing commitment to Novell's platform. We are proud to be the first vendor to demonstrate the scalability of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9" said Larry Sheffield, senior vice president of Solutions Platform Group at NEC Solutions America. "Our results prove that SUSE Linux Enterprise Server with NEC's high-performance Itanium 2 servers exemplifies the scalability and performance capabilities in the scale up enterprise market."

"This benchmark validates the value of Linux across the enterprise," said Richard Sarwal, vice president of Server Performance at Oracle Corp. "Clearly Linux can scale on large SMPs to provide customers with low-cost computing options even at the high end of the market."

Performance Results

Throughput	683,575 tpmC
Cost Performance	$5.99 per tpmC
Availability Date	September 1, 2004
System	NEC Express5800/1320Xd Itanium 2 Server
CPU	Intel Itanium 2 processors at 1.5 GHz with 6M L3 cache 32 processors
System Memory	512 GB
OS	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9
Database	Oracle® Database 10g Enterprise Edition
Transaction Monitor	BEA Tuxedo 8.1

Availability
The high-performance NEC Express5800/1320Xd server, with 32 Intel Itanium 2 processors, is currently available for order in North America. Systems configured and tested for the TPC benchmark will be available beginning September 1, 2004.

About NEC Solutions (America), Inc.
NEC Solutions (America), Inc. is a premier provider of integrated solutions for the Connected Enterprise in North America. As an affiliate of NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.1), NEC Solutions America taps into a global resource network to help clients leverage technology to achieve a competitive edge. From mobile enterprise computing systems, biometric security solutions, business intelligence, projector and plasma display solutions, business services management and IT professional services, the expertise is delivered with the personal attention needed to address individual situations. With headquarters in Rancho Cordova, California, NEC Solutions America maintains research, marketing, sales and support facilities throughout the United States. Information regarding NEC Solutions America can be found at www.necsam.com or by calling 888-632-8701.

Editor's Note: Information and specifications are subject to change without notice. NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation. Intel and Itanium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE AG, a Novell company. BEA and BEA Tuxedo are registered trademarks of BEA Systems, Inc. TPC is a registered trademark of the Transaction Processing Performance Council. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. ©2004 NEC Solutions (America), Inc. All rights reserved.

1. TPC is part of the Transaction Processing Performance Council and provides standard benchmarks for measuring computer system performance. Performance is evaluated based on a model of enterprise transaction processing. Benchmark results are expressed in terms of how many transactions are performed per minute (tpmC).
2. NEC Express5800/1320Xd, 683,575 tpmC, $5.99/tpmC, with thirty two (32) Intel^® Itanium^® 2 processor at 1.5 GHz, each with 6MB L3 cache, running Oracle^® Database 10g Enterprise Edition and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, with 512 GB RAM; Available: 9/1/2004. Source http://www.tpc.org/.

Amy Pang
NEC Solutions America
408-844-1108
amy.pang@necsam.com

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