25 October 2001 Bracknell, UK

Novell announced today that the world's largest smart card provider, Gemplus*, is using Novell® Cluster Services™ at its 24*7 production facility to eliminate downtime on the mission-critical Compaq file servers handling encrypted data for the production of personalised smart cards. Gemplus Ltd, the wholly owned UK subsidiary of Gemplus International S.A., implemented the Novell / Compaq server clustering system after a successful pilot project at its high-security production site in Havant, Hampshire. Gemplus Ltd produces a comprehensive range of magnetic-strip cards and smart cards for a variety of applications including loyalty cards, credit cards, GSM phone cards and pay-TV cards.

Gemplus Ltd utilises high-performance Compaq Proliant* servers running NetWare with a storage area network to handle tens of thousands of files per day, each of which holds the data required to personalise a card. The company has standardised on the Novell NetWare server operating system as the ideal platform for handling the high volumes of files required for production. The production system is configured for full redundancy with the server cluster connected via two fibre-channel hubs to two disk arrays each capable of handling data loads up to 300 GB. Novell Cluster Services manage automatic failover between the two servers in the event of a fault or if a server needs to be taken off line for maintenance.

Earlier this year, Gemplus International S.A. announced record revenues for FY2000 of € 1.205 Billion, representing a 57% increase over 1999. Gemplus chose the clustering solution from Novell because of its modular and scalable architecture. The explosive growth of smart cards for the GSM telephone market and high-profile launches of loyalty cards constantly introduce substantial peaks in demand. Additional servers can be integrated into the cluster easily to handle higher production rates. The facility at Havant is a 24*7 operation producing millions of smart card products per month. Just one hour of server downtime can have a serious impact on production levels until the fault is corrected.

The 7-strong IT team at Gemplus has to provide round-the-clock support and the tough security requirements of the production facility ruled out the use of remote access to the network for trouble-shooting. Lee Wright, who manages IT support and network services at Gemplus explained, "The automatic operation of Novell Cluster Services is an essential feature. It handles all aspects of switching resources to the backup server and requires no manual intervention. Since the system went live, we have achieved an easy-to-manage high-availability solution that has kept us in full production. Our plan is to extend the cluster by adding an extra node to deliver higher fault tolerance." Wright also outlined plans to upgrade the production system to NetWare 5.1 with Novell Cluster Services 1.1 and to cluster-enable essential network services such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) services.

Novell Cluster Services is a server clustering system that ensures high availability and manageability of critical network resources including data (volumes), applications, server licenses, and services. It is a multi-node, Novell eDirectory-enabled clustering product for NetWare that supports failover, failback, and migration (load balancing) of individually managed cluster resources.

About Gemplus

GEMPLUS: the world's number one provider of solutions empowered by Smart Cards (Gartner Dataquest 2001).

Gemplus helps its clients offer an exceptional range of portable, personalised solutions that bring security and convenience to people's lives. These include mobile Internet access, inter-operable banking facilities, e-commerce and a wealth of other applications.

Gemplus is the only completely dedicated, truly global player in the Smart Card industry, with the largest R&D team, unrivalled experience, and an outstanding track record of technological innovation.

Gemplus trades its shares on Euronext Paris S.A. First Market and on the Nasdaq Stock Market™ as GEMP in the form of ADSs. Its revenue in 2000 was 1.205 Billion Euros. It employs 7200 people in 37 countries throughout the world.

Gemplus: Your Passport to the Digital Age www.gemplus.com

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL), is a leader in eBusiness solutions and Net services software designed to secure and power the networked world. Novell and its subsidiary, Cambridge Technology Partners, help organizations solve complex business challenges, simplify their systems and processes, and capture new opportunities with one Net solutions. Novell provides worldwide channel, consulting, education and developer programs to support its offerings.

For information on Novell's complete range of products and services, contact Novell's Telephone Response Centre at 01344 724100, or visit Novell's Web site at http://www.novell.com/uk/. Information on eBusiness and e-integration solutions from Cambridge Technology Partners can be accessed at http://www.ctp.com.

Press may access Novell announcements and company information on the World Wide Web at http://www.novell.com/pressroom.

Detailed comparisons between Novell products and competitive offerings from other vendors are available on the Web at http://www.novell.com/competitive.

Novell and NetWare are registered trademarks and NetWare Cluster Services and eDirectory are trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the US and other countries. *All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

JoAnne Hughes
Novell UK
01344 724312
jahughes@novell.com

Helen Chung
Porter Novelli Convergence Group
0207 853 2355
helen.chung@pnicge.com