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Subject: PSP Press Release: IBM to Begin Beta Testing SMP Feature for
  
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PSP Press Release: IBM to Begin Beta Testing SMP Feature for
                   OS/2 Warp Server
  
CHICAGO, Illinois, June 3, 1996 .  .  .  IBM today announced at
Spring Comdex that it is accepting candidates to participate in a
broad beta test program beginning mid-June for a
symmetric-multiprocessing (SMP) -enablement feature for OS/2* Warp
Server.  The SMP feature, which has undergone alpha testing since the
launch of OS/2 Warp Server in late February, will be distributed to
more than 1,500 beta testers worldwide.
  
"As customers roll out PC-based SMP solutions, this feature will add
excellent SMP performance to what many customers believe is already
the most complete PC server operating system available today," said
Art Olbert, vice president of server products, IBM Personal Software
Products. "In building Warp Server SMP, we have drawn on IBM's
extensive experience in the development of multiprocessor software
technology.  We were the first company to deliver SMP support in a
true PC system with OS/2 2.11, and we expect to dramatically improve
upon that offering with the delivery of the OS/2 Warp Server SMP
feature."
  
                       Impressive Performance
  
The OS/2 Warp Server SMP feature is optimized for two-way and
four-way SMP systems, the dominate SMP platforms today, but will also
support systems equipped with more than four processors. Internal
testing has shown that OS/2 Warp Server SMP is currently 200 to 300
percent faster than OS/2 2.11 SMP and twice as fast as OS/2 Warp
Server running on a uniprocessor.
  
"SMP capability for Warp Server is a critical addition to an already
feature-rich server operating system," said Bob Sakakeeny, an analyst
at Aberdeen Group. "Early indications are that Warp Server SMP will
offer the speed and scalability that a substantial number of
businesses are now demanding for their application and database
servers."
  
Tests have shown that OS/2 Warp Server running on a uniprocessor is
impressive on its own merit, outperforming SMP versions of both
Windows NT Server and Novell NetWare 4.1 in a PC Week Labs comparison
of file and print services conducted with the Ziff-Davis Benchmark
Operation's NetBench 4.01.
  
                             Industry Support
  
Prior to the release of the OS/2 Warp Server SMP beta, IBM worked
with about a dozen business partners that have voiced support for the
OS/2 Warp Server SMP feature with their products. These companies
include Unisys Corp., Compaq Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co.,
Oracle Corp., Sybase Inc., Btrieve Technologies Inc.  and Lotus
Development Corp.
  
"We are seeing an increased amount of interest in SMP among our
customers lately as well as a growing demand for OS/2 Warp Server,"
said Jagdish Pamnani, Oracle senior product line manager. "We have
been working with IBM to optimize OS/2 Warp Server SMP for Oracle,
and we are excited about delivering our product on this platform."
  
"Because Unisys and IBM typically sell to the same set of customers,
we believe that together, we can deliver a reliable, high-performance
platform to the growing number of businesses requiring powerful SMP
solutions," said Frank Brandenberg, group vice president and general
manager, Unisys Personal Computer Division. "OS/2 Warp Server SMP
will be a preload option on our recently announced Aquanta PC
servers, each of which are equipped with multiple processors."
  
"SMP support for Warp Server is something we are really looking
forward to because it will allow us to manage our network much more
efficiently," said Ray Pratts, senior technical analyst at Variable
Annuity Life Insurance Co. in Houston. "Not only will it reduce my
workload, but the end users at my company will also benefit from the
increased processing power that SMP provides."
  
The OS/2 Warp Server SMP feature is also being optimized to support
each of the seven IBM Software Servers: Lotus Notes*, IBM Internet
Connection Server, IBM Database Server, IBM Communications Server,
IBM Directory & Security Server, IBM Systems Management Server and
IBM Transaction Server.
  
                          Availability
  
The OS/2 Warp Server SMP beta will be released next week, with
general availability planned for the third quarter of this year. It
will be provided as a free add-on to OS/2 Warp Server Version 4
customers.  An application to receive the OS/2 Warp Server SMP beta
can be found on the World Wide Web at:
www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/betahome.html
  
       OS/2 Warp Server:  The Complete Business Solution
  
OS/2 Warp Server, released at the end of February, is IBM's business
server solution for customers ranging from small businesses to large
enterprises. It provides a foundation for application serving and
file and print sharing, plus a wealth of integrated features
including systems management, backup and recovery, remote access,
enhanced TCP/IP support, advanced print function and LAN Internet
access. More than 50 thousand copies of OS/2 Warp Server were sold
through the end of April.