IBM expanded its Linux initiative with the launch a three-pronged attack against Sun

IBM expanded its Linux initiative with the launch a three-pronged attack against Sun

IBM SEIZES NEW OPPORTUNITY IN SOLARIS-TO-LINUX MIGRATION TO HELP LOWER
CUSTOMER'S COSTS

Part of Three-Pronged Program

ARMONK, NEW YORK, August 12, 2002 -- IBM today announced a comprehensive
program that is designed to help customers transition from the Sun Solaris
platform to the Linux operating system on IBM eServer machines.  IBM
committed to support Linux across its product line more than two years
before Sun Microsystems, and today IBM is deploying a special team dedicated
to help customers move from Sun Solaris to Linux on IBM eServers. Also as
part of the company's three pronged program, IBM will update its most
popular Intel-based server for Linux applications, and announce a new
generation Linux cluster system designed to increase price/performance
advantages for customers.

"IBM believes that the UltraSPARC/Solaris customers switching to Linux need
a vendor that is 100 percent committed to Linux and open standards," said
Rich Michos, Vice President IBM Linux Servers. "IBM's strong relationship
with the open source community to extend Linux into the enterprise, combined
with our tremendously powerful Linux xSeries servers, make us uniquely
qualified to fulfill customer requirements in this fast-growing market."

To kick-off its Solaris-to-Linux program, IBM has deployed a dedicated team
of Linux migration experts who work closely with IBM sales teams around the
world. Skilled in a broad spectrum of operating systems, the team members
can quickly prepare an assessment of  a customer's Sun Solaris
infrastructure and develop a step-by-step blueprint for transitioning to a
Linux environment on the IBM eServer platform. The team members include
system architects, database administrators, project managers and operating
system specialists.

The team also provides a detailed list of potential benefits, which can
include substantial improvements in Total Cost of Ownership and system
performance. Once a customer chooses to move from Solaris onto an IBM Linux
server platform, work can begin on the following steps:

-- Migrating components such as the Solaris operating system, databases,
applications and servers, as well as storage, networking and security
systems.

-- Testing the new infrastructure, both one unit at a time and all systems
together. This is followed by a final "acceptance test," run by the
customer.

-- Deploying the infrastructure into production by populating all databases
with the customer's business data.

-- Financing the pieces of the infrastructure -- including hardware,
software and services -- through IBM Global Financing, which helps customers
in more than 40 countries more affordably acquire business IT solutions.

First Major Vendor Introduces Xeon Powered 1U Server
Customers in the IBM migration program can choose from a wide array of
solutions, including the first Xeon based 1U server from a major vendor like
IBM. As a second part of the company's three-pronge attack, IBM also
introduced the powerful eServer x335, a rack-optimized server that sets the
design standard for web application serving. Based on Intel's fast Xeon
processors, the two-way x335 is designed to deliver price/performance
features and integrates mainframe-like class technology in a server in
roughly the size of a pizza box. Some new technologies in the system include
support of Ultra320 hard disk drives, integrated dual gigabit ethernet, and
two 64-bit/100 MHz PCI-X slots.  Able to run both the Linux and Windows
operating systems, the IBM eServer x335 offers customer flexibility to link
together many servers in powerful clusters or computing grids.

Based on the new IBM eServer x335 and x345, the IBM eServer Cluster 1350 is
an integrated and validated Linux cluster offering that includes storage
products, third-party networking, and robust cluster management software.
Customers demanding high performance at a lower price can easily order and
deploy this offering to  handle extremely complex workloads. With its high
degree of scalability and centralized manageability, the Cluster 1350 is
also ideally suited for Grid deployments and will be available later this
fall.

Today's announcement builds on IBM's impressive array of  Linux resources
designed to help customers and advance the power and performance of Linux.
These include:

Linux Service Provider Lab (LSPL) will provide a next-generation Internet
Protocol network infrastructure environment for testing of
telecommunications service applications including softswitch, wireless
infrastructure applications, unified messaging and network services. The
lab, which opened in March in Oregon, include equipment such as the new
eServer x305 that is suited for space-constrained telecommunications
customers with a very small depth of 16.75 inches, shorter than any other
major vendor's comparable 1U machine that offers a Pentium 4 processor.
Other eServer systems at the lab include x343 and x330 NEBS-compliant
servers.

LSPL is working with a number of customers, including QualTel, who provides
messaging software building blocks for service providers to create next
generation unified communications, voice messaging, virtual telephony and
other integrated messaging applications.  QualTel and its partner inPACT
technologies are validating its MessageNet solution, an open-systems
software messaging product in the LSPL. QualTel's MessageNet product
currently is available on Sun Solaris.  The expanded QualTel Linux solution
running on IBM servers is designed to help customers to save money and space
while taking advantage of the fast Intel processors and cost-effective IBM
hardware while maintaining service provider reliability.

IBM's Linux Center of Competence, located on Wall Street in New York City,
provides the financial sector with a full range of support for Linux,
including access to IBM hardware, software and services to evaluate and test
key applications on Linux, secure technical advice, participate in Linux
training courses and educational programs, attend community events, as well
as work in a hands-on environment with key ISVs, Linux distributors and
Business Partners.

Linux Technology Center, a virtual center of Linux specialists that work
with the open source community to build a better Linux. In 1999, IBM
established the Linux Technology Center as a focal point for its technical
contributions to Linux, featuring a dedicated staff of engineers that manage
the transfer of IBM technology to the open source community.

IBM's World Wide Linux Integration Center (LIC), headquartered in Austin,
Texas is a team of software engineers and architects focused on driving IBM
Linux middleware solutions in the marketplace. The LIC currently provides
customers with technical consulting, product integration and deployment
planning of IBM Middleware on Linux.

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About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of
leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across
IBM and key Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services,
solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take
full advantage of the new era of e-business. For more information about IBM,
visit HYPERLINK "http://www.ibm.com."http://www.ibm.com.

The IBM eServer brand consists of the established IBM e-business logo with
the descriptive term "server" following it. The IBM e-business logo and
xSeries are trademarks of IBM Corporation.  Intel and Intel Xeon are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.  Linux is a
trademark of Linus Torvalds.  Microsoft and Windows, are trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. All
others are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies. Statements concerning IBM's future development plans and
schedules are made for planning purposes only, and are subject to change or
withdrawal without notice.

James Greene
Account Executive
Text 100 International
Global Technology Public Relations

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