2-25 DIGITAL ANNOUNCES ALPHA OPEN COMPUTING DIGITAL ANNOUNCES THE ALPHA OPEN COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE, THE WORLD'S FASTEST MICROPROCESSOR, AND NEW BUSINESS PRACTICES ...Lays the foundation for 21st century network computing with a solid bridge from the present. HUDSON, MA -- February 25, 1992 -- Digital Equipment Corporation today announced Alpha, its program for 21st century computing. According to Kenneth H. Olsen, President of Digital Equipment Corporation, "Alpha is a totally new, open computing architecture that will be the foundation for advanced 21st century computing. It will give computer users a clear and consistent growth path from today's computing technology to the benefits of advanced 21st century computer technology. The Alpha program is a major element in the new, more competitive Digital Equipment Corporation, and we believe it will significantly fuel Digital's growth in the coming years." "This new architecture will, over time, address the needs of a broad range of computer users by providing systems that span the desktop to the supercomputer. Alpha will offer users the flexibility to deploy current applications on popular operating environments, beginning with OSF/1 and VMS. It will enhance and extend the capability of today's Digital products. Customers can continue to buy today's leadership VMS and UNIX systems from Digital knowing they have a clear entry path into 21st century computing," added William Demmer, vice president of Digital's VAX VMS Systems and Servers group. "The beauty of Alpha is that it opens the future with a solid bridge from the present," he added. Announced today were: o The Alpha architecture. This advanced, full 64-bit Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) architecture is optimized for speed, engineered to support multiple operating systems, and designed to increase performance by a factor of 1000 over its anticipated 25-year life. o The first Alpha product -- Digital's 21064-AA RISC microprocessor. This 150-MegaHertz microprocessor is the first in a family of full 64-bit chips with address space many thousands of times larger than 32-bit implementations from IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun. The new chip has demonstrated performance at 200 MegaHertz, and over time Digital will offer versions of this microprocessor at various speeds. Evaluation quantities of the 21064-AA microprocessor are available now. It is priced at $3375 each in units of 1 to 100; $1650 in units of 101 to 1,000; and $1559 for over 1,000. Quantity shipments will begin in July, 1992. The new RISC microprocessor chips are manufactured at the company's high-volume, state-of-the-art manufacturing plants in Hudson, Massachusetts, and South Queensferry, Scotland. o New business practices to achieve the broadest possible use of the Alpha architecture, and to make the widest range of software available on Alpha. Digital will sell Alpha at all levels of integration -- chip, board, and system -- to other computer companies and to OEMs. Digital also will license its operating systems (including DEC OSF/1 and VMS), compilers, and layered software products. To ensure a broad applications portfolio, Digital is offering a comprehensive support program to help leading software companies quickly move up to Alpha. Thirty Alpha Upgrade Centers are being located in the US, Europe and Asian Rim, staffed by software support personnel with expertise in VMS, ULTRIX, and DEC OSF/1. Complete documentation, seminars and training session are available now, and seed Alpha system will be available this summer. The Alpha Upgrade Program already is underway with many leading software companies. Major vendors supporting the Alpha platform will be highlighted at DECWORLD '92 beginning in April. o A variety of ways for customers to enhance their VMS and UNIX computing environments with Alpha. Customers can develop and run applications on today's leadership VAX and DECsystem products with the assurance that they easily will be able to add Alpha systems into their computing environments. Alpha systems will provide data, image, source code, and user interface compatibility with VAX systems running open VMS and DECsystem products running DEC OSF/1. Alpha systems will network with these products to share information and processing tasks, and will work in VAXcluster configurations. Common buses for VAX, DECsystem, and Alpha systems means that many peripherals will be able to be used between systems. o A complete portfolio of service programs for users and other vendors who incorporate Alpha technology into their products. Digital will support customers with services ranging from consulting to training, systems management, and integration and upgrade services. Digital will support vendors during product design and implementation. Through OEMs, VARs, or direct distribution channels, Digital also will provide services for vendors' Alpha-based products. Alpha will extend the ability of Digital's current software systems environment to address major business opportunities. Supercomputer or large mainframe applications -- seismic data analysis, econometric forecasting, molecular modeling, engineering design verification, and many others -- will be able to run on Alpha at a fraction of traditional mainframe price per unit of performance. Alpha will expand the market for networks of high performance distributed production systems and servers, replacing mainframes. The powerful new single-chip Alpha microprocessor will open new markets for embedded OEM applications and board-level products. Alpha will provide the power for emerging personal use applications that are beyond the capability of most of today's PCs, such as voice and video, visualization systems, imaging, and artificial intelligence. With Digital's NAS (Network Application Support), customers will have the flexibility to integrate leading-edge, Alpha-based applications with their current applications environment. "Alpha is based on the expertise Digital has gained from 35 years of providing systems and networking based on leadership architectural design," noted Robert B.Palmer, Digital's vice president of manufacturing. "In addition, Digital has 15 years of experience in designing and delivering chip technology, including leading-edge CMOS technology. We have some of the industry's most advanced fabrication technology, and most experienced chip design teams using a leading-edge suite of CAD tools, involved in delivering the world's fastest RISC microprocessor." Digital Equipment Corporation, headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts, is the leading worldwide supplier of networked computer systems, software, and services. The company pioneered and leads the industry in interactive, distributed and multivendor computing. Digital and its partners deliver the power to use the best integrated solutions - from desktop to data center - in open information environments.