News release

Compaq and Oracle to Deliver Simple, Fast, and Cost-Effective Oracle9i Real Application Clusters Certified Configurations

Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) and Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) today announced the availability of Oracle9i Real Application Clusters Certified Configurations on the Compaq AlphaServer™ and ProLiant™ platforms. Customers can now experience Oracle9i Real Application Cluster technology's unlimited scalability and total availability with a single part number, on a pre-integrated, pre-installed Compaq system. This one-stop-shop approach gives customers a single low-cost clustering solution with a faster-time-to-deployment at lower risk, and the ability to easily add more capacity as their business grows.

Delivered complete with Compaq StorageWorks controllers, arrays and fibre channel product solution set, the combination of these fully integrated, SAN-ready Compaq cluster solutions and pre-installed Oracle9i Database enables faster time-to-solution and less risk in implementation.

Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison is expected to demonstrate today to press and analysts an Oracle9i Real Application Cluster configuration running Linux on a four-node Compaq ProLiant DL580 server, proving the performance and scalability of Oracle9i Real Application Clusters.

"The combination of Compaq technology and Oracle9i Real Application Clusters offers our joint customers a deployment platform with unprecedented scalability and reliability, at a price point the market has never seen," said Michael Rocha, senior vice president, Platform Technologies Division, Oracle. "Oracle's partnership with Compaq has been integral to the development and delivery of Oracle9i Real Application Clusters technology, and we look forward to continuing to provide our customers with proven Oracle and Compaq certified configurations and joint service delivery."

"By working with a global industry leader like Oracle, we are able to continue building on our strengths in high performance computing and clustering as the capacity in Internet architecture continues to increase," said Mike Winkler, executive vice president, Global Business Units, Compaq Computer Corporation. "The Oracle9i Real Application Clusters and Compaq's Tru64 UNIX offering truly reflects the strength of our industry lead in clustering technology."

Oracle and Compaq recently announced a multi-year technology and business partnership to deliver clustered database server configurations based upon Oracle9i Real Application Clusters and Compaq Tru64™ UNIX clustering technology. The partnership is expected to deliver value to customers by enabling them to dramatically reduce the cost and risk of implementing clustered solutions while also speeding implementation, and making more efficient use of critical IT resources.

Compaq underscored its close working relationship with Oracle and a mutual commitment to fast time-to-solution by also announcing dramatically shortened deployment times of Oracle9i Real Application Clusters running on clustered AlphaServer ES40 and ProLiant DL580 servers.

"With Oracle9i Real Application Cluster and Tru64 Certified Configurations from Compaq and Oracle, we expect to get customers up and running within nine days of an order. Our Compaq Certified Integration Partner Plus (CIP+) status and our two decades in implementing Compaq clustering technology helps make the deployment of Oracle9i Real Application Clusters on Compaq quick and predictable for our customers. It just doesn't get much easier than this," said Brian Armstrong, president, Avnet Enterprise Solutions.

The Compaq Global Services and Oracle Consulting alliance will provide customers with a full lifecycle of service offerings from a high-level review of the customer's needs, through developing, testing, implementing and managing the solution. While customers have access to the expertise of both organizations, there is a single point of contact for each customer, ensuring smooth interaction.

For customers with support contracts from both companies, a single phone call to either Compaq or Oracle can produce results, irrespective of the source of the problem. The joint service delivery will begin at first call, escalate to joint service sites then directly to engineering, thus increasing both companies' ability to optimize the total Oracle9i Real Application Clusters solution for Compaq AlphaServer and ProLiant platforms.

In support of ISVs running on Oracle9i Real Application Clusters, Oracle recently launched the Oracle9i Real Application Clusters laboratory with Compaq AlphaServer and ProLiant platforms to test their application on a Compaq cluster configuration. Many of the ISVs have already participated and successfully tested their applications, citing scalability, availability, and ease of migration as key reasons to upgrade.

Customers who run their Oracle9i Real Application Clusters solution on Compaq can be confident that they are running on the same platform used for Oracle9i Real Application Cluster ISV validation.

Availability

For more information on Oracle9i Real Application Clusters on Compaq's high-performance AlphaServer and market-leading industry-standard ProLiant server platforms, visit http://www.compaq.com/oracle/buy9iRAC.

About Oracle

Oracle Corporation provides the software that powers the Internet. For more information about Oracle, please call 650-506-7000.

About Compaq

Compaq Computer Corporation, a Fortune Global 100 company, is a leading global provider of technology and solutions. Compaq designs, develops, manufactures, and markets hardware, software, solutions, and services, including industry-leading enterprise computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, and communications products, commercial desktop and portable products, and consumer PCs that are sold in more than 200 countries. Information on Compaq and its products and services is available at http://www.compaq.com.