News release

HP Showcases New Customer, Investments and Programs in High-performance Linux Clustering

Showcasing its work in the hardware clustering market, HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced a new customer, the expansion of the HP Scalable Cluster Center and a new program for developing Linux clustering systems built on HP ProLiant and Itanium 2-based servers.

"HP is leading the market in delivering powerful and scalable Linux-based clustering solutions to handle the most difficult technical computing requirements," said Martin Fink, vice president of Linux, HP. "We are delivering the price and performance of Linux on industry-standard hardware, creating a flexible, scalable, high-performance compute environment that enables customers to save significant time and money."

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) has selected HP's high-performance Linux cluster systems. The NCSA is using a 64-node cluster of Itanium® 2-based HP rx2600 servers running Linux to test software, interconnects and compute-intensive scientific applications.

"We are looking forward to expanding our Linux and Itanium cluster environment with this new HP cluster and will use it for scaling up cluster software packages, such as OSCAR and VMI, and for applications on the HP platform," said Robert Pennington, senior associate director of computing and data management, NCSA. "HP has a strong commitment to Itanium systems and we are looking forward to working with them on this new system."

Investment in Supercomputing Clusters at HP's Cluster Center

HP also has committed a multimillion-dollar investment in two Linux-based supercomputing clusters running on HP Itanium 2 and ProLiant server nodes at the HP Scalable Cluster Center in Littleton, Mass.⁽¹⁾

The first phase in deployment of these two clusters has already garnered spots on the latest TOP500 list of the world's most powerful computer systems⁽²⁾; they join several Linux clusters delivered and supported by HP already on the list.

The center supports product development, research by HP scientists and visiting scholars, customer education, ongoing benchmark and scalability demonstrations, and independent software vendor application certification and optimization.

One of the clusters comprises 68 HP rx2600 Itanium 2-based servers running Linux and recently was used in the development of the Lustre file system, an open-source based storage management software system, as well as input/output and data transport optimization. The second cluster, consisting of 66 HP ProLiant DL360 G3 servers, is used for stress testing HP's scalable Linux technologies.

Both clusters are used for benchmark and scalability demonstrations as well as ISV application certification and optimization. Together, the clusters deliver 1.13 teraflops of peak performance and are expected to more than double their capacity over the next year.

Developing Complete Linux Cluster Systems for Customers

HP introduced a program aimed to develop a tested and supported cluster package on HP ProLiant servers as well as the first comprehensive, fully supported cluster system for HP Itanium 2-based or ProLiant servers. Later this summer, HP plans to announce the results of this program -- additions to its Linux cluster product portfolio enabling customers to confidently and rapidly deploy supported and verified Linux clustered systems.

Previews of the HP's Linux cluster initiatives and products will be demonstrated at ClusterWorld in San Jose, Calif., in HP booth 301, June 24-26, and at the International Supercomputing Conference in Heidelberg, Germany, in HP booths 1 and 2, June 25-27.

About HP

HP delivers vital technology for business and life. The company's solutions span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing for consumers, enterprises and small and medium business. For the last four quarters, HP revenue totaled $70.4 billion. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.

⁽¹⁾ The Center is managed by the High Performance Computing Expertise Center (HPCEC). It is used extensively for the development, testing and qualification of high performance computing (HPC) cluster technologies, for ISV support, application performance and scalability characterization and certification on large systems. The Center's supercomputing power is also used to accelerate the pace of innovation in Quantum Computing, life sciences and advanced computing technologies.

⁽²⁾ Presented by the University of Mannheim (Germany) and the University of Tennessee, the TOP500 list names the 500 most powerful installed computer systems in the world. Qualification as one of the TOP500 supercomputer sites is based on the Linpack NxN benchmark. The best Linpack benchmark performance achieved is used a performance measure in ranking the supercomputers.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that the market for the sale of certain products and services may not develop as expected; that development and performance of these products and services may not proceed as planned; and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to HP's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended January 31, 2003, and subsequently filed reports. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, HP's results could differ materially from HP's expectations in these statements. HP assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.