Intel-based servers with new Microsoft OS deliver industry-leading capabilities, performance

"We've seen tremendous growth over the last decade in Intel-based servers.  Intel Xeon processors power more than eight out of ten servers that ship today, and the 64-bit Itanium processor family has been shipping for more than two years and is rapidly gaining popularity," said Intel President and COO, Paul Otellini.  "The introduction of
Windows(r) Server 2003 and SQL Server(tm) 2000 (64-bit) marks a major milestone in the movement of the Windows operating environment to enterprise-class computing powered by Itanium 2 processors.  Together with Microsoft, we look forward to delivering the best performance and price-performance systems shipping today."

"Intel and Microsoft have collaborated to ensure that Windows Server 2003 is optimized to take full advantage of the unique capabilities of the Itanium and Xeon processor families," said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO.  "Windows on Itanium 2-based systems gives customers enterprise-class scalability on an easy-to-deploy and easy-to-manage platform. With today's launch of Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000 64-bit, customers will benefit from significantly increased reliability, scalability and performance at lower costs across the enterprise.  There is now true choice and competition in the datacenter market." added Mauro Meanti, General Manager for Server and Platform Business, Microsoft EMEA.

Intel also illustrated the growing number of Itanium 2-based systems on the market today and coming this year, highlighting servers from Unisys and Dell. The Unisys ES7000/560, announced today, is the industry's first enterprise server incorporating 32-bit Intel Xeon processors, 64-bit Itanium 2 processors and PCI blade appliances in a single system. The Itanium 2-based Dell PowerEdge server is expected to ship this year.

Microsoft today also introduced a version of its SQL Server database for Itanium 2-based servers. SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition (64-bit) and Windows Server 2003 take full advantage of the parallel processing capabilities and larger memory addressing of the Itanium architecture, processing data-intensive transaction workloads faster, supporting more concurrent users and increasing scalability and throughput.

The Windows Server 2003 launch enables other major software vendors to introduce applications on Itanium 2-based platforms, including BEA WebLogic Enterprise Platform*, i2 Technologies with key Supply Chain Management solutions, J.D. Edwards Business Intelligence, Network
Associates* McAfee* VirusScan* Enterprise 7.0, SAP mySAP* Business Suite, Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition and dozens of others, adding to the hundreds of applications and tools already shipping for the Itanium processor family. Intel also introduced the Intel(r) VTune(tm) Performance Analyzer 7.0 and Intel(r) VTune(tm) Enterprise Analyzer 2.0 tools, which support developers using Windows 2003 Server, to make application and web performance tuning easier and more efficient on individual or multi-tier Intel-based platforms. 

In EMEA, SHS Multimedia, a leading software system integrator and global solution architect for the digital media and telecommunications markets, has been using a combination of an Itanium 2-based server with Microsoft Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition (64-bit) to develop new services for customers.  Giovanni Soldi, Chairman SHS Multimedia explains: "With the Itanium 2 processor and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 64-bit we can develop exciting new applications to manage huge volumes of data.  We've already created a complete digital production centre allowing broadcasters to control their workflow and news management in an entirely digital environment.  The platform provides the increased performance and dependability we need for development and, because it is based on industry standard building blocks, our customers can reduce production costs without sacrificing quality."

Windows Server 2003 is available in Standard and Web editions for the Intel Xeon processor family, and Enterprise and Data Center editions for Intel Xeon processors MP and Itanium 2 processors. Windows Server 2003 supports up to 32 Intel Xeon processors MP with 64 GB of memory, and is optimized to take full advantage of Intel's Hyper-Threading technology, which provides up to 30 percent performance boosts for multithreaded applications. The operating system also delivers exclusive 64-bit support for Intel's Itanium processor family, handling up to 64 processors and 512 GB of memory. Windows Server 2003 also supports advanced clustering, larger page sizes and improved error detection and logging for added dependability and productivity.

EMEA pilots demonstrate superior performance of Windows(r) Server 2003 with the Itanium(r) 2 processor Businesses throughout EMEA have already been testing the benefits of Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition and SQL Server 2000 (64-bit) on the Itanium 2-based platform and have experienced dramatic improvements in performance. Jeroen van de Heijden, Divisional Director from Exact Holding explains:  "We expect the combination of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (64-bit) and Itanium 2-based platforms to open up new business opportunities to us as well as providing internal business efficiencies. In terms of the applications we offer customers we need to grow beyond the limit of a 32-bit platform and now e-Synergy will be able to compete in the 64-bit market for very large and information intensive mission critical applications such as data centre environments."

Intel is 's werelds grootste chipfabrikant en een vooraanstaand producent van personal computer-, netwerk- en communicatieproducten. Meer informatie over Intel is te vinden op: http://www.intel.com/pressroom/.

Voor meer informatie:
Intel Benelux, Kristof Sehmke, Communicatie Manager, telefoon +32 (0)3 450 08 11, email: kristof.sehmke@intel.com of Monogram Communication Strategies (MCS) BV, Marieke Leenhouts, telefoon
+31 (0)23 562 82 08, email: mariekel@monogram.nl.