Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 10:22:05 -0800 To: lwn@lwn.net From: Kelly Fitzpatrick <kfitzpatrick@LNScom.com> Subject: API NetWorks and Cray Inc. Announce Strategic Alliance Hi Rebecca, In conjunction with LinuxWorld, API NetWorks, Inc. and Cray Inc. today announced a strategic alliance and as part of the multi-year collaboration, API NetWorks will supply its Alpha server technology as the foundation for the Cray SuperCluster" Series, the world's first mission-critical supercomputers based on Linux, also announced today. The combined technology brings Alpha Linux to large, mission-critical technical data centers for the first time. This agreement is one in a series of proof points marking the continued growth of Alpha as the preferred platform for building the industry's highest-performing systems and extends API NetWorks' technology reach into the high-end cluster market. Representatives from both companies are available for comment. Please let me know if you'd like me to arrange a conference call. Thanks, Kelly -------------------- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, API NetWorks' Booth Number: 129 API NetWorks and Cray Inc. Announce Strategic Alliance to Introduce First Move of Alpha Linux Into Large-Scale, Mission-Critical Clustered Environments Collaboration To Deliver Cray SuperCluster" Systems with Superior Performance, Data Center Quality To Leading Supercomputing Sites LinuxWorld, New York, NY, January 29, 2001 - API NetWorks, Inc. (formerly Alpha Processor, Inc.), engineers of the world's highest-performing Linux hardware solutions, and global supercomputer leader Cray Inc. (Nasdaq NM: CRAY), today announced a strategic alliance to bring the power, openness and scalability of Alpha Linux to large, mission-critical technical data centers for the first time. As part of the multi-year collaboration, API NetWorks will supply its CS20, the world's most powerful server in a 1U form factor, as the foundation for the Cray SuperCluster" Series, the world's first mission-critical supercomputers based on Linux, separately announced today in conjunction with the LinuxWorld Expo. This agreement is one in a series of proof points marking the continued growth of Alpha as the preferred platform for building the industry's highest-performing systems and extends API NetWorks' technology reach into the high-end cluster market. "Today, even the largest clusters are inefficient at handling really big, complex problems and managing workloads for hundreds or thousands of concurrent users," said William White, program manager for the Cray SuperCluster systems. "Through our Alpha Linux collaboration with API NetWorks and our advanced architecture and system software, we are re-implementing the proven capabilities of Cray supercomputers in a cluster version, based on requests from leading supercomputer sites around the world." Cray's Alpha Linux SuperCluster systems, slated to begin shipping in mid-2001, will scale over time to 1000s of processors to tackle some of the world's most challenging problems in emerging fields such as genomics and bioinformatics and in cancer research, weather forecasting, petroleum, automotive design and other advanced government, industrial and university research. "Through our world-class partners, API NetWorks has provided supercomputing-like power to the high-performance computing and Internet markets. By teaming with Cray, we are expanding Alpha Linux further into the supercomputing market and building mission-critical clusters for the major supercomputing sites around the world," said Gerry Talbot, President and CTO of API NetWorks. "API NetWorks has seen major growth in Alpha sales with the Linux platform. The agreement with Cray promises to bring this technology into the world's leading engineering and scientific research facilities, demonstrating that today's most advanced computing problems can be solved through the combination of Alpha Linux." The powerful CS20 with its "network aware" Linux in the ROM feature and Cray's proven serverized UNICOS (UNIX) operating environment provides the speed, performance and scalability along with technical data center features needed for higher-capability clusters (upwards of 500 node clusters) in government, industry and academia. About API NetWorks, Inc. Addressing the demand for increased memory and I/O bandwidth, API NetWorks' high-performance, high-density component and server technologies are ideal for today's high-performance computing (HPC) and network infrastructure markets. API NetWorks' industry-recognized design team is committed to working with leading companies to deliver the highest performing, scalable solutions available for OEMs, VARs and system integrators. For more information about API NetWorks and product offerings, see www.api-networks.com. About Cray Inc. Cray Inc. designs, builds and sells high-performance MPP, vector processor and general-purpose parallel computer systems. The company has leading edge technology, multiple product platforms, nearly 900 employees, a $2 billion installed base of approximately 600 computers worldwide, major manufacturing and service capabilities and extensive global customer relationships. Cray believes its Multithreaded Architecture and Cray T3E and Cray SV systems together represent the future of supercomputing. Go to www.cray.com for more information on the company. Cray is a registered trademark, and Cray T3E, Cray SV1, Cray MTA and Cray SV2 are trademarks, of Cray Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. API NetWorks Contacts: Guy Ludden Katy Brennan/Mary Beth West Marketing Communications Manager LNS Communications, Inc. API NetWorks, Inc. Tel: 617-577-9777 Tel: 978-318-1142 kbrennan@LNScom.com guy.ludden@api-networks.com mwest@LNScom.com Cray Contacts: Steve Conway Jennifer Gantz Cray Inc. Weber Shandwick Worldwide 651-592-7441 952-346-6253 sttico@aol.com jgantz@shandwick.com