The HP 3000 strengthens its PC integration offering with significant performance enhancements for the Netware/iX product. Test results show that throughput performance has improved by up to 1000% while utilizing considerably less CPU resources compared to the original Netware/iX product. In addition, Netware/iX performance under load now surpasses a Intel-based 386/486 PC running native Netware. The HP 3000 provides customers with an industry-leading PC LAN server solution, offering the benefits of high OLTP performance and access to the multitude of HP 3000 applications. Product Description =================== Netware/iX (version 3.01) is a fully compatible Netware server product which provides transparent integration for Netware clients. Netware/iX provides the functionality of Novell's Netware services including file and printer sharing; server administration and management; and APIs, including the Sequenced Packet Exchange (SPX) protocol for developing client-server applications. Performance Results =================== The outstanding performance results for the Netware/iX product are attributable to innovative performance tuning. Throughput performance has improved by 245% to 1000% depending on the user load compared to the original product. Additionally, CPU utilization has decreased up to 90%. When comparing Netware/iX to an Intel-based 386/486 PC running native Netware, results show that Netware/iX performance is now at par for low user loads and surpasses the performance of a 386/486 PC at more than 40 users. Also as more users are added throughput degradation (ie., decrease in response time) occurs more rapidly for a 386/486 PC versus Netware/iX. Based on these comparisons, a customer will experience a dramatic improvement in performance due to the performance enhancements when using Netware/iX on a HP 3000 Precision-Bus system. The server used for testing was a HP 3000 Series 917LX. The benchmark used was the "PC Magazine Benchmark", which is used to characterize HP's file server performance. Positioning =========== The HP 3000 offers a broad family of scaleable, reliable, open, and secure computer systems. This robust functionality and high system availability provides the foundation for business critical applications to run on the HP 3000. Thousands of industry-leading applications are available for the HP 3000 worldwide. Netware/iX brings the full-function computing resources and applications of the HP 3000 to the desktop. For Netware customers looking for a scaleable and secure application server, the HP 3000 is the answer. The HP 3000's growth path as well as its extensive offering of applications and security features cannot be duplicated by any PC-based server. Netware's API (SPX), provides the user with the capability to port their business critical applications to the 3000 and take advantage of an OLTP tuned server. The file and print sharing features of Netware/iX provide value added capabilities to the API feature set. For Netware customers looking for a dedicated PC LAN server (ie., use server for only file and print sharing) either a low-end HP 3000 system or a 386/486 can be used. Availability ============ The Netware/iX performance enhancements will be available as a MPE/iX 4.0 release patch in the September/October timeframe. Further Information =================== For further information on the Netware/iX performance results, send a HP Desk message to the Network Hotline with the subject "NW900S".