AIM Technology Announces 'Hot Iron Award' Winners at UniForum; Fourth Semi-Annual Award Ceremony Highlights Winners Major Improvements In Price/Performance.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 1996--AIM Technology, a leader in performance benchmarking technology and developer of the AIM Benchmark Suites, today announced the winners of the 1996 Spring Hot Iron Awards.

The winners, including CHEN Systems, Compaq Computer Corp., Digital Equipment Corp., Ing. C. Olivetti & C.Sp.A., ROSS Technology, Inc., Silicon Graphics, Inc., and Zenith Data Systems Corp., were honored at a ceremony at UniForum. AIM's Hot Iron Awards provide semi-annual recognition of open systems, performance-leading computer systems in specific price and load/mix categories.

"Performance measurement tests, such as those used to test the Hot Iron Award winners, are becoming increasingly important due to two industry trends. First, increasing numbers of companies are making volume system purchases that will be expected to perform a variety of different applications.

"Using AIM's Load/Mix Modeling technology, which provides tests chosen to model a specific application environment, purchasing groups can predict, with a high degree of accuracy, how a system will perform in different application environments," said Jim Geers, AIM Technology president and CEO.

"Second, the dramatic improvements in price/performance ratios among the systems we've tested over the last year indicate that it is important for purchasers to have current test information on the latest configurations to ensure making the best choice."

In the last year, performance for the winning systems in the shared system and file server categories has increased substantially, and at the same time prices have dropped. Users now have access to systems with significantly better performance and price/performance over those available a year ago.

For example, this year's shared system tests showed sustained loads in the $50,000 to $150,000 price category of 1135.4, compared to 479.8 last year; a dramatic increase in performance of 137 percent. This year's winning shared system is priced at $76/load, a drop of $80/load over last year's price of $156/load, representing a 51 percent improvement in the price/performance ratio.

File server tests also showed significant change. In the over $50,000 price category, performance increased from 151 sustained loads last year to 237.3 this year, a 57 percent increase. However, the price decreased by $415/load, down from $932/load to this year's price of $517/load; an improvement of 45 percent in the price/performance ratio.

AIM added a new price category to the Shared System and File Server awards to reflect market changes due to significant performance increases and price decreases in the systems tested. Price categories now include systems priced less than $25,000. Previously, the lowest price category included systems priced less than $50,000. -0- Award Winner List

The 1996 Spring Hot Iron Award winners are:

Multiuser Shared Systems

Best Throughput Performer

Priced less than $25,000: Z-SERVER MX 133 MHz (2 way), Zenith Data Systems Corp.

Priced between $25,000 and $49,000: Z-SERVER MX 133 MHz (4 way), Zenith Data Systems Corp.

Priced between $50,000 and $149,000: Digital AlphaServer 2100 5/250, Digital Equipment Corp., Computer Systems Division.

Priced over $150,000: Digital AlphaServer 8400 5/350, Digital Equipment Corp., Computer Systems Division.

Best Price/Performance Throughput

Priced less than $25,000: Digital Prioris XL Server 5100DP, Digital Equipment Corp., Personal Computer Business Unit.

Priced between $25,000 and $49,000: Z-SERVER MX 133 MHz (4 way), Zenith Data Systems Corp.

Priced between $50,000 and $149,000: Olivetti SNX 400/4 RS Systema, Ing. C. Olivetti & C.Sp.A.

Priced over $150,000: CHEN Systems CS1000 with AutoPilot, CHEN Systems.

File Servers

Best Throughput Performer

Priced less than $25,000: Digital Prioris LX 5120, Digital Equipment Corp., Personal Computer Business Unit.

Priced between $25,000 and $49,000: Digital Prioris ZX 5133MP/2, Digital Equipment Corp., Personal Computer Business Unit.

Priced between $50,000 and $149,000: Compaq ProLiant 4500 5/133 (8 disk), Compaq Computer Corp.

Priced over $150,000: Digital AlphaServer 2100 5/300, Digital Equipment Corp., Computer Systems Division.

Best Price/Performance Throughput

Priced less than $25,000: Digital Prioris LX 5120, Digital Equipment Corp., Personal Computer Business Unit.

Priced between $25,000 and $49,000: Digital Prioris ZX 5133MP/2, Digital Equipment Corp., Personal Computer Business Unit.

Priced between $50,000 and $149,000: Compaq ProLiant 4500 5/133 (8 disk), Compaq Computer Corp.

Priced over $150,000: Digital AlphaServer 2100 5/300, Digital Equipment Corp., Computer Systems Division.

Workstations

Best Performer

Priced less than $25,000: DEC 3000 Model 600, Digital Equipment Corp., Computer Systems Division.

Priced over $25,000: Digital AlphaStation 600 5/300, Digital Equipment Corp., Computer Systems Division.

Best Price/Performance

Priced less than $25,000: SGI Indy R4400SC 200 MHz, Silicon Graphics, Inc.

Priced over $25,000: ROSS hyperSPARC - SPARCstation 20 133 MHz, ROSS Technology, Inc. -0-

Since 1981, AIM Technology has been providing vendors and end users with comprehensive standard and custom performance testing. AIM's service helps users reduce the costs of evaluating new UNIX-based systems, and provides valuable broad-spectrum performance visibility for vendors that submit systems to be tested.

The company also provides performance management tools for the UNIX systems market. Load/Mix Modeling, developed in 1986, is a simple concept that is at the heart of AIM's benchmark technology. Each AIM benchmark contains a wide range of subtests. To model a given application environment, a Load/Mix is created that specifies which subtests are to be used and in what proportions.

These mixes are designed to stress the entire range of system capabilities. AIM Technology is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Network General Corp. Company headquarters are located at 4699 Old Ironsides Drive, Suite 400, Santa Clara, 95054. URL: http://www.aim.com; Telephone: [phone].

Network General Corporation (NASDAQ: NETG) is a leading provider of fault and performance management solutions for enterprise networks worldwide.

Founded in 1986, the company has extensive experience in complex heterogeneous network environments and offers a comprehensive suite of products and services designed to provide total network visibility. Worldwide headquarters are located at 4200 Bohannon Drive, Menlo Park, Calif., 94025. URL: http://www.ngc.com. -0-

Note to Editors: Network General and Sniffer are registered trademarks of Network General. All other registered and unregistered trademarks above are the sole property of their respective owners. All specifications may be changed without notice.

CONTACT: AIM Technology

Tammy Bauer, 708/516-9013