Altera Announces Linux Support for the Quartus II Development Software.

Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 2001

Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR) today announced plans to port the Quartus(R) II design software to Linux-based environments by offering support for the Red Hat v.6.2 operating system. This initiative bolsters Altera's leadership position in design software for system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) development.

Complex designs require engineering teams to rely on large networks of high-performance workstations and servers. Low-cost, reliable PCs running Linux provide an ideal design and development platform because of their ability to fit easily into an existing UNIX environment. Altera's Quartus II development software complements leading synthesis and simulation products that are also rolling out on Linux. Together, these products will provide a complete Linux-based PLD development environment.

"Linux environments can provide the many advantages of a UNIX network at a greatly reduced cost per compute cycle," said Tim Colleran, Altera vice president of product marketing. "The porting of Quartus II software to a Linux operating system amplifies Altera's commitment to UNIX customers needs."

"As programmable logic devices increase in size and complexity, the need for high-performance, cost-effective platforms will follow," said Anne Sanquini, vice president and general manager of Mentor Graphics HDL Design Division. "We applaud Altera's strategy to address this emerging need, and look forward to supporting them in this endeavor."

Linux has enjoyed dramatic success over the last several years as a platform for a variety of EDA point tools, such as simulation, because of the low cost per compute cycle. The broader availability of a Linux-based EDA tools, including Quartus II software, will provide designers of complex SOPC solutions with a high-throughput, low-cost design and verification environment. To meet this end, Altera is partnering with Red Hat to develop a port of Quartus II software to the Red Hat Linux OS which is firmly embedded in today's computing infrastructure.

"We are excited that Altera has selected the Red Hat operating system as a platform for its high-performance Quartus II design software," said Bob Cymbalski, vice president of product management at Red Hat. "Combining the stability of the Red Hat v6.2 operating system with Altera's comprehensive SOPC design methodology provides a robust development environment to the PLD design community."

About Quartus II Development Software

Altera's Quartus II software delivers superior designer productivity and supports system-level designs with features including the PowerFit(TM) fitter technology, support for multi-million gate devices, and integration with third-party tools. Also, with support for the Excalibur(TM) embedded processor family, it extends the user scope beyond hardware by including a software workflow that offers C/C++ compilers and debuggers in a fully integrated development environment. The Quartus II software supports major operating systems, including Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows 98, Sun Solaris, and HP-UX.

Pricing and Availability

The Quartus II version 1.0 software is available today, and is a part of the Altera development tools subscription package. Altera's software subscription program simplifies the process of obtaining Altera development tools by consolidating all software products and maintenance charges into one annual subscription payment. The annual subscription for the Altera development tools is $2,000 for a node-locked PC license, which includes full-featured Quartus II and MAX+PLUS(R) II development software, OEM synthesis tools from Synopsys and Exemplar, OEM simulation tools from ModelTechnology, and 12 months of software upgrades. New or existing customers may obtain a software subscription at the Programmable eStore on the Altera web site, http://www.altera.com, or from Altera distributors worldwide.

About Altera

Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company(R), was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs). Altera's CMOS-based PLDs are user-programmable semiconductor chips that enhance flexibility and reduce time-to-market for companies in the communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. By using high performance devices, software development tools, and sophisticated intellectual property cores, system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions can be created with embedded processors, memory, and other complex logic together on a single PLD. Altera common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera is available on the Internet at http://www.altera.com.

Safe Harbor 

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally preceded by words that imply a future state such as "expected" or that imply that a particular future event or events will occur such as "will". Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements in this release involve risks and uncertainty, including without limitation the risk that future performance is dependent on product development schedules, the design performance of software and other tools, as well as the company's and third parties' development technology and manufacture capabilities. Please refer to the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, copies of which are available from the company without charge.

Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, Quartus, PowerFit, Excalibur, MAX+PLUS, and specific device designations, are trademarks and/or service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective holder.