HP and Unigraphics Solutions' iMAN PDM Software Scales to 12,000 Concurrent Users, With Power to Spare; Companies Announce Test Results For HP Servers and iMAN

Business Wire, Oct 1, 1999

PALO ALTO, Calif., and ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1999 --

Hewlett-Packard Company and Unigraphics Solutions today announced that in independent tests of Unigraphics Solutions' iMAN product data management (PDM) software using HP 9000 V- and N-Class servers running Oracle(R) Version 8.0.5 and HP-UX(1) 11, HP servers easily scaled to 12,000 concurrent users, with additional processing power available.

This result demonstrates that HP hardware supports iMAN in an enterprisewide environment as the highest-performing PDM solution available. The system was tested and certified by Client/Server Labs Inc., Atlanta.

HP's industry-leading V2500 server, with 32 processors and 32GB of RAM, easily supports 12,000 users, utilizing less than 70 percent of the CPU resources and available memory. The HP N4000 server, with 8 processors and 8GB of RAM, easily supports 5,000 users, utilizing only 48 percent of available CPU resources. Actual response times are under non-disclosure, but HP and Unigraphics Solutions were extremely pleased with the single-digit transaction response times.

"Both the V- and N-Class servers demonstrated industry-leading performance with response times that prove true technological advances in system architecture and processor performance leadership," said Bruce Toal, marketing manager for HP's Technical Server Division. "iMAN is certainly designed to provide quick implementation of PDM functionality, but large enterprise applications also need the correct hardware infrastructure for optimal performance of the software. This testing has proven that HP technical servers have the processing power and scalability available for large, enterprise environments at exceptional price/performance. A 32-way V2500 server with 32GB of RAM is estimated to support 15,000 users. This outstanding result is a 50 percent improvement in price/performance over many systems on the market today. In addition, HP's eight-way N4000 server with 16GB of RAM is estimated to support 10,000 users, which is more than three times the price/performance value of many products on the market today."

"The alliance of Unigraphics Solutions and HP represents a strong solution for the PDM industry," said Rajiv Khoshoo, director, iMAN Line of Business at Unigraphics Solutions. "UGS' iMAN software provides an industry-leading solution for managing the entire product-development life cycle and enabling Internet collaboration. These impressive test results on HP's world-class hardware platform once again validate iMAN's ability to provide a scalable solution for today's largest enterprise customers."

HP 9000 Technical Servers

The HP 9000 Technical Server family consists of the D-, K-, L-, N-, S- and V-Class platforms. Through the use of common HP 9000 architectural components such as HP's 64-bit PA-RISC processor, all of these platforms provide binary compatibility and application portability. The HP 9000 family is designed to match the most cost-effective and efficient architecture to the customer's environment size -- from high-performance, deskside systems to the high-end V-Class server.

About Unigraphics Solutions and iMAN Software

iMAN is an Internet-enabled product data management system designed to help companies improve their product development processes by organizing, managing and communicating information throughout the product life cycle. Since 1992, iMAN has consistently delivered production-proven PDM solutions, enabling enterprise collaboration. iMAN delivers a robust set of applications including data management, process management and configuration management tools on an advanced Web-centric architecture. For more information please visit the iMAN home page on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ugsolutions.com/products/iman/.> Unigraphics Solutions Inc. (NYSE: UGS) provides end-to-end CAD/CAM/CAE/PDM software and related services designed to improve its customers command of product development. The company provides tools appropriate to a collaborative engineering environment, converting ideas into easily shared concepts used to develop products of varying complexity such as motor vehicles, aircraft, heavy equipment and consumer goods and the parts that comprise them. Unigraphics Solutions' software is used worldwide and includes Unigraphics for high-end, complex design, manufacture and assembly; Solid Edge for mid-range, Windows-based product design; iMAN for product data management; and Parasolid, a design and manufacturing industries solid modeling standard. Many OEM software developers have licensed the Parasolid kernel.

The company, formerly EDS Unigraphics, maintains corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., and can be reached via the World Wide Web at http://www.ugsolutions.com.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services for business and home -- is focused on capitalizing on the opportunities of the Internet and the proliferation of electronic services.

HP plans to launch Agilent Technologies as an independent company by mid-calendar 2000. Agilent consists of HP's test and measurement, semiconductor products, chemical analysis and healthcare solutions businesses, and has leading positions in multiple market segments.