NEC Corporation of America Announces Red Hat Enterprise Linux Certification and Subscriptions for Fault Tolerant Servers; Express5800/320Ma FT Series Receives Enterprise Linux Certification

Business Wire, August 15, 2006

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- NEC Corporation of America, a premier provider of IT, network and telephony solutions, today announced Red Hat(R) Enterprise Linux Certification for its Express5800/320Ma(TM) Fault Tolerant (FT) servers. NEC's Express5800/ft series servers, renowned for its unparalleled enterprise-class system integrity and up to 99.999% availability at mid-range price points, now provide customers UNIX class hardware reliability based upon the growing stability, performance and support for mission critical applications for the Linux platform.

"Businesses have an insatiable appetite for more data and zero tolerance for server downtime requiring unparalleled computing performance for mission critical applications," said Efrem Stringfellow, vice president of sales, Solutions Platform Group of NEC Corporation of America. "By offering the most robust enterprise Linux distribution on the market combined with the reliability of NEC's Express5800/ft series servers, NEC can now provide customers with an industrial strength Linux platform suitable for multiple datacenter UNIX applications."

The Express5800/ftc series will be available immediately through tier one channel partners Avnet and Team1, providing an unsurpassed level of global service and support.

"The wonderful element of NEC immersing itself into this market is they bring the Linux community a trusted fault tolerant architecture and more hardware offerings to run an open source platform," said Nick Carr, enterprise OS marketing manager, Red Hat. "Having a reliable brand like NEC deliver new technology like fault tolerance, becomes increasingly important for a group of users that is growing exponentially."

"A fault-tolerant Linux server solution, such as that being offered by NEC, will address customer requirements for Linux computing for mission-critical enterprise applications leveraging Linux and open-source software," said Jean S. Bozman, research vice president in IDC's Enterprise Servers Group. "It also provides a highly available building-block for Linux server solutions supporting next-generation telecommunications applications."

Red Hat Linux Enterprise Edition 4, Update 4, Subscriptions and Support

The Express5800/320Ma supports FT enhancements made available to the Linux community through the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, Update 4. Supporting full 64-bit Enterprise Edition Linux Operating System operation, the NEC Express5800/320Ma FT server offers minimal unplanned downtime per year, saving end-users thousands of dollars through improved mission critical accessibility. Further value is delivered through NEC ExpressCluster(R) Disaster Recovery software, which protects systems from catastrophic events by connecting two FT servers hundreds of miles apart.

In conjunction with the Red Hat Enterprise Edition 4, update 4 support, NEC is also introducing Red Hat Linux Subscription and Support Programs. Starting at $1,299, NEC is providing a 1Year Red Hat Network Subscription along with 9 x 5 Technical support. As a promotional offer through 12/21/2006, NEC is offering a no charge upgrade to 24 x7 1Yr. support valued at $2,099. Also available are 3 Year 9 x 5 and 24 x 7 programs.

About the Express5800/320Ma

Powered by the combination of Intel(R) Xeon(R) 5000 Series processors and 3rd generation fault tolerant technology, Red Hat(R) Enterprise Linux support is available on the Express5800/320Ma 3.2GHz and a 2.8GHz dual-core systems. Up to 8 gigabytes (GB) of logical memory is supported on the 3.2GHz system and 16GB for Dual-Core platforms.

Other general features, include:

--Up to 1.2 TB of internal Storage with connectivity to leading third party storage as well as NEC's SAN based Storage Subsystem.

--Rapid Disk Resynchronization "FastSync" feature provides critical journaling capabilities to minimize database re-synchronization time of storage.

--Inclusion of NEC's Express Cluster Software for Red Hat Linux, providing application monitoring and restart as well as a platform to expand into Disaster Recovery.

--Rack and Tower Models

--Twin Customer Replaceable Units (CRUs): Operating with two CRUs, unlike previous four-CRU models, the Express5800/320Ma FT offers a simplified architecture resulting in easier use, service and maintenance.

Pricing and Availability

NEC's Express5800/320Ma Fault Tolerant (FT) with Red Hat Linux will be generally available in September. The solutions are being sold primarily through NEC's channel partners, Avnet Partner Solutions and Team 1 Systems. The manufacturer's list price starts at $25,598 for models that support Red Hat Enterprise Edition Linux 4, update 4.

About NEC Corporation of America

NEC Corporation of America is a leading technology provider of IT, network and visual display solutions. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, NEC Corporation of America is the North America subsidiary of NEC Corporation (NASDAQ:NIPNY). NEC Corporation of America delivers technology and professional services ranging from server and storage solutions, digital presentation and visual display systems to biometric identification, IP voice and data solutions, optical network and microwave radio communications. NEC Corporation of America serves carrier, SMB and large enterprise clients across multiple vertical industries. For more information, please visit www.necam.com.