RELEASE: INFORMIX AND SEQUENT SHIP INDUSTRY'S FIRST COMPLETE PARALLEL PROCESSING DATABASE SERVER

INFORMIX AND SEQUENT SHIP INDUSTRY'S FIRST COMPLETE PARALLEL PROCESSING DATABASE SERVER INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server 7.0 Now Available on Sequent SMP Platform Up To a 30X Speed Increase With New Parallel Data Query Technology MENLO PARK, Calif. (March 7, 1994) -- Informix Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:IFMX) and Sequent(R) Computer Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNT) today announced the first shipment of INFORMIX(R)-OnLine Dynamic Server(TM) 7.0, the second implementation of Informix's new multithreaded, parallel processing database architecture, Dynamic Scalable Architecture(TM) (DSA(TM)). OnLine Dynamic Server 7.0 extends DSA's parallel processing capabilities with a first-of-its kind technology, Parallel Data Query (PDQ), developed jointly by Informix and Sequent. Under the terms of the development agreement, OnLine Dynamic Server 7.0 will be available exclusively on Sequent symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) systems for six months, making Sequent the only commercial open systems hardware vendor offering parallel database query capability to the market today. Informix and Sequent teamed to develop PDQ to leverage their complementary skills in database and SMP technologies and their shared view of the value PDQ would add to customer solutions. OnLine Dynamic Server 7.0 with PDQ is the industry's first database server to offer customers the ability to obtain maximum performance and utilization of multiprocessor hardware by dividing large database queries into multiple parallel tasks. PDQ facilitates a speed increase of 10 to 30 times over serial database technology, thereby greatly improving the performance of complex data queries that form the basis of many critical database applications. The parallel data query capabilities of OnLine Dynamic Server 7.0 can process complete parallel scans, joins and sorts as well as parallel index builds, backup and recovery. "Informix is proud to be partnering with Sequent to deliver the first complete parallel processing database server to the market," said Phil White, CEO of Informix Software. "Our approach of redesigning our database architecture for internal parallelism will enable us to offer orders of magnitude performance enhancements to key database functions including online transaction processing (OLTP), batch, complex query processing, and database administration. OnLine Dynamic Server 7.0 will meet future database scalability demands far more efficiently than other approaches that offer only add-on parallel options." "Our partnership with Informix lets Sequent deliver architectures that customers would not otherwise have access to," said Casey Powell, Sequent president and CEO. "With PDQ, Sequent open systems deliver extremely high performance on complex queries -- a level of performance that was previously available only on mainframes or proprietary systems. This is a significant breakthrough for our many customers running high-end, real-time applications with complex database requirements such as decision support on Sequent systems." High Performance and Scalability In addition to improving performance, PDQ on Sequent systems provides organizations with the scalability that today's rapidly expanding relational databases require. With OnLine Dynamic Server 7.0, organizations can maintain consistent decision support response times even as databases grow significantly and user queries become more complex. Database administrators can also run their mission-critical OLTP applications at peak performance while still being able to handle decision support and batch processing requests concurrently on a single copy of the database. Version 7.0 also includes high-availability replication for customers who want to set up a separate copy of the database for decision support. Additional Benefits In addition to faster query performance, OnLine Dynamic Server 7.0 provides the following new benefits to customers: -Local Table Partitioning: Table partitioning allows for large tables to be split into smaller tables that can leverage parallel processing for improved manageability and quicker data retrieval. When processing, DSA can skip unavailable or uninvolved partitions. -Administration Tools: The archive/restore utility provided in OnLine Dynamic Server 6.0, introduced in November 1993, will automatically allow for partition-level archives/restores. -Memory Grant Manager: The Memory Grant Manager will allow the database administrator to adjust on-line the amount of memory allocated for PDQ-type queries. Configuration parameters and SQL statements can be used to adjust the number of complex queries that are allowed to run concurrently, to set priority for each query, and to adjust the maximum amount of memory utilization. This function is the key to allowing for concurrent PDQ and OLTP co-existence on a single database system. Pricing and Availability INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server 7.0, available now on Sequent SMP platforms, is priced at $1,500 per user for development and $1,125 per user for runtime, with a minimum purchase of a 5-user license. About Sequent Sequent Computer Systems, Inc., based in Beaverton, Oregon, is a leading architect and provider of open client/server systems for commercial computer applications in online transaction processing, decision support, and other business applications. Sequent provides professional consulting and educational services to ensure successful system solutions. The company develops and markets scalable computing systems that support enterprise-wide applications and information services: The Symmetry series running on the UNIX operating system and the WinServer family running on the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. Since the launch of its symmetric multiprocessor family of systems in 1984, Sequent has installed more than 5,000 large-scale systems worldwide. About Informix Informix Software, Inc. provides the most complete and productive database application technology to build, deploy, run and evolve applications. Informix products include powerful distributed database management systems, robust application development tools, and graphical-and character-based productivity software for delivering information to every significant desktop platform. With corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Informix has European headquarters in London, and Asia/Pacific headquarters in Singapore. ### INFORMIX is a registered trademark, and Dynamic Scalable Architecture, DSA, and OnLine Dynamic Server are trademarks of Informix Software, Inc. Sequent, Symmetry, and DYNIX/ptx are registered trademarks of Sequent Computer Systems Inc. All other companies mentioned or other names indicated by ' or ' are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturer. -- %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% William Daul Advanced Support INFORMIX SOFTWARE INC. 4100 Bohannon Dr. (415) 926-6488 - wk Menlo Park, CA. 94025 uunet!infmx!billd or billd@informix.com