Following Bull's demonstration of its 16 way Itanium® 2-based server prototype at the Intel Developer Forum in Munich, in May 2002, Bull will introduce a line of high end SMP open servers based on the Intel® Itanium® 2 processor, in the course of the second half of 2002 and in 2003.

Conducted within the Bull FAME Program (Flexible Architecture for Multiple Environments) launched in 1998, these developments build on the vision that standard technologies will increasingly enable to support large-scale, mission critical IT infrastructures, fulfilling customers' most demanding expectations in terms of flexibility, scalability and robustness . These standards-based high end platforms will provide customers with immediate benefits in terms of better price /performance and significant optimization of the cost of ownership of their IT infrastructure.

Bull has selected the Intel® Itanium® 2 processor and the E8870 chipset as the core components of its future generation of open servers being developed using the FAME architecture. On top of these components, Bull has designed innovative technologies that will provide unique scalability, maintenance and partitioning features, as well as reliable, available and serviceable features. Servers will have the ability to operate simultaneously multiple environments on one single system and to dynamically adapt the resources for each application through real time partitioning features.

These next generation servers will support open operating systems such as Microsoft® Windows® .NET and Linux, as well as Bull operating systems (GCOS7 and GCOS 8) in the near future. Bull will leverage its know-how in enterprise-class Windows solutions (Windows Datacenter, High Availability, Fault Tolerance, Server-Based Computing, etc…) to enable large solutions involving Microsoft® SQL Server 64 bit and the .NET framework. Bull will also capitalize on its participation to Open Source initiatives, such as the Atlas project, to bring to market high-end Linux-based infrastructures with improved reliability and manageability.

The FAME program will bring new customers opportunities in the domain of High Performance Computing applications, Data Warehouse as well as Enterprise Management and e-Business applications.

This program puts Bull at the forefront of investments in the Intel® Itanium® Processor Family, giving Bull a leading edge in the mastering of powerful IT infrastructures, which are the cornerstone of its development strategy.

About Bull
Bull is an international group that specializes in designing, developing, and implementing secure IT infrastructures.
Bull is dedicated to helping customers transform their processes and infrastructures in order to take full advantage of information technology to drive their market growth. Bull provides a complete offer that includes not only IT services, from consulting to systems integration and outsourcing, but also the design and development of infrastructure solutions, with particular emphasis on servers, storage and secure management software.
Bull has gained strong recognition in the major business areas, including the public sector, finance, manufacturing and telecommunications.

Press contact:
Marie-Claude bessis
Tel : 33 (0)1 39 66 57 75 - 33 (0)6 84 95 26 21
Marie-claude.bessis@bull.net