Neal Nelson Selects DPT SCSI Controller 
for World's Most Powerful PC 

Unix Expo Demonstration Ultimate in PC Technology

September 22, 1992 -- Maitland, Florida -- The SmartCache Plus EISA/SCSI
host adapter from Distributed Processing Technology (DPT), has been
selected by Neal Nelson and Associates as the disk controller for "The
World's Most Powerful PC". SmartCache Plus was chosen over other SCSI
adapters because of its superior performance in UNIX environments.

Neal Nelson and Associates, specialists in system performance testing,
recently conducted its Fall Performance Finals in an effort to locate the
best components available for modern computer systems. Winning components
have been assembled into "The World's Most Powerful PC" which is being
demonstrated by Neal Nelson and Associates at this week's Unix Expo in New
York.

"We selected the DPT controller, quite simply because it is the best SCSI
controller we could find," said Neal Nelson, president of Neal Nelson and
Associates. "Its scalable architecture provides the price/performance
flexibility which is invaluable in today's varied computing environment."

Disk performance is one of the most critical elements of today's computer
systems because of the tremendous amount of data needed by graphical
operating environments and the dramatic increase in both CPU power. DPT's
SmartCache Plus EISA/SCSI controller provides the features and performance
necessary to keep pace with these new developments.

DPT has taken a multi-level approach to optimizing disk performance. First,
it worked with Microport Systems and Unix System Laboratories (USL) to
co-develop the software device driver embedded in the Unix System V
Release 4 operating system. As a result, many of the disk I/O tasks
previously performed by the host CPU have been off-loaded to the DPT SCSI
controller. Key driver features include: an advanced implementation of
scatter/gather data transfer. This technique along with bus mastering and
direct memory access (DMA) allows the DPT controller to efficiently manage
the movement of data into and out of the computers random access memory
(RAM) upon receipt of just a single read or write command from the host.
Other features which help increase system throughput are command queuing
and command overlapping which allow the system to issue multiple read and
write requests simultaneously.

Secondly, SmartCache Plus supports the new Fast SCSI-II specification which
provides for a 100% increase in the SCSI data transfer rate, from 5
megabytes per second to 10 megabytes per second. On the host side,
SmartCache Plus supports the 32-bit EISA interface which allows for a data
transfer rate of 33 megabytes per second. Combined, these features reduce
the amount of time the CPU spends "on-the-bus" transferring data, and thus
increase the amount of real work the system can perform.

In addition, DPT's optional hardware disk caching has been added to the
SmartCache Plus controller used in the World's Most Powerful PC. DPT's
hardware disk caching increases system performance by dramatically
reducing disk access time. DPT designed its hardware disk caching to work
in conjunction with the UNIX cache buffers resulting in a significant
increase in overall system throughput.

By combining these hardware and software features SmartCache Plus EISA is
able to provide unparalleled disk performance, as verified by being
selected as the winning disk controller in Neal Nelson's Fall Performance
Finals.

"Mr. Nelson has assembled a machine that clearly demonstrates what today's
open systems technology has to offer -- an industry standard computer
system capable of competing with proprietary workstations and departmental
servers," says David Race, vice president of marketing at DPT. "Neal
Nelson and Associates is providing a valuable, time-saving service to
manufacturers and systems integrators who need tools like the Neal Nelson
benchmark tests to help them select the best components, develop customer
oriented solutions and bring them to market in a timely fashion," he
added.

The World's Most Powerful PC consists of an Intel 486/66 DX2 CPU with 256
megabytes of main memory, 4.8 gigabytes of SCSI hard disk storage, two DPT
SmartCache Plus EISA/SCSI controllers with 16 megabytes of cache RAM, a
high-resolution graphics controller, and the UNIX System V Release 4
operating system.

Background information:

SmartCache Plus - Winning SCSI controller from DPT 

SmartCache Plus is the only SCSI controller on the market that can be
configured as both a non-caching and a caching controller. The
entry-level-priced, non-caching configuration is converted to a high-end
caching controller by simply adding DPT's unique plug-on caching module
and up to 16 megabytes of cache RAM to the base controller. An add-on
mirroring module provides support for a software independent array of
mirrored drives. This scalable architecture provides manufacturers and
integrators a complete range of price/performance options, suitable for
systems ranging from standalone workstations and small networks up to
multiprocessor-equipped file servers. SmartCache Plus EISA is the SCSI
adapter of choice for manufacturers such as AST, NEC, Dell, AT&T/NCR,
Intel, Wyse, Wang, and Siemens.

Neal Nelson and Associates - System Performance Specialist

Neal Nelson and Associates is based in Chicago and provides software for
computer systems performance testing which is licensed to large government
agencies, Fortune 500 companies and hundreds of smaller companies. The
Neal Nelson Remote Terminal Emulator and The Business Benchmark are used
in the performance laboratories of many industry publications for systems
analysis and performance review. In addition, the Neal Nelson Benchmark
Labs conduct independent testing and performance consulting.

DPT corporate background 

DPT is a privately held company founded in 1977. Corporate headquarters are
near Orlando, Florida with a government sales office located near
Washington, DC. European sales offices are located near London and Munich.
DPT manufactures intelligent, peripheral controllers and connectivity
software for microcomputers. DPT's revenues make it one of the largest
peripheral manufacturers in the world. DPT's technology innovations
include the first caching disk controller for minicomputers and PCs, the
first software-independent disk array solution for the PC, and the first
cache-convertible controller for the PC. DPT controllers are sold
worldwide through a network of major distributors and OEMs .

Distributed Processing Technology
140 Candace Dr, Maitland, FL 32751
407-830-5522,  fax: 407-260-5366

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