Press Release

Sleepycat Software and Solid Data Systems
Increase Database Log Speeds up to 15 Times

Sleepycat Software and Solid Data Systems Join Forces to Provide High Performance Database File Logging for Mission-critical Transactions

Santa Clara, Calif. and Lincoln, Mass., October 28, 2002 - Solid Data Systems, the leader in solid-state storage systems, today announced benchmark testing results with Sleepycat Software, Inc., developers of Berkeley DB, the most widely-deployed embedded data management engine in the world. Using Solid Data's Excellerator 800 solid-state storage system, Sleepycat's Berkeley DB Transactional Data Store persistently logged up to 15 times faster than conventional hard disk drive (HDD) technology.

The results from this testing benefit companies who do high-volume transactions in industries such as banking and trading, because they can deliver higher performance to customers without adding computing resources.

In the tests run at Sleepycat Software, Berkeley DB logged up to 15 times more synchronous transactions per second in a Sun Microsystems computing environment using Solid Data's Excellerator 800. The Solid Data solid-state storage system replaces the typical magnetic disks used on these systems, which limit synchronous commits due to physical latencies. These secure serialized commits occur when the application requires a receipt acknowledgment of the transaction from the disk it is writing to before committing to the proceeding transaction.

While many techniques are used to improve performance, solid-state storage is the most cost-effective method for achieving high transaction rates without the exposure to data loss. The testing details may be found in a white paper at http://www.sleepycat.com/ or http://www.soliddata.com/sleepycat/.

"Some of the world's largest computer companies depend upon Sleepycat Software to deliver uptime and performance in their most demanding data center, networking and telecommunications products," said Michael Olson, president and CEO of Sleepycat Software. "Our testing with Solid Data shows how aligning our solution with complementary products can dramatically boost performance in real-time transactions for mission-critical business applications."

"Berkeley DB is the most widely-deployed embedded database engine in the world," said Wade Tuma, president and CEO of Solid Data. "For Berkeley DB customers using transaction-intensive applications and large numbers of message processors, adding our solid-state storage system to the Sleepycat Software solution allows for even higher performance and reliability."

Solid Data's Excellerator 800 multiplies the throughput of business-critical transactions up to 15 times in performance benefits, while reducing total cost of transaction-intensive applications. The Excellerator 800 runs at similar speed of memory while providing the added benefits of being persistent (non-volatile), sharable, simple to install, and reliable. The price of solid-state storage is comparable to the cost of a midrange server memory upgrade

Sleepycat's Berkeley DB is an enterprise-grade embedded database engine for applications that need fast, flexible, scalable and reliable data management. Berkeley DB Transactional Data Store is a full-featured embedded data management system that provides high-performance, fine-grained locking, logging and disaster recovery. Berkeley DB is a core part of the infrastructure of the Internet, with customers deploying mission-critical services including messaging, directory management, calendaring, naming and routing, and more. In addition, Berkeley DB is a crucial part of embedded systems in the fast-growing markets for storage devices, telecommunications systems and others.

Berkeley DB's complete source code may be downloaded from http://www.sleepycat.com. Sales and licensing inquiries may be made to sales@sleepycat.com.

VARs and system integrators interested in learning more about Solid Data's reseller program are encouraged to the company's web site at www.soliddata.com/reseller.

About Sleepycat Software
Sleepycat Software, Inc. (http://www.sleepycat.com), a private company with offices in California and Massachusetts, was founded in 1996 to commercially develop, support, and distribute Berkeley DB. Berkeley DB is the embedded database engine behind many of the largest ISPs and wired and wireless networks, as well as e-commerce sites around the world. Our solutions are used in mission-critical applications by some of the world's largest computing enterprises, including Alcatel, Amazon.com, Ask Jeeves, CMG, Cisco Systems, Motorola, RSA Security, and Sun Microsystems. Berkeley DB is open source and runs on all major operating systems, including embedded Linux, Linux, MacOS X, QNX, UNIX, VxWorks, and Windows. In January of 2002, Sleepycat won the prestigious Crossroads A-List Award for Berkeley DB.

About Solid Data Systems
Solid Data Systems is the leading global provider of solid-state storage systems that multiply the throughput of business-critical, transaction-intensive applications. Solid Data's products are based on solid-state memory technology and are designed to provide near-instant access to data storage. These compact, rack-mount systems combine the speed of main memory with the persistence (non-volatility) of external disk storage - enabling enterprises to multiply the transaction performance of general-purpose systems, reduce complexity, and scale their infrastructures cost effectively. Customers include global telecommunications equipment integrators and financial service providers. Visit Solid Data on the web at www.soliddata.com.

The Solid Data logo is a registered trademark in the United States and/or other countries of Solid Data Systems, Inc.

Editorial Contacts: