REDMOND, Wash. -- April 5, 2000 -- Microsoft Corp. today announced that Dell Computer Corp. plans to ship in May a PowerApp.web appliance server based on Windows^® 2000 technologies. As part of a collaborative effort, Microsoft and Dell have worked together closely to achieve a reliable, easy-to-use, high-performance fixed-function Web server appliance that is ready to run when it arrives and can be operational in just minutes.

Building on the overwhelmingly positive customer response to the Microsoft^® Windows 2000 operating system and the increasing customer demand for fixed-function Web-hosting appliance servers based on Windows 2000 technologies, Microsoft, in conjunction with Dell, has optimized and extended Windows 2000 technologies to deliver a complete Web-hosting server solution. The capabilities and performance of Web servers powered by Windows 2000 meet the most demanding Web-hosting requirements of service providers, dotcoms, and "click and mortar" businesses and institutions.

"When Dell began the PowerApp development project, we asked Microsoft to join us because we knew the software solutions we chose to power our appliance servers would be a critical decision," said Mike Lambert, senior vice president of the Enterprise Systems Group at Dell. "Microsoft agreed to work with us on co-developing a best-of-breed Web-hosting solution that delivers reliability, scalability and high performance. Our PowerApp.web, which runs on Windows 2000 technologies, meets those goals and will be an easy choice for customers of all sizes. We're ready to take orders today."

"We are very excited about what Dell and Microsoft can do for customers with PowerApp.web appliance servers powered by Windows," said Bill Veghte, vice president of the Embedded and Appliance Platform Group at Microsoft. "The Dell PowerApp.web based on Windows 2000 technologies delivers a very cost-effective, high-performance and scalable solution that is easy to set up and manage."

Microsoft has utilized Windows 2000 technologies, such as Internet Information Services 5.0 and Network Load Balancing Services, to deliver a complete platform for building Web-hosting appliance servers. In addition, these products take advantage of the Windows 2000 setup technologies to ensure smooth deployment and management as well as overall ease of use. Certain services unrelated to Web hosting have also been disabled, thereby enhancing the simplicity and manageability of these fixed-function Web-hosting devices. These services include DHCP Server, Domain Naming Service, Windows Internet Naming Service and Domain Controller functionality. The result is a Windows 2000 solution that is optimized for fixed-function Web hosting.