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Compaq Professional Workstation - Key Technologies
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AGP Pro
The latest extension to the AGP specification is AGP Pro. The AGP Pro specification defines an
extended interface connection that was designed to deliver additional electrical power to
workstation class graphics accelerators; this is accomplished by adding more power pins on both
ends of the standard AGP connector, as well as a corresponding
AGP Pro slot in the system. In
addition, the AGP Pro specification requires a compliant system to have compatible thermal
handling characteristics and two PCI slots adjacent to the AGP Pro connector. These PCI slots
can then be used by the AGP Pro graphics accelerator for additional electrical or mechanical
purposes. This would provide a compelling benefit in the instance where a graphics solution is
made up of two or more boards. AGP Pro does not increase performance over and above the
AGP modes mentioned previously; however, it does allow more flexibility in the design of higher
performance graphics accelerators by providing more power. Only the AGP ATX form factor is
defined in the AGP Pro specification, NLX is not defined. One additional point of note is that an
AGP graphics accelerator can be supported in an AGP Pro slot; however, an AGP Pro graphics
accelerator cannot be supported in an AGP slot.
Workstation Software Platform
Interoperability
Customers who have already made the move to Windows NT, or are planning to, can be assured
that Compaq's Interoperability Program provides seamless integration with applications and
information on existing networks. Compaq has partnered with the best integration ISVs in the
industry to deliver a broad range of high-performance interoperability solutions for Windows NT,
UNIX, and Macintosh. Compaq and its partners perform joint testing to ensure ease and
compatibility for a wide variety of operations, such as application access, resource access and
sharing, distributed application execution, systems administration, porting and migration,
internetworking, and mail. Once the right set of tools have been selected from Compaq's
Interoperability ISVs, the ability to access networked information from the Windows NT desktop
includes the following application examples: UNIX applications, UNIX OpenGL 3D
applications, IBM applications, and files resident on UNIX network File System (NFS). The
Compaq Interoperability Program provides the right set of solutions for a heterogeneous
enterprise environment.
