Our team is currently investigating Windows NT related issues and opportunities for value-added features in our next-generation high-end servers based on the Intel/HP architecture. This includes design and development of the NT Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), multiprocessor tuning and scalability, high-performance device drivers, and overall NT system performance. Also, our team is looking at the NT boot path, clustering design and development, qualification of HP platforms for Microsoft logo programs, qualification of I/O devices for HP platforms, error recovery, high-availability features, as well as platform and OS optimizations for server applications and graphics. Our group provides a significant portion of the NT expertise for HP's various computer system design labs throughout their development and delivery processes.

As a relatively new member of our group, my current responsibilities cover firmware and boot path issues, ACPI, HAL development, remote system access, and NT platform requirements. In covering these areas, I have investigated NT related issues for our hardware designs as well as development issues for a custom HAL. Also, I have served as a contact to the design teams consulting on the impacts of Microsoft and/or Windows NT-related initiatives such as OnNow/ACPI, PC98, and Server98. Along these efforts, I have worked on defining minimum platform requirements for our HP systems to qualify for Microsoft "Designed for Windows NT" logos as well as assuring these requirements propagate into our system designs.

Topics of interest covered throughout this conference include NT scalability and limitations, optimization of executables, thread scheduling, NT supportability and manageability, NT performance, clustering, parallel processing, UNIX to NT application migration, as well as the future direction of Windows NT. Most of the topics to be covered in the conference parallel much of the investigation and efforts of our team and will be quite valuable in pursuing our group's objectives.