Sun Unveils More Linux Strategies

A number of people have submitted the press release from Sun Microsystems about their latest announcements in conjunction with Linux. Highlights from this one include the promised release of "New single- and multiprocessor systems, to be announced mid-year, will use the x86 architecture and be capable of running thousands of Linux applications natively." As well, they are expanding the Cobalt line of servers, but even more interestingly they are going to "freely offer" parts of Solaris - but no license specified that I saw. They are also releasing "ABICheck", which should check compatibility between Linux/Solaris. C|Net is carrying coverage now as well. And it looks like Lineo and SuSe are going to get competition in the embedded and telecom support area - I wonder if that's tied to the OSDL announcement. It's good to see that they are getting on the right track - now let's hope they stay the course.

Comments

Interesting times...

[Fragmented_Datagram]

I wonder how much longer until Sun throws in the towel and moves entirely
over to Linux... Sun would have to compete solely on their Sparc hardware
against the many, many x86 companies, which would be increasingly
difficult as time goes on, especially since Linux software would have to
be recompiled for Sparc.
However, I don't believe they have much choice. If they take an honest
look down the road, Linux (and Windows) is going to continue to erode
their business. Maybe the plan is to help Linux along so it's to the
"Enterprise" level of Solaris, and then maybe they'll dump Solaris, just
like HP, SGI, and IBM hope to do with their respective *nix. If Sun tries
to fight Linux, as well as Windows, then they're digging their own grave,
but if they can somehow incorporate the enthusiasm and the developer
community of Linux to support Solaris, then they're somewhat better off
for the time being. Hmmm... I would love to be a little fly on the wall
in some of the executive meetings regarding Sun's future and the
competition from Windows and Linux.
Another problem I see is that just like in the desktop market, the server
market is reaching the "commodity hardware" point where there will soon be
no real incentive to buy ever faster servers since the hardware you
currently own already exceeds the demands of your software (the obvious
exception is the high-end database arena that Sun and IBM find most
profitable). So... if every computer company standardizes on x86
hardware, which means there's a fairly level playing field for
competition, and if Linux becomes the "standard" Unix across every
company's server line, which means there's very little way for a company
to differentiate its product from the others, and if buying hardware
from one vendor is pretty much the same as buying hardware from another
vendor, then hmmm... not a pretty picture for the future of corporate
profits. Prices are going to continue to drop for x86 servers, which
makes it even more difficult for Sun to compete. The biggest benefit,
assuming Linux doesn't fragment as companies try to make their offering
stand out against the herd, is that developers can write software for
"Linux" and it will run just about anywhere. Plus, people learning Linux
will be able to use their skills with any company's offering, which is a
good thing.

I believe we are always going to need...

[Codifex Maximus]

High-End Hardware. Sun makes some pretty nice High-End Hardware too. While you can get some powerful computing done with Beowulf systems, a single Sun multiproc box is more compact and manageable in the majority of instances.

I think Sun aught to put a bit more work into increasing the power and reducing the cost of their equipment. Get more of it out there while still making a decent profit.