Sun To Use AMD Mobile Processor In Blade Servers

An anonymous reader writes "Looks like AMD is finally making some headway into supplying 1st tier business computer makers which the announcement that Sun will use their chips in upcoming blade servers. Apparently CNET can't help but speculate what this means for AMD's 64 bit Hammer."

Comments

But what about the end of Sun?

[stewartj]

Cringely seems to think that Sun won't last long though, so will there be long-term benefit to AMD?

Re:But what about the end of Sun?

[etcshadow]

I don't know that it is so unreasonable to imagine the future of servers based on Intel and AMD running linux. Just look at how much ground theyve covered recently. What is silly is the notion that that doesn't leave room for folks like IBM, and maybe Sun. After all, there is a lot more to a server than just a processor and a free O/S kernel. Personally, I'm kind of taken with the way that (big bad) IBM has been pushing x86 and linux on the small to medium (and growing) end server.

True, linux on x86 is not big iron... yet... but do you relly mean to discount the possibility that it could become a cheaper solution to big iron? For one example, look at Oracle RAC on x86 blades. It's not exactly one megalythic server... it's really more like a beowulf cluster, actually... but what works works.

Anyway... it'll be intersting to see how this all plays out.

Sun wants Solaris to be known as the 64 bit OS

[bartash]

Sun wants 64 bit capability to be a differentiator for Solaris. So they will not rush to use AMD's 64 bit offerings.

OTOH who is going to try to make a go of AMD/64? For sure not any of the system vendors who have commited to IA64. That means no Dell, no IBM, no HP. So there is an opportunity for Sun.

Press

[Fished]

Is it just me, or is 64-bit computing, the hammer, and AMD getting a lot of press for the past few days? I wonder if this is the start of a big media blitz.

Funny dat

[pitr256]

I was just configuring Debian on a E450 dev box to bring our servers more in line with our production servers.

What does this mean for Sun? No one knows for sure. Is it the beginning of the end or a stop gap measure until their new processors come out in 2004. The ones all the analysts are so hyper over, not the USIV or USV but the Afara procs.

But what does this mean for AMD? Now every enterprise can ask the question, why not go with AMD? Sun uses their procs... why shouldn't we use them also.

This is just good news for AMD and may be a kick in the groin for Intel to wake up to the 64 bit to the desktop question.

Re:Good news for Linux

[Geekboy(Wizard)]

No they are not. Sun still wants you to run Solaris. I am trying to buy a Sun machine (to run OpenBSD on), and they won't return my calls.

Fine. Don't take my money. Don't save on the lack of support calls you'll get. Save money on my lack of downloading your service packs. Sun is retarded for ignoring those who just want hardware.

If Sun didn't suffer from foolish pride

[fz00]

They'd use AMDs to compete aggressively with IA64 offerings. As far as I'm concerned, this is Sun's only pathway to survival. Linux is killing their lowend Unix business. They should embrace Hammers and push the crap out of Linux boxes. I personally think they should put out Windows boxes as well but that's uncool to say here.

This isn't the first time AMD has been here...

[xenophrak]

Sun has used AMD CPU's before, although not in the primetime in their servers. They did use them in the SunPCi cards for workstations. I still have one.

The reason that Sun used AMD (the K6-2, I believe) instead of a Pentium, like they did with the SunPCi 2, is that at the time it made more sense price-wise. I see no difference here.