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Sun Announces New AMD-Based Product Line
Transfan76 writes "Today Sun Microsystems has officially announced an alliance with AMD. They "have formed an alliance to deliver a broad range of AMD Opteron[tm] processor-based systems, Sun also announced it plans to offer its Java Enterprise System on the AMD Opteron processor and is significantly extending the reach of its Solaris Operating System (OS) and leadership in the 64-bit space." You can read the official press release from Sun here. And the AMD release here." We previously reported rumored plans to this effect a few days back.
I think it's great that Sun is finally breaking into the commodity hardware business, while still optimizing their syndicated dynamic solutions marketbase through enhanced Solaris offerings. While this may be true, they have a long way to go to true cross-media functionalities, as the AMD processor is currently unable to support XDML enhanced DSS encryption, which is required in order to implement enterprise-level mindshare paradigms. As AMD states in their press release,
Sure, this all sounds good on paper, but how do they possibly intend to complete this task without relying on a steady influx of new-media, leading-edge partnerships that can emphasize one-on-one integrated infomediaries? For my money, it's just not possible.
Don't get me wrong. I wish them all the best. But still, good luck, Sun and AMD...you're going to need it.
.. to the term 'Solar Flare'...
*** rimshot ***
"A revolution without dancing is... a revolution not worth having"
and about time! With this new competition intel has really got to get their act together. For quite a while now AMD has been providing cheaper (but not always faster) processors, however with their new AMD64 line they've really come into themselves. Well done AMD!
When anger rises, think of the consequences.
Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC)
I assume that AMD at this point in time has no plans for any SPARC CPUs, but I wonder how much AMD could do if they got all Sun's SPARC resources and basically bodged together a next gen SPARC from the Opteron. But something tells me that x86-64 is the way of the future if Sun don't want to slip behind more.
Air conditioning manufacturers specialising in cooling server rooms will be delighted with Sun's switch...
Considering that these are JAVA based systems, why pick the processor that bent over backwards to be x86 compatible? I know, they won't be using x86 instructions, but what strategic significance is there for going with AMD vs. Intel or IBM?
Slick, yet entertaining. 8 out of 10 troll points.
"...second only to the Windows..." gave it away. Any Sun employee uttering that phrase would probably be publically executed.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
This is good for AMD, giving them additional credibility and sales in the short term. But it doesn't address Sun's long-term problems: they aren't competitive in terms of hardware and they can't make money from Java.
Is "face music" kind of like "chin music", or are you talking about the Swiss record company?
Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
"second only to .NET?" Did anyone else see this? I like the IP-infringing packets filter :)
The Java Desktop they could create some serious revenue. Imagine a large company with Opteron workstation for engineering and scientific appilcations and SunRays as e-mail/web/StarOffice boxes.
Sun, the company who is now renowed for their expensive systems could use "commodity" computing to bring themselves back and Linux to the desktop. Who would have thought.
Looks like your karma-whore, then troll days are over Fux.You've been outed, and the system is reacting accordingly.
MODERATORS: Read the parent poster's Slashdot journal before moderating this post (or any other post by or in response to Fux the Penguin)
0W3N3D troll L053r!
Interesting, I could not find the paragraph you mentioned in the release.
This is the original paragraph:
"By running the current version of the Solaris OS on the AMD Opteron processor platform, we are experiencing substantial improvements in kernel performance for Solaris over other x86-based systems, " said John Fowler, chief technology officer, software, Sun Microsystems. "With the Solaris OS running on the AMD Opteron processor, our customers and partners can take advantage of unique features such as containers delivering virtualization and high levels of security. Solaris has led the industry in proven military grade security built-in to the OS, and with Trusted Solaris OS, offering unmatched levels of privacy."
Either you added some creative additions (likely) or Sun changed it.
He's just a troll looking for Karma!
(If you never had doubts about Opteron's ultimate prospects, consider Alpha. It had more going for it than Opteron ever did, and generations earlier. Current Alphas (EV7 and EV79) are fully competitive with current Opteron and Itanium, even without a proper engineering team for several years, yet the Alpha is "dead".)
Intel could do a lot worse than to revive it. It may need to, to stay competitive with Opteron.
Good god man! You've created a Content Black Hole! You're dragging down the Scores of every post in the vicinity!
- Old Man of the Mountain ---- "I want to disturb my neighbor"
The AMD64 ( or x86-64, whatever we're calling it this week ) architecture is very promising, and Sun is still an excellent vendor ( despite numerous blunders...they've made some horrible mistakes, but they've also had some great successes ).
This has the potential to breathe new life into both vendors, and gives us all an alternative, which is important in a marketplace that has such a dynamic history but is currently being choked to death by certain vendors that think marketing is more important than quality.
Now who should I get my next worksation from, IBM w/ SUSE or RHWS, or Sun w/ their desktop Linux stack? Hmm...
PC moderators can suck my White pierced, tattooed dick. If you think pride == hate, s/dick/Aryan meat mallet/g.
Solaris has led the industry in proven military grade security built-in to the OS, and with Trusted Solaris OS, offering unmatched levels of privacy, second only to the Windows .NET security framework.
Second to Microsoft? How is this good for SUN?
Don't waste time... procrastinate now!
What we all want to know is, when do we get to see 106 CPU Opteron systems!? Tiny little 8 cpu systems just don't cut it any more!
Well, Sun started doing something right, it seems (http://www.theregister.com/content/61/34036.html) that China is going to roll out 500000 to 1 mill Suns (linux of course) desktops (infamous Java Desktop Systems) during next year. McNealy says something about 500 mil alternative desktop plan China has, I don't know if he can be trusted on that one, but I suuuure would love that. Heh, what would I give to see a look on Ballmer face when he hear about this one. And just few days after Brasil.
second only to the Windows .NET security framework.
I never thought Solaris was that bad
how long until
Wow, did they really just say what I thought they said? Lacking an OS? How could HP be lacking an OS for a processor (Itanium) it virtually built? How could IBM's usage of Linux be taken as anything but having an OS for those platforms. What a load.
... to boost the Opteron to the number two slowest selling server CPU position?
The entire market is down due to terrorist threats against Asia, America and Europe over the weekend.
Why would I want to run solaris on x86 hardware. Are they actually going to support it better on x86 hardware because from what I remember... Sparc got a nice version and x86 got the shaft with many-a-tool-a-missing.
Also, Solaris is almost an antique now and lacks many of the nice tools that linux gives by default. Does anyone know if they still have that archaic version of vi. What about the shells? Do they support the "less" command. Sure you can compile all of these, but I don't need a GNU/Solaris(oxymoron?). What fun is it finding non-stop needed tools and having to compile them or install from binary.
I don't want to bash Sun, but if given the choice of linux or Solaris on commodity hardware... I would pick linux without blinking.
stands as a beacon for HP and IBM customers facing a dead-end Unix, and Microsoft customers frustrated with security and fragility
I wouldn't be surprised if they kicked a dog on the way off the stage...
PC moderators can suck my White pierced, tattooed dick. If you think pride == hate, s/dick/Aryan meat mallet/g.
Yeah, blame it all on "the terrorists".
Asshat.
He means "lip service". That is, they claim to support the movement, but don't back it up with actions.
from fux the penguin's journal: I think it's great that Sun is finally breaking into the commodity hardware business, while still optimizing their syndicated dynamic solutions marketbase through enhanced Solaris offerings. While this may be true, they have a long way to go to true cross-media functionalities, as the AMD processor is currently unable to support XDML enhanced DSS encryption, which is required in order to implement enterprise-level mindshare paradigms.
/.!
---
Oh man, this is heee-larious! Now some idiots are following me around, replying with links to my journal, and acting as if somehow I've been "found out!" Ummm...since I put all this stuff in my journal, do you really think I care? Do you really think most knee-jerk slashbot moderators are actually going to check anybody's posting history or journal before moderating? Do you really think the absolute asshats who decided to point out all the flaws in my "use the hubble for space tourism" troll are going to actually THINK or READ before posting? Hardly! If they did, this wouldn't be
I laugh at you.
I wish the both of them the best of luck, and one of these days, may good engineering prevail. I hope.
We previously reported rumored plans to this effect a few days back.
Where "previously reported" means "we linked to the article on news.com".
Credit where credit is due?
Never approach a vast undertaking with a half-vast plan.
My friend at work told me that Sun released SunOS i386 and than canned it, abandoning their customers. A year or two ago they abandoned their Solaris x86 customers. 'They' say that 'the third time is a charm', so who can say when they will abandon their Solaris on AMD customers?
Are you sure that music is coming from the lips on their face?
Second to .NET's security? I have a bad feeling about this...
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Does everyone forget Sun sold commodity hardware for many years?
Yes, they go back further than 1995.
Since they are obviously in a period of decline. I wonder if Sun Microsystems will exist in its current form in the next 5-10 years. I wouldn't bet money on it.
I wonder how many people this actually affects around here? Two? Three?
AGP slot?
We're talking servers here, not your neighborhood online gaming establishment!
a competitive move towards the OTHER major x86 unix-like system, linux. why would sun do this? 2 reasons..
1. Make it look like they arent with linux to avoid any crap with sco
2. After helping linux, they realize this thing could turn into a giant that could eat them in one bite
thse could be the reasons.. that or they really mean to compete with IBM and intel and microsoft, who has often rubbed them the wrong way (mainly the ugly java incident) I bet their main goal is microsoft, and since intel is often in bed with microsoft, intel's probably their second target, that and amd doesnt share ties with microsoft (none that I've heard of) so the amd platform would be a much safer choice, that and they are technologically better at times.
What I really wouldnt mine seeing pushed is PPC cpu, that's a good little processor, and let's face it, x86 is old technology that keeps getting stuff added on. PPC's are perfect for multimedia and most things that people do, sell them in a mass production, they become as low priced as the x86...
intel and microsoft are the only reasons we're still using x86's.. would be cool if AMD started on a PPC clone (if legally possible) as a secondary market for processors..
if we could start seeing that, then that would be sweet, and that could help sun too if they want to enterprise on their product.
The superior thin-client platform. I know, I know, thin-clients suckm niche market, yadda yadda.
So far though, sun rays have only run on Sparcs and Solaris, which has been holding them back. I'm not saying it'll necessarily take Sun back to its salad days, but porting Sun Ray server to Lintel plus reducing the price like they already have plus the Java desktop could really keep them in business.
Sure, Sun is such an important player that they have drug down the entire stockmarket....
1. overheating issues with OEM heatsink/fans
I guess they can replace the OEM's fans with some better ones. One might even think that they would ship some better HS/F for such a big partner.
2. fans locking up
Hmmm. See 1. I still don't see how this is a big problem.
3. motherboard chipsets frying
Well, bad motherboard. Don't put the blame on AMD, but on the Mobo manufacturer.
4. AGP slot working
I don't this this is going to be any issue on a server. Plus, see 3.
5. etc...
Well, I guess the "etc" includes the real problems then. Care to elaborate?
Write boring code, not shiny code!
Even tough Sun might be *extremely* late in their response to the market, this move certainly seems like a good one. Let's just hope they can write their device drivers quickly to be in the same league as Linux.
Ma gavte la nata
It is entirely possible that the original poster was making multiproc workstations for 3d artists.
I really like AMD, and I've heard all of the "Sun is dying and losing it's big business name" stuff.
There's no way that Sun can drag them down right? This can only benefit AMD, right?
Shut your lying mouth...
A) Stop buying remarked chips because AMD doesn't have a 50% RMA ratio.
b) Stop saying stuff about the Motherboards because AMD doesn't produce them like Intel does.
C) And stop your lying. You setup something wrong or did something wrong. You must have something confused with the setup because I have never had a dead AMD chip in my MANY machines I have built. The Palmino chips ran hot, but even the tbred-A chips ran cool.
D) You don't have failing fans. You are just lying about that. Even if you did, the server class MB would have simple turned the system off since AMD NOW has temperature safety locks.
E) I just simply don't believe you. You are probably lying.
Sounds like they're really taking a big RISC.
...get with it. Solaris 8? That's way old. Yes, it comes with loads of GNU and Open Source stuff on the Companion CD, but so does Solaris 9. That comes with GNOME too. KDE is on the Companion CD. I can't believe you're still talking about Solaris 8 and older. The new version of Solaris is nearly out... and you can try it early, on x86. It's called Solaris Express. You can download it for free from www.sun.com
Sun offers a fairly advanced compiler and, perhaps more importantly, "performance libraries" on their Sparc machines. Intel is doing the same on their machines -- Linux, FreeBSD (via port), and Windows. Will Sun do likewise with AMD or will they just help GCC in the amd64 optimization area(s)?
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
A. These aren't remarked chips. They were bought from a good vendor (NewEgg) and were retail box with AMD approved heatsink/fan combo.
B. AMD provides the specs for the chipsets TO the manuafacturers. Put on some glasses sometime and check out the name on the chipset. It'll say AMD.
C. The systems ran fine for about 8 months straight.
D. The fans in question were the AMD approved fans. On the Athlons we still have left, I have replaced the OEM ones with Thermaltakes.
This is a test. This is a test of the emergency sig system. This has been only a test.
And on the other side of the anecdotal and completely irrelevant evidence fence, I've never once had a problem with AMD's processors on the very large number of installs that I've done and supported. Not a single one.
Of course, I've also been smart enough to make sure each unit either comes equipped with a set of quality fans, or to pass along the order for the same to staff. And we don't select for substandard motherboards either. The smart professional will spend the few extra bucks to avoid the problems inherent in cheap knock-off equipment, especially if the units are running 24/7.
Leaving these sorts of decisions to manufacturers - who're quite likely to give you the worst parts available - is just begging for trouble. No matter who produces the actual CPU.
Max
My god carries a hammer. Your god died nailed to a tree. Any questions?
I don't know what you were doing wrong, but i've build HUNDREDS of machines based on AMD products, from Duron 700's to current generation Athlon XP/MP's. I have NEVER had a problem with one of their chips. If your fan is locking up you might want to look into your environment. Where do you have the damn servers, in a woodworking shop or something?
Christ. I nearly "Foe"'d you on the spot for that.
However, on second and third reading I decided against it.
It's actually chocka full of goodies if you read it closely!
YAW.
Your head of state is a corrupt weasel, I hope you're happy.
The plural of anecdote is not data.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
Not only do I run an Athlon-XP at home, I have a K6 that has been serving web-pages since 2000. Continuously, in a non-airconditioned apartment and in a dusty hayfield. While there were a few chipset oopsies for my mother board, that was Via's goof. They made the mobo chipset (and the Linux kernel compiled around it.) BTW, intel chipsets have every bit as many work arounds.
Fans you are on your own about. Having had fans quit on PIII's as often as Athlons I'd say your argument is a straw man.
Did you have problems? I don't doubt it. Do they have anything to do with your AMD microprocessor? Hell no.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
...I want my Sun Operton systems to have a real OBP. I don't care for peecee compatibility as long as the Big Aluminum (tm) boxen, if such ever get produced, aren't tied to some crummy BIOS.
In the immortal words of Socrates, who said; 'I drank what?'
Your XP on the other hand is different. A lot higher clock speed, higher memory speed, a LOT more heat and you probabaly turn the sucker off at night. Here we don't. We leave them on 24/7 to run analysis software.
I don't see what the big deal is with everybody getting pissed I said I wouldn't buy AMD again. I am sure they are very good for gaming. But for true processing and analysis their stability is the issue. That's all I'm saying.
This is a test. This is a test of the emergency sig system. This has been only a test.
'Java64' architecture based ...
I guess that this will change how the weather derivatives options are priced.
Don't you know it is now both immoral and criminal to think beyond the next quarterly report?
"With the Solaris OS running on the AMD Opteron processor, our customers and partners can take advantage of unique features such as containers delivering virtualization and high levels of security..."
I would also like to add that you'll see the first Opteron workstations and servers about the same time that Solaris 10 technology preview is available. Sun has chosen to implement IA-64 into the kernel in the Solaris 10 release, which also adds some great new functionality such as true virtualization and containers that are even more powerful than chroot jails. Think of the ability to partition a single box into as many different virtual machines as you want, each completely isolated from each other and each having their own unique root account. The benefits for server consolidation projects and virtual hosting applications are obvious.
"When the president does it, that means it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon
"The movement"? So Linux *is* a religion them. Hallelujah!
According to the Inquirer:
AMD IS LIKELY to get a boost from Hewlett Packard today, with reports saying the firm will start selling a Presario 8000Z as soon as Wednesday.
According to the report on cnet.mp3.com, HP will offer a variety of different options with the desktop, which will be available in retail this week.
The machine, the report says, is just one of a family of Athlon 64 desktops HP will sell, and costs $1,239 for a basic machine.
But HP won't start using the Athlon FX - a sort of Opteron - for a little while, it appears. If and when it does, it will be offered as a gaming machine.
The announcement is a boost for AMD, coupled with Sun's expected endorsement of its Opteron microprocessors today.
Peace and love, y'all
Your groupthink is obviously broken. After all, every problem with an AMD box is the either the fault of the user or a 3rd party hardware maker or a bug in the software or it's a bogus chip or blah blah blah...
I've had two Athlons. Both boxes are flakey especially(!) if you don't use conditioned power. I've had much better luck since I put it on the UPS.
The obvious Good Thing about this announcement is that SUN will need to provide a heavily optimised, 64-bit Java implementation for the Opteron.
--
Adam Sherman
Freelance Geek
The meat in "Java-based systems" is good old C and C++ software. Sun's "Java desktop" is Gnome with a Java runtime shipping with it. Sun's "Java server" stuff is a C kernel with C userland stuff and a Java runtime.
Sun loves to attach the name "Java" to anything they can, to cover up the fact that what people actually do with Java is pretty limited. In that sense, they aren't all that different from Microsoft and ".NET".
I've been an AMD fan for quite a while
You must be very dizzy. My AMD fan goes 5000 RPM.
Sorry, couldnt resist. I like AMD too, and yes, Anand could take Tom any day.
Im dreaming ofa big bndwdth, That can resist the
Their only strength was hardware and support. Now they will ship commodity hardware and compete with a company that kicks ass in support (IBM). I kinda feel sorry for them, they should have fired Scott McNealy LOONG time ago.
Not true. It's not like Sun is going to stop doing what it normally does. It is simply expanding it's product offerings in the same way that IBM has.
People that were going to buy AMD or x86 now have the option of going with Sun, where they would have had to chosen a different vendor before.
The reason that it can be true that 1+1 > 2 is that very peculiar nonzero value of the + operator
Didn't SGI pull a similar stunt with the Itanic? Granted, this is a bit different (SGI was also leaning toward Windows NT) but this sort of move makes me nervous.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
-ble...
Now.. To assist the Aurora Linux team and give them strong docs on the system level assembly functions so the rest of Open Source community can get back to embracing Sun Microsystems...
Then ACTUALLY HOSTING some of the sunfreeware stuff that everyone is desperatly trying to mirror...
I say that even though the package format sun has now is easy to use I wish (WISH!) that they would go toward a package format that would support all other packages including doing dependency checks for required non-native libraries.
Sun Operating System... am I the only one that instantly thought of S.O.S. as an acronym?
FWIW my XP is on 24/7. But I will qualify that. It has run 24/7 since I reformatted it Linux. Prior to that it ran ME, later XP, and it wouldn't stay on for more than a few hours before dying horribly. I eventually traced the problem back to the Via chipset and the drivers for the old ATI graphics card I was using.
Linux makes the system run much cooler, and the Kernel has workarounds for the issues with the Via chipset. I run a special build of X for the ATI card that also allows me to use the TV tuner.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
or at least that's how I read it :)
you may find the Higgs in this signature.
As others have pointed out all problems you pointed out were not related to AMD.
I have an AMD K-6 166 MHz; that I use everyday; that has been running for all intent 24/7 365 for about 2.5 years.
It has been over-clocked to 200 MHz
CPU cooling fan what is that? It died about a year ago. As a result CPU temps are high.
Every so often I will power down and clean out the dust that has been sucked into the case by the power supply.
I have reached the conclusion that I have not abused this CPU hard enough.
I know I should replace it with something faster. I have decided to keep it until it dies.
Perhaps anyone out there can give me ideas on how to abuse this poor computer harder so it finally gives up in its normal day to day processing.
Once it dies I will take the slowest AMD system....demote every system I have, and go buy the newest AMD product.
Hey -
just a guess, but as the JVM is generally a 64 bit VM (a lot of the numerical types are 64 bits in length) - I would imagine running on a native 64 bit platform will result in better performance. Instead of using 2 32 bit nuggets to store 64 bit values (not to mention the overhead needed to track which two 32 bit registers or memory blocks are storing it), the underlying physical CPU implementation more closely matches the registers and address space used inside the JVM.
Just a guess.
I suspect Sun will work very hard to keep people from comparing SPARC hardware with Opteron units, since the RISC systems will get killed.
But Sun customers should insist on seeing this comparison.
Are there any free Linux distributions that have native 64-bit support for Opteron? All I know of are the SuSE/whatever Enterprise versions, with unclear licensing terms...
The name on my PC's chipset says "Via", yet the CPU is 850Mhz AMD Duron. How can this be?
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
This could be one of the final nails in itanic's coffin (or maybe the iceberg that finally sinks it.)
When will Carly wield the axe? And what will intel do now?
Stick Men
Did you know that comparable Intel-CPU's generate even more heat?. And with Athlon64 that difference is getting even bigger. Prescott is reported to generate over 100W of heat, while
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.