Volume 104, Issue 1

System News
   
News about Solaris and Sun Microsystems

Free 2 Week Trial!

October 2nd, 2006 — October 8th, 2006
System News System News for Sun Users  
Volume 104, Issue 1
Sections in this issue:
click to jump to section

Slow at work or hectic? Maybe some support and training will help in either case. Two promotions expire by the end of the month: one provides discounted support for NetBeans [17101] and the other for the Solaris 10 OS [17098].

Sun offers a course designed to introduce Sun Studio software to Solaris OS developers [17022]. Another course explains how Solaris 10 OS differs from version 8 and 9 [17086]. Sun Fire X4500 server maintenance details are covered in [17083].

The Netra CP3060 UltraSPARC T1 ATCA blade was part of the September product launch, and this week we cover its features such as its partitioning abilities and how it delivers extreme performance - learn more in article [17045].

Sun Fire servers continue to demonstrate their performance power in the recent selection by the NSF to fund an HPC center at UT Austin [17094].

Don't have time to fly to a trade show to learn about AMD and Sun? Not to worry: The new AMD Virtual IT Experience solves that -- an online tradeshow that makes you feel like you are there. See [17081].

Promotions
x
Special Introductory Offer: Free Developer Expert Assistance Support for Solaris 10 OS
Offer Expires October 31, 2006
The Sun Developer Expert Assistance program is offering free help for Solaris 10 operating System (Solaris OS) until October 31, 2006. Help includes "sanity checks, workarounds and best practice guidance."
Save on NetBeans Support: 25% Discount Promotion Ends Soon
Sign Up Before October 31, 2006 to Get Expert Assistance for Less
Hurry to get a 25 percent discount on the 1-Year Support Sun Software Plan (telephone support) for NetBeans. This offer ends October 31, 2006. Save over over $200.00 per developer. Two support plan levels are available to choose from.
Sun Ultra 25, Sun Ultra 40 Workstations Offered at Discount
Migrate to x64 Systems at a Lower Cost
Sun has generous trade-in allowances on old non-Sun workstations available for its Sun Ultra x64 workstation product line that address the needs of a variety of users, whether the application involves MCAD/MCAE, visual simulation or rendering. Sun's desktop product line has the solutions users need, whatever the task.
Special Discount for VMware Subscribers on Select Sun Fire Servers
Ten Percent Off on Certain Sun Fire x64 Servers, Perfect for Virtualization
VMware subscribers are eligible for a special 10 percent discount on Selected Sun Fire x64 servers, including the Sun Fire X4100, Sun Fire X4200 and Sun Fire V40z servers, all designed to provide the capabilities users need for virtualization. This offer runs through February 1, 2007.
News
x
World's Most Powerful HPC System to be Built at UT with Sun's Help
NSF Awarded University of Texas $56 Million for Advanced Computing Research
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin $59 million over five years to acquire, operate and support a high-performance computing (HPC) system made of Sun Fire x64 (x86, 64-bit) servers and Sun StorageTek disk and tape storage technologies that will use over 13,000 of AMD’s forthcoming quad-core processors.
Independent OpenSPARC Advisory Board Formed
Goal is to Accelerate Adoption of OpenSPARC Technology
An independent advisory board has been created for the OpenSPARC Community to help shape the evolution of the initiative. The board will help direct the creation of tools and derivative chip designs based on the Sun UltraSPARC T1 processor.
Sun Executives Present at Women's Computing Event
2006 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing

The 2006 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing event held in California was sponsored by Sun and featured women employees from Sun who participated in panel discussions on how a diverse workforce advances technology. Sun was a Gold sponsor and sent 30 employees to the event.

Features
x
Net Talk on Improving Datacenter Lifecycle Management
Know the Challenges Before Upgrading
What are the typical challenges associated with hardware upgrades in a datacenter? For advice on simplifying the process, watch the on demand Sun Net Talk featuring Craig Churchill. Churchill is the global director of the Installed Base Marketing at Sun. He explains the process and how the Sun Upgrade Advantage Program can help.
Introspection of a Java Virtual Machine under Simulation
Authors Extract High-level Data from Java Virtual Machine

Given the widespread use of the virtual machine in commercially significant systems and the complication the VM brings with it -- presenting an extra abstraction layer between the application and the observed hardware effects, Greg Wright, Phil McGachey, Erika Gunadi and Mario Wolczko have chosen to address the issue in a Sun Labs paper entitled "Introspection of a Java Virtual Machine under Simulation."

Greg Papadopoulos - Blog on The Ecology of Computing
Google in the Palm of Your Hand
Greg Papadopoulos has resumed his blog, tackling most recently what he refers to as the "...environmental and sociological consequences of computing something." The full text of "The Ecology of Computing" is online. He foresees a future that would include, by 2050, Google's entire CPU grid in a user's mobile phone.
Sun CIO Bob Worrall on ERP Consolidation, Flex-time
Integrated Business Information System Project Deliverable Due in July 2007
Bob Worrall is the new CIO at Sun Microsystems, coming to the post from his earlier assignment as VP for IT at Sun. He spoke with Computerworld's Eric Lai about the company's three-year Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) consolidation plans and about how Sun plans to use flex-time to combat the anticipated effects of a flu season or other disruptive influence.
Sun Java System Identity Manager Implemented at Henkel KGaA
System Does in Nine Months What Would Have Taken Five Years for Legacy Mods
Henkel KGaA, a Fortune Global 500 company headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany, employs some 51,000 people in its world wide markets for home care, personal care and adhesives, sealants and surface treatment. Henkel sought to replace its mainframe-based system for administering employee identities that was developed in the early 1990s and turned to Sun Java System Identity Manager as the solution.
AMD
x
Seeing is Believing: Visit the New AMD Virtual IT Experience Online Tradeshow
An Innovative and Interactive Way to Access Information
The AMD Virtual IT Experience is an innovative online event site aimed at providing a new and interactive way to help you find the information you need to solve your IT problems. Using interactive online technology, AMD and a select group of IT industry leaders have created a true virtual exhibition - a multi-dimensional online digital tradeshow featuring new products, booth displays, keynotes from senior industry guests and giveaways.
Servers
x
Netra CP3060 UltraSPARC T1 ATCA Blade Provides High Density
Get Partitioning Ability with the UltraSPARC T1 Processor
The Netra CP3060 UltraSPARC T1 ATCA Blade is the first blade to incorporate Sun's Chip Multithreading Technology (CMT) to meet the needs of telecommunications and other applications that require different types of processors when using an ATCA. The UltraSPARC T1 processor has partitioning capabilities and is a low-power processor, delivering extreme performance and performance per watt, especially when running the Solaris 10 Operating System (Solaris OS).
Sun Fire X4500 Server (aka Thumper) Documentation
ILOM, Solaris 10 OS Installation and More
Need some documentation for your new Sun Fire X4500 server, the world's first hybrid data server? Sun provides PDFs and HTML versions online of many how-to guides for installation of the OS, product notes, an ILOM guide and more.
Sun Fire X4600 Server Maintenance and Troubleshooting Course
Web-based Training Package Include Course and Assessment
Learn the Sun Fire X4600 server architecture inside and out with this web-based course, Sun Fire X4600 Server Maintenance and Troubleshooting. The course covers installation of the server and configuring the server processor. The training also covers troubleshooting and replacing internal components.
Top10
x
Top Ten Articles for Last 4 Issues
Vol 103 Issues 1, 2, 3 and 4

Each week, we determine which articles have been most frequently referenced by logged-in subscribers to provide you with a list of the most popular articles for each of the last three issues. The Web version of this article lists the top 10 articles for each of the last four issues. The top articles from the last issue - Vol 103, Issue 4 - were:

  • OpenSolaris to Find its Way into Google? [17056]
  • New Sun Fire V445 Server Introduced at High End of the Entry-level Server Line [17035]
  • Win a Thumper Server: Enter Sun's 'Thump This' Contest [17052]
  • Economical Sun Fire V125 Server: Powerful and Compact [17042]
  • Java EE (J2EE) Programming (with Passion!) Free Online Class [17051]
  • Outstanding Price/Performance in New Sun Fire V 215 and Sun Fire V245 Servers [17038]
  • Good News From Sun Marketing [17084]
  • U.S. Daylight Saving Time Changes in 2007 to Affect JRE [17021]
  • IDC Reports Growth in Sun Disk Storage and Tape Storage [17058]
  • University Reduces IT Maintenance Costs by Deploying Sun Ray Virtual Display Clients [17001]
Developer
x
Book: NetBeans IDE Field Guide
Second Edition Adds Details on Matisse GUI Builder
Looking for advice about the NetBeans 5.0 IDE from experts who have worked with it for years? Try the "NetBeans IDE Field Guide." This second edition has added how to build applications with the Matisse GUI Builder, how to use the NetBeans Collaboration Modules and more.
Just Commit: Project Hudson
Builds are Automated, Freeing Up Developers
One of the projects on the java.net page is Project Hudson, which monitors executions of repeated jobs, such as building a software project or jobs run by cron. Hudson creates an automated, continuous build and checks to see if the build works. It will notify you if it does not work, but while it is working, you can be working.
Sysadmin
x
Sun Begins Using Verisign Certificate for Digitally Signed Solaris Patches
Signed Patch Users Need to Update Patch Tools

Sun began using a new Verisign certificate for digitally signed patches for the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) on September 24, 2006. This means that a signing certificate will be used for all three Solaris OS releases, Solaris 8, 9 and 10 OS. Customers using signed patches will be required to update their patch tools to continue to install these patches. Failure to do so will result in patch installation installation errors.

Sun Studio Software Introductory Course for Solaris OS Developers
Increase Productivity Using Performance Analyzer Feature
Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) developers have a new course available to introduce them to the capabilities of Sun Studio software. Course WP-100-S10 (available only in the U.S.) provides developers with an overview of how to compile, edit, debug and analyze performance with Sun Studio.
Sun Downloads for Sun Firmware, Solaris OS, CoolThreads
Have a Look at These New Tools

Check out the new downloads available from Sun that include Sun Firmware Flash Update Tool (fwflash), Solaris SRP Driver 1.0 and Tuning Tool for CoolThreads Technology (CoolTuner) 1.0.1.

"Make the Transition to the Solaris 10 Operating System"
Course for Systems Administrators of Solaris 8, 9 OS

The course "Make the Transition to the Solaris 10 Operating System" (course ID number VC-SA-210-S10) presents the essential differences between the Solaris 8, Solaris 9 and Solaris 10 Operating Systems. The course covers skills and tasks that are new or are changed in Solaris 10.

Trademarks
x
Copyrights and Trademarks
For Volume 104, Issue 1

(c) 2006 System News, Inc. All rights reserved.


 


Customized news reports about Sun Microsystems. Just the news you need, none of what you don't.
50,000+ Members. 20,000+ Articles Published since 1998.