Volume 104, Issue 3

System News
   
News about Solaris and Sun Microsystems

Free 2 Week Trial!

October 16th, 2006 — October 22nd, 2006
System News System News for Sun Users  
Volume 104, Issue 3
Sections in this issue:
click to jump to section

Think outside the box: Project Blackbox is coming to datacenter near you. A bit bigger than a coffee to go, the cargo shipping container Sun has made into a mobile datacenter houses everything necessary to get up and running; see article number [17165] for details.

Two limited-time offers are featured in the Promotions section this week: One gets you free services with a Sun Blade 8000 system [17152] and the other saves you money on training with a Sun Fire x64 server [17158].

The Next-Generation AMD Opteron chips are making their way into more Sun servers: Read the details in [17162]. In other server news, Sun Cluster 3.1 support has been added to the Netra T2000 server [17138].

Developers will find AJAX tips this week in [17143] and [17151], as well as an article on Sun at the AJAX World Conference [17142].

Promotions
x
Save on Sun StorageTek Arrays and NAS Products
Sun + Sun: Purchase a Qualifying Sun Server and Save on Sun Storage
Take an additional 15 percent off select Sun StorageTek NAS products or an additional 10 percent off select Sun StorageTek Arrays when you purchase a qualifying Sun server at a discount.
Limited Time Offer: Purchase a Sun Blade 8000 System and Get Free Enterprise Installation Services
Act Before Offer Ends on December 31, 2006
For a limited time, purchase a Sun Blade 8000 Modular System and get free Enterprise Installation Services (EIS). Deploy the blade system faster by using the comprehensive installation services from the Sun Enterprise Installation Services team. Offer good through December 31, 2006.
Free Chassis for Sun Fire E6900 or Sun Fire E25K Server with Upgrade
With Qualified Trade-in & Purchase of New Sun Fire E6900 or Sun Fire E25K Server
Trade-in and upgrade from qualified Sun or competitive servers to an eligible Sun Fire E6900 or Sun Fire E25K server configured with UltraSPARC IV+ 1.5GHz or 1.8GHz processors, and the server chassis is free. Take advantage of this Sun Upgrade Advantage Program promotion now through April 1, 2007.
Save 50 Percent on Sun Fire X64 Server Training Materials
Order Before December 31, 2006

Get 50 percent off training materials for any Sun Fire X64 server Web-based classes or CD-ROMs between now and December 31st, 2006. If you work for a company that uses Sun Fire servers, this training discount applies to you. These training materials give you the expert instruction necessary to run Sun Fire servers at their optimum level.

News
x
Project Blackbox: Mobile, Easily Transported, Complete Datacenter from Sun
Shipping Container Creates Modular Lights-out Datacenter for Every Corner of the Earth
Sun unveiled its nearly completed prototype of a mobile, virtualized data center: Project Blackbox. The potential uses of the Blackbox range from emergency response situations to military deployments or offshore oil rig deployments.
New Offerings Expand Sun's Virtualization Solutions: LDoms, Xen and VMware ESX 3.0.1 Support Added
Run Concurrent OS's on a Solaris 10 OS Machine
Virtualization can help with the challenges posed by rapid growth and increasing costs of energy. Sun's virtualization solutions have been expanded to offer new products and services, including LDoms (logical domains) and the planned support of Xen on Solaris 10 Operating System (Solaris OS).
Top Suppliers of Sun Gear Acknowledged in 2006 Awards Program
Delivering Superior Quality and Value to Sun's Customers
The results of the Sun 16th annual Supplier Awards are in, with Seagate Technology named Sun Supplier of the Year for its delivery of hard disk drives at a low cost. Suppliers are judged on their performance in the areas of cost, quality, lead-time and delivery, and strategic and technical development. The other categories are Best-in-Class and Meritorious Performance.
Q1 Fiscal 2007 Earnings Conference Call Set for October 26, 2006
Webcast to be Available Online

Sun will host its Q1 Fiscal 2007 Earnings Conference Call/webcast on Thursday, October 26, 2006, beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT. The general public is welcome to listen via Sun\'s Investor Relations website.

Features
x
Why Give Away Solaris?
Some Answers from Paul Murphy
UNIX consultant Paul Murphy tackled the question of what sense it makes for Sun to give away product as it does with the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS). His ZDNet.com blog is entitled "Who owns Solaris?."
Scott McNealy Hung on at Sun as a 22-year "Temp"
Hear Kai Ryssdal's Marketplace Interview
When Scott McNealy came on at Sun in 1984, because the board voted to give themselves veto power over his retention for five years, it turns out his status amounted to being a temporary employee. That "temporary" status continued for 22 years because, as he told Marketplace reporter Kai Ryssdal, it took that long to find an appropriate successor in Jonathan Schwartz.
Sun's Customer Engineering Conference 2006
Reports and Resources Online

Sun's Customer Engineering Conference (CEC) 2006 was held in San Francisco in early October. It is a technical gathering of customer-facing engineers. There were demonstrations on Solaris 10 Operating System (Solaris OS) adoption, Sun Cluster 3.2 and ZFS. Links are available online for video and photos.

Hardware
x
Solaris 9 9/05 HW Operating System Hardware Support Added to Some Sun Platforms
Media Kit and Download Available
The Solaris 9 9/05 HW Operating Environment has added hardware support for the following Sun platforms: Sun Ultra 25 and 45 workstations; Sun Fire V215, V245 and V445 servers; and Netra CP3010 board. This release is provided as a convenience for customers who are not yet ready to move to Solaris 10 OS and have an existing installed based that is running the Solaris 9 Operating Environment.
QLogic 5602 64 Port Enterprise-class 4Gb Fibre Channel Switch
Qualified on Opteron and SPARC Processor-based Servers
QLogic 5602 64 Port Enterprise-class 4Gb Fibre Channel Switch stack comes with all the switches, cables, rail kits, SFPs and software to support 64 active ports and now can be ordered through one part number: SG-XSWQL5602-PRO-Z.
Servers
x
New Sun Cluster 3.1 Software Support for the Netra T2000 Server
Improve Management Features of Server
Now get the manageability and availability attributes of Sun Cluster 3.1 software on the Netra T2000 server. Sun Cluster is a "Service Level Management" platform which facilitates delivery of higher service levels, at lower service level costs and reduced risk.
4GB DDR1/400 DIMMs for Sun Fire X4100 and X4200 x64 Servers
For Customers Whose Workloads Demand a Larger Memory Footprint
Support is now available for up to 32GB DDR1/400 (PC3200) registered ECC memory via 8 GB DIMM kit (2x4GB) for the Sun Fire X4100 and X4200 x64 servers. These servers now have double the previous memory capacity, making them ideal for compute intensive, high-end workloads.
Comparison of Sun Fire X4xxx M2 Servers with Sun Fire X4xxx Servers
Powered by Next-Generation AMD Opteron Processors and Solaris 10 OS
Sun's "Galaxy" line of Sun Fire x64 (x86, 64-bit) servers powered by Next-Generation AMD Opteron processors and the Solaris 10 Operating System (Solaris OS), feature on-chip virtualization support, setting new standards for reliability and energy efficiency. This article lists some points of comparison between the servers and highlights the benefits of the AMD Next-Generation Opteron processors.
Netra 440 Server UltraSPARC Processor Upgrade Kit Available
Upgrade from 1.28Ghz to 1.6Ghz UltraSPARC IIIi CPU
Sun is offering the option to upgrade to a higher frequency UltraSPARC processor for the Netra 440 server. An upgrade kit is available for those who have the 1.28Ghz UltraSPARC IIIi processor-based Netra 440 server installed. Upgrades are from the 1.28Ghz to 1.6Ghz UltraSPARC IIIi processor at an affordable price.
Storage
x
StorageTek Ready Program Invites Partner Participation
Multiple Benefits Accrue to Partner Members
The Sun StorageTek Ready Program enables select storage Technology Partners, including IHVs, ISVs and OEMs, to certify their products and solutions as fully interoperable with Sun StorageTek platforms. Qualified partners with the vision to build complete storage solutions can partner with Sun to attain a strategic advantage.
King's Daughters Medical Center Turns to Sun, Phillips Medical Systems
Information Lifecycle Management System Delivers the Goods
King's Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, Kentucky, a 385-bed, not-for-profit regional referral center, implemented an upgrade of its IT infrastructure incorporating solutions from Phillips Medical Systems and Sun Microsystems.
Sun StorageTek T10000 'Crypto Ready' Tape Drive Additional Options
Provides Enhanced Data Security and Reliability
Sun is making additional options available for its Sun StorageTek T10000 "Crypto Ready" tape drive. Customers wishing to upgrade from a 2Gb drive to a 4Gb drive must either order T10A-2TO4GB-UPGD or T10A-2TO4GB-UPGDZ, as well as choose the type of ports they want (short wave, long wave or mixed wave).
Top10
x
Top Ten Articles for Last 4 Issues
Vol 103 Issues 3 and 4; Vol 104 Issues 1 and 2

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 104, Issue 2 - were:

  • White Paper: The Architecture of Sun Fire V125, V215, V245, and V445 servers [17113]
  • An Introductory Look at Grid Computing [17112]
  • Enterprise Level Storage Virtualization Appliance Announced from Sun and FalconStor [17146]
  • Benchmark Results for Sun Blade 8000 System & Sun Fire E6900 on SPECjAppServer2004 Make World Record [17110]
  • Sun Identity Management Software Tour Illustrates Advantages of Sun's Products [17104]
  • Win a Thumper Server: Enter Sun's 'Thump This' Contest [17124]
  • Sun StorageTek Ready Platform to Create Business Opportunities, Expand Storage [17144]
  • Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing [17109]
  • Two Server Downloads with New Modules for Sun Fire Servers [17119]
  • Sun Transitions the Sun StorEdge 6130 Array [17087]
Developer
x
Rich Teer on Why the Solaris OS is the Best Platform to Develop and Deploy Software
Features of Reliability and Variety of Tools
Rich Teer explains why developers should make Solaris 10 Operating System (Solaris OS) their primary development and deployment platform and how to develop software on the Solaris OS. Teer addresses non-developers who "just want to build their favorite (perhaps open-source) software on the Solaris platform" and developers "(commercial and otherwise) who are porting their code to the Solaris OS (or are considering doing so)".
Making AJAX Applications Secure: Tips for Testing
Links to References and Resources
Here are a few items of interest from the AJAX World Conference that relate to AJAX, particularly the questions about how secure AJAX is.
Education and Research
x
Sun Expands Its Campus Ambassador Program
Representatives Are Now in 170 Universities, 30 Countries
One of Sun's long-term involvements with higher education has been the creation and support the company has provided to the Campus Ambassador Program, which now has representatives on the campuses of 170 universities located in 30 countries whose purpose is to provide academic developers with the educational tools and resources they need to cultivate important IT skills.
Sun Solutions Attract Higher Education and Other Institutions
Data Center, Network Identity, Energy Cost Management Issues Solved
An increasing number of institutions of higher education have adopted open-standards/open-source Sun IT infrastructure as the tool to manage such issues as the creation of efficient and scalable data centers, protecting network identities and keeping energy and real estate costs in check.
Java Technology
x
Sun, Laszlo Launch Project Orbit
Project Seeks Interoperability Between OpenLaszlo, Java Micro Edition
Project Orbit is the name given to a new collaboration between Sun and Laszlo Systems whose aim is to enable applications based on the OpenLaszlo rich Internet development platform to run on systems that run Java Platform, Micro Edition. Paul Krill of InfoWorld reports this development in his article "Sun, Laszlo Take Java into Orbit for Devices."
Rumor Quashed: Java Does Work on Windows Vista
Developers of Java SE 6 Kept Close Tabs on Events at Microsoft
Blogger Chet Haase assures his readers that, contrary to unfounded rumor, Java does work on Vista. There is simply no truth to the assertion made in the Javalobby newsletter claiming "Java and Vista not playing well together," Haase contends.
Sun Displays Strong Interest at AJAX World Conference & Expo
Making JavaScript a More Useful, Attractive Tool
The Ajax World Conference & Expo has come and gone. Now there are reports concerning the proceedings. One is by Jeremy Geelan of Sys-Con Media and another by Paul Krill of InfoWorld.
Six AJAX Design Strategies to Build AJAX into Web Applications
From Do-it-Yourself to Java Only Techniques
Java technology writer Ed Ort has teamed up with software engineer Mark Basler to provide the Java developer community with another excellent article on one of the more talked about technologies today, using AJAX and XML to make Web 2.0 site highly responsive.
Trademarks
x
Copyrights and Trademarks
For Volume 104, Issue 3

(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.