The Executive Review of May 2004 starts off this edition with
highlights from last month's top stories [13127].
For the first week in June, Sun's quarterly systems release,
Network Computing 04Q2, headlines the news with more than 30 new
technology innovations along with new subscription and utility-based
delivery models introduced at the SunNetworkSM Conference
in Shanghai, PRC [13154].
Product launches included the self-healing, self-managing Dynamic File
System, which provides 16 billion billion times more capacity than current
64-bit file systems [13167]. An innovative pay-for-use storage solution
called the SunTM Utility Computing for Sun StorEdgeTM Systems that
delivers storage capacity when needed [13166].
Sixteen new SunTM Reference Architectures and Solutions also were
released advancing data center efficiency [13160]. The industry's
lowest-priced, ruggedized, four-way UltraSPARCR server running
enterprise-class 64-bit SolarisTM Operating System (Solaris OS) is now available
as the NetraTM 440 [13162].
Other software releases included the Sun JavaTM Enterprise System
Release 2 with extended support for the Solaris OS (x86 Platform
Edition) and Linux [13155], the Sun JavaTM System RFID Software
[13161] and the Sun JavaTM Desktop System Release 2 [13157].
And, the rumors have been confirmed, Sun plans on open sourcing Solaris OS [13199].
"...make no mistake: We will open-source Solaris," confirmed Jonathan
Schwartz, Sun's president and chief operating officer, during a press
conference at the SunNetwork Conference in Shangai, PRC. The
release date of the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) source
code and the form of its licensing model was not disclosed.
Sun and Fujitsu have expanded their 20-year relationship to include the
development of a new generation of Solaris Operating System
(Solaris OS) and SPARC-based systems. The new line of servers,
expected by mid-2006, will be called the Advanced Product Line (APL)
and will replace the Sun Fire and PRIMEPOWER product lines. APL will
run Solaris OS, the Sun Java Enterprise System and nearly all major
enterprise applications.
Network computing is entering a new era with Sun at the forefront,
according to Jonathan Schwartz, president and chief operating officer
at Sun, whose keynote address helped kick off the company's second
quarterly Network Computer '04 (NC04Q2) launch at last week's
SunNetwork Conference in Shanghai.
Sun released the Sun Java Enterprise System 2004Q2 along with a
per-citizen pricing model for federal, state and local governments of
developing nations. This latest release now supports Linux, extending
its multiplatform support that also includes Xeon and AMD Opteron-based
systems.
Newly announced during the Network Computer '04Q2 launch, Sun
Preventive Services is a subscription-based, integrated portfolio of
more than 100 services capabilities that covers all Sun equipment in a
customer's datacenter.
Sun is releasing a new comprehensive set of products and alliances to
capitalize on the billion dollar identity management market. A new Sun
identity management product line will include the Sun Java System
Identity Manager, the Sun Java System Access Manager and the Sun
Java System Directory Server Enterprise Edition.
Sixteen new reference architectures and solutions designed to provide
reduced risk and accelerated time-to-benefit for applications from such
vendors as Oracle, SAP and Cognos were introduced as part of Sun's
second quarterly Network Computer '04 launch (NC04Q2). Also announced
were reference architectures and solutions for radio frequency
identification (RFID) and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
Sun is releasing new server and storage systems in order to meet the
increased availability and security requirements of service providers,
telecommunications companies and governments. Sun is debuting new
Netra servers powered by four UltraSPARC IIIi processors and
running the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS). The company is
also introducing a family of NEBS-compliant storage arrays.
The new Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) and all of the UltraSPARC
IV-based midrange and high-end systems have set world records or
benchmarks, according to Sun. To date, a total of 37 world records have
been broken, including the SPECjAppServer2002, the
two-tier SAP R/3 4.70 Standard Sales and Distribution benchmark and more.
Sun is continuing to adapt its options available to customers by
offering new storage software, systems and flexible utility pricing
options. The options include Sun StorEdge power units that offer
storage as low as USD$0.02 per-MB-per-year. The units deliver a
combination of hardware and software infrastructure and associated
services.
Introduced through the Software Express program, Dynamic File System, a
new feature of the Solaris 10 Operating System (Solaris OS),
provides a self-healing, self-managing OS file system technology that
delivers 16 billion billion times more capacity than current file
systems for virtually unlimited scalability.
Sun has added Dawning and Founder Technology Group, two of China's
leading computer companies, to its list of OEMs committed to supporting
the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) (x86 Platform Edition).
Growth in China's server market was over 21 percent more units
shipped in 2003 than in the previous year.
Sun Java Desktop System Release 2 simplifies desktop management
through the integration of advanced desktop management tools. It also offers
a rich development environment for Java technology and Linux
developers with updated IDEs, the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE
platform) and a one-year free developer tools subscription.
Sun's new RFID software is designed to reduce the complexity of
managing excessive data by simplifying the integration of RFID data
into enterprise information systems. Currently available for the
Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS), Sun plans on releasing the Linux version sometime this fall.
Sun has released both the Sun Java System Application Server
Standard Edition 7 2004Q2 and the Sun Java System Application
Server Enterprise Edition 7 2004Q2. The solutions include Always On
technology that delivers extremely high availability, superior quality
of service and massive scalability.
Easing the deployment and management of N1 Grid technologies, Sun
has a suite of grid computing solutions changing datacenter
management. With ready-to-deploy features and improved resource
utilization by up to 90 percent, Sun's suite includes the N1 Grid
Engine 6, N1 Grid Console, N1 Grid Tool Kit and more.
The N1 Grid Engine 6 software is part of Sun's suite of N1 grid
technologies easing data center management. This white paper addresses
the software's features and enhancements such as scalability, resource
reservation, urgency-based priorities, throughput scheduling, cluster
queue configuration, conformance with grid standards, monitoring devices
and accounting tools.
Macromedia Flash Player 7 for Linux is now available due to the
collaborative efforts of Sun and Macromedia. Offering improved
performance, security and development capabilities, this new software
opens the door for developers to deliver a product with consistent
cross-platform results.
This article is a calendar of upcoming events, with links to the articles about them. Click on the article numbers in the calendar to get more details about the event and how to register.
The conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) and
the European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB) will be held
jointly for the first time, in conjunction with Genes, Proteins and
Computers VIII on July 31-August 4 in Glasgow, Scotland.
The 19th International Supercomputer Conference (ISC) offers three days
of focused lead sessions and networking opportunities that provide a
complete and compact overview on High Performance Computing (HPC). Some
of the top names in the industry will share their insights into the
challenges and opportunities of the HPC business.
Part II of J2SE 1.5 Monitoring and Management comes to the Sun
Developer Network Chat Sessions at 11:00 a.m. PDT (6:00 p.m. GMT) on
June 8. J2SE product marketing manager Blake Connell and J2SE engineers
Mandy Chung and Sanjay Radia will be available to answer questions.
Chung is the technical lead for Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE platform) 1.5's monitoring and managing APIs
and implementation, as well as out-of-the-box monitoring and mangement;
Radia is the overall RAS architect for J2SE.
Users interested in implementing a Sun Ray Ultra-Thin Client
environment should consider the Sun Ray Building Blocks approach. The
building blocks feature the 1U stackability of the Sun Fire V210
server, the expandability of the Sun Fire V250 Tower and the large
deployment power of the Sun Fire V440 server, giving users a wide
range of potential configurations to choose from. Two new Sun Ray 1G
monitor bundles are also featured, the 19- and the 24-inch LCD.
Sun commissioned Forrester Research Inc. to study the total economic
impact (TEI) of deploying the Sun Ray appliance in an environment
consisting primarily of PCs. Forrester analyzed the results of
interviews with four organizations and created a composite enterprise
to demonstrate their findings.
Time Warner Cable's New York City call center facility has always been
considered state-of-the-art. Seeking to maintain the reputation for the
utmost in customer service, Time Warner Cable has installed a
completely new system consisting of 450 Sun Ray 150 ultra-thin
clients, 15 Sun Enterprise 420R workgroup servers and two Sun
Enterprise 450 workgroup servers, all running on the Solaris 8
Operating System (Solaris OS).
IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker found factory revenue in the
worldwide server market grew at 7.3 percent year-over-year to $11.5
billion in the first quarter of 2004, marking the fourth consecutive
quarter of positive overall growth. IDC also noted growth in all major
categories of the worldwide server market for the second consecutive
quarter when compared to the same period in the previous year.
Sun now offers, through September 30, 2004, the Sun Infrastructure
Solution for Enterprise Messaging Consolidation at a 15 percent
discount on Sun StorEdge 3310 SCSI or Sun StorEdge 3510 FC arrays when you
purchase the solution with selected entry-level Sun Fire or Netra
servers.
Sun now features enhancements to its Capacity on Demand (COD) 2.0
offering that allow users of the Sun Fire 3800, 4800 and 6800
servers, the Sun Fire 12K and 15K servers and the Sun Fire
E4900 and E6900 servers to purchase Right-to-Use licenses for CPUs
and/or memory on COD Uniboards on a temporary basis. In addition, all
COD 2.0 customers can use "headroom" CPUs as hot spares for non-COD
CPUs.
A recent Sun article describes how readers can take advantage of Studio
Enterprise 6 2004Q1 to create a portlet that complies with Java
Specification Request 168 Portlet Specification (JSR 168) to access the
Google Web service. The document also provides information on the
specific steps needed to deploy the portlet on the Sun Java System
Portal Server.
The Self object-oriented language is now available in a public release,
which builds on the Self 4.2 release and adds support for Mac OS 10.3,
as well as re-introduces the Self source-level profiler. The release is
built around the basic design principles of malleability, uniformity
and simplicity.
Sun and TopCoder Inc. are teaming up for this year's JavaOne
conference and will offer Java technology programmers the
opportunity to prove their development skills with a coding
competition. TopCoder will use its popular coding platform to power the
JavaOne Coding Challenge, which was a favorite at last year's event.
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