23
Tue, Apr
1 New Articles
  1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. News
  4. IT Infrastructure News
  5. Operating Systems
  6. IBM Expands Support for the Sun Solaris OS on x86 Systems

IBM Expands Support for the Sun Solaris OS on x86 Systems

Operating Systems
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times
IBM and Sun have announced that IBM will distribute the Solaris Operating System and Solaris Subscriptions for select x86-based IBM System x and BladeCenter servers to clients through IBM channels.

The agreement is an extension of IBM's existing support for the Solaris OS on select IBM BladeCenter servers and exemplifies the company's commitment to offer clients the widest choice of operating systems, said an IBM spokesperson. It also reflects Sun's commitment to offer customers a wider choice of systems for the Solaris platform. IBM and Sun's support of interoperability via open standards also means that customers will be able to extend their infrastructure by connecting new platforms easily, while preserving their initial investments.

IBM says it is the volume leader in the high-performance segment of the Intel-based server market, where technology innovation is crucial. IBM's X3-Architecture, the third generation of the enterprise X-Architecture, has positioned IBM as the fastest growing vendor in high-end x86 servers in the first quarter of 2007.

The Solaris OS is supported on more than 820 x86 platforms and runs more than 3,000 unique x86 applications, including IBM Websphere, Lotus, DB2, Rational, and Tivoli.

As part of the expanded support, Sun and IBM will invest in testing and system qualification so joint customers will realize Solaris' leading performance and reliability on BladeCenter and System x servers. IBM servers that will support the Solaris OS include: IBM BladeCenter HS21 and LS41 servers; and IBM System x3650, System x3755, and System x3850 servers.

"IBM provides the broadest choice of server platforms and operating systems to customers with AIX, Linux for x86 and Power, Microsoft Windows Server, and now Solaris," said Bill Zeitler, senior vice president and group executive, IBM Systems and Technology Group. "IBM is the first major x86 vendor to have such an agreement with Sun and the first big vendor apart from Sun to offer Solaris on blade servers. Today we expand that agreement to help clients migrate to Solaris on IBM x86-based System x servers."

The announcement further affirms the value that Solaris OS delivers in Web, application, and data-tier deployments, the company said. By adding the Solaris OS to its operating system portfolio, IBM is expanding customer choice. And by participating as one of over 800 partners in the IBM BladeCenter ecosystem, Sun has effectively joined others in the industry helping IBM accelerate the development and adoption of open blade server platforms.

"We're thrilled to be working with IBM to bring the Solaris OS to the broadest market possibleù(IBM is) a natural partner for Sun," said Jonathan Schwartz, president and CEO of Sun Microsystems. "Solaris adoption continues to accelerate, among both the open-source and commercial communitiesùdriven by bundled virtualization for servers and storage, support for thousands of ISVs, including nearly the entirety of IBM's software portfolio, and outstanding operational economics. Solaris is clearly a choice customers are demanding."

The Solaris OS offers a unique feature set, including Solaris ZFS, Predictive Self-Healing, and Solaris Dynamic Tracing (DTrace) to help customers improve uptime, cut costs, and speed time to market. The Solaris OS allows BladeCenter and System x customers to get excellent application performance on today's and tomorrow's multi-core 64-bit x86 processors. The Solaris OS and IBM System x and BladeCenter servers bring to market a mission-critical platform with a wide array of leading configuration options, such as native 10G Ethernet, InfiniBand, and IBM-attached storage.

Solaris Subscriptions gives users a flexible, cost-efficient choice of four software support levels to match their needs: Basic, Standard, Premium, and Solaris Everywhere. With a Solaris Subscription, users get a one-stop shop for product and service with full indemnification, guaranteed binary and source code compatibility, access to updates, and upgrades to the latest Solaris technologies, as well the expert support that users are used to receiving from Sun.

Meanwhile Sun Microsystems announced that its award-winning office productivity software, StarOffice, is now available through the Google Pack software download service. StarOffice is Sun's commercial implementation of the popular open source office suite OpenOffice.org and supports Open Document Format (ODF). StarOffice is also compatible with Microsoft Office documents and is supported and indemnified by Sun. Google Pack is a free collection of essential software to help users set up their computers, find things faster, and stay safe online.

In addition, Sun also announced that it has added Web search functionality to all StarOffice products, enabling online search capabilities directly from its productivity suite. This new functionality is now available through the Google Pack download.

"Using ODF within StarOffice allows for interoperability and choice among those seeking free and open standards-based office productivity applications," said Rich Green, executive vice-president of Software, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "With OpenOffice.org adoption growing at nearly three million downloads a month, we are seeing overwhelming adoption and exciting new opportunities emerging. We are absolutely thrilled to offer a new version of StarOffice that includes Google's Web search capabilities."

Google Pack offers users a safe and easy way to install all the essential software they need in a matter of minutes. The addition of Sun's StarOffice gives Google Pack users free access to an enterprise-strength office application. Starting now, users can install StarOffice as part of the Google Pack installation process. For more information about Google Pack, visit Google Pack.

About StarOffice

StarOffice software is a powerful, affordable, and comprehensive office productivity suite (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, database, drawing program, Web publishing application) that runs on Solaris, Windows, and Linux. Compatible with Microsoft Office, it includes a built-in PDF export tool and supports ODF, XML, Flash and HTML. Based on OpenOffice.org software, StarOffice software suite is indemnified and supported by Sun Microsystems.

About IBM

For more information about IBM, visit IBM

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Sun Microsystems develops the technologies that power the global marketplace. Guided by a singular vision—"The Network is the Computer," Sun drives network participation through shared innovation, community development and open source leadership. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at Sun.

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service.

For more information, visit: www.ibm.com.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$0.00 Raised:
$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: