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Press Release
SUN
MICROSYSTEMS AND RACKABLE SYSTEMS AGREE TO OFFER
SOLARIS™ OS ON RACKABLE SYSTEMS X86 SERVERS
- Agreement Further Extends The Reach Of The Solaris OS And Targets
New Market Opportunities -
SAN JOSE, CALIF. - April 7, 2004- Sun Microsystems, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SUNW) and Rackable Systems, a leading manufacturer of rack-mount
servers for large-scale data center deployments, today announced
they signed an agreement whereby Rackable Systems will distribute
the Solaris™ Operating System for x86 platforms on its industry-first,
thermally efficient servers, which can provide twice the density
of standard rack-mount solutions with only half the form factor depth.
Rackable Systems customers can benefit from the Solaris OS on a variety
of platforms, including AMD Opteron™
and Intel® Xeon™ processor-based systems. This agreement
further extends the reach of the cost-effective, enterprise-ready
and rock solid Solaris OS and helps Sun and Rackable Systems to expand
their offerings of integrated solutions.
"Partnering with Rackable Systems is part of Sun's core strategy
to aggressively work with OEMs and ISVs to increase market penetration,
solutions availability and application support for the Solaris OS.
Integration partners like Rackable Systems are building new business
opportunities with Solaris by leveraging Sun's investment in its
x86 offerings,"
said Ann Wettersten, vice president, software systems marketing,
Sun Microsystems.
"We are seeing a surge of interest from system builders and
integration partners worldwide to distribute the Solaris OS on their
platforms. Additionally, with the upcoming launch of Solaris 10 OS,
Rackable Systems' customers can look forward to innovative features
such as N1™ grid containers and dynamic tracing capabilities.
Customers can also have the confidence of an operating system that
is fully indemnified by Sun."
"In addition to offering Solaris for x86 systems as an enterprise-class
OS choice to our customers, we will now be able to go one step further
and offer hardware configuration certification," said Tom Barton,
President & CEO, Rackable Systems. "Customers will now benefit
from fully-integrated Sun software and management tools, as well
as the solid Solaris product life cycle that guarantees release-to-release
binary compatibility."
With today's announcement, Sun is further demonstrating its commitment
to extend the enterprise-class Solaris OS to a wide choice of Sun
and third-party x86 systems. The companies' agreement will help Sun
to extend the reach of the Solaris OS into key vertical markets in
which Rackable Systems has a strong base of customers, including
Internet and Web serving, EDA/chip design, life sciences, government
labs, oil and gas exploration, and entertainment.
Sun also recently expanded its Solaris Ready program to the x86 platform,
helping to enable Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) to certify
their products for the Solaris OS. Additionally, the Solaris OS x86
Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) has doubled in size in the last
six months and currently includes more than 200 third-party systems.
The Solaris OS HCL is aimed at system builders and IHVs looking to
leverage the growing market for Solaris x86. Customers can access
a detailed Solaris x86 hardware compatibility list at www.sun.com/bigadmin/hcl and
take advantage of a full range of certified drivers and system configurations,
and a growing catalog of third-party and open-source applications.
About the Solaris Operating System
The #1 enterprise-class UNIX, the Solaris Operating System for SPARC®,
x86 and AMD Opteron systems redefines the operating system as a services
platform by combining traditional OS functionality with application
services and identity management. The Solaris 9 OS can deliver the
security, manageability and performance that IT professionals need
to help increase service levels and decrease costs and risk. The Solaris
OS also serves as the foundation for the new Sun Java™ Enterprise
System, an integrated, open, standards-based software system delivered
using a new predictable approach for development, testing and servicing.
It can offer a simple business model that provides a single subscription
and price for the software system, maintenance, support, consulting
and education services. For more information, visit: http://www.sun.com/solaris.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network
Is The Computer™" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength
hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be
found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com.
ABOUT RACKABLE SYSTEMS
Rackable Systems, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of rack-mount servers
for large-scale data center deployments. The company's patented server
designs feature key competitive advantages in the areas of density,
thermal efficiency, serviceability, power distribution and remote
management. Driven by a fierce commitment to superior innovation
and customer service, Rackable Systems is one of North America's
top server vendors. Founded in 1999 and based in San Jose, California,
Rackable Systems customers include Deutsche Bank, Electronic Arts,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, nVidia, Tellme Networks,
Toshiba America Electronic Components, Webex and Yahoo!.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Jennifer Doettling
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
(408) 276-5721
jennifer.doettling@sun.com
Schwartz Communications, Inc.
(for Rackable Systems)
Juliet Travis or Megan Kurtz
415-512-0770
rackablesystems@schwartz-pr.com
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