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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / MAY 26, 2003: VOL. 2 NO. 21
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Breaking News - Platforms:
Sun To Release New Compute Grid Rack Systems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. expanded its x86-based product line with the debut of
the highly affordable, rack-optimized Sun Fire V60x and V65x systems. These
new systems will offer customers a choice of either Sun's enterprise- class
Solaris x86 Platform Edition or Red Hat Linux and Sun's latest high
performance Java Virtual Machine (JVM). These systems deliver unprecedented
opportunities for reducing costs and a secure platform for the deployment of
applications.
The Sun Fire V60x and V65x are priced at $2,450 and $2,650 respectively --
significantly less than comparable systems from Dell, HP and IBM -- and offer
the best performance according to industry benchmarks. At $2,450, the Sun Fire
V60x system is 30% less expensive than the IBM x335 or the HP DL360G3. For a
typical enterprise secure web server solution, the Sun Fire V65x system
running Solaris 9, x86 Platform Edition offers customers up to 50% savings
over a Dell 2650 running Windows Server Standard Edition. The Sun Fire V60x
and V65x systems are ideal for critical infrastructure applications such as
web serving, firewall, workgroup or database server and high performance
compute clustering.
"We will lead the x86 server space by delivering enterprise-class systems with
high performance, aggressive pricing, a total commitment to Solaris and Linux,
and unprecedented value," said Neil Knox, executive vice president of the
Volume Systems Products group at Sun. "Customers are tired of the fragility,
insecurity and raw expense associated with Windows. We also deliver the added
benefit of a single customer interface for service, support, software and
hardware."
The Sun Fire V60x and V65x expand Sun's x86 product line which also includes
the LX50 server, and soon to be released x86 blade servers which are part of
the Sun Fire Blade Platform. The Sun Fire Blade Platform is the first blade
system that enables customers to mix, match and manage SPARC and x86
architectures, Solaris and Linux operating systems and special function blades
from Sun and partners, in the same chassis. Sun's first N1 software
product, the N1 Provisioning Server 3.0 Blades Edition, which ships today,
serves as the platform's management environment, enabling IT administrators to
manage 20 times the number of servers and slash server farm deployment time
from days or weeks to under an hour.
Redefining Value in Low-Cost Computing
The Sun Fire V60x and V65x systems include best-in-class features such as 2.8
or 3.06 GHz Intel Xeon processors, six PCI-X slots and support for up to
12 GB of memory -- which is more expandability than Dell, HP or IBM deliver.
The Sun Fire V65x system also features redundant, hot-swappable power supplies
with independent power cords for mission-critical environments. Deployed with
the StorEdge 3310 SCSI Array, the new systems provide advanced management
capabilities, flexibility and scalability to evolve with growing businesses.
Superior Software and Services Support from a Single Source
For Sun Fire V60x and V65x systems, Sun provides its customers a comprehensive
solution stack, and a single interface to global hardware, software and
professional services support. Customers have access to this enterprise-class
experience with Solaris x86 Platform Edition or Red Hat Enterprise Linux
operating systems, which both provide better value at a lower price than
Microsoft Windows 2003 based systems.
For Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and solution providers, Sun's open,
standards-based architecture enables easy addition and integration of
applications, systems software and services on the Sun platform. Customers can
take advantage of the wide range of Solaris x86 and Linux applications
developed over the past few years. Among Sun's solution partners are Check
Point for VPN/firewall, Computer Associates for systems and network
management, Fluent Inc. for MCAE / computational fluid dynamics, MSC.Software
for mechanical simulation and Sourcefire Inc. for intrusion detection.
Pricing and Availability
The U.S. list price for the base configuration of the Sun Fire V60x system is
$2,450 and $2,650 for the Sun Fire V65x system. Both systems are currently
available and include a promotional Right to Use License for Solaris 9, x86
Platform Edition free through September 30, 2003. Sun is offering special
financial incentives to its Sales and Distribution partners to assist in
demand generation for the Sun Fire V60x and V65x systems.
In related news, Sun has dropped the price of its Sun LX50 system by nearly 30
percent. The base configuration of the general-purpose Sun LX50 system now
starts at $1,995 U.S. list price.
New Sun Compute Grid Rack Systems
At NC03Q3, Sun will announce the delivery of two fully integrated and
supported Compute Grid rack systems for faster and more reliable compute grid
deployments. The Sun Fire V60x and Sun Fire V210 Compute Grid Rack Systems,
that are currently in development, will have Sun Control Station and Sun
ONE Grid Engine software integrated and pre-loaded on the management node. The
management software is designed to help simplify compute grid management,
reduce system administration cost, increase compute resource utilization, and
improve productivity of the compute grid.
Sun further removes the complexity in compute grid implementations and other
customer solution deployments with its Customer Ready Systems Program and Grid
Practice service offerings. Sun's Customer Ready Systems Program (CRS)
delivers integrated solutions utilizing Sun and/or third-party products and
offers additional flexibility to meet unique customer specifications. Sun
Services provides Grid Consulting Services (Assessment, Architect,
Implementation Services), as part of the Grid Practice, for fast, secure and
optimized Grid computing implementations. These services are now available in
North America and EMEA, and will be made available globally next quarter. Sun
is the "one-stop technology source" for sales, service, support and consulting
for compute grid customers.
More information on Sun's low-cost computing strategy can be found at
sun.com/presskits/lowcostcomputing
For additional information on Sun's new Sun Fire V60x and V65x systems, visit
www.sun.com/servers/entry/v60x.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The
Computer" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. 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 www.sun.com/.
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