INDUSTRY

Aggressively Priced New Support Subscriptions, Channel and ISV Programs and Sun Connection for Solaris, Make Solaris Superior Alternative to Commercial Linux for Web 2.0 and Start-up Customers: Sun Microsystems, the creator of Solaris, today announced new support plans, remote systems management capabilities, migration assistance, training and professional services that make the Solaris 10 Operating System (OS) a more strategic alternative to commercial Linux distributions. Only Solaris combines the benefits of open source—low-cost, community support and rapid innovation—with the robust scalability, security and reliability required in mission-critical enterprise and Web applications. Solaris 10 runs on over 700 x64/x86-based systems from top manufacturers including Sun, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Dell, among others. The new Solaris Support Subscriptions, priced at about half that of equivalent offerings from Red Hat, make it easier for developers and companies of all sizes to take advantage of the freely available and open source Solaris 10 platform. Solaris 10 Support Subscriptions include indemnification and binary and source code compatibility, and provide access to free updates and upgrades to the latest Solaris technologies. They range from the developer focused $49 per-incident support, all the way to the customized site-wide Solaris Everywhere Plan. Unlike many competing offerings, the Solaris Support Subscriptions are integrated across Sun and non-Sun x86, x64 and SPARC platforms, giving greater control over security and business continuity. Specific details of the Solaris Support Subscription offerings can be found at: its Web site. "Today's announcements are Sun's answer to those who feel under-served by other operating systems," said Peder Ulander, vice president of software marketing for Sun Microsystems. "With more applications, more x86 platform support, a larger installed base and cutting edge-technology, Solaris 10 is an ideal platform for delivering Web-based applications and services. In addition, because Solaris 10 is designed to scale for ramping new services quickly, it is ideal for start-ups experiencing accelerated growth and requiring reliable support options and a robust catalog of open source software." The Sun Connection service is a powerful new life-cycle management platform that dramatically simplifies the deployment of Solaris in the Web tier, by enabling customers to provision Solaris, Red Hat, and SUSE systems; manage updates and configuration changes; and eventually redeploy systems. The Sun Connection's Solaris 10 Update Knowledge Channel is included with active Sun service plans. All other provisioning and update knowledge channels are available as a subscription service. More information on Sun Connection Enterprise Edition can be found at: its Web site. Sun has restructured its reseller program, improving the quality and quantity of support options for Solaris customers and accelerating Sun channel partners' ability to deliver Solaris solutions on x86 systems. The new Solaris Ready Program for Resellers offers one of the highest OS margins and integrated marketing and sales campaigns specifically targeted at Linux replacement. Customers can purchase a solution from a Solaris Ready Reseller confident that they are getting an open, indemnified, fully supported Solaris system. Making it easier for customers to quickly realize the advantages of Solaris 10, the company is offering a series of migration support programs to suit the needs of virtually any company, from start-up to enterprise. The Web Tier Advantage Program allows customers to move to a faster, safer, more efficient environment for Web-tier deployments, through a wide range of for-fee—and free—services and tools. Sun also offers The Global Migration Program for a broad range of OS platforms including IBM AIX, HP-UX, Tru64, VMS, Red Hat and Novell SUSE Linux. Sun is also offering The Hats off to Solaris Program which—capitalizing on the forced migration of Red Hat customers from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3—provides tools, documentation and services to help ease migration and deliver long-term peace of mind with Sun. More Choice: Multi-platform Flexibility and Extensive Application Catalog The free and open source Solaris 10 OS is offered on SPARC-based systems, plus more than 700 x64/x86-based systems from top manufacturers including Sun, Dell, HP, and IBM. Solaris helps enterprises leverage existing investments while quickly and cost effectively moving their products and services to the edge of the network. With Solaris 10, customers get a free and open source, indemnified and commercially-supported platform, while gaining access to a vibrant community of some of the world's best developers to drive ongoing innovation. Solaris 10 has the largest installed base of any UNIX or Linux OS and boasts an application catalog of over 4,000 unique titles from more than 2,000 independent software vendors. To browse the growing catalog of software titles available though Solaris partners, visit: its Web site. For more information or to download Solaris visit: its Web site. A free, Web-based training course is available at: its Web site.