Sun launches attack on low end server market

By Steve Malone

Posted on 20 May 2003 at 12:22

Sun Microsystems has opened a new front against the Windows-based server market with two new x86 machines. The machines can run either Solaris x86 Platform Edition or Red Hat Linux Enterprise Edition. As part of the campaign it has enlisted Oracle and Red Hat to provide complete solutions primarily to small and medium sized businesses.

The rack mountable Sun Fire V60x and V65x systems are based on 2.8 or 3.06 GHz Intel Xeon processors and feature six PCI-X slots and support for up to 12Gb of memory. The V60x offers a single or dual 2.8 GHz Intel Xeon with a Dual Integrated 10/100/1000- NIC network port, Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI bus, two SCSI hard disk bays and one CD-ROM/floppy and an optional DVD-ROM/floppy or third HDD bay.

The Sun Fire V65x system is available with either a single or dual Intel 2.8 or 3.06 GHz Xeon processor, 10/100/1000- NIC network ports, Ultra320 SCSI interface supporting up to six SCSI 36 or 73GB hard disks and six 64-bit/100-MHz PCI-X slots. The machine also features redundant, hot-swappable power supplies with separate power cords for maximum reliability. Sun says the V65X will have a UK list price of £1,900 and will be available from the 1st of June. Sun is claiming that the systems will work out up to 50 per cent cheaper than equivalent offerings from Dell or IBM.

As part of the strategy, Sun has done a deal with Red Hat to distribute the Enterprise Linux operating system. In return, Red Hat will bundle Sun's Java Virtual Machine (JVM) with Red Hat. Sun will sell and support all x86 versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux including Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES and Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS. These announcements are compatible with Sun's stated Project Orion goal of allowing IT departments a choice of operating systems on its products. In addition Sun says it will support non-Sun Red Hat x86 Linux boxes.

To complete the offerings, Sun and Oracle announced a range of Oracle products to run on the new machines. These include Oracle9i Database, Oracle9i Database with Real Application Clusters, Oracle9i Application Server, Oracle Collaboration Suite and the Oracle E-Business Suite. Whilst the low pricing will grab the headlines, the companies are fully aware that IT managers look at the total cost of ownership for products in this market and promised to deliver `simplicity and manageablity` for both Solaris x86 and Linux platforms. The partners committed themselves to a range of initiatives including publishing reference platforms to make life easier for applications developers.

Mark Littlewood, the UK Entry Server Product Marketing Manager told us, `Sun's approach is that these products are about the overall cost of computing. From the cost of acquisition viewpoint, there are no upfront licencing costs for the OS and for the cost over time, Solaris x86 is more reliable than Windows.`