Sun Releases T2

Sun releases T2, its multicore processor sequel

The initial product release will include a blade server, the T6320, which is priced from $9,995, and two rack systems T5120 and T5220, which start at $13,995.

More Details on Sun’s Project Indiana

So what has Sun got in mind for Project Indiana?  Its already made nice with Ubuntu.  And other people have already started on Solaris/Linux hybrids.  It sure looks like an attempt to recapture back-room data center business that left for RedHat.


[Phoronix] New Project Indiana Details Emerge

Among the advantages of Project Indiana is that it will use Sun’s ZFS as the default file-system, and Project Indiana will be taking full advantage of its abilities to create snapshots and perform rollbacks if something with the system’s software goes wrong. With Sun’s past work with the GNOME project, GNOME will be the desktop environment in Project Indiana said Ian Murdock. He had gone on to reiterate several other basic points such as the single CD installation with network-based package management (likely powered by apt). Project Indiana will also be easier to acquire, as it will be available through mirrors that do not need registration and will be distributed via Bit Torrent. Another goal of Ian’s is also to modernize the command line.

Moore’s Law as event Horizon

How to divide up the enterprise computing universe into
two fundamental regimes.

The Red Shift Theory - Hardware - www.itnews.com.au

“All this is really about which side of Moore’s Law you’re on,” Papadopoulos says. “If your applications are growing faster than Moore’s Law, you’ve got a fundamental set of issues about scale and power. If they’re growing slower than Moore’s Law, you’ve got all kinds of opportunities around consolidation.”

Solaris to run on IBM Kit

Could the relationship run deeper?  What happens when UltraSparc T2 servers bump up against the Cell - both running Solaris? 

Longtime Rivals IBM, Sun to Collaborate

But analyst Bob Djurdjevic of Annex Research said this could herald something deeper between Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM and Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun - perhaps an eventual acquisition of Sun by its older, larger rival.

In that scenario, IBM and Sun would have a broad software portfolio to sell together, and they could join forces on the very expensive development of next-generation microprocessors for their servers.

Coming up: Sun (finally) back into Big Iron

So if you were wondering, yeah, we could really do some damage with this platform.  But if Sun prices it significantly above a comparable stack of Penryn chips running Linux then it really doesn’t matter how innovative they are.  They’re out of reach for the little guy.

Sun’s Niagara 2 Processor Is Multicore Computing On Steroids - Wolfe’s Den Blog - InformationWeek

Still, this Niagara 2 device is a killer piece of silicon, delivering double the throughput of its predecessor. Here’s a quick chip scorecard:

• 8 Sparc cores;
• 4-MB L2 cache;
• Integrated floating-point units into each core pipeline
• Double the performance per watt of the predecessor Niagara 1;
• Order of magnitude improvement in floating-point performance;
• Two on-chip 10G Ethernet ports:
• Eight cryptographic units, to support running both Ethernet ports encrypted

Pass the Linux flavoring, please

Yep.  Must be getting tough to find fresh employees that know how to use OpenWindows and pkgadd.

Sun OpenSolaris to become more ‘Linux-like’

Analysts familiar with Sun Microsystems Inc.’s Project Indiana say that as early as this week the company could reveal plans to revamp the OpenSolaris operating system by incorporating key pieces of Linux software.

Apple hands out Leopard ZFS to developers

In the last round of Steve says/Jonathan Says ZFS was “in” but it was Read Only cripple ware?  Now it seems that ZFS has overcome that limitation.

Mac Rumors: ZFS Read/Write Developer Beta for Leopard

Now, according to published reports on the internet, Apple has actually seeded developers with a ZFS Read/Write Beta for Leopard. The new ZFS Read/Write beta enables full read/write capabilities to Apple’s Mac OS X (Leopard).

Schwartz to Torvalds: “you bring the wine”

Crazy?  Sure.  But like Harold the clever sheep: imagine the enormous commercial possibilities if ‘e succeeds…

Sun CEO to Torvalds: Let’s work together | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

“We want to work together, we want to join hands and communities,” Schwartz wrote on his blog Wednesday. “We have no intention of holding anything back, or pulling patent nonsense. And to prove the sincerity of the offer, I invite you to my house for dinner. I’ll cook, you bring the wine.”

ZFS…will be in Leopard

ZFS.  Its in there.  But maybe targeted for Xserve Raid…

Apple Clarifies Status of ZFS File System In Mac OS — Apple — InformationWeek

In a follow-up interview today, Croll explained, “ZFS is not the default file system for Leopard. We are exploring it as a file system option for high-end storage systems with really large storage. As a result, we have included ZFS — a read-only copy of ZFS — in Leopard.”

“Read-only means that at a later date, if there are ZFS volumes, those systems would be able to read ZFS volumes,” Croll added. “You cannot write data into the system. It will allow you to read ZFS volumes later.”

Asked whether ZFS might be implemented for Apple’s Xserve rack mountable server line, Croll said, “Where we head in the future, we’re not able to talk about.”

Sun being punished for ZFS slip?

What an interesting way to put it: “not happening”.

Apple Says No Sun File System For Leopard — Mac OS X Leopard — InformationWeek

During an interview with InformationWeek, Brian Croll, senior director of product marketing for the Mac OS, said, “ZFS is not happening,”