Sun announced the availability of its new Operating System, branded Solaris on a range of AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon-based systems. The Solaris OS will now run on a variety of servers, workstations, notebooks and “other products,” which Sun is hoping will let it extend its reach, and find its way into the OS market.
Sun reveals availability of new Solaris OS
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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Solaris on a notebook? Why?
Solaris is already on notebooks. There is this company that does SPARC books for many years now, just too expensive.
Why? Well, if that company is still alive it seems that there is a reason somewhere. However, that reason is going to get declined more and more as JDS is becoming what Sun wanted it to be: Solaris’ desktop client. So, as long you got JDS interoperating perfectly with Solaris’ application servers, all these notebooks and some Sun desktops are more likely to get JDS instead in the future.
Nothing to stop Sun from shipping JDS with Solaris x86 instead of SUSE Linux in the future too.
Except the better hardware compatibility with x86 hardware that the Linux kernel has.
One of the things I dislike about using Linux as a desktop is the fact that many distributors refuse to bundle non GPL “free” (like beer) software with the distribution. This includes Sun JVM, flash plug-in, MP3 playback, NTFS support etc.
There is a review of Fedora Core 2 here which is pretty accurate http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=108286&threshold=1&commentsort=…
Solaris just seems much less unfriendly to closed source software than Linux and I find it to be more stable. Software for it to be less, well… beta.
Except the better hardware compatibility with x86 hardware that the Linux kernel has.
Yes, that’s certainly the case. With Linux you’ve also got an overall kernel and OS that does the same things as Solaris, but better. You’ve also got a large collaboration of companies and the wider community making sure this is always the case. Solaris is just Sun.
That is the conundrum for Sun. People look at Linux and the people and companies using it and say “Yep, looking good”. People look at Solaris, look at what it does in comparison to a Linux-based system overall, and say “What’s the point?”
One of the things I dislike about using Linux as a desktop is the fact that many distributors refuse to bundle non GPL “free” (like beer) software with the distribution. This includes Sun JVM, flash plug-in, MP3 playback, NTFS support etc.
That is the free distros. If you buy a commercial one then you will have all of that. That is just an appraisal of Fedora, not other linux distros.
Solaris is already on notebooks. There is this company that does SPARC books for many years now, just too expensive.
I think the idea behind SPARC notebooks is really product demos and so forth. Obviously, nobody wants to drag a Blade 2000 to a customer site for a proof of concept.
This is definately not the entire point. There are many many companies that simply dont care about open-source. They view companies like SUN / IBM (remember, they have AIX, AS/400, etc..etcc) /HP ‘s flavor’s of UNIX as better choices sometimes due to the Support packages they offer. Sun is not the only support option for Solaris, the same goes for the rest of the “unixes”.
You can’t simply de-value an Operating System just because more people have their hands in it, Companies (not individuals) choose *Enterprise* OperatingSystems/hardware for one of two reasons:
1. History – They already have it, thus will continue it.
2. Specific Need – Particular Database, Particular App Server, etc..etc..
Now and then they will introduce new Operating Systems, but not based on the number of “hands in the mix”. They’ll choose on Stability, Application Compatibility, Existing “Talent” to utilize it, and Hardware Compatibility.
What’s the point? Honestly, what is the point to linux when you compare it to the FreeBSD kernel? Or the OpenBSD kernel? Or Darwin? Or x or y or z? Especially considering that linux is only a kernel and Solaris is much more.
Also, most of the software that runs on linux also runs on Solaris and many other hw+os platforms. And solaris is, frankly, much more stable than linux (though I do often feel it deserves it’s “SLOWaris” nickname).
Now if you want to talk about all the software bundled with the operating system and the manner in which you maintain it, I think that Solaris is quite aniquated and unwieldy. It takes 10x longer to perform any binary-distribution maintenance task in Solaris than it does in any rpm or dpkg based linux distribution.
many here wonder why some people actually use more expensive sparcs than x86 stuff. those people apparently have never even seen a sparc machine, nor know its differences to intel machines. for example, there is no such thing as “irq problem” with sparc machines, for your information. everyone, search google for more if you’re really interested – sparcs and sun machines have several very good technical decisions, even sparc as processor has outperformed by intel already.
With Linux you’ve also got an overall kernel and OS that does the same things as Solaris, but better.
In your dreams, David. I think you have just set the new record for wishful thinking.
I run Solaris on a Dell C800, yes I could run Linux but all the systems I support at work run Solaris. Solaris x86 is a closer match as far as dir sturcture, commands, etc. to Solaris SPARC than Linux.
Please correct me if I’m wrong but AFAIK there is no flash utility on Linux that allow you to take snapshots of their entire system like Solaris does. Additianally I’m unaware of vendors such as NetApps, Brocade, Fujetsue etc… providing SAN and NAS support for Linux. What about support for Varitas?
“What about support for Varitas?”
That exists for Linux (at least i saw it on a.b.w.l the other day). There’s also a GPLv2 Norton Ghost clone called PartImage (http://www.partimage.org). Very user-friendly, using Ncurses. I’m looking forward to implement it instead of reinstalling, blegh.
Anyway Mario you don’t provide arguments for why Solaris is better in whatever way then the Linux kernel either, so i don’t see why your post is anything more worth than the part you quote from David…
Thanks for the info and please don’t get me wrong I’m not dissing Linux. I’ve just been doing alot more with Solaris lately and keeping track of all solutions for all platforms is not an easy task.
My colleagues at support service, Sun (Thailand), use Solaris x86 on notebook for a ‘smoothless’ on site maintenance support. They can test/try things on site, on their notebooks, with the same command as to be used on customer’s servers. They have to tested things at the office everytime, where possible, before going to see the customer. But anything can happen on site, so having a working platform that {you know best|have to work with} always up and run with you (on the notebook) is crucial.
And since Solaris x86 is slightly differs from Solaris SPARC (the command related to boot, rom, also few h/w things). If ones can afford a SPARC notebook to run Solaris SPARC, that’s great.
The description of this announcement is misleading, Solaris is not a new OS. They have just added support for new hardware. It already runs on x86 and a “variety of servers, workstations, notebooks”, etc. Solaris has been a major Server and Workstation OS for YEARS. But I’m sure you already knew that, Eugenia.
I would ask if anyone actually reviews the summaries before they’re posted, but I guess since you’re the editor, there’s no one else to check up on you.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this article is a worthy piece of OS news and good news for Solaris fans, but the summary leaves a lot to be desired.
it’s just a short for “new [version of] Solaris OS”, i think
if they like to say anything about new OS, the headline should read:
“Sun reveals availability of new OS, Solaris”
imho
Tadpole (http://www.tadpolecomputer.com/html/) having been making Sparc/Solaris laptops for ages starting at a mere (!) $2995. They’re used for salesmen doing mobile Solaris demos, and also some military stuff.
And yes they are moving into the Linux market on x86 and Opteron with Java Desktop.
No, it isn’t even short for “new version of”. It’s just an announcement that a number of new vendors have been certified. It’s not even that the systems wouldn’t run Solaris before, they just weren’t certified.
In your dreams, David. I think you have just set the new record for wishful thinking.
Here’s a hint. You tell me what Solaris does so much better than a Linux-based system and I’ll tell you whether it was a dream or not.
I’ll call your bluff. There’s tons of technology in Solaris that Linux can’t touch; for starters, take DTrace. Go to http://www.sun.com (it’s the lead story at the moment).
Hitachi sells sparc server machines and supports them with Solaris & Linux… they license the sparc.. its less dead than you think
I’ll call your bluff. There’s tons of technology in Solaris that Linux can’t touch; for starters, take DTrace. Go to http://www.sun.com (it’s the lead story at the moment).
It’s not making people buy Solaris or rescuing Sun. There are any number of open source applications that can do, not as full a job, but do a job that is good enough. Monitoring your OS and network is a two-a-penny job, and IBM, HP and others have similar solutions for their offerings.