The Sun-Tomax solution was to get rid of the Windows servers and substitute a cluster of eight Sun servers running Linux sitting in a data-center that is professionally managed in a high-availability environment. Soon, the companies plan to add six more servers to that cluster, according to Klingler.
Sun Pushes Linux into Retail
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Eugenia Loli
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Wow, that article sounded more like an advertisment or a really shitty white paper then an actual article about Linux on Sun hardware. What kind of b/s example did they give – the fact that you can remotely login and check device status… common, you can do that on Mac OS X, or anything that runs open firmware.
… Everything is tainted.
What kind of b/s example did they give – the fact that you can remotely login and check device status… common, you can do that on Mac OS X, or anything that runs open firmware.
Well I have to agree that the article was badly written, they even got the spelling of SPARC wrong.
“There’s a good reason Sun has been porting its Solaris server to the Linux operating system.”
I have no clue what that statement means. Some one really should have proof read this.
Well the whole point of illustrating the Lights-out-management was to say that you could get console services on Sun x86 boxes, just as on the SPARC hardware, isn’t it? What was wrong with that?
“There’s a good reason Sun has been porting its Solaris server to the Linux operating system.”
I have no clue what that statement means. Some one really should have proof read this.
Agreed. I was assuming one of two things; Solaris is available on x86 OR SUN is making once “Solaris Only” software now available on Linux as well.
Well the whole point of illustrating the Lights-out-management was to say that you could get console services on Sun x86 boxes, just as on the SPARC hardware, isn’t it? What was wrong with that?
Nothing, too bad SUN can’t market their way of a paper bag or otherwise they would make a killing in the x86 market with that little jem. Imagine telling someone that they can reset their computer remotely even if the computer has had a kernel panic. I’m sure that would be a treasure than any administrator would love to have.
Imagine telling someone that they can reset their computer remotely even if the computer has had a kernel panic. I’m sure that would be a treasure than any administrator would love to have.
Already exists and is implemented widely, especially for colocation purposes.
…why they had to replace their Windows servers with linux boxen to accomplish this?! (Don’t get me wrong, I am not a Windows fan – I run Mac OS X, BeOS and Fedora on my machines).
Mike
>why they had to replace their Windows servers with linux boxen to accomplish this?!
To get an attention and a good article headline.
They moved from partly decentralized client-server-CentralOfficeServer environment to fully centralized client-CentralOfficeServer environment.
Has little to do with software.
I’d also like to know their backup plans in case CentralOfficeServer goes down or communication line between client and server goes down.
A guy who designed their old network considered low quality communication channels between retail outlet and central office. What he did I would do in Russia, for example.
A guy who designed their new network assumes connection from the client to the central server is always up, always available. Was he right or wrong- hard to tell.
What is very interesting: numbers. They say that today 90% of their environment is UNIX, tomorrow- 80% will be Linux. Proves again that Linux is good enough cheap enough substitute to UNIX.
Following the review of JDS2.
BTW Sun’s Linux servers are not really competitive in terms of price or features, so I am not sure I get the point of this article except as an advertisement for Sun.
But I didn’t think Sun’s marketing guys were so desperate…
Not sure if this relates but Groklaw was very harsh on the current Sun Java Desktop System Release 2’s License.
From Groklaw May 23, 2004:
Sun Java Desktop System Release 2’s License: “Worst Software License Ever to Have Crossed My Desk”
Sunday, May 23 2004 @ 02:04 AM EDT
There is a review, “First look: Sun Java Desktop System Release 2,” on Linux.com today, and it noticed some issues with the license. In a box, called “Restricted License”, the writer, Jem Matzan, says it is the most restrictive license he has ever seen:
“Sun JDS Release 2 is the most heavily restrictive software package I have ever seen. Sun takes the heavyweight championship belt for the worst software license ever to have crossed my desk. . . .
“The licensing is worse than anything I’ve seen come out of Redmond — or anywhere else — thus far. If Microsoft’s EULA says, ‘you can’t do anything with this software,’ Sun’s JDS license says, ‘I’ll tell you every single thing you can’t do, and that means everything, including unlikely possibilities, and while we’re at it here is a list of unreasonable demands and obligations for you. And get me another beer while you’re up.'”
There are so many restrictions that the license requires a booklet of amendments listing all the other things you can’t do under this or that special circumstance. The wording, he says, is unusually complex, and he suggests you have your legal eagles look the license over before you even consider making a buying recommendation on it.
The license, he writes, “is deceptive”:
“It is worded initially in such a way as to make you believe that it governs the entire operating environment — everything on the CDs. Further in there is a quick phrase that states that Sun’s binary code license only governs the included software that is not already under another license. That leaves a staggeringly small portion of the operating environment under the governance of Sun’s license: the Java Desktop System Configuration Manager and the Sun Control Station. Everything else falls only under the control and jurisdiction of its governing license (mostly the GNU GPL). But if you didn’t know beforehand that GNU/Linux was under the GPL, you would have no way of knowing that by looking at Sun’s license. All of the “other” licenses that the software falls under are buried two directories deep on the first disc in a file called THIRDPARTYLICENSEREADME. Short of breaking the law, there is nothing more that Sun could have done to obscure the fact that JDS2 is mostly Free Software.”
He states clearly: “If you’re considering buying this for your personal use and your rights are important to you, Java Desktop System 2 is not for you.”
BTW Sun’s Linux servers are not really competitive in terms of price or features, so I am not sure I get the point of this article except as an advertisement for Sun.
Where do you come up with this stuff? look at all the x86 offerings they come with redhat and SUSE if you want it.
Sun Fire V60x/V65x Server (Xeon)
– Solaris 9 8/03 x86 Platform Edition
– Standard Linux distributions
– Red Hat Enterprise Linux
– SuSE Enterprise Linux Server
– Microsoft Windows 2000 (WHQL-certified) (customer-provided)
– Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (WHQL-certified) (customer-provided)
Sun Fire V20z Server (Opteron)
– Solaris 9 4/04 x86 Platform Edition
– Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3
– SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8
– SUSE Linux 9 Professional (Community Edition, customer-provided)
– Microsoft Windows 2000 (WHQL-certified) (customer-provided)
– Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (WHQL-certified) (customer-provided)
http://www.sun.com/servers/entry/
I hate to sound like a Sun Zealot. But uninformed, non-factual statements just upset me. I wish people would spend the time to do some real research before making silly general statements, that don’t hold up under scrutiny. And this is true for any topic, Sun, Apple, Linux and Microsoft etc. related.
Andrew: Please post your research and data on how you came to that conclusion
”
BTW Sun’s Linux servers are not really competitive in terms of price or features, so I am not sure I get the point of this article except as an advertisement for Sun. ”
Err.. Sun Dual Opteron V20z Servers are leading in SAP SD 2 benchmark amongst dual CPU servers… at least somehow, they are competitive.