ServersSun Upgrades Solaris 8, Releases Free Version of iPlanet App Server

Sun Upgrades Solaris 8, Releases Free Version of iPlanet App Server

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In an effort to woo developers into implementing Web services via the Sun ONE framework, Sun Microsystems Tuesday released a set of upgrades and enhancements to Solaris 8 that includes a free version of iPlanet Application Server, improved Java application performance, and advanced tools for storage manageability.

Sun ONE is Sun”s framework for delivering services on demand.

In an effort to woo developers into implementing Web services via the Sun ONE framework, Sun Microsystems Tuesday released a set of upgrades and enhancements to Solaris 8 that includes a free version of iPlanet Application Server, improved Java application performance, and advanced tools for storage manageability.

The upgraded Solaris 8 will be available for download at no cost for an unlimited number of systems with a capacity of eight or fewer CPUs. A media kit containing additional CDs is also available. The SPARC version of the media kit is priced at for $75 plus shipping; the Intel version is $45 plus shipping.

The free version of iPlanet Application Server offered for unlimited development and evaluation at no additional cost is Enterprise Edition 6.0. In addition, the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE) 1.3.1 software development kit (SDK) is now embedded in Solaris 8.

The J2SE 1.3.1 SDK has been enhanced to work closely with the new UltraSPARC III CPU to deliver increased performance, says Sun. It includes twice as much private memory, more efficient application and memory clean up, and automatic synchronization.

Finally, Solaris 8 now includes a feature called Disk Soft-Partitions that allows administrators to define virtually any number of logical drives of any size and manage large amounts of data storage without purchasing additional storage management software.

“As Sun delivers on the promise of Web services with Sun ONE, we are ensuring that the Solaris 8 OE provides the most comprehensive platform for developing and deploying Web applications,” said Andy Ingram, Sun”s vice president of marketing for Solaris Software, in a press release.

“The application server is rapidly becoming the primary application development interface into the operating environment as J2EE becomes the preferred development platform for the enterprise. Increasing the level of integration between the iPlanet Application Server and Solaris OE creates more value for our customers,” Ingram added.

Here”s a list of what else has been added to the upgraded Solaris 8:

  • J2SE 1.3.1 release now comes complete with international language
    support for Java applications. J2SE 1.3.1 increases performance through more efficient overall code generation and execution. Existing Java applications can benefit from these performance enhancements immediately without any changes.

  • Disk Soft-Partitions, a feature of DiskSuite 4.2.1 that ships with
    Solaris 8 OE, enable large storage devices to be split into up to 8,192 logical pieces of any size, whereas virtually all other Unix-based operating systems are restricted to no more than eight without additional software.

  • DiskSuite 4.2.1 has been improved to allow easier configuration and runtime management of large, complex systems.

Other products in the Solaris 8 upgrade are included in the iPlanet Advantage CD bundle. The iPlanet Directory Server features a full production license that supports up to 200,000 user entries and delivers user management infrastructure for enterprises managing high volumes of data.

Additional products available for evaluation include iPlanet Portal Server, iPlanet Messaging Server, and iPlanet Web Server.

Related Stories:
Solaris Listing and Review
Sun Slashes Prices on iPlanet Web Server
Sun Begins Lighting the Path to Solaris 9

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