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The new server, that will run on the Solaris or Linux operating systems, marks a departure for the company which traditionally marketed its proprietary RISC (reduced instruction set computer) chips and Solaris operating system to companies looking to buy big-ticket enterprise systems.
Indeed the new server, called the LX50, is intended for the entry-level server market. The server will cost USD2,795 and is Sun's first server to be based on Intel's x86 microprocessor line. In a dramatic strategic change, Scott McNealy, Sun's chief executive officer, will deliver one of the first keynotes at the LinuxWorld show. Prior to this announcement, Sun was only interested in promoting its proprietary Solaris operating system.
The reality of the market is that many companies use inexpensive Intel servers running Linux or Microsoft software to perform tasks such as serving Web pages or multi-media streaming, because open systems are more manageable, more flexible, require less maintenance and are less expensive than proprietary RISC solutions.
Linux is an open-source version of UNIX that has been developed co-operatively by developers worldwide and is often seen as a more stable and reliable alternative to Microsoft's server operating systems.
And the new offering from the company is in line with what is seen to be one of the continual goals of Sun Microsystems, preventing Microsoft from establishing a dominance in the server software market. The new moves from Sun will also seen as attempt to outflank hardware rival IBM.
However, in an unusual move, Microsoft seems to have recognised to value of the ever-growing Linux community and is for the first time planning to have a booth at San Francisco the trade show. The company says it wishes to encourage programmers to build bridges between Microsoft and Linux.
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