14 DAY TRIAL // Sun Microsystems announced that it will soon expand its line of server offerings with computer systems based on Intel made central processing units. These rack based systems will mean the expansion of Sun's line of x86 compatible products, a process that comes after Sun and Intel signed an agreement to jointly develop new server intended computer hardware.
The two new x86 servers are based on the general architecture of the existing Sun Fire x4450 systems that comes with four sockets compatible with the dual core Xeon 7300 central processing units that were just released by Intel. This new line of servers will come in a 2U enclosure and will be able to house between 2GB and 128GB of random access memory, while being priced at around $9,000, according to the news site computerworld, that cites various Sun officials.
A lower end x86 compatible server named the Sun Fire x4150 was also announced and it comes with a two socket configuration while being able to support either dual-core Xeon chips or Intel's Xeon 5300 quad-core devices, which preceded the 7300 series. This smaller servers come packed in a 1U enclosure and it is expected to start shipping soon, while its price tag will start at $2,995. In an attempt to increase the market acceptance of its server lines, Sun also announced that these new products will run everything from Linux to Microsoft's Windows and Sun's Solaris operating systems.
Sun Microsystems has a relatively short history of dealing with x86 servers as the manufacturing company signed an agreement with processor producer Advanced Micro Devices in 2005 that it dropped the production of several entry level systems based on its own architecture as well as Intel processors for servers powered by AMD products. Until it signed the deal with Intel, Sun offered only AMD powered server systems.
Under the agreement between Intel and Sun, the server manufacturer is planning to develop and market a full line of Xeon based systems, both servers and workstations, while working together with the processor producer in order to optimize the performance of the Solaris operating system on x86 compatible hardware. According to Sun spokespersons, the new Intel powered servers are just the beginning of a complete line of products that will be produced and sold in parallel with the systems based on AMD central processing units.