Sun becomes Windows Server OEM

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 13 September 2007 05:24

IT Industry - Strategy

After years promoting its own Solaris operating system, Sun has yielded to commercial reality and inked an OEM agreement with Microsoft to deliver Windows Server on its x64-based servers.

Windows Server 2003 will be offered on Sun x64 systems within 90 days, and Microsoft and Sun will collaborate to test and validate Windows against Sun's server and storage products.

According to John Fowler, executive vice president of Sun's systems group, all of Sun's customers run both Solaris and Windows in their environments.

Significantly, the two companies also announced that they will work together on virtualisation products so that Solaris and Windows will run successfully under the other company's virtualisation software. A joint customer support process will also be established.

"Today's announcement is another example of Microsoft's commitment to 64-bit computing," said Bob Muglia, senior vice president of Microsoft's server and tools division. "The Sun hardware platform is an excellent foundation for Windows-based enterprise solutions, such as Microsoft Virtual Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Edition. Our customers will have an additional choice of Windows Server OEM partners with Sun."

The reference to IPTV is also important. One of the largest deployments of Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV platform - AT&T's U-verse - will use Sun servers.

Other joint developments will include the addition of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) support in the Sun Ray thin client.

Sun co-founder Scott McNealy rarely had nice things to say about Microsoft.

"I think you give them a six- to 12-month time period to divest themselves of all minority equity investments," he once told Newsweek. "You forbid them for five years, or some number like that, from making another equity investment, and you forbid them from buying any incremental intellectual property."

ZDNet has assembled a list of McNealy quotes that includes "Listen, I have never turned down a meeting with Gates or Ballmer... On many occasions, I've challenged them to get onstage one-on-one and have a reasonable debate, but they've always refused. And that's because they don't even flirt with telling the truth anymore. And if I were protecting a monopoly like they are, I wouldn't do it, either. Because they know the real truth."

Sun and Microsoft have been collaborating since a 2004 agreement that included a $US1.95 billion payment in Sun's favour.