Sun to run Ubuntu Linux alongside Solaris on SPARC

Stan Beer
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 19:27

Your IT - Home IT

Hardware and software vendor Sun Microsystems is for the first time going to run a Linux distribution alongside its proprietary Solaris operating system on its low-end SPARC server platforms and it has chosen the increasingly popular Ubuntu distro.

Sun and Ubuntu distributor Canonical Ltd have announced that Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Long Term Support), the upcoming release of Ubuntu, will support the UltraSPARC T1 processor on Sun Fire T1000 and T2000 servers. Ubuntu GNU/Linux has achieved growing popularity among Linux desktop users because it is an easy distro to get up and running. Unlike other distros, Ubuntu can be installed from a single CD, leaving users to download any additional open source applications they need at a later stage.

With this announcement, Canonical brings Ubuntu to the server market, having chosen the UltraSPARC T1 processor as its vehicle into the datacenter. It is not clear yet what plans if any Canonical has for Ubuntu 6.06 LTS on Intel-based servers.

For Sun, it appears to be a smart move as it opens up its hardware to wider and growing base of Linux users and enables its low-end SPARC servers to compete with the cheap Intel boxes in an open source playing field.

"Ubuntu is arguably one of the most important -- if not the most important -- GNU/Linux distribution on the planet and will soon blaze new trails in support for SPARC-based servers," said John Fowler, executive vice-president, Systems, Sun Microsystems. "The availability of both Solaris and Linux-based operating systems on the Niagara platform will further expand our lead in delivering chip multi-threaded innovation and choice to customers."

"There has been a vibrant community working with Ubuntu on SPARC for some time. Given the broadening of our offering from desktops to servers, and the power and promise of CoolThreads servers, official support for SPARC was a natural fit with our upcoming enterprise-ready release of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS," said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu. Ubuntu 6.06 LTS is due to be released at the beginning of June 2006.

According to Distrowatch.com, Ubuntu is the world's most popular GNU/Linux distribution for desktop users. The next release of Ubuntu, version 6.06 LTS, will include a dedicated server edition with an extended support period to meet the needs of enterprise customers, independent software and hardware vendors (ISVs and IHVs.) With the release of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, SPARC will become one of Ubuntu's officially supported server architectures. Ubuntu is available free of charge and includes free security updates for all officially supported architectures. Ubuntu 6.06 LTS server support will be available for a period of five (5) years. Canonical will also offer technical support for SPARC-based systems on a paid, commercial basis.

Through the OpenSPARC initiative (www.opensparc.net), Canonical engineering and the Ubuntu community were given open access to the design of the UltraSPARC T1 processor and completed the porting process to release stage in 10 weeks, according to Canonical.