Posted on 01/30/2006 8:11:48 AM PST by N3WBI3
Sun is keener than ever to port Linux to its new multicore T1 chip, even if it's not expected to happen for six to nine months.
The company has made T1 servers available to Linux developers and is working with unnamed Linux distributors to develop the port.
And while a port may be completed this year, it will be a while before Linux on T1 appears in production environments; application certification and support will be needed as well.
Mike Splain, chief technologist for Suns Scalable Systems Group, believes Linux running on the companys eight-core chip will open up new options for users who want to run Linux applications in a scaled-up system. "Having multiple operating systems [for the T1] broadens its appeal, he said.
Linux can already run on UltraSparc chips, but there has been little interest in doing so to date. Splain attributed that to technical limitations Linux developers face when building ports. By open-sourcing the engineering specifications, Sun is ensuring that Linux developers now have the exact same documents that we would use internally, he said.
Moreover, working with the T1 will be easier because it includes a hypervisor, which is similar to a BIOS on an x86 chip, and developers will be able to write to the hypervisors application programming interfaces. The hypervisor will also eventually include virtualisation capabilities, he said. The specifications are available online at www.opensparc.net.
Suns decision last month to open-source its UltraSparc chip specifications follows the release early last year of the Solaris source code as open-source. In both cases, for the UltraSparc chip as well as the Solaris operating system, Sun is encouraging developers to find new ways to use its systems.
Suns open-source push is already yielding results. For instance, earlier this month, Blastwave, a Canadian Solaris open-source development firm said it had ported Solaris to IBMs Power chip.
Karl Freund, vice president of IBM Systems Group, called that move another signal that [the Power chip] has cast a long shadow over Suns confusing array of processors. It would seem that even Sun and their remaining customers acknowledge the value of our Power innovations.
Karen Anaya, chairwoman and CEO of Sparc International, hailed the plan to open-source the T1. She believes the specification release will boost Linuxs capability to run on UltraSparc and said it will draw third-party support. Anaya also said her group expects a T1 port to Linux. Were excited about it, she said.
OSS PING
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Solaris...dying?
Im going to take a guess from left field and sy they are working with Novell. Suse has always had a larger harware profile than RedHat...
$ uptime 12:34pm up 1221 day(s), 20:44, 1 user, load average: 0.00, 0.02, 0.02 $
Granted, the above is an internal webserver without a hell of a lot of load on it, but 1221 days is good in anyone's book.
I can understand making Solaris available on Intel hardware, as it allows folks who work with Sun hardware to have an inexpensive way to have Solaris available on a workstation without the expense of a full-blown Sun Server.
Why would anyone run Linux on production Sun hardware?
Note: I looked at Sun's website and the prices are about $1,000 higher than comparable IBM Servers.
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That could well be. I'm not sure how well that will work out though. Have you ever tried to install Solaris on an Intel box? I did several years ago and it was disappointing to say the least. You basically ended up with an OS. Even such basic tools as gzip had to be installed separately. Kinda reminded me of what you end up with once you install a Microsoft OS. I don't know if that is still true, but for low-end systems, it was definitely easier to install Linux as so many of the really useful tools were bundled with it. On the plus side, you can now install KDE and/or Gnome for Solaris. CDE was the Worst Window Manager Ever.
I had some experience with Solaris 9 and recently tried to load 10, was told I needed at least 400MB of RAM to run the graphic installer :( (I have 256MB in my test box).
Some people hate anything other than Linux. They are quite fanatical about it, and are typically referred to as "zealots". They put Sun down at every opportunity, ignore all of Sun's contributions to open source as hypocritical, even accuse them of attacking Linux along with SCO and Microsoft. Surely you've seen them, impossible to miss these days.
Due to the extremely large number of inaccurate and idiotic posts you've presented to this point, and your tendancy to encompass the very definition of the word "troll" on this forum, you are no longer relevant. Thanks and have a nice day.
I encourage everyone to follow your link, and see how many times I have to correct others on here, including yourself multiple times.
In this particular case, you questioned why some people would do stupid things, and I gave you the answer. Are you claiming I was incorrect?
Due to the extremely large number of inaccurate and idiotic posts you've presented to this point, and your tendancy to encompass the very definition of the word "troll" on this forum, you are no longer relevant. Thanks and have a nice day.
You're not going to call me a troll and dance off into the sunset pal. I'm here correcting all the BS that is constantly posted, in fact it hasn't even been but a few short months ago you were apologizing on here for attacking me out of the blue and being completely wrong in your assesment. Follow your link to my history and find it if you forgot.
As for my posts on this thread, if you think I'm wrong then try to refute it. But you haven't proven me wrong yet, and until you do, I'm obviously not a troll. I'm a guy that cuts BS down to the nub, whether you like it or not.
Due to the extremely large number of inaccurate and idiotic posts you've presented to this point, and your tendancy to encompass the very definition of the word "troll" on this forum, you are no longer relevant. Thanks and have a nice day.
Typical, increase the font when your BS is exposed, and calling me a troll is obvious BS since you can't ever refute anything I say. Witness this little exchange, you sling a few names around and increase your font, LMAO.
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