sunflash-Distributed to mailing list sunflash@suntri sunflash-Send requests and problem reports to owner-sunflash@suntri.east.sun.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash SUNSOFT DELIVERS SOLARIS FOR X86 SunFLASH Vol 51 #33 March 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: Shernaz Daver Phone: 415-336-0678 Org: SunSoft, Inc. Contact: Claudia Carasso Org: Hi-Tech Communications Phone: (415) 904-7000 First Software Environment To Run Across Leading RISC And CISC Processors Expanded Sales Force, Distributors And Resellers To Sell Product SANTA CLARA. Calif., March 29, 1993 -- SunSoft, Inc. today announced shipment of its Solaris for x86 distributed computing environment. This makes Solaris the first software environment on the market to run seamlessly across the highest volume RISC and CISC processor architectures, SPARC and x86. The announcement was made at the annual Solaris Developer Conference which was attended by more than 1,700 international software developers and system manufacturers. To fulfill demand for the new product, SunSoft, the world's leading UNIX software company, has created a corporate sales force across 11 sites worldwide with a presence in more than 45 countries. The largest U.S. software distributors -- Ingram, Merisel, Tech Data, Access Graphics and Gates F/A -- today announced that they will sell the Solaris x86 product. More than 2,000 resellers in the U.S. alone have been authorized to sell the software. Leading system manufacturers such as AST Research, CompuAdd, Dell Computer Corp., Toshiba, and Zenith Data Systems plan to support Solaris on their desktop machines, servers or multiprocessor systems. Solaris x86 will also run on systems from many other computer companies including Acer, Apricot, Compaq, Gateway, IBM, NCR and NEC. In addition, Sun Microsystems Computer Corp., (SMCC) will add Solaris x86 to its end user price list. More than 7,500 32-bit applications -- the largest base in the world -- are migrating to the Solaris for x86 software, including products from Computer Associates, Oracle, Frame Technology, Interleaf and Lotus Development Corp. In addition, SunSoft today demonstrated new technology that will allow Windows and DOS applications to run under Solaris. "Today, we deliver on the promise of Solaris --- a single software environment running seamlessly across the largest volume RISC and CISC microprocessors," said Edward J. Zander, president of SunSoft. "By combining the features of high-end computing -- built-in networking, multiprocessing, system and network administration, security -- with the ease of use of personal computers, Solaris is the optimal software platform for enterprise computing." "Solaris has been very successful in providing leading technologies for internetworking in large scale environments," said G. Glenn Henry, senior vice president of Dell Computer Corporation's product group. "Solaris for Intel will build on that success and will enable increased deployment of Dell solutions for enterprise-wide client-server networks." SOLARIS FEATURES Solaris for x86 is a feature-for-feature port of SunSoft's popular Solaris for SPARC software. Solaris offers numerous technologies, all shrink-wrapped on a single Compact Disc (CD). These technologies were designed to make enterprise computing powerful yet simple, enabling large companies to run their global business on a single software solution. Some of the features in Solaris are: Built-in Networking - the foundation for running an enterprise, the industry-standard Solaris ONC+ networking technology allows users to access, share and control information across workgroups, departments and the enterprise. It seamlessly connects legacy systems, such as minis and mainframes, with workstations and PCs, giving users transparent access to data anywhere in the world. HP, IBM, Santa Cruz Operation, Univel and USL will adopt ONC+ as part of the recently-announced common open software environment. ONC+ builds on the Solaris ONC technology which has an installed base of more than 4 million nodes. Symmetric Multiprocessing and Multithreading - technologies that unleash the power of systems by allowing applications to take full advantage of the microprocessor architecture. Multithreading speeds up I/O processing and concurrency, critical to applications such as databases running across client/server systems. JumpStart - "hands off" automatic network installation of Solaris, enabling system administrators to install and configure hundreds of systems across the network simultaneously with no user interaction required. Network Profiling - feature allowing system administrators to remotely tailor machines for particular types of users, automatically giving each one the right hardware, software and applications needed to run their business. System Administration - host of tools to connect and configure systems remotely and set up print services anywhere in an enterprise computing environment. ToolTalk - object-oriented interapplication communication software which enables users to "broadcast and receive" data between off-the-shelf applications across networks. More than 50 software developers and computer manufacturers have adopted ToolTalk. ToolTalk will be incorporated into the common open software environment. Graphics - suite of industry-standard technologies that provide software developers with the features required to develop 2D-3D geometry-based graphics applications. DeskSet - suite of 15 productivity applications, including workgroup calendar manager, multimedia mail, networked file manager and audio tool, providing users with an easy-to-use intuitive desktop environment. APPLICATIONS Several companies demonstrated products for Solaris x86 here today. These include Oracle and Progress in the database arena, Interleaf and Island Graphics in the desktop productivity space; and AimTech and SunPro in the development software area. More than 300 applications are in the process of moving to the Solaris x86 software. Users can access the more than 1,800 applications in the process of porting from Solaris 1.x to 2.x by downloading them from a Solaris SPARC server to an x86-based client. Also, many of the 2,000 INTERACTIVE UNIX System applications will run on Solaris x86. Leading PC vendors including Adobe, Autodesk, Borland, Lotus Development Corp., WordPerfect, and major commercial software companies, such as ASK/Ingres, Computer Associates, Legent, Oracle and Sybase offer packages for SunSoft's Solaris. Several next-generation distributed applications, such as Lotus Notes, Gain Momentum and Applix Aster*x also take advantage of the features in Solaris. SunSoft will release CDWare for Solaris x86 applications this summer. CDWare is SunSoft's popular distribution program that allows end users to browse and shop for software at their desktops and gives vendors a channel to promote and distribute their products to a large base of Solaris users. DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS SunSoft today unveiled a comprehensive channel architecture for the Solaris x86 software environment. The architecture is two-tiered and comprised of: Corporate Sales Force SunSoft has established a corporate sales force in the United States, Europe and Asia, whose sole objective is to generate product demand that will be fulfilled exclusively through indirect channels. This will be augmented by OEM sales forces such as the SMCC organization of more than 6,000 people worldwide. SunSoft's direct sales force has already begun working with large corporate accounts including 3M, Amoco, DuPont and Federal Express. "We have been quite pleasantly surprised at both the performance and the robustness of Solaris on Intel processors," said David A. Pensak, corporate advisor for computing technology at DuPont. Indirect: Distributors, Resellers and OEMs SunSoft has set up a network of distributors, resellers and system manufacturers to sell Solaris. SunSoft will sell Solaris to national and super regional distributors such as Ingram, Merisel, Tech Data, Access Graphics and Gates F/A. These distributors, in turn, will sell the product through their large network of resellers nationwide, expanding the Solaris distribution base to more than 2,000 outlets. In Europe, Solaris will be distributed through major houses including Bacher, Bytek, DSD, ComTrad, Merisel Europe, Skrobona and Technology. The product will be distributed through Tech Pacific in Australia. In addition, x86 system manufacturers will deliver Solaris to end users. SunSoft also announced a value added reseller (VAR) recruitment program designed to educate the reseller channel on selling 32-bit computing solutions. The program consists of three components: training and education, sales and lead generation activities, and marketing and merchandising support. SERVICE AND SUPPORT In a related announcement, SunSoft today signed a non-exclusive contract with Sun's worldwide customer support organization to provide end user service and support for the Solaris x86 environment. The group has more than 450 UNIX software professionals at 24 support centers across the world. SunSoft is expected to announce additional Authorized Service Partners later this year. PRICING AND AVAILABILITY SunSoft's Solaris x86 product will ship in the following configurations: Solaris Desktop for the client desktop priced at $795 in single quantity. The package is designed to give the individual user the power of the enterprise though a single intuitive, easy-to-use desktop. It contains the Solaris system software including SunOS 5.0, ONC+ networking, multiprocessing, system and network administration, installation, security, the OpenWindows development environment, ToolTalk, graphics, Solaris LIVE! and the DeskSet. Solaris Workgroup Server for the small network of 50 users at $1,995 in single quantity. The package is designed to give a network of users access to print servers, file servers and networking servers, and exchange workgroup data and applications with one another. It includes all of the Solaris Desktop features and additional technologies such as server networking, naming services and remote system administration. Solaris Enterprise Server for thousands of users across the world priced at $5,995 in single quantity. This edition is the software engine for a global enterprise allowing for compute-intensive tasks, data transaction processing and high-performance multiprocessing. The product incorporates all of the Solaris Workgroup technologies and adds advanced system administration, commercial grade I/O security and enterprise-wide installation. Solaris Software Developer's Kit for software developers at $495 in single quantity. The product allows software developers to take full advantage of the Solaris environment to create next-generation applications. It includes the Solaris Desktop product, development tools, compilers and developer-specific documentation. Solaris Driver Developer's Kit for hardware developers at $195 in single quantity. This package is designed for hardware developers to create and test drivers to control their devices under the Solaris x86 environment. It consists of the Solaris Desktop and a suite of device-driver tools and documentation. SunSoft's distributors will take orders immediately for the Solaris Desktop, Solaris Workgroup Server, Solaris Software Developer's Kit and Solaris Driver Developer's Kit for delivery in 60 days. Product and VAR program inquiries should be directed to SunSoft at 510-460-3267 in the United States and to local SunSoft offices in Europe and Asia. SunSoft, headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems, Inc. The company has offices in North America, Europe and Asia. SunSoft is a leading supplier of 32-bit system software solutions for SPARC and Intel 80386/486-based computers. The products are licensed by SunSoft and distributed through major computer manufacturers and resellers worldwide. ### (c) 1993 Sun Microsystems, Inc. SunSoft, Solaris, SunOS, ONC+, ONC, OpenWindows, ToolTalk, JumpStart, DeskSet, Solaris LIVE! are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. SPARC is a registered trademark of SPARC International, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories. INTERACTIVE is a trademark of Kodak, Inc. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. All other products or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For information send mail to info-sunflash@Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@Sun.COM. Archives are on solar.nova.edu, ftp.uu.net, sunsite.unc.edu, src.doc.ic.ac.uk and ftp.adelaide.edu.au All prices, availability, and other statements relating to Sun or third party products are valid in the U.S. only. Please contact your local Sales Representative for details of pricing and product availability in your region. Descriptions of, or references to products or publications within SunFlash does not imply an endorsement of that product or publication by Sun Microsystems. John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@Sun.COM. +1 305 351 4909.