sunflash-Distributed to mailing list sun/NC/north-carolina sunflash-Send requests, problems to owner-sunflash@suntri.east.sun.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash SMCC Announces Availability Of Solaris 2.3 SunFLASH Vol 58 #29 October 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 58.29 SMCC Announces Availability Of Solaris 2.3 o Solaris 2.3 provides improved quality and performance plus improved binary compatibility with Solaris 1.x applications o Solaris 2.3 now incorporates the latest, industry standard, X11 window environment o SMCC offers new Solaris 2.3 packaging and pricing for the global enterprise ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation (SMCC) announces the availability of the newest version of the Solaris(R) operating environment for Sun SPARC(R) processor based systems. A fully-compliant implementation of SVR4, Solaris 2.3 is comprised of SunOS(TM) 5.3, ONC+(TM), and OpenWindows(TM) V3.3 which includes DeskSet(TM) productivity applications. Solaris 2.3. will be shipping November 8, 1993. Localized versions of Solaris 2.3 will be shipping December 6, 1993 for the following eight languages: French, German, Italian, Swedish, Korean, Chinese for China, Chinese for Taiwan, and Japanese. Latin American Spanish will be available January 10, 1994. SMCC will announce international pricing and configurations later this quarter. New ScholarPAC pricing and corresponding part numbers have been created for Solaris 2.3. NEW FEATURES ------------ - Solaris 2.3 offers improved quality over Solaris 2.2 via the incorporation of Solaris 2.2 patches and numerous bug fixes - Solaris 2.3 offers significantly higher networking performance and database throughput - Solaris 2.3 incorporates ONC+ which now includes client-side file caching for faster client/server operations. The Cache File System (CacheFS) works with NFS(R) to allow the use of high speed, high capacity local disk drives to store frequently used data from a remote file system - Solaris 2.3 offers Binary Compatibility Package (BCP) to support statically linked Solaris 1.x applications. This allows many more Solaris 1 applications to run with Solaris 2.3 - Solaris 2.3 offers increased SMP scalability with support for up to eight processor SPARCserver(TM) systems - With Solaris 2.3, the number of user threads libraries has been increased significantly for higher multiprocessor-application performance - Solaris 2.3 supports X11R5 and Adobe Display PostScript(R). All applications properly written to the X Application Programming Interface (API) are 100% compatible with OpenWindows v3.3 (X11R5) - The basic security module is now bundled with Solaris 2.3 which allows Solaris to meet the NIST C2 security specifications - The administration tool for Solaris 2.3 has been enhanced to include a Serial Port Manager to make it easy to administer modems and terminals across the network - SMCC offers new Solaris 2.3 product structures and price-list configurations that are targeted specifically for Sun Microsystem's customers NEW PACKAGING ------------- Beginning with Solaris 2.3, SMCC is now shipping two types of Solaris media kits. One is for desktop users, and the other is for server users. The objective of this new media kit strategy is to better match the specific needs of the customer with the contents of the specific media kits. This approach will help make Solaris installation easier for both end users and system administrators. The contents of the media kits are as follows: o The Solaris Desktop Media Kit includes the Solaris 2.3 CD with end user online documentation. It also includes a hardcopy version of a simplified Basic Installation Guide o The Solaris Server Media Kit contains all of the contents of the Desktop Media Kit along with more sophisticated documentation and installation guides to support installation over the network. In addition to the Desktop Media Kit components, the Server Media Kit includes a System Administration AnswerBook(TM) CD-ROM disk. To order this product, customers must have at least one system licensed as a Solaris 2 server To better meet the needs of our server customers, SMCC has also re-structured the Solaris Media 10-Pack. The Solaris 2.3 Media 10-Pack now consists of ten Media CD-ROM disks (which include end user online documentation), one System Administration AnswerBook CD-ROM disk, and one hardcopy version of the more sophisticated server installation documentation set. To order this product, customers must have at least one system licensed as a Solaris 2 server. Because of the overwhelming acceptance of AnswerBook technology, SunSoft is now bundling online documentation with Solaris 2.3. The System AnswerBook is no longer available as an unbundled product. The System AnswerBook has been split up and is bundled with various Solaris 2.3 Media Kits: o The End User online AnswerBook documentation resides on the Solaris 2.3 CD-ROM which ships with the Solaris Desktop and Solaris Server Media Kits o The System Administrator online AnswerBook documentation is bundled with the Solaris Server Media Kit, and is also available as an unbundled product o The Developer online AnswerBook documentation is now bundled with the Solaris Software Developer's Kit(SDK) Beginning November 22nd, the Solaris Software Developer's Kit will be available as a separate product. It includes DevGuide, graphics libraries (XGL(TM), XIL(TM), PEX), Federated Naming Service libraries, Motif toolkits as well as related documentation. UPGRADES -------- SMCC now offers users an upgrade path from earlier versions of Solaris 2.x to the most current version - Solaris 2.3. SMCC continues to offer an upgrade path from Solaris 1.x to the most current version of Solaris 2.x. SunSoft's promotional prices for the Solaris 1.x to 2.current upgrade, and the savings that Sun is passing on to our customers with this upgrade, will continue until at least to the end of this calendar year. SOLARIS 2.2 TRANSITION ---------------------- As of the First Customer Ship date, Solaris 2.3 will be the default version of Solaris shipped when release-generic Solaris part numbers are ordered. Solaris 2.2 remains orderable through release specific part numbers. (e.g. SOL-2.2-C.) The following Solaris parts listed below are being removed from the price list as per this schedule: -Last day to quote: December 10, 1993 -Last day to order: February 7, 1994 -Last day to ship: February 28, 1994 Solaris.2.2 configurations being removed from the price list with this release: SOL-C Media kit SOL-C10 Media kit, 10-pack SOLA-P Answr. Bk. 1-usr. lic. media, docs SOLA-P10 Answer. Bk. 10-pack SOLA-L Answer Book single license SOLA-PF Answer book 1-user license, media, and docs upgrade SOLA-LF Answer book 1-user license upgrade only SOL-DF Full doc set upgrade SOL-CF Media kit upgrade SOL-C10F Media kit, 10-pack upgrade FEATURES & BENEFITS ------------------- BENEFITS FEATURES -------- -------- o Solaris 2.3 establishes new - Solaris 2.3 incorporates quality standards Solaris 2.2 patches - Over 3,500 Solaris 2.2 bugs fixed ____________________________________________________________________ o Industry leading performance - Significant performance im- provement vs. Solaris 2.2 SPARCcluster(TM) 1 system: 3,069 NFSops 8-way SPARCcenter(TM) 2000 system: 2,500 NFSops 600 tps 8-way SPARCserver 1000: 2,100 NFSops 400 tps - CacheFS local caching of remote information doubles client capacity - More threads libraries for multiprocessing (MP) applications ____________________________________________________________________ o More applications available - The Solaris Demand Center (SDC) on Solaris 2.x. has confirmed that 1500 native Solaris 2 apps are available now - Statically linked binary com- patibility functionality allows many more Solaris 1.x applica- tions to run on Solaris 2.3 than on previous Solaris 2.x releases ____________________________________________________________________ o Solaris 2.3 now includes - Solaris 2 incorporates Adobe industry standard window Level 2 Display PostScript environment - Solaris 2 incorporates X11R5 window server ____________________________________________________________________ o Solaris is ready to run your - Solaris 2.3 has C2 Security DNS enterprise forwarding, and Point to Point Protocol - Solaris 2.3 incorporates AutoFS which offers the transparent mounting of file systems ____________________________________________________________________ o System Administration made - Solaris 2.3's enhanced admin- easy istration tools, include a Serial Port Manager to make it easy to administer modems and terminals across the network HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE CONSIDERATIONS ------------------------------------ Solaris 2.3 supports these SMCC platforms: SPARCclassic(TM), SPARCstation(TM) SLC(TM), SPARCstation ELC(TM), SPARCstation LX(TM), SPARCstation IPC(TM), SPARCstation IPX(TM), SPARCstation 1, SPARCstation 1+, SPARCstation 2, SPARCstation 10, and SPARCstation 10SX systems Sun-4(TM) 4/110, 4/150, 4/260, 4/280 4/330, 4/370, 4/470, and 4/490 systems SPARCserver 690MP, 630MP, and 670MP systems SPARCserver 1000 and SPARCcenter 2000 systems SPARCengine(TM) 1 and SPARCengine 1E engines All SMCC platforms that were supported in Solaris 2.2 are supported in Solaris 2.3. AVAILABILITY ------------ The Solaris 2.3 products listed below can be ordered now. o Solaris 2.3 First Customer Ship (FCS) date: November 8, 1993 o Solaris Software Developer's Kit FCS date: November 22, 1993 o Full Documentation Set FCS date: November 22, 1993 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS --------------------- 1. WHEN WILL SOLARIS 2.3 SHIP AND WITH WHAT SYSTEMS? Solaris 2.3 will ship November 8, 1993. All SPARC system products will include an appropriate license to use Solaris 2.3. Refer to the Solaris licensing pages in your price list for more information. The Solaris 2.3 Full Documentation Set, in hard copy form, will not be available until November 22nd. Because it will ship later, please ensure that you order SOL-2.3-D rather than the deault marketing part number SOL-D for your initial 2.3 orders. 2. HOW DO I ORDER SOLARIS 2.3? The appropriate Solaris 2.3 licenses are included with SPARC system purchases. Media kits can be ordered along with the system. Beginning November 8th, Solaris 2.3 will become the default Solaris 2.x release from SMCC and will automatically ship with Solaris 2.x media kits and upgrades. Users still needing access to Solaris 2.2 can still order Solaris 2.2 with product specific order numbers, i.e., Use SOL-2.2-C to order the Solaris 2.2 Media Kit. Please note that the default marketing part numbers have changed. 3. HOW STABLE IS THE SOLARIS 2.3? Solaris 2 is now robust and stable for volume deployment. All patches shipped against Solaris 2.2 are integrated in Solaris 2.3. Over 3500 UNIX(R) bugs have been fixed in Solaris 2.3. Solaris 2 is now broadly deployed internally on Sun(TM) servers, which results in increased testing and quality improvements. 4. WHAT HAPPENED TO SYSTEM ANSWERBOOK? To better meet the needs of our customers, the online documentation that was included as part of the Solaris 2.2 System Answerbook has been divided up and bundled with the various Solaris 2.3 Media Kits: Documentation Packaging ------------- --------- End User Desktop Media Kit Server Media Kit System Administration Server Media Kit (also available unbundled) Developer Solaris Software Developer's Kit (SDK) To receive the online documentation that is equivalent to the Solaris 2.2 System AnswerBook, users should purchase the Server Media Kit (or the System Administrator AnswerBook CD-ROM) and the SDK. 5. WHO SHOULD ORDER THE UNBUNDLED SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR ANSWERBOOK PRODUCT? The Solaris 2.3 System Administrator AnswerBook CD-ROM disk is included with the Server Media Kit. It is also available for desktop users who wish to access system administration online documentation, but do not have a Solaris 2.3 server in their environment. 6. WHY DOES SMCC NOW OFFER TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEDIA KITS? Sun has had difficulties in the past offering one product to meet the needs of a wide range of users: End Users, System Administrators, and Developers. To better meet specific needs of each user classification, Sun now offers: o Desktop Media Kit for End Users o Server Media Kit for System Administrators o Solaris Software Developer's Kit for Developers Note: The SDK does not contain Solaris media. Purchasing Solaris Media is a prerequisite. 7. WHY DOES SMCC NOW OFFER TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF LICENSE UPGRADES? There are now two different upgrade paths to Solaris 2.3. One paths is for Solaris 1.x users who have not yet migrated to Solaris 2.x. The other upgrade path is for users who are already licensed to use either Solaris 2.1 or Solaris 2.2. 8. WHEN WILL SMCC SUPPORT MORE THAN 8 PROCESSORS? Today Solaris 2.3 supports up to 8 processors in a system. SMCC is working to provide increased scalability with Solaris 2.3. SMCC plans to offer 20-Way support with Solaris 2.3 early in Q3FY94. 9. SOME CUSTOMERS HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE LACK OF ADEQUATE INSTALLATION DOCUMENTATION SHIPPED WITH SOLARIS 2. WHAT IS SMCC DOING ABOUT THIS? Installation documentation for Solaris 2.3 has been simplified to deliver accurate, concise installation information for two separate groups of Users: End Users receive basic installation information and System Administrators/Server Users receive more detailed comprehensive installation information. 10. WHAT DOES THE STATICALLY LINKED BINARY COMPATIBILITY PACKAGE (SBCP) DO FOR SOLARIS 2.3 USERS? The statically linked BCP allows many more Solaris 1 users to run their applications in the Solaris 2 environment thereby easing the transition to Solaris 2. Sun estimates that over 5000 Solaris 1 applications will run without modification or recompilation under Solaris 2.3. 11. DOES THE AVAILABILITY OF THE BINARY COMPATIBLITY PACKAGE MEAN THAT IT IS NO LONGER NECESSARY FOR ISV'S TO PORT THEIR APPLICATIONS FROM SOLARIS 1 TO SOLARIS 2? No, the binary compatibility package has been made available so that end users can transition to Solaris 2 even if many of their Solaris 1 applications have not yet been ported to Solaris 2. SunSoft encourages developers to continue efforts to upgrade their products to full Solaris 2 compatibility, only in this way will they be assured of being able to take full advantage of Solaris' latest technological developments. 12. WILL EXISTING X11/NeWS(R) APPLICATIONS RUN ON SOLARIS 2.3 No, with the adoption of the industry standard X11R5 window system, Solaris no longer supports NeWS applications. All applications, however, properly written to the X API are 100% compatible with OpenWindows v3.3 (X11R5). AnswerBook, Pageview, and ImageTool have been modified to support Adobe Level 2 Display PostScript in Solaris 2.3. 14. WHY DOES SOLARIS NO LONGER SUPPORT THE X11/NEWS WINDOW SYSTEM? The switch from NEWS to X11R5 and DPS is part of Sun's commitment to open systems. 15. WHAT ADDITIONAL VALUE HAS BEEN ADDED TO X11R5? The XIL imaging API has been enhanced to support: - CellB compression/decompression for 8-bit graphic acclerators - MPEG1 decompression for full motion video - H.261 decompression for video conferencing Both MPEG1 and H.261 compression will be offered with the Sun SBus. 16. WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT SOLARIS NOW HAS ADOBE DISPLAY POSTSCRIPT (DPS)? DPS is quickly emerging as the de facto standard API for on-screen PostScript imaging. The identical API will also be available from IBM, DEC and SGI ensuring maximum portability for applications. 17. WHAT IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO NIS+? NIS+, the Solaris core naming service, has been enhanced with DNS forwarding. As a result, Solaris will operate seamlessly with DNS, the naming service for the Internet. In addition, NIS+ administration has been made easier through new simple install scripts and the NIS+ Quickstart Guide. 18. HOW DOES CACHEFS WORK AND WHAT ARE ITS BENEFITS? The Cache File System (CacheFS) works with NFS to allow the use of high speed, high capacity local disk drives to store frequently used data from a remote file system. As a result, subsequent access to this data is much quicker than having to access the remote file system each time. Others on the network will also notice improved network performance as the use of CacheFS reduces network traffic and increases the number of clients an NFS server is able to support (by up to two times in some cases). 19. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE AUTOFS AND AUTOMOUNTER? AutoFS improves the automatic file mounting previously offered by Automounter. With AutoFS, symbolic links are no longer necessary and new mount points can be added without having to reboot the system. 20. IS SOLARIS 2.3 FULLY C2 SECURITY COMPLIANT? Yes. Solaris 2.3 fully meets the NIST C2 security specifications. We have bundled the Basic Security Module in Solaris 2.3. 21. IS THERE A PERFORMANCE PENALTY FOR C2 SECURITY? The major functionality in C2 security is 'auditing' of system activity. When you turn 'auditing' on you pay a small performance price (~10%) for enhanced security. But you have the choice; the default system ships with auditing turned off. 22. IS MOTIF PART OF SOLARIS 2.3? No, SMCC is shipping Motif separately as part of the Solaris Software Developer's Kit. In addition, SMCC is shipping an unbundled version of the Motif toolkit 23. IS SOLARIS FOR SPARC DIFFERENT FROM SOLARIS FOR X86? Yes, the release level of Solaris on x86 is 2.1, it does not incorporate all of the new Solaris enhancements now being announced on SPARC with Solaris 2.3. The next release of Solaris, in mid 1994, will be an identical and concurrent release for both the SPARC and x86 platforms. COLLATERAL ---------- Your Sun Sales Rep can obtain the followinfg documents: Solaris 2.3 Customer Presentation #28146 Solaris 2.3 Hot Sheet #28148 US PRICING AND ORDERING INFORMATION ----------------------------------- THE FOLLOWING APPEAR ON THE END USER AND RESELLER PRICE LISTS Media, User Licenses, Upgrades and End User Documentation: Order List Discount Description Number Price Category ==================================================================== Desktop Media Kit SOLD-C $50 A Server Media Kit SOLS-C $100 A Media 10 Pack SOLS-C10 $400 A System Administrator SOLSA-P $225 A Answerbook CD Encryption Kit SOLE-P $100 A End User Documentation SOL-ED $100 B Full Documentation Set SOL-D $995 B Client to Uniprocessor Server SOLC-US-L $1,200 A License Upgrade Uniprocessor Server to 2-Way SOLUS-2S-L $2,000 A Server License Upgrade 2-Way Server to Enterprise SOL2S-ES-L $3,000 A Server License Upgrade Uniprocessor Server to Enter- SOLUS-ES-L $4,500 A prise Server License Upgrade Desktop Solaris 1.x to Solaris SOLD-LF $250 A 2.current License Upgrade Server Solaris 1.x to Solaris SOLS-LF $350 A 2.current License Upgrade Desktop Solaris 2.x to Solaris SOLD-LP $325 A 2.current License Upgrade Workgroup Server Solaris 2.x to SOLWS-LP $575 A Solaris 2.current License Upgrade Enterprise Server Solaris 2.x to SOLES-LP $1,400 A Solaris 2.current License Upgrade Software Development Kit SDK-P $495 B w/ Single User License Software Development Kit SDK-P10 $3,950 B w/ 10-User License SCHOLARPAC PRICING AND ORDERING INFORMATION ------------------------------------------- Solaris Upgrade Licenses: Order List Discount Description Number Price Category ==================================================================== ScholarPAC Client to Uniprocessor UNSOLC-US-L $470 D Server License Upgrade ScholarPAC Uniprocessor Server UNSOLUS-2S-L $780 D to 2-Way Server License Upgrade (c) 1993 Sun Microsystems, Inc., Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation, SunSoft, Solaris, ONC+, OpenWindows, Deskset, NFS, AnswerBook, SLC,ELC, LX, IPC, IPX, Sun-4, XGL, XIL, and NeWS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All SPARC trademarks, including the SCD Compliant Logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. SPARCserver, SPARCcluster, SPARCclassic, SPARCcenter, SPARCstation, and SPARCengine are licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines. DEC is a regiestered trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners. ********************************************************************** For information about SunFlash send mail to info-sunflash@Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@Sun.COM. Archives are on draco.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. Send brief articles (e.g. third party announcements) and include contact information (non-800#, fax #, email, etc) to: John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@Sun.COM. +1 305 351 4909