SunSoft Announces Enhancements to Solaris
New Features For Enterprise-Wide Computing Market
SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 29, 1993 -- SunSoft, Inc. today announced major enhancements to the Solaris 2 software environment specifically designed to address the needs of enterprise-wide computing. The software now offers increased performance and new system administration, graphics and desktop features, delivering the industry's most powerful 32-bit commercial software solution to customers worldwide.
The Solaris 2 enhancements include a 60 percent performance increase in the area of multiprocessing over the previous version, giving users more power across the network and a set of user-accessible threads further accelerating mission-critical applications. The new version boasts a suite of robust graphics products, many of which will be a part of the recently announced common open software environment being developed by HP, IBM, The Santa Cruz Operation, SunSoft, UNIX System Laboratories and Univel. In addition, it offers new features on the desktop, giving users a more intuitive and easier-to-use computing environment.
Sun Microsystems Computer Corp.(SMCC), the world's largest supplier of UNIX systems, will make the enhanced Solaris 2 available on its entire product line beginning in May. Fujitsu, Hyundai, ICL, Tadpole, Tatung, Toshiba and others will also use the software in their systems. Customers using Solaris for enterprise-wide computing include Amoco Production Company, AT&T, DuPont, Federal Express, Philip Morris and Salomon Brothers in the United States; Swiss Bank, Barclay's Bank and the Munich Airport in Europe; and Cathay Pacific, Nomura Securities and Mitsubishi in Asia.
"Solaris -- with its robustness, performance and features -- is designed to be the software engine to run global enterprises," said Jim Billmaier, vice president of product marketing at SunSoft. "The new version increases user productivity across the network and facilitates centralized system management for the lowest possible cost."
NEW SOLARIS FEATURES
The Solaris software provides several new enhancements in the areas of performance, system administration, graphics and the desktop environment to make enterprise computing easier and more cost-effective for global businesses.
Performance: Power Boost on all Systems
Multithreading - user-accessible threads to speed up I/O processing and concurrency, particularly for database applications. The technology enables application developers to write software that takes full advantage of the power of symmetric multiprocessing machines and also speeds up application performance on uniprocessor systems.
Symmetric Multiprocessing - more than a 60 percent performance increase as measured in transactions per second on an eight-way processor system. Systems such as SMCC's SPARCstation 10 and future machines will take advantage of this feature.
Networking - 10-15 percent improvement in networking operations per second, speeding up the transfer of data across networks anywhere in the world. The ONC+ networking technology, a part of the common open software environment, provides powerful software for accessing data across heterogeneous computers.
On-Demand Data Access: Making the Complex Simple
New automation provides users with transparent access to local and network data without any action by system administrators. This feature saves users time by providing on-demand access to CD-ROM and floppy disks as well as remote file systems. Getting access to data is now easy, making the complex task of mounting CDs as simple as popping a disk into the drive.
System Administration: Lowering Cost of Ownership
These new features save hours of work and reduce downtime for system administrators, leading to significant cost savings every year. The number of machines managed by each system administrator increases significantly, lowering company's overhead costs and enhancing overall network and system management.
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.
Upgrades - facilities that automatically upgrade hundreds of systems across the network to new Solaris releases as well as third party application software without requiring any user interaction.
JumpStart - "hands off" automatic network installation of Solaris has been extended to cover a wide range of systems and configurations. Installations and upgrades for hundreds of systems across the network simultaneously are now as simple as turning on the machines.
Online: DiskSuite 2 - commercial-grade I/O features previously available only on proprietary systems.
Disk Mirroring - maintains ongoing operations of the systems and its databases even in the event of disk or controller failures, providing users uninterrupted service.
Disk Striping - increases throughput by utilizing multiple disks simultaneously, accelerating I/O-intensive applications such as graphics and data search software.
Large File System - allows on-line growth of file systems up to a terabyte, giving users and system administrators additional flexibility in managing their data.
Networked Desktop: Greater Ease-Of-Use and Flexibility Image Tool - new
DeskSet application that allows users to create, load, view, rotate, zoom and crop images for use in documents. The tool supports more than 40 file formats including PICT, PostScript and TIFF.
Network File Manger - major enhancements that enable users to utilize icons and "point and click" features to access CDs, floppies or files across the network from their desktop.
Multimedia Mail - enhancements that allow users to receive messages using the new MIME protocol. Full MIME capabilities will be incorporated into future Solaris releases. Multimedia mail, a part of SunSoft's Solaris LIVE! technology, also offers tighter integration with workgroup calendar manager, allowing users to move information from one to the other using simple "drag n' drop" actions.
Keyboard Accelerators - feature that gives users the ability to use keystrokes to perform quick menu operations and navigate the screen without the use of a mouse.
Workspace Management - enhancements that allow users more control over the desktop with the ability to change background patterns, colors, fonts and add items to the menu.
Graphics: Powerful Imaging and Video Integration
XIL - an imaging foundation, consisting of application programming interfaces and libraries, for imaging and digital video. This is the industry's first imaging and video library bundled within a major operating environment and is a part of the Solaris LIVE! technology.
XGL - a foundation library for 3D graphics applications fine-tuned for performance. It is also a part of Solaris LIVE!
PEX - new version of the industry-standard PEX implementation that provides a uniform extension to the X Window System, Version 11 for 3D graphics. It will be a part of the common open software environment.
Direct XLib - a faster version of the XLib library, providing increased performance for 2D graphics applications. The library will be incorporated into the common open software environment.
Motif Toolkit
SunSoft will also make a Motif toolkit available to software developers. The company will acquire the toolkit from IXI, a company of The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. SunSoft and IXI have signed a letter of intent to make IXI's OSF/Motif Developer's Kit available for Solaris SPARC and x86 platforms. SunSoft distributed promotional copies of IXI's Motif Developer's Kit to developers here today.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
The new Solaris version, Solaris 2.2, will ship on a single Compact Disc (CD) with documentation, and will be generally available in 60 days. Upgrades are available through OEMs and distributors. New system prices are as follows:
Solaris Desktop for the client desktop priced at $795 in single quantity. The package contains the Solaris system software including SunOS 5.0, ONC+ networking, multiprocessing, system and network administration, installation, security, the OpenWindows development environment, graphics, ToolTalk, Solaris LIVE! and the DeskSet suite of productivity tools.
Solaris Workgroup Server for the small network of 50 users at $1,995 in single quantity. The package includes all of the Solaris Desktop features and 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 incorporates all of the Solaris Workgroup technologies and adds advanced system administration, commercial grade I/O security and enterprise-wide installation.
Online: DiskSuite 2 will be available as an unbundled product priced at $2,495 in single quantity.
Pricing and availability for SunSoft's Motif toolkit will be announced within the next 30 days.
Product 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.
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1993 Sun Microsystems, Inc. SunSoft, Solaris, ONC+, JumpStart, XGL, ToolTalk, Open Windows, Online: DiskSuite DeskSet, Solaris LIVE! are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. SPARC is a registered trademark of SPARC International, Inc. Motif is a trademark of the Open Software Foundation in the U.S. All other products or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information on this announcement, please contact: Laura Ramsey, SunSoft Inc. at (415) 336-7039 or Claudia Carasso, Hi-Tech Communications at (415) 904-7000.
SunSoft Announces Service Agreement with Sun Microsystems, Inc. Worldwide Customer Support
End User Support For Solaris On SPARC And x86
SANTA CLARA, Calif. --March 29, 1993-- SunSoft, Inc., today announced a service agreement with Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s Worldwide Customer Support (WWCS) organization. Under the terms of the non-exclusive agreement, the organization will service and support unmodified versions of SunSoft's Solaris distributed computing software on SPARC and x86 platforms, meeting the needs of users operating in heterogeneous computing environments. Solaris end users will now be able to use one source for all support and service requests for both SPARC and x86 platforms.
The WWCS organization has supported the Solaris environment for over ten years. There are now over 760,000 Solaris licenses supported in 125 countries by a network of more than 450 UNIX software support engineers on call in over 24 support centers worldwide. WWCS also provides such optional services as 24 hours a day, 7 days a week coverage required by many commercial customers. In addition, SunSoft will work with other Authorized Service Providers that offer customers with multivendor environments additional support alternatives.
"Sun Worldwide Customer Support is key to SunSoft's establishing an extensive service network for Solaris users," said Walt Brown, director of service and support for SunSoft. "Their extensive experience in supporting UNIX-based systems and their worldwide reach make the WWCS organization uniquely qualified to deliver premium service for Solaris installations."
"Providing service to the entire installation gives us a better understanding of the account's needs leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction," said Bill Cote, vice president WWCS. "This also enables us to best meet the needs of our customers and resellers while supporting Sun's overall open systems and open service strategy."
Solaris on x86 Support Agreement
Offering its services to end users, distributors, resellers and OEMs, WWCS will support the full Solaris 2 environment. Solaris is based on UNIX System V Release 4 (SVR4) and ONC+ networking services and features a robust application environment with OpenWindows and a suite of desktop productivity tools. Components of Solaris will be incorporated into the common open software environment announced on March 17, 1993. In addition to general product support, WWCS will provide upgrades and enhancement releases.
WWCS currently supports Solaris for SPARC on SMCC systems, and will support unmodified Solaris for x86 at first customer shipment and for other SPARC systems in the third quarter, 1993.
SunSoft, headquartered in Mountain View, California, 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.
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1993 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, SunSoft, Solaris, ONC+ and OpenWindows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. SPARC is a registered trademark of SPARC International, Inc. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. All other products or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information regarding this announcement, please contact: Laura Ramsey at (415) 336-0739 or Emily Cohen, Hi-Tech Communications at (415) 904-7000.
The Florida SunFlash
SOLARIS 2.2
SunFLASH Vol 52 #31 April 1993
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SMCC Announces Solaris 2.2
-----------------------------
SMCC(TM) today announced the availability of the newest version of the
Solaris(R) operating environment for SPARC(R) systems. A
fully-compliant implementation of SVR4, Solaris 2.2 is comprised of
SunOS(TM) 5.2, ONC+(TM), and OpenWindows(TM) V3.2 which includes
DeskSet(TM) productivity applications. Solaris 2.2 delivers:
- Significant performance improvements for database and fileserver applications
- User accessible threads libraries to allow increased parallelism and
higher performance for multiprocessor applications.
- Increased SMP scalability with support for eight processor
SPARCcenter 2000 systems
- DeskSet enhancements for improved ease-of-use
- New graphics and imaging support with runtime libraries
- Support for the new SPARCstation(TM) 10 and SPARCserver(TM) 10 systems
announced today.
- WABI and SearchIt(TM) at no-charge with Solaris 2.2.
- Simplified upgrades without major re-installations.
Solaris 2.2. will be available at the end of May, 1993 and will become
the default release for all Sun SuperSPARC-based multiprocessing
systems. International and localized versions of Solaris 2.2 will be
available in July. SMCC will announce international pricing and
configurations later this quarter.
SunSoft has introduced a new flexible licensing structure that offers
advantages for desktop users:
- All desktop clients use the same desktop license that
is bundled with SPARCstation systems. There is no longer
a need for desktop users to purchase license upgrades
when adding processors.
- The existing single-user limitation for desktop users
has been reversed. Desktop licenses again permit two users.
Server licenses differ depending on the number of processors in a system.
ANNOUNCEMENT OVERVIEW:
Solaris 2.2 contains a number of performance and functionality
improvements over previous releases of Solaris. With this release,
SunSoft concentrated on delivering improved quality, higher server
performance and enhanced ease-of-use for SPARC system users. SunSoft is
also enhancing the Solaris/SPARC desktop solution by making the
Windows ABI (WABI) and SearchIt products available at no charge for
Solaris 2.2 users.
Below is a brief description of the new features of Solaris 2.2.
IMROVED SERVER PERFORMANCE AND USER-THREADS LIBRARIES:
_______________________________________________________________
Solaris 2.2 delivers significantly improved server performance for
database and fileserver applications. Database transaction performance
has improved 95% over Solaris 2.1 and fileserver performance shows a
40% improvement. Audited TPC numbers and NFS benchmarks will be
released later this quarter.
For the first time, Solaris brings the benefits of multithreading and
symmetric multiprocessing within reach of customer applications. While
Solaris 2.x has always had multithreading capability at the kernel
level, the new user threads libraries available with Solaris 2.2 allow
developers to write multithreaded applications. Multithreading allows
increased levels of parallelism within applications. Using these
libraries allows users and developers to take maximum advantage of the
power available with Solaris 2.x on symmetric multiprocessor-based
SPARCstations and SPARCservers.
Solaris 2.2 also delivers much better scalability by providing support
for up to eight processors in a SPARCsystem. As mentioned last fall at
the SPARCcenter(TM) 2000 announcement, each successive release of Solaris
will provide improved scalability.
DESKSET ENHANCEMENTS:
__________________________
DeskSet productivity tools are a major competitive advantage for Sun.
Solaris 2.2 incorporates new DeskSet applications and
enhancements to existing applications to provide improved
ease-of-use:
IMAGE TOOL: Image Tool is a new DeskSet application bundled with
Solaris 2.2. Image Tool allows an end user to view and edit
images. The user can view an image in a window, rotate the
image, zoom on part of the image, preview pages, and crop the
image for use in a document. Image Tool also supports multiple
file formats such as postscript or TIFF.
FILE MANAGER: File Manager has been enhanced in 2.2 to allow end users
to easily access removable media such as CDs or floppies. The
end user views CDs or floppies as subdirectories in their home
environment. They can then manage files residing on CDs or
floppy diskettes through the same drag and drop operations that
are common to file manager (Gone are the days when a user must
become superuser to mount and manipulate CD's or floppies!) In
addition, File Manager allows folders to be viewed vertically
(a tree) or horizontally, and file icons can be placed anywhere
in a folder pane for a user's convenience.
MULTIMEDIA MAIL: Multimedia mail has been enhanced by providing tighter
integration with calendar manager. A mini-appointment editor
can be accessed from within mailtool to create appointments.
The resulting icon is put in the attachment panel allowing
recipients of the mail message to drag and drop the appointment
icon to update their calendar. Multimedia mail also can
receive MIME messages, which is the Internet standard for
multimedia mail. Calendar manager itself has been enhanced to
allow levels of privacy and more flexibility for repeating
appointments.
KEYBOARD ACCELERATORS: To provide a faster alternative than a mouse to
perform common commands (e.g. open a file), keyboard
accelerators have been provided in DeskSet and in the general
workspace.
WABI AND SearchIt PROMOTIONS:
_____________________________
SunSoft is offering a special promotion which makes the new Windows ABI
(WABI) and SearchIt products available at no charge for Solaris 2.2
users. Order cards for WABI and SearchIt will ship in all Solaris 2.2
media kits.
Anyone licensed for Solaris 2.2 is licensed to use WABI. WABI will ship
in July.
SUPPORT FOR THE NEW SPARCsystem MULTIPROCESSING PLATFORMS
__________________________________________________________
Solaris 2.2 supports all of the new multiprocessing platforms
announced today including:
SPARCstation 10 Model 402MP
Model 512MP
Model 40
Model 51
Model 30LC
SPARCserver 10 Model 402MP
Model 512MP
Model 51
Model 40
GRAPHICS AND IMAGING ENHANCMENTS:
_________________________________
Solaris 2.2 brings significant improvements in graphics and imaging
support with improved performance and functionality. Runtime libraries
for PEX(TM) and XIL(TM) are bundled with Solaris 2.2. With these
libraries now included as part of the Solaris base environment
developers no longer need to bundle them with their applications. This
is a competitive advantage over other UNIX(R) offerings such as
UNIXware(TM) and HP-UX(TM).
XIL: XIL is a new imaging library for commercial imaging and video
applications. SunSoft is the first operating system vendor to
bundle a runtime imaging library in its operating environment.
This will encourage development of new multimedia applications
on Solaris/SPARC systems.
XGL(TM) 3.0.1: Solaris 2.2 also includes XGL 3.0.1 which provides a
significant performance improvement for 3D graphics over the
previous XGL 3.0 bundled with Solaris 2.1.
DIRECT XLIB(TM) 2.0: Direct Xlib 2.0 is also bundled in Solaris 2.2. Direct
Xlib is a set of supplemental Xlib libraries for OpenWindows
that provides improved 2D graphics performance to Xlib
applications that are running locally using the OpenWindows
X11/NeWS server.
PEX: PEX 2.0 Run Time Environment is also provided in Solaris 2.2.
PEX provides a standard extension to X11 for 3D graphics such
as PHIGs and SunPHIGs, and therefore enhances portability for
graphics applications.
SIMPLIFIED INSTALLATION AND UPGRADABILITY:
__________________________________________
Installation of Solaris 2.2 has been enhanced in several ways:
EASY UPGRADES: Upgrading between versions of Solaris 2.x has been
simplified. Solaris 2.1 customers can upgrade to Solaris 2.2
without going through a complete re-installation.
NEW INSTALLATION INTERFACE: The online installation script for Solaris 2.2
has been redesigned for easier installation while providing a
high degree of control over each installation.
JUMPSTART(TM) SERVER SUPPORT: Automatic installation (JumpStart) now
supports installation of SPARCserver systems.
SOLARIS 2.2 Q & A
_________________
Q. WHEN WILL SOLARIS 2.2. SHIP AND WITH WHAT SYSTEMS:?
A. Solaris 2.2. will ship at the end of May, 1993. All SPARC system
products will include an appropriate license to use Solaris 2.2.
Q. WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF SOLARIS 2.2?
A. The key benefits of Solaris 2.2 include:
- Improved server performance
- Improved quality
- Enhanced graphics support and runtime libraries
- DeskSet Enhancements
- Enhanced upgrading and installation
Q. HOW DO I ORDER SOLARIS 2.2 AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
A. For new SPARC systems, the appropriate Solaris 2.2 licenses
are included with SPARC system purchases. Media kits can
be ordered when ordering systems.
A separate SunFlash will address licensing, pricing, ordering
and licensing instructions.
At the end of May, Solaris 2.2 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 2.1 can still order Solaris 2.1 with product specific
order numbers.
International localized versions of Solaris will be announced
later this quarter and will ship in July, 1993.
Q. IS MOTIF PART OF SOLARIS 2.2?
A. No. As part of the COSE announcement last month, SunSoft
will be announcing the availability of an unbundled Motif
toolkit later this quarter.
(c) 1993 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo,
and Solaris 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. SPARCengine and
SPARCstation are licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. Products
bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun
Microsystems, Inc. All other product or service names mentioned herein
are trademarks of their respective owners.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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