Sun Extends Java Enterprise System to Windows

Sun Extends Java Enterprise System to Windows
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By adding support for Windows and HP-UX, Sun says customers will now be able to take advantage of the benefits the Java Enterprise System provides on the hardware platforms of their choice.Sun Microsystems Inc.s Java Enterprise System will support a number of new third-party operating systems and hardware platforms beginning in the first quarter of next year—including Microsoft Windows for x86-based hardware, including AMD Opteron systems, and the Unix-based HP-UX operating system on the PA-RISC architecture.

The Java Enterprise System is currently available on Suns Solaris operating system for SPARC, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Opteron and Intel Corp. Xeon systems, as well as on Linux.

Last November, long before the billion-dollar-plus deal and cooperation agreement between Sun and Microsoft was signed this April, eWEEK first reported that Sun was considering bowing to pressure from customers and partners to broaden the platform base of its Java Enterprise System software.

Click here to read "Sun May Open Windows."

At that time Sun President and Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Schwartz, then executive vice president of Suns software group, said the Santa Clara, Calif., company could be ready for a change of heart about Windows. "The world is a very diverse place, and we have to recognize that diversity," Schwartz said.

"Realistically, developers write code on desktops, and so if were expecting to appeal to those developers in the construction of these shared network services, we are going to have to make sure we meet them where they are rather than where we ultimately want them to be," he said.

Customers will now be able to take advantage of the benefits the Java Enterprise System provides on the hardware platforms of their choice, John Loiacono, executive vice president of software at Sun, said in a statement released late Monday night.

"With [Mondays] announcements, Sun is opening up significant new opportunities for customers and partners, and giving them flexibility to mix and match systems to meet their technology needs, help reduce the costs and complexity associated with systems management and leverage Suns infinite right to use model," he said.

Sun will also announce on Tuesday a new systems promotion, under which qualified customers who purchase the Java Enterprise System will receive a Sun Fire V20z AMD Opteron processor-based server (valued at nearly $4,000), the Solaris 9 Operating System and one year of SunSpectrum Silver support—all for $100 per employee per year.

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