HP, Sun Microsystems Offer Solaris on ProLiant Servers (
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Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems announce a multiyear partnership agreement under which HP will distribute and provide software technical support for Sun's Solaris 10 operating system for HP's ProLiant rack-mount and blade server systems. The agreement elevates Solaris to the lineup of key operating environments for the HP ProLiant platform, which also includes Microsoft Windows and Red Hat Linux.Hewlett-Packard and Sun
Microsystems are jointly bringing Sun's Solaris operating systems to HP's
ProLiant line of rack-mount and blade server systems
The two IT giants announced the ProLiant partnership Feb. 25. The agreement
allows Sun's Solaris 10 operating system to run on HP's x86-based ProLiant
servers. The move by Sun and HP comes at a time when server sales have slowed
and both companies are looking for ways to attract customers to some of their
more significant offerings.
For Sun, the announcement of a new Solaris partner reflects the company's
efforts to push its way into the volume x86 server market while still offering
systems for customers that need systems based on UltraSPARC and SPARC chips. In
addition to HP, Sun has cut deals with Dell and other rival server vendors to
pave the way for greater Solaris adoption in the enterprise.
The OEM and support agreement positions Sun as a strategic HP ProLiant OS
distribution partner, in addition to elevating Solaris to the lineup of
operating environments for the HP ProLiant platform. Other operating
environments in the lineup include Microsoft Windows and Red Hat Linux.
The deal will create "a single point of purchase, contact and accountability
for Solaris on HP ProLiant," the companies said in a news release. In
addition, Sun and HP plan on a collaboration to integrate Solaris 10 and HP
Insight software on HP ProLiant servers.
"The endorsement of Solaris on HP ProLiant dramatically expands the
available market for Solaris on x86 servers, building on the largest
installed-base of any commercial Unix and Linux distribution," John
Fowler, executive vice president of systems for Sun Microsystems, said in the
release.