Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Networking

    Sun Offers SPARC for the Public

    By
    Scott Ferguson
    -
    June 2, 2008
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Sun Microsystems is looking to add some more spark to its Microelectronics division.

      In the last year, Sun created the microelectronics unit to not only develop the company’s own microprocessor technology but also as a way to license and sell its silicon technology to other vendors and customers.

      Click Here to Watch the Latest eWEEK Newsbreak Video

      Sun is announcing a new partner June 2, Themis Computer, which will buy Sun’s UltraSPARC T2 processors, formerly called Niagara 2, for a new line of blade systems called T2BC. Themis, which specializes in selling hardware to the military, other government agencies and telecommunication companies, already licenses Sun’s Solaris operating system.

      The agreement with Themis represents one of the first design wins for Sun as the company tries selling its UltraSPARC line outside of the company for the first time, said Michael Knudsen, Sun’s vice president of marketing for microelectronics.

      Other companies, Knudsen said, have expressed interest in the processor’s enhanced floating point capabilities-the T2 has one floating point execution unit with each of its eight cores-and its ability to support 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports for networking. These features were all improvements on the UltraSPARC T1 design.

      Bill Kehret, president and CEO of Themis, said these features are critical to solving the types of virtualization and consolidation issues that are common in today’s data centers. Since Themis also builds systems that are used in rugged environments, Kehret said Solaris and the UltraSPARC line fit his customers’ needs.

      Sun is not the only major vendor to begin selling its once proprietary products in the market to increase its profits and attract new customers. IBM has been selling its Power Architecture to third-party vendors for year. (IBM also sells other designs and Themis is using IBM’s BladeCenter chassis design to house its new T2BC servers.)

      Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT Research, said customers will be interested in the processor’s multithreading capabilities and its power efficiency, which is superior to that of some of the other microprocessors that are available in the market.

      At the same time, King said, Sun needs to show that its UltraSPARC technology is more than a niche chip for Sun’s own products.

      “I’d say that Sun’s effort to develop OEMs for its UltraSPARC chips is about creating new revenue streams and demonstrating that the SPARC platform can support more than Sun’s own efforts,” King wrote in an e-mail.

      “Creating, maintaining and evolving a processor platform is costly, and new OEM partners could help Sun defray those costs and even become increasingly profitable,” King added. “The effort is similar to-and I believe hopes to mirror-IBM’s around the Power processors, though Power is an inherently more flexible architecture than SPARC.”

      Scott Ferguson

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×