Sun launches new Solaris 10 system

Sun Microsystems has launched the latest version of its Solaris operating system and overhauled its pricing model to better compete with Linux.

Solaris 10 includes 600 new features that Sun hopes will reclaim market share from the open-source alternative.

The Sun software will be available to download free of charge by the end of this year, with versions available for Sparc, Intel and AMD-based systems. Sun plans to make money from the new release through support and maintenance charges.

Sun UK software director Arlene Adams also told Computing that an announcement about publishing Solaris code will also follow before 2005.

'We are actually challenging the whole business model of how people buy operating software,' she said.

'We can show that it is cheaper than Linux, particularly for one to four-way processors.'

New features for Solaris allow users to run Linux applications in the new version using virtual 'containers'.

And a new diagnostic feature called Dtrace is designed to improve system performance by three to 30 per cent by identifying application bottlenecks, claims Sun.

Butler Group senior research analyst Mike Thompson says Sun is well-placed to benefit from the new release.

'I do see a very changeable market over the next two years,' he said.

'I'm not convinced that the major vendors move towards Linux is not going to be in their best interests, and I believe this is a true market opportunity for Sun.'

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