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SANTA CLARA, CA -- Reinforcing its commitment to grid computing and its commitment to provide powerful architectures and tools for the enterprise, Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) today announced the integration of its software platforms for grid computing and services on demand. Leveraging its integratable software stack to provide transparent, Web-enabled access to distributed resource management (DRM) capabilities and the Sun(tm) Open Net Environment (Sun ONE), Sun's integrated platform is unmatched in the industry today. Sun Grid Engine software is Sun's distributed resource management tool for grid computing. Managing compute resources within a grid, Sun Grid Engine software maximizes CPU utilization and increases productivity and return on investment. Sun ONE is the vision, architecture, platform and expertise for developing services on demand today. Sun ONE includes Solaris, the number one operating environment for network servers, award-winning iPlanet solutions, Forte and Java/XML. Through its open, integratable architecture, Sun ONE extends current enterprise systems to help reduce costs and complexity while improving organizations' return on assets. Sun ONE and Grid Engine software both use the iPlanet(tm) Portal Server for secure, remote, transparent access to Sun ONE services on demand and to grid computing services on demand. This leads to the ability of one global access point for businesses which first process data within a grid environment (e.g. engineering or financial simulations), store the results (then as the company's assets) in a database, perhaps add customized post-processing (transactions), and then make the information available as services on demand for employees, partners, suppliers and customers. The information is accessible via an easy-to-use, Web-based graphical user interface (GUI) that can be customized to meet an enterprise's specific business needs. "We are thrilled with the flexibility and productivity boost that we've received from deploying Sun's Technical Computing Portal solution," said professor Kevin Burrage of the University of Queensland, Australia, regarding a Sun ONE portal in use at the university for the past six months. "It allows us to securely share our HPC Facility computing resources and applications across the university and with affiliated institutes. Additionally, access is 'personalized' for each audience, offering extensive databases and forms that simplify job setup, execution and monitoring." By integrating both resource management and services on demand, customers can benefit from increased efficiency and ROI made possible through centralized management of compute resources and improved access to results. For example, in an MCAE environment, automotive engineers can use grids to run hundreds of crash simulations with multiple variables, store the outcomes in a Sun ONE database, and enable colleagues in remote locations to access the results on the car being tested. "Only Sun has the software stack and intellectual property to deliver this seamless solution to customers today. Bringing together Sun Grid Engine software and Sun ONE via portal, Java and XML technologies is part of the natural evolution of grid computing," said Wolfgang Gentzsch, director of Grid Computing, Sun Microsystems. "Sun's new grid computing services on demand solution will power today's cluster and campus grid environments and eventually, the Great Global Grid. Customers throughout every sector, including financial services, manufacturing, bioinformatics and scientific research will gain the ability to tap compute resources and data as services on demand, relaying the benefits of grid computing enterprise-wide." For more information visit www.sun.com/grid or www.sun.com/sunone.