GOVERNMENT

SANTA CLARA, CA -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) today announced that eBay® (Nasdaq: EBAY), has deployed the new Sun StorEdge(TM) 9960 system to advance the infrastructure excellence demanded by the world's online marketplace. With a focus on open standards and decreasing TCO for customers, Sun has provided the leading high-end data center storage system to support eBay's 7 x 24 operation. This storage solution, now part of the end-to-end Sun solution that powers eBay's back-end systems and search infrastructure, recently helped eBay reach a record 99.9% uptime performance. Based on this achievement, eBay has extended its technology relationship with Sun to design and power its next-generation infrastructure platform. Sun customers, like eBay, have developed an insatiable need for storage space. eBay's goal of providing the highest performance levels to customers who constantly utilize more data and data-intensive graphics has resulted in the need for virtually unlimited storage capacity. eBay currently deploys multiple Sun StorEdge 9960 systems which are mutually supported by Sun and Hitachi Data Systems (NYSE: HIT - news). The systems have contributed to increased performance levels satisfying eBay's short- and long-term demand for architectural scalability, reducing TCO and improving ROI. Running on Sun technology since its 1995 launch, eBay has become one of the Internet's most heavily trafficked sites with more than 250 million page views per day, moving more than 1.2 giga-bits of data per second during peak usage periods. During the week of December 9, 2001 the number of average unique visitors to eBay's marketplace reached 4.7 million, according to Jupiter Media Metrix, Inc. Sun Microsystems has remained eBay's primary technology partner and premier supplier of servers, software, storage and services. ``Sun has been with us from the very beginning and has played an important role in eBay's success,'' said Maynard Webb, president of eBay Technologies. ``Sun provides the backend servers and storage needs that run eBay's site and provides our community with the ultimate online shopping experience.'' Sun Microsystems proved the logical choice for eBay's storage consolidation solution as a result of the relationship with Hitachi Data Systems. Sun StorEdge 9960 systems are providing eBay with best-in-class high-availability storage and the joint Sun and Hitachi effort provides centralized services and joint global mission-critical support. ``Sun clearly has the technology and service capabilities to help manage eBay's tremendous database volumes, while continuing to grow with the company's infrastructure needs,'' said Mark Canepa, executive vice president, Sun Network Storage. ``This is a perfect example of how the Sun StorEdge 9960 system has enabled us to augment the success of the Sun StorEdge(TM) T3 array and extend our reach to deliver open, end-to-end systems for high-end data center environments.'' ``We are delighted to team up with Sun Microsystems to change the landscape of the storage industry,'' said Dave Roberson, Hitachi Data Systems Chief Operating Officer. ``Sun and Hitachi are collaborating and co-distributing storage software offerings and jointly delivering the highest levels of service and support worldwide. This is a huge benefit for valued customers such as eBay.'' The Sun StorEdge 9900 series is certified for use in SunPlex(TM) and Sun Cluster environments and delivers higher levels of availability, scalability, and manageability, enabling customers to fine tune their service levels.