GOVERNMENT

SANTA CLARA, CA -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) and Sybase Inc. (NYSE: SY) today introduced a jointly designed, integrated, tested and tuned, 25-plus terabyte raw data input iForce(SM) Enterprise Data Warehouse Reference Architecture. The offering provides a blueprint for deploying next-generation, high- performance data warehousing. Key hardware elements of the architecture include Sun(TM) Fire 6800 Midframe servers and Sun StorEdge(TM) 9900 storage systems. Software for the Reference Architecture combines SybaseR Adaptive ServerR IQ Multiplex(TM) software running on the Sun Solaris(TM) Operating Environment. Nielsen Media Research is the lead customer for this architecture, which was designed, tuned and validated in Sun's iForce Ready Center. The Reference Architecture substantially reduces data warehousing total cost of ownership (TCO) by reducing storage requirements by as much as 75 percent, delivering query speeds 10 to 1,000 times faster, and reducing installation and set-up time by as much as 80 percent compared to conventional data warehouse implementations. ``Customers look for performance, scalability and low total cost of ownership when deploying solutions to help them manage and analyze vast quantities of data,'' said Ravi Pendekanti, solutions marketing director, Sun Microsystems, Inc. ``We have been working side-by-side to build an easy-to-deploy solution in real-world scenarios with Sybase. We have a common focus on delivering data warehousing solutions that address these customer needs, which enables us to help our customers gain a competitive advantage.'' ``IQ Multiplex provides the necessary query speed and query flexibility along with user-scalability so that thousands of simultaneous users can access information,'' said Eric Miles, senior vice president and general manager of the Sybase Business Intelligence Division. ``It's also economical because of the way it allows companies to reallocate storage to other IT systems. The combination of Sybase and Sun technology in the framework provided by the Reference Architecture makes projects much less risky and creates a new breed of high-end data warehouse solutions.'' Sun and Sybase iForce Enterprise Data Warehouse Reference Architecture The iForce Enterprise Data Warehouse Reference Architecture focuses on 25-plus terabyte enterprise data warehouse applications with benefits that include reduced system complexity, low-risk, rapid deployment and highest possible performance through the optimal integration of best-of-breed Sun and Sybase system elements. This Reference Architecture has been demonstrated with Sybase Adaptive Server IQ Multiplex on a mix of Sun's UltraSPARC(TM) II and UltraSPARC III-processor based servers, specifically, the new Midframe Sun Fire servers and the Midrange Enterprise servers, as well as the StorEdge T3 arrays and the new Sun StorEdge 9900 series storage systems and the Solaris 8 Operating Environment, providing investment protection for Sun's existing customers. From Months to Years of Analyzable Data Specific proven performance highlights for the iForce Enterprise Data Warehouse Reference Architecture include: -- Scalability - Largest known data warehouse benchmark -- 25 terabytes, 56 billion rows. -- Storage cost reduction - 25 terabytes vs. 100 terabytes if stored by other databases. -- Faster query speed - 10 to 1,000 times faster than traditional databases. -- Reduced deployment time - 25-plus terabyte data warehouse set up in days rather than weeks. This radical boost in data warehousing capability significantly expands the ability of data warehouse users to base queries on years, rather than months, of data. A large European telecommunications service provider, for example, has informally estimated that this Reference Architecture would enable it to analyze customer data collected over two years as opposed to six months compared to other solutions currently under consideration. Nielsen Media Research - First Customer Sun and Sybase developed the iForce Enterprise Data Warehouse Reference Architecture as an extension to a customer proof-of-concept project undertaken for Nielsen Media Research. Nielsen Media Research, most widely known for its television program viewer ratings, is a world leader in providing consumer behavior and demographic information to advertisers, broadcasters and consumer product marketers. The ability to deliver customer value from their vast, ever-growing warehouses of data is the very essence of Nielsen's business. ``The big advantage of the Reference Architecture work, done by Sun and Sybase, is that it provides the advance knowledge that this solution will work. It also demonstrates the critical aspects of ease of deployment, performance, scalability, and storage cost economy,'' said Kim Ross, chief information officer for Nielsen Media Research. ``The proof-of-concept demonstration put together in Sun's iForce Ready Center gave us the ability to see for ourselves how effective the Sybase-Sun solution would be for our company. Reference Architectures are a real boon to IT managers who are considering solutions for a specific business problem. For us, it has further validated our choice of Sybase IQ running on Sun servers for this project.'' iForce Reference Architectures Reference Architectures are part of Sun's iForce Initiative, which brings together Sun systems, software, services and leading iForce partners to create and deliver solutions that help customers leverage open systems and network-based technology to improve business processes. The main benefit of the program lies not so much in specific hardware and software product combinations, but in documentation and real-world test bed systems that give Reference Architecture customers proof of how an architecture will meet their needs, either as is, or though integration of alternative hardware and software elements. By defining optimal solutions in advance, Reference Architectures help customers speed deployment, provide the maximum achievable performance, and reduce service and maintenance costs over the life of the infrastructure. Each Reference Architecture includes detailed sizing and implementation guides, which simplify design, buying decisions and implementation, and are available to customers through Sun Professional Services, Sun sales channels and iForce integration partners. For more information, visit www.sybase.com or www.sun.com/architectures-platforms/refarch/