SCIENCE

SAN FRANCISCO, SunNetwork 2003 Conference and Pavilion -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW) today announced that its new Java(TM) Enterprise System includes 10 new and significantly enhanced components. Today's announcement establishes a new network infrastructure standard that competitors such as Microsoft and IBM will be held to. Sun is delivering a complete system where customers can rapidly deploy their services for faster time-to-market and a greater return on investment. Comprehensive new capabilities range from network identity services to portal, communications, security services and an integrated Java Web services platform. As part of the Java Enterprise System, Sun today also announced Software Express, a new methodology for the regular revision and enhancement of its flagship software platforms. This program is designed to provide customers access to Sun's recent innovations -- an industry first. Software Express for Solaris(TM) is the first offering structured to provide early access to components in advance of their commercial release. Sun Software Express ensures customers can see, evaluate, and understand the role of components in their system rollouts long before they are available in production-quality system releases. This monthly cycle is designed to provide operators and developers with advanced access to the technologies for planning and architecture purposes. "Sun Software Express sets an even higher bar on the competition," said Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice president, Software at Sun. "The Java Enterprise System quarterly updates are now amplified by structured early access to all Sun technologies -- offering the same synchronization, ease of evaluation and adoption as the core production systems. Software Express ensures our customers see a unified Sun providing them with a unified early access system to coordinate large-scale design and deployment decisions. This is another transformation of how we do business -- making it easier and simpler every step of the way." The Java Enterprise System includes the following network services and technologies: -- Network Identity Services: Network Identity Services seamlessly extend secure access to the enterprise with shorter integration time and costs. Key Network Identity Services include: user management, authentication, Web single sign-on, secure policy enforcement and user account federation. Products that make up Network Identity Services include: -- Java System (formerly Sun(TM) ONE) Directory Server 5.2: New features of Java System Directory Server 5.2 include improved performance, availability and scalability with 64-bit support, four-way MMR and fractional replication. With over two billion entries licensed, the recently released (July, 2003) Java System Directory Server 5.2, is the most widely deployed general-purpose, LDAP-based directory server. -- Java System Identity Server 6.1: The new Java System Identity Server 6.1 provides improved access management, RSA SecureID authentication and self-service password reset to deliver better security, lower costs, and faster deployment. Additional new features include Liberty 1.1-enabled identity management, and leading application server support (Sun, IBM WebSphere, BEA WebLogic), as well as Solaris x86 and Java Enterprise System support. -- Web and Application Services: Continuing the fusion of Java technology and Web services, the Java Enterprise System includes static and dynamic Web content services, and secure Web services for Java software. Products included in these services include the Java System (formerly Sun ONE) Application Server 7, Platform and Standard Editions, the Java System Message Queue, and the Java System Proxy Server. New products announced today as part of the Java Enterprise System are: -- Java System Web Server 6.1: New features in version 6.1 include improved Web security, an enhanced developer and end-user experience, along with improvements to new standards-based integration with popular Web authoring tools, and reduced cost and complexity of deploying and managing Web applications. One of the most secure and highly available Web servers on the market, the Java System Web Server 6.1, appeals to diverse developer skill sets and allows enterprises to protect their Web applications and customer data while delivering static and dynamic content to end users at high service levels. -- Java System Web Server 6.1: New features in version 6.1 include improved Web security, an enhanced developer and end-user experience, along with improvements to new standards-based integration with popular Web authoring tools, and reduced cost and complexity of deploying and managing Web applications. One of the most secure and highly available Web servers on the market, the Java System Web Server 6.1, appeals to diverse developer skillsets and allows enterprises to protect their Web applications and customer data while delivering static and dynamic content to end users at high service levels. -- Java System Active Server Pages version 4: A secure, enterprise-class ASP engine for the Java System Web Server, the Java System Active Server Pages version 4, adds support for Microsoft ASP 3.0 and others as well as integration with popular Web authoring tools. -- Java System Application Server 7, Enterprise Edition: The newest addition to the application server product family, the Enterprise Edition is the first to leverage Sun's "Always-On" technology with "five-nines" uptime. The product's advanced design utilizes a highly available persistence store for HTTP session replication, capable of delivering more than 99.999 percent uptime. By limiting the impact of planned and unplanned downtime, while maintaining high performance and scalability, Java System Application Server 7, Enterprise Edition helps provide the availability required for financial services, telcos, energy companies and many others deploying the most demanding mission-critical applications. Highlights include fault tolerant load balancing, automatic session recovery and application server clustering for planned maintenance downtime. For more information on the Java System Application Server, or to download the standard or platform editions of the product, go to www.sun.com/appserver. "Vignette's long-standing alliance with Sun is continuing to drive the world-class service levels our joint customers have come to expect," said Leif Pedersen, vice president at Vignette. "When coupled with Vignette's J2EE-based product line, the new high availability features found in the Java Enterprise System will help us mitigate risks from planned or unplanned downtime, impacting customer service." "With its superior availability, scalability and performance, the Java System Application Server 7, Enterprise Edition is a solid IT investment," said Silvia Ronzani, IT manager at BPB Assicurazioni S.p.A., a division of the Banche Popolari Unite, a leading financial institution headquartered in Milan, Italy. "The ability to scale our systems to handle growing and often unpredictable transaction loads is a critical factor in successfully managing our company's growth." -- Portal Services: Sun is radically simplifying secure access to services and applications anytime, anywhere, from any device. Sun is the first to deliver secure, personalized, any-device access into one's portal and secure, seamless access among Liberty-federated portals. Portal Services include community creation, aggregation and presentation, personalization, multi-channel access and knowledge management. -- Java System (formerly Sun ONE) Portal Server 6.2: New features of Java System Portal Server 6.2 include secure anywhere, any-device access to internal portals and applications, support of the Liberty Alliance and JSR 168 specifications, the creation of portal-based communities with threaded discussions and enhanced integration with collaboration suites from Sun, Microsoft and Lotus. Java System Portal Server 6.2 is the industry's first portal service with Liberty-enabled identity management that provides all the user, policy and identity management to enforce security, single sign-on and access capabilities to end-user communities. -- Java System Portal Server, Secure Remote Access 6.2: Java System Portal Server, Secure Remote Access 6.2 delivers secure SSL-VPN portal access to Java-enabled Web browsers. New capabilities in this release include secure URL hiding, SSL hardware acceleration, WebDav support and increased interoperability with Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes. -- Java System Portal Server, Mobile Access 6.2: Java System Portal Server, Mobile 6.2 provides mobile- and voice-based portal access to hundreds of mobile and wireless devices. New capabilities in this release include a dynamic content rendering engine, VoiceXML support, client detection support via the JSR 188 specification and the ability to create Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME(TM)) applications and synchronize data to the application over wireless networks. -- Communication and Collaboration Services: Sun is taking productivity to the next level quickly and affordably by accelerating enterprise decision making. Communication and Collaboration Services reduce complexity at approximately half the cost of alternative enterprise solutions by enabling the consolidation of heterogeneous infrastructures and delivering consistent, simple end-user access requiring little or no retraining. Key services include mail, instant messaging, alerts, group, individual and resource scheduling, presence and multi-client support. -- Java System (formerly Sun ONE) Messaging Server 6.0: With over 220 million mailboxes sold, Java System Messaging Server 6.0 is a scalable and flexible platform designed to meet the communications needs of all types of organizations. New features of Java System Messaging Server 6.0 include Local Mail Transport Protocol (LMTP) support, improved Microsoft Outlook and Evolution interoperability, anti-spam and virus protection via integration with Brightmail and SpamAssassin, improved message processing and performance, and both user provisioning and single sign-on through the Java System Identity Server. The end-result is improved integration, manageability and security. -- Java System Calendar Server 6.0: With over 100 million seats sold, Java System Calendar Server 6.0, is a robust time and organizational resource management solution. New features of Java System Calendar Server 6.0 include enhanced integration with Sun's existing Java System products, improved Microsoft Outlook and Evolution interoperability, new SSL support and both user provisioning and single sign-on through the Java System Identity Server. -- Java System Instant Messaging Server 6.1: Java System Instant Messaging Server 6.1 delivers secure real-time messaging, collaboration and presence management capabilities. New features of Java System Instant Messaging Server 6.1 include virtual domain support, Solaris x86 support, and centralized control of end-user capabilities. Integration with Java System Identity Server 6.1 enables enhanced user provisioning, granular services-based access policy, and single sign-on. The end-result is improved manageability and performance. -- Availability Services: High Availability Service pack blends consulting, training and support services to deliver end-to-end support and expertise at every phase of the application lifecycle, leveraging the know-how and experience of Sun consultants, learning specialists and support professionals. -- Sun Software Express for Solaris: Sun is the first company to offer customers high-quality snapshots of their future software features currently under development at regular monthly intervals. Software Express for Solaris is a Web-based program that gives customers a competitive edge, delivering state-of-the-art technologies with online support and a community forum. The program will include features of future versions of Solaris, such as NFS v4, the standards-based Network File System optimized for Internet use, DTrace -- a set of capabilities for rapidly diagnosing problems and bottlenecks in applications and Solaris Zones -- a server virtualization technology that provides security isolation and fault containment. "As a Center of Excellency for computational chemistry, we were immediately interested in participating in Sun's Software Express program for the opportunity to work with advanced technologies in our high-performance computing environment," said Thomas Nau, Infrastructure Department Head, Communication and Information Center, University of Ulm. "This new program is a testament to Sun's continued commitment to enhance its products through customer feedback and R&D, and to keep its customers on the bleeding edge of technology." Pricing and Availability Java Enterprise System is scheduled to ship by end of calendar year 2003 and is available directly through Sun and Sun iForce(SM) partners. The Java System Application Server 7, Enterprise Edition is included with the Java Enterprise System license but requires a separate installation. It will become fully integrated in a future release of the platform. The product is also available immediately for standalone purchase. All Java System products are also available for individual purchase at varying prices. The first product in the Sun Software Express program begins shipping in September with the latest developmental codes of the Solaris operating system, called Software Express for Solaris. Software Express for Solaris is immediately available for download at no charge for non-commercial use or, for an annual subscription fee of $99, as a comprehensive community Web experience that includes email support and rights to use in commercial operations. Developers and IT managers who subscribe to the community program may contribute to the further development of the leading UNIX(R) Solaris Operating System (x86 and SPARC(TM)) by providing both problem reports and feedback. For more details about the program and participation please visit http://www.sun.com/solarisexpress .