Sun Also Breaks $2/GB Storage Barrier and Introduces Market's Most Advanced High-End x86 Modular Computing Platform; Customers and Partners, Including AMD Chairman and CEO Hector Ruiz, Join Sun at Celebratory Launch Event -- Sun Microsystems continues to push the barriers of server system design by introducing three breakthrough x64 (x86, 64-bit) products: the world's first 16-way x64 server in a single 4U chassis; the world's first hybrid data server; and the world's first no-compromise blade platform. The three new x64 servers, powered by AMD Opteron processors with Direct Connect Architecture, reinforce Sun's x64 systems leadership and further extend the company's reach into the $25.3B addressable market opportunity for volume and midrange servers. Designed for handling the complexities of datacenter applications, high-performance computing (HPC), virtualization and web-tier applications, the new Sun Fire X4600 server, Sun Fire X4500 data server and Sun Blade 8000 modular system, in conjunction with the Solaris 10 Operating System (OS), are taking 64-bit computing to a place where no company has gone before - offering increased performance, improved energy efficiency, greater manageability and increased datacenter longevity over comparable solutions. No other systems company can provide a total solution of x64 hardware with the Solaris 10 OS, the most advanced operating system on the planet. Similar to the flexibility of Sun's existing x64 servers, these systems also offer customers the option of running standard distributions of Linux and Windows. "The data shows we're growing faster than the competition - the result of Sun's legendary approach to systems innovation," said Jonathan Schwartz, president and chief executive officer of Sun Microsystems. "With more than 5 million licenses distributed into the market, Solaris 10 is clearly opening doors to customers who otherwise feel abandoned by their UNIX vendors. With the launch of these groundbreaking new systems, we're pleased to do more than just fill the void – but instead, to redefine choice in the era of industry standards." Today's announcement builds on Sun's position as the number one UNIX platform server vendor in the world in both revenue and unit shipments, according to the 1QCY2006 Worldwide Servers Quarterly Statistics Database by Gartner Dataquest released on May 23, 2006. The report also showed that Sun was the only top-five server vendor to have positive revenue growth year-to-year, and the only top-three vendor to have positive revenue growth quarter-to-quarter. Sun Fire X4600 Servers Build Asia's Largest Supercomputer Early access and beta customers ACEnet, ARRI, Oregon State University, Thomson Financial and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have begun to test and implement Sun Fire X4600 servers in their datacenters. Tokyo Tech has already installed more than 650 Sun Fire X4600 servers to help build TSUBAME, the 7th fastest supercomputer in the world and the fastest supercomputer in Asia as measured by sustained Linpack performance as of June 2006. In addition, Sun customers such as NewEnergy have reaped massive savings by consolidating 18 servers, 22 power supplies, 44 hard drives and 26GB of RAM – all consuming more than 14,000 watts of energy - onto a single Sun Fire x64 server running VMware virtualization software and using 550 watts of energy. The Sun Fire X4600 server is the industry's only 4-way server that can scale to 16 ways in a single 4U chassis. This makes it possible for customers to build their datacenter to meet today's needs while gaining the flexibility to support tomorrow's business growth. With powerful performance and high throughput in a small footprint, the Sun Fire X4600 server gives customers the power to consolidate more than 50 x86 servers onto a single Sun Fire X4600 server, all the while offering comparable prices to competitive 4-processor x64 servers from HP and IBM. Additionally, Sun's new server, powered by AMD Opteron processors with Direct Connect Architecture, delivers more than twice the performance of Intel Xeon MP-based systems, such as the HP ProLiant DL580G4 server, and also offers twice the density of an HP ProLiant DL585 server. Leading industry partners and independent software vendors (ISVs), including Algorithmics, BEA Systems, SAP, SAS, Symantec and VMware have weighed in with early strong support. For quotes and more details, please visit: its Web site. Sun Fire X4500 Server: Defining the Data Server Category The Sun Fire X4500 server is the world's first hybrid data server combining a 4-way server powered by AMD Opteron processors with the industry's highest throughput rates and storage density at up to five times the density of traditional solutions, at approximately half the cost of alternative solutions. The new system offers up to 24 terabytes (TB) of storage in seven inches of rack space, with costs as low as $2 per gigabyte, making it ideal for customers that have demanding, high-bandwidth applications such as HPC, data warehousing/business intelligence, digital media streaming, digital surveillance and data analysis. Sun Blade 8000 Modular System: World's First No-Compromise Blade Platform The Sun Blade 8000 modular system is the only system designed specifically for high-end x86 computing, delivering the performance, price and flexibility of top-of-the-line rackmount servers and the serviceability and efficiency of blade servers. It is an ideal datacenter compute engine for server consolidation and virtualization, business applications, large-scale HPC deployments and high-requirement databases in Solaris, Linux or Windows environments. The Sun Blade 8000 modular system can provide up to double the system longevity and double the I/O throughput versus leading blade servers on the market, in 25% less space. Unlike traditional blade solutions, it can also outperform rackmount servers with up to double the I/O throughput, 50% less space and up to 40% lower power requirements. These benefits can deliver a 49% reduction in ongoing environmental costs at an acquisition price that is up to 60% lower than comparably configured rackmount and blade servers. Sun x64 Systems Hold More than 100 World Records The Sun Fire X4600 server powered by AMD Opteron processors with Direct Connect Architecture has already set four world-record performance results on leading industry benchmarks that are reflective of the compute-intensive workloads used in manufacturing, bio-informatics and object oriented databases. Details and additional information on Sun Fire X4600 server benchmarks can be found at: its Web site. The complete list of 100+ record-breaking performance results achieved by Sun's x64 platforms can be found at: its Web site. System Manageability Matters The entire Sun x64 line features an Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) Service Processor that decreases the complexity of managing the data center by handling all management, monitoring and control functions. ILOM combined with Sun N1 System Manager and Sun N1 Service Provisioning Systems creates a unique management architecture with high levels of automation, which allows IT staff to focus their time on other projects. For more information on Sun N1 System Manager, please visit: its Web site. Sun Services Help Customers Stay Ahead Sun has a comprehensive portfolio of world class services to keep customers informed, supported and moving at full speed with their new x64 enterprise-class servers announced today. To accelerate successful customer deployments, Sun also announced the new x64 Business Services: Implement, Optimize and Enterprise Application Ready. These recommended service combinations include: Sun Enterprise Installation Service, Sun iRunbook Service, Sun System Monitoring, Sun Update Connection Enterprise, Sun Application Readiness Service, Sun Cluster Implementation Service and Sun Educational Services. For more information, please go to: its Web site. For more information on the Sun Fire X4600 server, Sun Fire X4500 data server and the Sun Blade 8000 modular system, including pricing, availability and promotions, please visit: its Web site. Sun is now compliant with the European Union RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive, effective July 1, 2006. Every part of Sun -- from partners to suppliers to employees to executives -- is committed to meeting all governmental and environmental mandates wherever its products are shipped. Sun regularly makes proactive changes to its own products in anticipation of the needs of its customers and for the good of the environment; RoHS is one of many environmental regulations with which Sun's compliance is required. For more information, please visit: its Web site.