SANTA CLARA, CA -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. introduced Capacity on Demand 2.0, a dramatically enhanced "pay-as-you-go" computing option that lowers system acquisition costs while increasing scalability and flexibility in the data center. Customers can now purchase Sun Fire[tm] Midframe and high-end systems configured to scale instantly, simply and in small increments - one processor at a time - when user demands increase. Unlike competitors who charge a premium for similar capabilities, Sun helps enable customers to take advantage of the flexibility provided by COD 2.0 at no extra cost. Today's introduction of COD 2.0 is coupled with the debut of the Sun Fire Link interconnect. Together, these offerings bolster Sun's commitment to help customers manage complexity, maximize utilization of resources and scale their IT infrastructure efficiently as their data centers move toward virtualization. With COD 2.0, Sun brings an enhanced version of its popular enterprise computing feature, formerly available on the Sun Enterprise[tm] 10000 server, to the UltraSPARC® III-powered Sun Fire 3800 through the Sun Fire 15K servers. COD 2.0 helps enable customers to install processor and memory resources on their Sun Fire systems at the time of purchase and only pay for those resources when they are used. Further, the self-monitoring capability of COD 2.0 virtually eliminates the need for remote system monitoring and usage reporting. "With ever-tightening IT budgets, vendors need to remove as many barriers to entry as possible," said Vernon Turner, group vice president, global enterprise server solutions of IDC. "By offering customers lower up-front costs and the ability to scale with ease, Sun is delivering one of the strongest and most compelling capacity on demand capabilities in the market." "Everyone needs to be prepared for growth. With COD 2.0, retail customers can handle the holiday rush, educational institutions are ready for back-to-school and banks can service an influx of new customers," said Steve Campbell, vice president of marketing, Enterprise System Products for Sun Microsystems. "By lowering system acquisition costs and eliminating the need for usage reporting, Sun's COD offering makes it easy to meet the fluctuating demands of the market."