Sun Grants Princeton University 100,000 CPU Hours on the Sun Grid

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- December 12, 2005 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNW), today announced Princeton University is a recipient of the Sun Grid Education Grant for 100,000 hours of central processing units (CPUs) on the Sun Grid Compute Utility. Sun Grid helps customers and partners derive immediate benefits from an open, grid-based computing infrastructure on a utility basis by giving them more choice and control over how they purchase and leverage IT. To date, Princeton, a leading research institution and undergraduate college, has used nearly 11,000 CPU hours on the Sun Grid Compute Utility.

Sun awarded Princeton the Sun Grid Education Grant to further expand Princeton’s cutting-edge research to verify new numerical algorithms for astrophysical gas dynamics running on Sun Grid. Powered by Sun Grid using the Solaris 10 Operating System (OS), Princeton conducted its tests at resolutions that previously were not possible, without the long-term lifecycle costs related to capital, management, depreciation and floor space. This 100,000 hour grant will be available for Princeton to use as they need, without reservation or intervention from Sun, accessible via the Sun Grid. The grant will take effect January 1, 2006.

“I’m very impressed with Sun Grid’s rapid turnaround time -- there’s no waiting in a queue for access to computing power,” said Thomas A. Gardiner, Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University. “Because we’ll be able to access massive compute power whenever we need with Sun Grid, our astrophysics research is now less constrained by IT infrastructure issues. Sun’s donation is a big boost in our efforts to unlock the mysteries of the universe.”

“Innovation is what fueled this major breakthrough that led to the introduction of Sun Grid, and it’s this same spirit of fostering innovation in the scientific community that is behind our grant to Princeton,” said Stuart Wells, executive vice president, of utility computing, Sun Microsystems. “Princeton’s Astrophysics Department is harnessing the compute power of Sun Grid to conduct its ground-breaking research at an unprecedented scale and pace. From education institutions to financial establishments to oil and gas companies, Sun Grid is drastically simplifying the way organizations select, acquire, and use next generation IT infrastructure.”

About Sun Grid

Sun Grid helps customers and partners to derive immediate benefits from an open, grid-based computing infrastructure on a utility basis by giving them more choice and control over how they purchase and leverage IT. The Sun Grid offerings include the Sun Grid Compute Utility, at $1 (USD) per cpu-hr, and the Sun Grid Storage Utility.

About Princeton University

Princeton simultaneously strives to be one of the leading research universities and the most outstanding undergraduate college in the world. As a research university, it seeks to achieve the highest levels of distinction in the discovery and transmission of knowledge and understanding, and in the education of graduate students.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

A singular vision -- “The Network Is The Computer” -- guides Sun in the development of technologies that power the world’s most important markets. Sun’s philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com.

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Sun Grid, Java, StarOffice, Solaris, and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Contact Information

Brett Smith

Sun Microsystems, Inc.

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