Sun Breaks New Design Ground With Preview of World’s First Four-Socket, 2U Quad-Core Server

New Servers Powered by Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processor 7300 Series Extend the Solaris OS Deeper into Mainstream x64 Market.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) today previewed the first and only four-socket, 2U quad-core system on the market from a tier-one vendor, powered by the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor 7300 series that Intel announced separately today. At the processor launch in San Francisco, Intel also endorsed the Solaris Operating System (OS) as the only mission-critical UNIX operating system for the Intel Xeon processor, recommending that OEMs and systems builders show support for the Solaris OS on Xeon-based platforms.

The next-generation server Sun demonstrated today, ideal for network services consolidation, compute services and database applications, will be widely available within 60 days. The server incorporates unique design elements that provide customers with extremely high density and energy efficiency, resulting in substantial savings in space and power costs. In the future, Sun will offer various systems based on the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor 7300 series to meet the needs of multiple market segments.

“Sun’s mission is to design and deliver the industry’s most innovative, high performance, energy-efficient systems on the market,” said John Fowler, executive vice president of Sun Microsystems’ Systems Group. “The Quad-Core Intel Xeon 7300 series platform enables us to build a whole new range of servers that integrate the very best features in system design, virtualization and system management. We will soon be introducing the industry’s first 2U, four-socket quad-core systems based on the Xeon processor 7300 series, delivering benefits of common manageability, serviceability and maximum performance.”

“In addition to announcing the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor 7300 series today, Intel is reinforcing our commitment to the Solaris OS as a mainstream OS and the enterprise-class, mission critical UNIX OS for Intel Xeon processor-based servers,” said Tom Kilroy, vice president and general manager of Intel Corporation’s Digital Enterprise Group. “The Sun system that is being demonstrated today, based on the Xeon processor 7300 series, showcases how Sun’s free and open source Solaris OS and system design further enhances datacenter efficiency and utilization.”

For more information on the Sun and Intel alliance, please visit: http://www.sun.com/intel