Today's focus:

Solaris 10 heads for Linux territory

By Thomas Henderson

Sun is gunning for some of Linux's rising popularity in the enterprise with the newest release of its Unix derivative, Solaris. In this Clear Choice Test, we found that Solaris 10 has been torn from its SPARC-only roots now runs very quickly and very easily on generic 32-bit x86 Intel- and 64-bit Advanced Micro Devices-based servers. It also has new security features and supports a range of Linux applications. And it's free.

Solaris 10 has a variety of installation options, ranging from an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink option that includes OEM add-ons to a developers' option to a slim "networking" install. Most enterprise deployments would likely require a developer grouping for the initial installation because it contains necessary compilers, applications and development tools.

We installed Solaris 10 on all 10 of the 32-bit and 64-bit servers in our labs with only very minor problems.

For the full performance test results, see: http://www.nwfusion.com/reviews/2005/022805solaristest.html?nlr(approve sites)

Copyright Network World, Inc., 2005