Windows OS unites longtime rivals, Microsoft & Sun

One-time bitter rivals in computing industry, Sun Microsystems and Microsoft Corporation, now plan to reunite on server technologies. In an unusual agreement, Microsoft on Wednesday cemented a broad partnership with its one time rival Sun to harmonize their products.

While announcing their agreement, the two companies said that they have entered into a broad partnership under which Sun will start selling server computers with Microsoft’s ubiquitous Windows operating system.

Under the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) deal between the two companies, Sun Microsystems, which earlier this year had agreed to use Intel's Xeon chips to power its servers, will be providing Windows Server 2003 on its x86-architecture based x64 server systems, which currently include the Blade 6000 and 8000, the Fire X2200 M2, the X4000 series and V40z systems.

Santa Clara, California-based server and software maker said its servers will come pre-installed with Microsoft’s Windows operating system, rather than forcing customers to install the world's wildly popular OS on their own.

Although, Sun previously has acknowledged that its customers can run Windows on the company's x64 servers, but it did not provide systems with pre-installed
Windows.

"One hundred percent of our customers use Solaris and Windows, so it was a very natural thing for us to work together on," John Fowler, Sun's Executive Vice President of Systems, said yesterday in a teleconferencing. “We have many partners as well as customers that want to use Sun's platforms together with Microsoft's Windows.”

Besides offering Windows Server 2003 on Sun’s 64-bit servers, which use processors from Intel and AMD, both companies will collaborate on IP television (IPTV) and will cooperate to make their virtualization technologies work well with each other's operating systems.

"Today’s announcement is another example of Microsoft’s commitment to 64-bit computing,” Microsoft senior vice president of servers and tools Bob Muglia said referring the Sun's 64-bit x86 server line. "The Sun hardware platform is an excellent foundation for Windows-based enterprise solutions."

The new agreement will see Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, adding Sun's Solaris operating system to its so-called virtualization software. The software giant said that it will collaborate with Sun to make it sure that "Solaris runs well as a guest on Microsoft virtualization technologies and that Windows Server runs well as a guest on Sun's virtualization technologies."

There is also an IPTV partnership under which the two sides will work together to sell Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV platform through Sun's servers.

Sun and Microsoft will build an "Interoperability Center" on Microsoft's Redmond, California campus, which will act as a "working lab" for Windows on Sun benchmarks and sales tools. Visitors can go to the area to see the projects focused on Windows on Sun x64 systems are working effectively.

The two companies expect to make Windows Server 2003 available on Sun x64 systems within three months.

Sun shares rose 5 cents, to $5.66 from $5.61, in Wednesday trading, while Microsoft shares finished unchanged at $28.93.