Sun, Intel seal deal
It's not quite sleeping with the enemy, but Sun Microsystems Inc. and Intel Corp. certainly make strange bedfellows, especially when it involves Intel's Merced processor.
Sun agreed to make a version of its Solaris operating system for Intel's forthcoming 64-bit processor, code-named Merced, officials from both companies said today.
The announcement holds special interest because Merced is being developed jointly by Intel and Hewlett-Packard Co., Sun's arch-rival in the Unix workstation arena. In addition, Sun and Intel have long sparred for supremacy in the microprocessor performance arena, though Intel's chip technology dominates the mass market.
Intel and Sun also signed a royalty-free cross-licensing pact covering processors, systems and software technologies that will allow them to trade technologies and patents while lessening the risk of lawsuits, officials said.
The deal will help Sun broaden the reach of Solaris, its version of the Unix operating system. In particular, it will help Sun go up against Microsoft Corp. and its Windows NT operating system, which has begun to take hold in the areas of the enterprise that were previously dominated by Unix systems.
"We believe this further validates Solaris as a leader in network software. We provide a powerful alternative to NT, and this also enhances our position as the de facto Unix in the enterprise," said Janpieter Scheerder, president of Sun's SunSoft unit.
Scheerder would not say whether the deal gives Sun the right to produce Merced chips, but he did emphasize that Sun is "committed to Sparc," its own RISC-based hardware.
For Intel, the deal is a further endorsement of its new technology. The Merced architecture is due out in 1999.
"Intel is very excited about Sun's commitment to be in market with us at product launch. It means customers can select their favorite OS and get the full benefit available from Intel servers," said John Miner, vice president and general manager of Intel's Enterprise Server Group. He said the cross-licensing deal "allows us both to innovate in our areas of expertise and let the market decide, rather than be encumbered in litigation and the courts."
Analysts said Solaris is the operating system most capable of running on Merced.
"Hewlett-Packard's efforts are a work in progress, and Windows NT is a ways out. As far as something Intel can use to trot out and show people, Solaris will be available first," said Michael Goulde, an analyst with Patricia Seybold Group in Boston.
HP could not be reached for comment.
NCR Corp., which licensed Solaris this summer, is helping Sun port the OS to Merced and helped negotiate this agreement, sources said.
Deborah Gage of Sm@rtReseller contributed to this story