Sun Unveils World's First Open Source Microprocessor Under GPL
RSA CONFERENCE, SAN JOSE, Calif. and OPEN SOURCE BUSINESS CONFERENCE, SAN
FRANCISCO, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq:
SUNW) executives Scott McNealy, chairman and CEO, and Jonathan Schwartz,
president and COO, today keynoted the technology industry's premiere security
and open source conferences. Scott McNealy, in his keynote presentation at RSA
Conference, discussed security by design and introduced new Sun solutions that
enable customers to embrace the opportunities provided by Internet expansion.
Kicking off the Open Source Business Conference, Jonathan Schwartz formally
unveiled the roadmap for Sun's OpenSPARC(TM) initiative -- the open source
project for Sun's innovative T1 processor -- and declared it will be licensed
under the GPL.
In his presentation, "Tear Down the Walls - Embrace Risk and Opportunity
Through Security," McNealy discussed the importance of building a secure
infrastructure through a systemic approach that enhances performance and
provides new methods of business development. While the network has changed
the way business is conducted, bringing new opportunities to collaborate,
share and communicate, organizations must be able to mitigate the risks these
new opportunities present. Building walls is not an effective method of
addressing security, risk cannot be avoided.
"Security is an integral component in fueling the Participation Age. If
people can not trust the network they will be less inclined to share," said
Scott McNealy, chairman and CEO of Sun Microsystems. "Bolting on security
pieces is not sustainable in the future. Security needs to be built into every
layer of the infrastructure, from hardware, to software, to the operating
system, without sacrificing flexibility or performance. Security solutions
should extend business opportunities, not restrict them."
McNealy introduced solutions that expand Sun's security platform,
announcing support for Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), the next generation
cryptographic technology selected by the National Security Agency, in Sun
Java(TM) System Web Server 7.0. This integration helps reduce the time it
takes to complete online transactions and offers new opportunities to connect
to the network using devices such as cell phones, PDAs and wireless sensors.
Additionally, Sun announced Solaris(TM) Trusted Extensions, expanding the
industry's most advanced and secure Operating System (OS) to deliver an
additional layer of government-grade security without sacrificing performance.
Solaris Trusted Extensions, building on the Solaris 10 OS, provides security
features traditionally reserved for classified or high-security organizations
to any organization that requires higher levels of protection.
Meanwhile, Schwartz opened the Open Source Business Conference by
detailing the first stages of open sourcing the UltraSPARC T1 processor under
the GPL, publishing the chip architecture and HyperVisor API specification
that will enable multi-OS support and expand the overall market for Sun's
product offerings. This step also opens up the breakthrough CoolThreads(TM)
architecture and enables an entirely new community built around 64-bit, thread
rich implementation to bring more choices and applications to the market
faster.
"Proprietary technology relegates you either to a niche or to the ditch,"
said Jonathan Schwartz, president and COO of Sun Microsystems. "We're growing
our market opportunity by steadfastly open sourcing the entirety of our
software portfolio -- from the Solaris OS to Java developer tools -- and now
we're taking the next step by open sourcing the world's most innovative
microprocessor under the GPL. Giving our customers more choice and driving
community innovation expands our economic opportunity and is forcing our
competitors to sit up and take notice -- we are back on offense."
"The free world welcomes Sun's decision to use the Free Software
Foundation's GNU GPL for the freeing of OpenSPARC," said Richard Stallman,
founder of the Free Software Foundation. "We'd love to see other hardware
companies follow in Sun's footsteps."
More information on the OpenSPARC initiative can be found at
http://www.opensparc.net. More information about Sun's announcements and activities
at RSA Conference and the Open Source Business Conference can be found at
http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/web_sunflash.html .
A singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer"(TM) -- 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 sun.com.
NOTE: Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo, Java, Solaris, Star Office,
N1, CoolThreads, and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks, registered
trademarks, or service marks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States
and other countries.
Contact: Dana Lengkeek
Phone: 650-786-4017
email: dana.lengkeek@sun.com
SOURCE Sun Microsystems, Inc.
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Related links:
http://sun.com
CONTACT:
Dana Lengkeek of Sun Microsystems, Inc.,
+1-650-786-4017, or dana.lengkeek@sun.com
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