Sun to Ship Windows Server

Sun Microsystems will begin to sell servers with Windows Server preinstalled and will open an interoperability laboratory on Microsoft’s Redmond, WA, campus. The closer relationship could give Microsoft partners new options for server hardware, as well as give Sun access to a larger sales channel through Microsoft partners.

Sun made its reputation on the back of its high-end SPARC microprocessors, high-performance multiprocessor computer designs, and the Java programming language and virtual machine. The systems are popular for processor-intensive corporate, government, and scientific applications.

For most of its history the company supported Unix and Sun’s Unix variants, including the Solaris OS, which runs on both SPARC and x86 computers. The company’s former CEO, Scott McNealy, was a vocal critic of Microsoft, but in 2004 he made peace with the company as part of a legal settlement with Microsoft that included a commitment by Sun to improve interoperability of its products with Windows Server. Shortly thereafter, Sun began supporting Windows Server on its hardware and has had some success positioning its servers as Windows servers, even appearing on stage at some Microsoft launch events.