| Sun and Canonical to bring Ubuntu 8.04 to x86 Servers |
Apr. 03, 2008
Sun was the first major company to give Ubuntu a shot at making the big server show in May 2006. Then, the deal was all about putting Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Long Term Support) on the UltraSPARC T1 processor on Sun Fire T1000 and T2000 servers. The 2008 version of the partnership between Sun and Ubuntu's parent company, Canonical, is all about putting the forthcoming UTS version of Ubuntu, 8.04, on Sun's x86 servers.
Ubuntu 8.04, however, will no longer be officially supported on SUN's SPARC processor line. Matt Zimmerman, Ubuntu's chief technology officer and chairman of the Ubuntu Technical Board, announced in a Technical Board report March 11 that "the officially released architectures for Ubuntu 8.04 will be i386 and amd64. The SPARC port will continue to be provided with build infrastructure, and Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, 7.04 and 7.10 will continue to enable SPARC deployments well into the future, but there will not be an official Ubuntu 8.04 release for SPARC."
According to sources close to both Sun and Canonical, the reason for this shift from SPARC to AMD Opteron is that there has been little demand for Ubuntu on SPARC. Sun's SPARC servers will, of course, still be available with Solaris.
Having made this shift, Sun is making a strong commitment to Ubuntu on its AMD server family. Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Ubuntu and Ubuntu Linux's founder, said that "Sun will be certifying Ubuntu on a range of Sun x86 servers, not SPARC servers."
The two companies are doing more than just officially certifying and supporting Ubuntu on Sun's AMD-based servers. In an e-mail to Linux-Watch, Shuttleworth said, "In addition to the x86 server certification effort, we have done extensive work around the Java stack in Ubuntu. 8.04 LTS will include packages of OpenJDK, and we expect it to be fully TCK [Technology Compatibility Kit]-certified as a basis for additional work we are doing around Glassfish, NetBeans and other Java components. A goal is to make Ubuntu 8.04 LTS even better for Java-based Web app servers."
Ubuntu, which is most popular as a desktop Linux operating system, will also soon be supported and certified on Dell servers. Dell was also the first major PC vendor to deliver any pre-installed Linux, Ubuntu 7.04, on its desktop and laptop lines.
With these moves, Canonical continues to show its intentions of being an enterprise Linux player as well as its popularity with individual Linux users.
—Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Do you have comments on this story?
Talkback here
NOTE: Please post your comments regarding our articles using the above link. Be sure to use this article's title as the "Subject" in your posts. Before you create a new thread, please check to see if a discussion thread is already running on the article you plan to comment on. Thanks!
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
4 Legal Reasons to Control Internet Access
The Internet is obviously a valuable resource for many organizations. However, many are exposed to legal liability concerns because they fail to control Internet access. Learn if you're safe in this white paper.
Rapidly Resolve J2EE Application Problems
Whether you are in the process of building J2EE applications or have J2EE applications already running in production, you must ensure that they deliver the expected ROI. Learn how in this white paper.
Load Testing 2.0 for Web 2.0
There are many unknowns in stress testing Web 2.0 applications. Find out how to test the performance of Web 2.0 in this white paper.
Build Better Games Online
For the game infrastructure providers, life is complex. Making money from games has become more complicated. Why? Find out in this white paper.
Building a Virtual Infrastructure from Servers to Storage
This white paper discusses the virtual storage solutions that reduce cost, increase storage utilization, and address the challenges of backing up and restoring Server environments.
Gaining Faster Wireless Connections with WiMAX
Welcome to what is quickly becoming the hyperconnected world where anything that would benefit from being connected to the network will be connected. Learn more in this white paper.
Is Your Desktop a Security Threat?
The new wave of sophisticated crimeware not only targets specific companies, but also targets desktops and laptops as backdoor entryways into those business’ operations and resources. Learn how to stay safe in this white paper.
Increasing SAN Reliability by 100 Percent
Storage area networks (SAN) are a strong part of storage plans. Learn how to increase your reliability and uptime by 100 percent in this case study.
|
|
|
|
|
news feed