Sun's next goal: A Linux ecosystem

The server and software company launched its servers based on its own UltraSparc T1 "Niagara" chips in December, a major part of a drive to restore its lost lustre and financial strength.

But alongside the hardware launch came a more quiet software push: an attempt to make the Linux and BSD Unix open-source operating systems a serious option for buyers of Sparc-based computers. To promote the technology combination, Sun is trying to coax an accompanying software business into existence.

Sun has had some experience building such software "ecosystems." For example, it's in the process of resurrecting a version of its own Solaris operating system for computers with x86 processors such as Advanced Micro Devices' Opteron. But Sun, which already has several irons in the fire, faces formidable challenges in the Linux and BSD effort.

"The time for Linux on Sparc as any kind of major market phenomenon has come and gone -- over five years ago now, maybe longer," Illuminata analyst Jonathan Eunice said. "It just serves to split the available development resources."

Through projects such as UltraLinux and Aurora Linux, Linux and some BSD variants can already run on Sparc processors. But the products are not commercially relevant for most potential customers. The two major Linux sellers have already pulled back -- Red Hat dropped its Sparc support in 2000, and Novell Suse's last supported version was released in 2002.

Still, Sun has no shortage of gumption. "Linux on Sparc is dead serious," President Jonathan Schwartz said in an e-mail interview. "I'm personally talking to leaders in the community. BSD, too."

The effort is part of Sun's attempt to restore its relevance and financial fortunes by shaking its image as a proprietary technology company. That legacy from the '90s hurt the Santa Clara, California-based company when it missed out on two major growth trends that spanned the rest of the server industry: machines built with x86 processors such as Opteron and Intel's Xeon, and the open-source Linux operating system.

Now, one 180-degree turn later, Sun is making its Solaris an open-source project and plans to do the same with its UltraSparc processor. "To be successful, Solaris has to go beyond Sparc. But also to be successful, Sparc has to go beyond Solaris," said David Yen, who as executive vice president of Sun's Sparc server group is trying to make the chip family "the new industry standard."