Solaris 10 OS New Feature: Sun's Linux Breakthrough Compatibility Technology

August 4, 2004

Sun Drives Linux Interoperability With Breakthrough Application Compatibility Technology

Sun Microsystems, Inc., a leading contributor to the open source community, today previewed a new feature of the Solaris 10 OS, code named Project Janus. This new technology will allow customers to run Linux binary applications unchanged on the Solaris OS, helping to reduce development and administration costs of operating in a heterogeneous environment without sacrificing performance, scalability or manageability.

Project Janus will provide customers with mixed Solaris OS and Linux environments broader access to applications written for both operating systems and allow them to take advantage of in-house designed or independent software vendor (ISV) applications for Linux that are not currently available on the Solaris OS. Sun has run a number of applications such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, Oracle 9.2.i, SAS, BEA WebLogic and others using Project Janus. A complete list of tested applications will be available when the Solaris 10 operating system is released later this year. Additionally, Linux interoperability will enable customers to benefit from the security, scalability and reliability of the enterprise-ready Solaris OS without having to acquire additional x86-based hardware.

"Sun's commitment to Linux and the Linux community is stronger than ever," said John Loiacono, Sun's executive vice president for software. "Our strategy has always been to provide the very best interoperability for heterogeneous environments. Now customers can leverage all the breakthrough attributes of the Solaris 10 operating system with existing investments in the Linux applications at a price lower than what they are paying for Linux. There is no longer a reason to make sacrifices when choosing between Linux and Solaris."

Project Janus is being demonstrated this week at LinuxWorld (Sun booth #1247 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco). This groundbreaking new technology is one of more than 600 new features in the Solaris 10 OS. Unlike Linux emulations that act as interpreters of the Linux code for other platforms, Project Janus will enable the Solaris OS to run Linux applications natively on x86 platforms, greatly enhancing performance.

Sun Simplifies Solaris OS/Linux Compatibility At Every Level

Project Janus is designed to meet a variety of interoperability needs: IT managers have greater efficiencies through a more interoperable Solaris OS/Linux environment; developers can use a single workstation/server to develop, test, and deploy for both environments; system administrators can transfer common administration skills between platforms; and when used with N1(tm) Grid Container software, customers can create a virtual Linux environment on a Solaris OS system, isolating Solaris OS and Linux applications from each other and from system faults. Project Janus is designed for 100 percent compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 (RHEL 3).

Additional highlights of Project Janus include:
-- Customers can run Linux applications with all the benefits of Solaris
10 OS, including a powerful tool for analyzing and diagnosing problems
in real-time (Dynamic Tracing), a breakthrough approach to service
availability with online error detection and auto recovery (Predictive
Self Healing), a self-managing OS file system technology that provides
16 billion times more capacity than current file systems (Dynamic File
System), and many others.
-- Security: Customers running Linux applications can benefit from key
Solaris OS security advantages, including Solaris Rights Management,
Process Rights Management and N1 Grid Container software. These
capabilities help enable rigorous policy-based access, distribution,
and execution of processes and services.
-- Lower costs: Increased Solaris OS/Linux interoperability can enable
administration of multiple platforms with common skill sets, cross-
platform development efficiencies, and overall migration economies
without acquiring additional hardware.

Source: Sun Microsystems, Inc.