================================================================= Sun Microsystems Computer Company (SMCC) announces Solaris(R) 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 as the new default release of the Solaris 2.x operating environment for SPARC(R) systems. Here are the key things you need to know: QUALITY: Sun's highest quality Solaris release ever PERFORMANCE: Overall increased desktop, NFS, TCP/IP, and DBMS performance, relative to Solaris 2.x and Solaris 1.x NEW FEATURES: A host of new features make this Sun's most feature-rich Solaris release to date. Copackaged Wabi(TM) 2.0, NetWorker for Solaris, and Online: DiskSuite(TM) 3.0 software packages provide additional value and functionality at no extra cost. Includes new standards (Energy Star and XPG4) Supercedes Solaris 2.3 Hardware: 8/94 and previous Solaris 2.3 releases because it is a functional superset (i.e. supports same features, functions, hardware platforms, and locales) of those releases Binary compatible with existing Solaris 2.3 application software Sun Platforms This Solaris release supports all current Sun platforms Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 or Solaris 1.1.2 is required to support the new hyperSPARC(TM) 100MHz CPU based SPARCstation(TM) 20 Model HS11 system and associated CPU upgrade modules for SPARCstation 10 and SPARCstation 20 Wabi 2.0 is now copackaged and requires a Microsoft(R) Windows Version 3.1 or 3.11 license to access the necessary Dynamically Linked Libraries which ship with Microsoft Windows ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sun Microsystems Computer Company (SMCC) announces Solaris(R) 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 as the new default release of the Solaris 2.x operating environment for SPARC(R) systems. Here are the key things you need to know: QUALITY: ========= Sun's highest quality Solaris release ever. Sun went to unprecedented lengths to design-in and test for QUALITY through: o Integration of all key/applicable Solaris 2.3 patches o Exhaustive internal testing among multiple engineering, quality assurance, system engineers, and end user groups using a variety of system configurations o Extensive external testing with end users, ISVs, and OEMs using a wide variety of applications and system configurations PERFORMANCE: ============= Overall increased performance relative to Solaris 2.3, based on internal tests. Specifics: o Desktop: More than 16 percent performance increase over Solaris 2.3, eight percent increase over Solaris 1.x, in overall desktop performance (text scrolling, window manipulation, graphics display speed), based on Deskbench benchmarks o NFS: 26 percent performance increase over Solaris 2.3, based on LADDIS network throughput tests o TCP/IP: More than 40 percent performance increase over Solaris 2.3 o DBMS: 15 percent performance increase over Solaris 2.3 NEW FEATURES: ============== A host of new features make this Sun's most feature-rich Solaris release to date. Copackaged Wabi(TM) 2.0, NetWorker for Solaris, and Online: DiskSuite(TM) 3.0 software packages provide additional value and functionality at no extra cost o Wabi 2.0 is copackaged (i.e. no coupon) with all Media Kits at no charge, allowing users to run the most popular Windows productivity and workgroup applications. New Wabi 2.0 features include: o Enhanced quality and performance o More certified applications. Wabi 2.0 now supports 23 of the most popular (accounting for 82 percent of all Windows application shipments) Windows applications o New workgroup application support includes Lotus Notes(TM), Microsoft Mail, and cc:Mail(TM) software o New office suite product support includes Microsoft Office and Lotus SmartSuite o Supports latest versions of Wabi 1.1 certified applications o Windows 3.11 support, including applets o Additional printer, font server, internationalization, and localization support o Motif(R) Installation GUI and CUI improve installation ease and lower administration costs. Improved Upgrade function allows adding and removing packages during upgrade o Motif 1.2.3 runtime libraries on Solaris 2.4 CD and Motif Toolkit (w/distributable Motif Window Manager) in the Solaris 2.4 SDK allow ISVs/VEUs standardized on Motif to ensure upward-compatiblity with CDE Motif o Full EPA Energy Star compliance, plus innovative Suspend/Resume power management support (previously available on SPARCstation(TM) Voyager(TM) systems only) has been expanded to support standard configurations of all current Sun(R) desktop workstations (SPARCclassic(TM)X, SPARCclassic, SPARCstation 5, SPARCstation 10, SPARCstation 20, and SPARCstation Voyager systems). These features save energy by enabling a desktop workstation to automatically save state, suspend operations, and enter a reduced-power state, then later resume operation quickly and without rebooting. Sun is the first, and currently only, UNIX workstation vendor to offer Energy Star compliant systems o POSIX 1003.2 on Solaris 2.4 CD for enhanced shell script portability across multiple vendors' hardware and operating systems o XPG4 Base functionality - a crucial step to full SPEC 1170 functionality. XPG4 Branding pending o Kodak Photo CD(TM) support enables cost-effective reading (using XIL) and integration of online photographic images into documents o XGL(TM) 3.1 Transparent Overlay support enables faster handling of menus and monochrome overlays by eliminating repainting of underlying graphics o AccessX provides special keyboard features which allow physically handicapped users to use a standard keyboard and eliminate the need for a mouse input device o Support for new Sun hyperSPARC(TM) 100-MHz CPU based SPARCstation 20 systems and associated CPU upgrade modules for SPARCstation 10 and SPARCstation 20 systems o Solaris 2.4 for both SPARC and x86 platforms is now based on a single, merged source code base, ensuring that future SPARC/x86 Solaris releases share the same features, functionality, and APIs o Server Media Kits include NetWorker for Solaris (Single-Server, Version 4.0.2) at no charge, adding automated, online, verified network backup capability and simplified system administration o Server Media Kits include Online: DiskSuite 3.0 at no charge for increased availability and performance via Logging UNIX(R) File System (for faster reboots and increased NFS/database peformance), disk mirroring, disk striping, and logical volume management (allows for easy, flexible file system growth) o Kernel Asynchronous I/O (KAIO) improves database server performance by handling asynchronous I/O at the kernel (vs. library) level o In-kernel rlogin/telnet provides faster Server response and ability to support more users in large multi-user environments OTHER: ******* o Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 products are modeled after the Solaris 2.3 product line, but include two new Solaris 2.x-to-2.4 Software Developer Kit (SDK) upgrade products o Supercedes Solaris 2.3 Hardware: 8/94 and previous Solaris 2.3 releases because it is a functional superset (i.e. supports same features, functions, hardware platforms, and locales) of those releases. o Binary compatible with existing Solaris 2.3 application software o Customers with appropriate SunService software support contracts will receive Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 automatically HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE CONSIDERATIONS +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ o This Solaris release supports all current Sun platforms o Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 or Solaris 1.1.2 is required to support the new hyperSPARC(TM) 100-MHz CPU based SPARCstation 20 systems and associated CPU upgrade modules for SPARCstation 10 and SPARCstation 20 systems o Wabi 2.0 is now copackaged and requires a Microsoft(R) Windows Version 3.1 or 3.11 license to access the necessary Dynamically Linked Libraries which ship with Microsoft Windows. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ++++++++++++++++++++++ Q. What specifically is on the "SMCC Updates" CD? A. The SMCC Updates CD (formerly, "SPARC Vendors' Software" CD in Solaris 2.3 releases, but no longer has non-Sun software) provides SMCC-unique content, including: o Energy Star support and Suspend/Resume power management functionality for selected Sun desktop systems o Full support for SPARCstation Voyager features o SMCC AnswerBook(R) online documentation o In-kernel telnet/rlogin functionality Q. Will Solaris 2.4 Source Code be made available? A. Solaris 2.4 CD Source Code will be available on a strictly-controlled basis, just as with past Solaris releases. Source code for the "SMCC Updates" CD will not be made available. Q. Is the Motif Window Manager included as part of the Motif 1.2.3 runtime libraries that are included with Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 Media? A. No. However, the Motif Window Manager (MWM) is included in the Solaris 2.4 Software Developer's Kit (SDK). MWM is freely-distributable with Solaris 2.4 applications and fee-based distributable with Solaris 2.3 applications. Q. Why is a Microsoft Windows Version 3.1 or 3.11 license required for Wabi 2.0? A. The license is needed to access the necessary Dynamically Linked Libraries (DLLs) which ship with Microsoft Windows. Q. Will the Amdahl's A+Edition product be available for Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94? A. Yes. A+Edition 1.1 for Solaris 2.4 Enterprise Server is available from Sun. See the appropriate November 8, 1994 Sun Intro for details. Q. In what way is Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 a functional superset of previous Solaris 2.3 releases? A. Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 supports the same platforms, functions, features, and locales, as Solaris 2.3, Hardware: 8/94 and earlier Solaris 2.3 releases. No functionality has been deleted, but new functionality has been added. Q. Will Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 be provided to customers with SunService software support contracts? A. Customer's with software Support Contracts receive this release automatically. Contact SunService for details. Q. What is "Energy Star compliance" and "Suspend/Resume" functionality? A. "Energy Star compliant" computer systems meet United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) energy saving guidelines, which dictate that a system be able to automatically go into a reduced-power state at a programmed time of day, or after a period of inactivity. Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 exceeds the minimal Energy Star functionality by supporting innovative Suspend/Resume features. Suspend allows a system to take a snapshot of its current state (i.e. remember which applications are running, where each window is, what page of a document you are working on,...) before going into reduced power state. Resume allows the system to resume where it left off quickly, and without having to reboot. This is the same Suspend/Resume functionality that SPARCstation Voyager has always had. Q. What locales will the Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 Media Kits be offered in? A. Desktop and Server media kits are available for all locales (U.S. English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, French, German, Italian, Unified Spanish, Swedish). Media 10-Packs are offered for the U.S. English locale only. Q. Will Solaris 2.3 Hardware: 8/94 , Solaris 2.3 Hardware: 5/94, or Solaris 2.3 Edition II be transitioned as soon as Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 begins shipping? A. No. Exact transition schedules are to be determined - until then, the previous Solaris 2.3 releases remain orderable via release-specific order numbers. Q. With the advent of Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94, will today's Solaris 2.x AnswerBook, Upgrade, Source, and SDK product structures, default order numbers, or pricing change? A. There are some changes to product structures, mostly minor, and mostly to replace Solaris 2.3 content with Solaris 2.4 content. The default order numbers and pricing remain unchanged, except as noted in Section III. Ordering Instructions ++++++++++++++++++++++ o Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 products are NOT ORDERABLE PRIOR TO THE FIRST CUSTOMER SHIP DATES listed below. If you order prior to FCS, you will receive Solaris 2.3/Solaris 2.3 Hardware: 8/94 products, NOT Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 products. FCS date: o December 12, 1994 US o January 16, 1995 Europe o January 23, 1995 Japan o Estimated: February 1995 Asia o Note that Solaris 2.4 Hardware: 11/94 products have comparable pricing to the Solaris 2.3 Hardware: 8/94 products, except as noted below o Desktop Media Kits include the Solaris 2.4 CD/documentation, the SMCC Updates CD/documentation, and the Wabi 2.0 product o Server Media kits contain the above, plus the Solaris 2.4 System Administrator AnswerBook CD/documentation, the Networker for Solaris, and the Online: DiskSuite 3.0 software packages o US 10-Pack Media Kits contain 10 Solaris 2.4 CDs, 10 SMCC Updates CDs, 1 set of Solaris 2.4 documentation, 1 set of SMCC Updates documentation, 1 set of Solaris 2.3 System Administrator AnswerBook CD/documentation, the Wabi 2.0 product, the Networker for Solaris, and the Online: DiskSuite 3.0 software packages Order Description Number =================================================================== MEDIA KITS (Media only - no Solaris license): US English Desktop Media SOLD-C US English Server Media SOLS-C US Media 10-Pack SOLS-C10 Solaris Encryption Kit SOLE-P French Desktop Media SOLD-02-S French Server Media SOLS-02-S German Desktop Media SOLD-03-S German Server Media SOLS-03-S Italian Desktop Media SOLD-74-S Italian Server Media SOLS-74-S Spanish Desktop Media SOLD-72-S Spanish Server Media SOLS-72-S Swedish Desktop Media SOLD-06-S Swedish Server Media SOLS-06-S Japanese Desktop Media SOLD-46-S Japanese Server Media SOLS-46-S Korean Desktop Media SOLD-45-S Korean Server Media SOLS-45-S Taiwanese Desktop Media SOLD-44-S Taiwanese Server Media SOLS-44-S Chinese Desktop Media SOLD-47-S Chinese Server Media SOLS-47-S DOCUMENTATION: Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-ED Sol 2.x Full Manual Set SOL-D Sol 2.x Sys Admin Online Doc SOLSA-P French Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-02-ED German Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-03-ED Italian Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-74-ED Spanish Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-72-ED Swedish Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-06-ED Japan Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-46-ED Japan Sol Doc, English Ver SOL-46-TD Japanese Sol Full Manual Set SOL-46-D Japan Sys Admin Answerbook SOLSA-46-P Japan Sys Admin Doc Set SOLSA-46-D Japan Sol Developer Answerbook SOLDA-46-P Japan Sol Developer Doc Set SOL-46-DD Asia Sol User/Developer Doc SOL-A1-D DEVELOPER KITS: Sol 2.x Software Dev Kit SDK-P Sol 2.x SW Dev Kit, 10-User SDK-P10 Sol 2.x SW Dev Kit Upgrade* SDK-PU Sol 2.x SW Dev Kit 10-Usr Upgr* SDK-P10U "*" indicates that item is new to the Solaris 2.x product line or has a new price, relative to Solaris 2.3 products. RELEASE-SPECIFIC ORDER NUMBERS FOR *PAST* SOLARIS RELEASES +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTE: USE THE BELOW ORDER NUMBERS *ONLY* IF YOU NEED SOLARIS 2.3 PRODUCTS Solaris 2.3 Hardware: 8/94 will continue to be available via the following release-specific Order Numbers: Order List Discount Description Number Price Category =================================================================== MEDIA KITS: US English Desktop Media SOLD-2.3AUG94 US English Server Media SOLS-2.3AUG94 US Media 10-Pack SOLS-2.3AUG94-10 Data Encryption Supplement SOLE-2.3-P French Desktop Media SOLD-2.3AUG94-02 French Server Media SOLS-2.3AUG94-02 German Desktop Media SOLD-2.3AUG94-03 German Server Media SOLS-2.3AUG94-03 Italian Desktop Media SOLD-2.3AUG94-74 Italian Server Media SOLS-2.3AUG94-74 Spanish Desktop Media SOLD-2.3AUG94-72 Spanish Server Media SOLS-2.3AUG94-72 Swedish Desktop Media SOLD-2.3AUG94-06 Swedish Server Media SOLS-2.3AUG94-06 Japanese Desktop Media SOLD-2.3AUG94-46 Japanese Server Media SOLS-2.3AUG94-46 Korean Desktop Media SOLD-2.3AUG94-45 Korean Server Media SOLS-2.3AUG94-45 Taiwanese Desktop Media SOLD-2.3AUG94-44 Taiwanese Server Media SOLS-2.3AUG94-44 Chinese Desktop Media SOLD-2.3AUG94-47 Chinese Server Media SOLS-2.3AUG94-47 DOCUMENTATION: Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-2.3-ED Sol 2.x Full Manual Set SOL-2.3-D Sol 2.x Sys Admin Online Doc SOLSA-2.3-P French Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-2.3-02-ED German Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-2.3-03-ED Italian Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-2.3-74-ED Spanish Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-2.3-72-ED Swedish Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-2.3-06-ED Japan Sol 2.x End User Doc SOL-2.3-46-ED Japan Sol Doc, English Ver SOL-2.3-46-TD Japanese Sol Full Manual Set SOL-2.3-46-D Japan Sys Admin Answerbook SOLSA-2.3-46-P Japan Sys Admin Doc Set SOLSA-2.3-46-D Japan Sol Developer Answerbook SOLDA-2.3-46-P Japan Sol Developer Doc Set SOL-2.3-46-DD Asia Sol User/Developer Doc SOL-2.3-A1-D DEVELOPER KITS: Sol 2.x Software Dev Kit SDK-2.3-P Sol 2.x SW Dev Kit, 10-User SDK-2.3-P10 (c) 1994 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems Computer Company, SMCC, SunService, Solaris, Wabi, Online: DiskSuite, Voyager, XGL and AnswerBook are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All SPARC trademarks, including the SCD Compliant logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. SPARCstation, SPARCclassic, and HyperSPARC, are licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. Lotus Notes is a registered trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. cc:Mail is a trademark of cc:Mail, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Lotus Development Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, exclusively licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Motif is a registered trademark of Open Software Foundation, Inc. Photo CD is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The SunFlash - A Full-Text On Demand Newsletter John J. McLaughlin Publisher & Editor - flash@FlashBack.COM Subscriptions to Majordomo@FlashBack.COM Article Requests to flashback@FlashBack.COM Article Submissions to Flash@FlashBack.COM For a general introduction send email to Flashback@FlashBack.COM with 9001 in the Subject line. For the October 1994 table of contents make the Subject line: 70.00 1050 5013 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++