Sun Adds SSDs to Rack & Blade Servers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAVA) today announced the next step in its end-to-end enterprise Flash strategy with the availability of robust solid state drive (SSD) Flash technology in its x64, chip multi-threaded (CMT) Rack and Blade systems. Selected Sun x64 and CMT systems are available for free 60-day trials via Sun's Try and Buy program, with up to 20-40 percent discount if the system is purchased at http://www.sun.com/tryandbuy

Sun's unique systems design approach to SSD integration across software, systems and storage leverages enterprise-class components and redefines the storage hierarchy. This holistic systems approach helps customers achieve up to 65x faster response times, up to eight times better throughput, and up to 38% less power consumption than servers with traditional spinning hard disk drives.

The enterprise Flash market is poised for significant growth in 2009, driven by better economies of scale for Flash technology that more efficiently allows companies to serve and manage exponentially growing amounts of data. The first major vendor to announce an end-to-end Flash strategy in early 2008, Sun has integrated Flash technology into its popular Sun(TM) Storage 7000 Unified Storage family and today introduced SSD innovation into its leading server portfolio.

"Sun's innovative x64 and CMT server designs with the Solaris OS push data center efficiency to its limits on performance, scalability and energy requirements," said John Fowler, executive vice president, Systems Group, Sun Microsystems. "Sun is leading the charge with the addition of Flash technology to our server platforms that blow the doors off with huge performance increases, greater cost efficiencies and savings in power consumption."

Sun Microsystems Inc.