Sun Claims Fastest Blade Server

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW - News) today announced the fastest blade server on the planet, in addition to the first subscription service that enables blade customers to keep their datacenters at peak performance and efficiency at half the cost of traditional acquisition methods. Posting three new performance world records, the Sun Blade(TM) X8420 server module and the Sun(SM) Refresh Service set a new standard for 4-socket servers, especially when combined with the Solaris(TM) 10 Operating System (OS), the most advanced operating system on the planet.

The new Sun Blade X8420 server module and the Sun Refresh Service provide customers with the fastest, most up-to-date and flexible datacenters for years to come. As the only blade systems designed specifically to run resource- intensive enterprise business and technical applications, the Sun Blade 8000 modular systems are the first blade servers available to support the highest- performing AMD Opteron(TM) processors with industry-leading x86 performance- per-watt.

"Today's datacenters are looking for ways to save operating expenses, but they also need to stay up to speed with the latest and greatest technology to deliver the highest performance levels. Sun changed the blade landscape when we introduced the Sun Blade 8000 modular system in July, so we decided to create a powerful service to help customers with this dilemma," said Lisa Sieker, vice president of marketing for Sun's Systems Group. "The Sun Refresh Service gives customers the ability to refresh their x64 architecture as soon as new technology becomes available, saving on power and cooling costs in addition to millions of dollars in software licenses."

Sun Refresh Service Offers Continuous Refresh Capability

The Sun Refresh Service is an industry first. No other vendor offers a subscription service that allows customers to reap maximum performance and efficiency from their datacenters on an ongoing basis at half the cost of traditional acquisition methods. The subscription service program includes installation of the Sun Blade 8000 modular system with server modules, plus three refreshes of server modules over a 42-month period. Customers receive automatic upgrades to the latest blade architecture as soon as it becomes available. With each refresh, Sun will deliver and install new server modules and pick up the old server modules.Sun Microsystems Inc.