some words from CNET on yesterday's announcement
Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM
February 24, 1998, 5:40 p.m. PT
A group of server computer vendors, including Compaq
and Unisys, has agreed to invest millions into an effort to
port UnixWare, the Unix variant from Santa Cruz
Organization (SCO), to Intel's upcoming 64-bit Merced chip.
The agreement represents a quantum leap for SCO,
whose UnixWare is almost exclusively used by small to
medium-sized businesses. Under the alliance effort,
SCO's Unix will become, ideally, an high-end corporate
"enterprise-class" operating system that will be compatible
with a much-anticipated Intel chip technology.
In addition, the consortium will develop a 32-bit enterprise
class of Unix, which will drive further opportunities to SCO.
The effort could pit SCO's "flavor" of Unix against
heavyweight Unix offerings from Sun, Hewlett-Packard, and
Digital, which Compaq recently acquired. All of these
more-established variants are going to support Merced.
Unix variants that don't make the leap to Merced, by
contrast, may begin to fade away. Data General, one of the
four server vendors in the alliance, said that it had no plans
to port its own Unix language to Merced.
The server vendors, of course, are expected to benefit as
well. By choosing to work with SCO, each of the
participating vendors will likely have a complete and
workable Unix solution ready when Merced systems begin
to roll out in late 1999. Further, by cooperating on porting
one Unix operating system, rather than trying to each
develop their own 64-bit Unix option, development costs
are minimized.
"They need an Intel-Unix solution for the next year and a
half," noted Jay Bretzmann, vice president at International
Data Corporation.
Compaq is expected to eventually gravitate toward Unix
technology from Digital. SCO, he said, acts as a solid
interim solution.
Working with SCO also keeps Compaq's current product
offerings simple, noted Amir Ahari, an IDC analyst. SCO is
currently the Unix operating system offered on Compaq
servers when customers do not want Microsoft's Windows
NT operating system (OS). By supporting SCO, the
transition to 64-bit computing becomes easier for Unix
customers of Compaq.
There is also the possibility that Compaq may choose to
promote UnixWare as its Unix flavor of choice even after the
Digital acquisition goes through.
"Compaq is the master of standardization," Ahari said.
"The last thing they want to do is offer different OSes to its
clients."
Under terms of the alliance, SCO, Compaq, Unisys, Data
General, and ICL will invest millions in research and
development to create 32- and 64-bit versions of UnixWare
for the Intel platforms. UnixWare will be redesigned to work
on servers using a large number of processors as well as
servers tied together through clustering technology. With
clustering, computers get tied together so that they can
share computing loads for maximum efficiency or cover for
a machine that shuts down.
The deal also will also likely lead to a consolidation of Unix
operating systems. Data General, one of the four server
companies participating in the deal, said it would use a
SCO's UnixWare as its strategic 64-bit operating system,
said Rick Strom, director of Unix product marketing for Data
General. Data General, he further added, does not have
current plans to create a 64-bit version of its own Unix OS. |
