scumbria - Re: "Because of this it will take a long time to get the compiler/software/driver infrastructure in place to allow IA64 to be used generally."
Of course.
But that is why Merced hardware and software are initially targeted at high end applications for servers and workstations.
And it also why Sun, HP, etc. have been working on Merced software for well over a year.
An example:
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January 11, 1999 09:17
Sun and Systems Partners Reach Key Milestone Ahead of Schedule for Solaris Software On Merced Processor
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 1999--
64-Bit Operating Environment Up and Running On the Intel IA-64 Pre-Silicon Software Development Environment
Reaching a key milestone well ahead of schedule, Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq:SUNW) -- working closely with its systems partners including Fujitsu Limited, NCR Corporation, Siemens AG, and Toshiba Corporation -- announced it has delivered Solaris on the Intel IA-64 Pre-Silicon Software Development Environment using the Merced architecture.
"Sun has successfully completed the initial port of the Solaris Operating Environment to Merced in only nine months," said Rich Green, vice president, Sun Microsystems. "Because the Solaris code base fully supports 64-bit computing and is almost completely platform independent, we have been able to port Solaris to the IA-64 Pre-Silicon Software Development Environment in record time."
This initial implementation of Solaris on Merced provides backward compatibility for existing Solaris Intel IA-32 applications. Sun expects to be supporting select ISVs and its Intel System Partners with a full 64-bit development environment in an Early Access release of Solaris on the Merced processor in the first half of 1999.
Sun intends to optimize the Solaris Operating Environment to fully utilize the Merced features and capabilities at the time of Merced-based system availability.
"Solaris running on the IA-64 Pre-Silicon Software Development Environment represents a key milestone for the Solaris IA-64 operating system," said Mike Pope, director of server software programs, Intel Corporation. "This is an indicator of the strong industry-wide momentum behind the Merced architecture, and we look forward to continuing this progress with Sun."
Investment Protection With 32-Bit Compatibility
To protect customer investments, the Solaris Operating Environment will provide full compatibility on Merced for the more than 3,200 Solaris on Intel applications that are available today. This means that ISVs with applications that do not require 64-bit addressing or the full Merced performance do not have to change or recompile their existing 32-bit Solaris on Intel applications to take advantage of Merced.
"By pairing the Solaris 7 operating environment with NCR's industry-leading Intel-based WorldMark server technology as the foundation, we are able to offer our customers around the world a scalable, reliable and secure environment on which to build mission-critical applications," said Gary Horning, vice president, Global Alliance Partners, NCR Corporation.
"This combination of 'best-of-breed' technologies is further evidence of NCR's commitment to provide customers with industry-specific Data Warehousing and Customer Interaction Solutions that are portable and work in today's open systems computing environment. And, the flexibility of Solaris on Merced will support new 64-bit applications as well as existing 32-bit applications -- a critical element for our customers as they inevitably grow."
Advanced 64-Bit Development Tools Available Today
Today, Sun provides a complete 64-bit operating environment. Sun supports the development of 64-bit applications today with the Solaris 7 Operating Environment running on 64-bit Sun systems.
The Solaris Application Programming Interface (API) and Device Driver Interface (DDI) are common across all Solaris platforms. This means that ISVs who develop 64-bit applications today on Solaris can easily migrate these same applications to the Merced platform by simply recompiling their application or driver.
By offering multiple, source code compatible 64-bit platforms, customers and ISVs gain access to Solaris 64-bit technology today and the flexibility of multiple platforms in the future.
The Sun Visual WorkShop(tm) 5.0 C++ and the Sun Performance WorkShop 5.0 Fortran products are in broad use today for 64-bit application development. These 64-bit software development tools will also be available on both IA-32 and IA-64 platforms to support 64-bit application development for Solaris on Merced beta programs.
"The availability today of a complete 64-bit Solaris platform along with Solaris on IA-32 allows Oracle to leverage our extensive past work with Sun to optimize Oracle applications on Solaris platforms. This minimizes our development costs and decreases our time to market. Our customers and partners, including Siemens, NCR, Fujitsu and Toshiba, ultimately benefit since they will quickly receive access to Oracle products and technology on Solaris IA-64 systems as they become available," said Ray Wong, vice president, Systems Products Division, Oracle Corporation.
"We're glad to see that Solaris for the Merced processor is ahead of schedule," said Junji Maeyama, member of the board and group president of Fujitsu's Software Group. "Solaris provides one of the most advanced networking environments and our customers can enjoy its high performance, scalability, reliability and security on Fujitsu's Intel servers."
"This is an excellent achievement and a critical milestone in making the Solaris Operating Environment available on the Merced platform on schedule," said Bernd Puschendorf, vice president of marketing, Computer Systems Division of Siemens. "For all Siemens server platforms, Intel's IA-64 is the strategic architecture and we are preparing the future now."
Puschendorf added: "The technology partnership with Sun has proven to create results in record time and Siemens will continue to contribute to the development of Solaris. We plan to take the lead in bringing Solaris on IA-64 to the market and will ensure an easy transition to this technology for our Unix customers worldwide. The Siemens European Solaris Development Center supports the partners in providing their applications on Intel-based Solaris and we are already working with our partners including SAP, Baan, Oracle and Informix to make their solutions available on that attractive environment."
"We've been working closely with Sun to reach this milestone," said Kaoru Kubo, vice president and group executive, Info/Communication Platform and Products Group, Toshiba Corporation. "We expect that Solaris on the Intel IA-64 Pre-Silicon Software Development Environment will provide the end-customers with the opportunity to timely enjoy further growth and diversification on our Intel architecture based servers. And, Toshiba's clustering software DNCWARE on the Solaris Operating Environment for Intel's Merced processor will meet the increasing demand of users requiring reliable and scalable access to all types of data for mission critical applications."
Sun completed optimization of its 64-bit Solaris Operating Environment on the Intel IA-64 Pre-Silicon Software Development Environment for the Merced processor in November 1998.
Solaris 7 Product Line
For SPARC(tm) and Intel computers, the new Solaris 7 product line provides full binary compatibility with previous releases of Solaris software, enhanced Windows NT interoperability, ease-of-administration and mainframe-class capabilities.
About Fujitsu Limited
Founded in 1935, Fujitsu Limited is an international leader in information technology, telecommunications, semiconductors and other electronics devices. The Fujitsu Group of over 400 technology, software and service companies posted global revenues of more than $36 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1997. Fujitsu can be found on the World Wide Web at fujitsu.co.jp.
About NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation (NYSE:NCR), is in the business of transforming transactions into relationships. NCR is a recognized world leader in data warehousing solutions, ATMs, point-of-sale, high performance scanners, and support services for retail, financial and national accounts markets.
NCR's business solutions are built on the foundation of the company's long-established industry knowledge and consulting expertise, value-adding software, global customer support services, a complete line of consumable and media products, and world-leading hardware technology. More information about NCR and its products may be found on the World Wide Web at www.ncr.com.
About the Computer Systems Division of Siemens
Siemens' new Information and Communication Products Group rolled out its business on Oct. 1, 1998. With sales totaling nearly DM 20 billion, a global workforce of 34,000 and manufacturing locations around the globe, Information and Communication Products offers the entire product range of IT and communications from a single source: These products range from mobile and fixed network phones to ISDN devices, PCs, notebooks, servers and mainframes all the way to retail and self-service systems. Communication cables and IT services complement the portfolio.
The new Group is divided into five separate divisions. The Computer Systems Division maintains a comprehensive product portfolio to cater for the requirements of personal computing and enterprise computing.
Business PCs, mobile computers, workstations and consumer PCs address the different market segments in the PC sector with tailor-made products. With its innovative Primergy NT server family, the RM line of highly scalable Unix servers, and its successful BS2000/OSD mainframes, the Computer Systems Division of Siemens is strategically positioned for the markets of the future with best-in-class products.
About Toshiba Corporation
Based in Tokyo, Toshiba Corporation is a world leader in electronic technology. With over 187,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of over $40 billion, Toshiba is an integrated manufacturer of products spanning information and communications systems, information media and consumer products, electronic components, and power systems and industrial equipment.
About Sun Microsystems
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer(tm)," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq:SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of high quality hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $9 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at sun.com.
Note to Editors: Third party marks and brands are property of their respective holders.
CONTACT: GCI Group for Sun Microsystems, Inc. Todd Tornga, 415/974-6200 solaris.pr@sun.com or Fujitsu Limited Toshiaki Koike, +81-3-3216-7952 pr_mailbox@hq.fujitsu.co.jp or NCR Corporation Kathy White, 803/939-6287 kathryn.white@columbiasc.ncr.com or Siemens AG Computer Systems Division Herbert Schweikl, ++49-89-636-41932 herbert.schweikl@mch6.siemens.de or Toshiba Corporation Takashi Tanaka, +81-3-3457-2105 takashi10.tanaka@toshiba.co.jp |
