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Sun Microsystems is set to overhaul its server line, increasing processor speeds and lowering prices on select models, according to industry insiders. Analysts see the moves as a key part of Sun's strategy to remain competitive with server rivals IBM and Hewlett-Packard.

"For Sun, '03 has to be the year of execution of product launches -- and very compelling ones," Giga Information Group analyst Brad Day told NewsFactor. IBM and HP both have painted "a target on the backside of the Sun installed base," he said.

Day said that among Sun's many announcements, the biggest news is the Sun Fire v1280 server. This will be "the competitive tiger, the assault machine."

The 12-processor v1280 will include Sun's 64-bit 900 MHz UltraSparc III chip. It also will be available in a 4-processor configuration with 8 GB of memory or an 8-processor configuration with 16 GB of memory.

The v1280 "has all the economics to make it a switch hitter," Day said, noting that Sun designed it to "compete effectively against not just classic Unix-RISC vendors, but also at the same price point -- if not a little under -- [to] compete as effectively in the 1- to 8-way 'Lintel,' Linux-on-Intel, space."

He added that if Sun can upsell just 50 percent of its v800 user base to the v1280 server, "that will be a very successful strategy."

In addition to the v1280 launch, Sun will include an improved processor chip in several higher-end Sun Fire server models. This new 1.2 GHz chip is not only faster than its predecessors, but also has superior heat handling characteristics, a critical technology for avoiding system crashes.

Also, on select models in its high-end and mid-range server lines, Sun is expected to cut prices by up to 35 percent.

And to increase operating efficiency, the company will sell servers that have a greater ability to be reconfigured while the system is up and running. For example, without shutting down a server, administrators will be able to upgrade features like memory and processor speed.

Sun is expected to make a formal announcement of many of these initiatives February 10th. A Sun representative declined to comment.

According to published reports, Sun also hopes to maintain a competitive edge with its N1 initiative. This strategy aims to harness the power of huge groups of servers and networks into a unified computer system.

Sun's proprietary Unix system, Solaris, will be the prime beneficiary of N1 breakthroughs. Day noted that "all the pieces [of] what becomes N1 will be first and foremost baked into Solaris, even though Sun is getting into the Linux business."

For his part, IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky told NewsFactor that he would "welcome Sun bringing N1 from the stage of a grand vision to the stage of actual products."

However, Kusnetzky added, "It's important to examine whatever they announce in the light of multiplatform, multi-operating system, multivendor networks, because moving to Web services architecture should not also imply moving to a single vendor's architecture."

Still, it is understandable that Sun would want to bolster Solaris. Sun historically has been the dominant player in the market for Unix servers, a lucrative aspect of the server market that powers such high-end applications as financial services and medical research. But in today's IT environment, in which many budgets are flat or decreasing, Sun has struggled.

The company faces competition from lower-cost Linux-on-Intel servers, which some companies are beginning to view as a viable alternative to high-cost proprietary Unix machines. And even as the Unix market is growing less lucrative, both IBM and HP have aggressively fought for market share with a wide array of servers.

"For Sun to maintain, the big deal will be not just the announcement of these technologies, but their ability to deliver in volume," Day said. James Maguire
NewsFactor Network