Successfully Boots Solaris on 'ROCK' Microprocessor First Silicon

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sun Microsystems,
Inc., (Nasdaq: SUNW) today announced it has successfully booted the
Solaris(TM) 10 operating system (OS) on its high-end "ROCK" SPARC(R)
processor for the first time. This important milestone comes ahead of
schedule and within six weeks of Sun receiving its first shipment of
prototype ROCK processors.
    "Booting Solaris for the first time is a critical accomplishment in the
development of our high-end, chip multithreading (CMT) technology," said
David Yen, executive vice president for Sun Microelectronics. "This keeps
us on track to ship our first systems based on ROCK in the second half of
2008. These systems will bring unprecedented throughput to high-end
enterprise applications -- like ERP, CRM and large databases -- and
continue to keep Sun years ahead of the competition."
    The ROCK processor is a hexadeca-core (16-core) UltraSPARC
implementation delivering unparalleled efficiencies for both
single-threaded and multithreaded high-end applications. Sun is leading the
way in high-throughput computing with the combination of SPARC, Solaris --
which has long supported multithreaded hardware and applications -- and
Sun's unique multithreaded networking technology.
    ROCK represents Sun's third generation of CMT processors, following the
UltraSPARC T1 and upcoming Niagara 2 processors. UltraSPARC T1 -- with up
to eight cores and four threads per core -- is currently available in the
SunFire(TM) T1000, T2000 and SPARC Enterprise systems. These systems,
running the industry-leading Solaris 10 OS, vaulted Sun into a new league
of performance and energy efficiency in late 2005. UltraSPARC T1-based
systems now account for more than $100 million per quarter in Sun revenue
and are helping Sun gain traction with new customers and in new markets. In
March 2007, SunFire T1000 and T2000 cumulative sales passed the $500
million mark.
    Systems based on the Niagara 2 processor are slated to become available
in the second half of calendar 2007. The Niagara 2 processor will have up
to eight threads per core and combines all major server functions on the
processor itself, making it Sun's first "system on a chip." Niagara 2-based
systems are expected to deliver twice the throughput of existing T1000 and
T2000 systems.
    About the Solaris Operating System
    The free and open source Solaris operating system is the ideal
strategic platform for enterprise customers, developers and Web 2.0 service
providers. The result of a $500 million investment and thousands of
engineer-years, Solaris 10 offers guaranteed binary compatibility with
previous versions and source code compatibility between the SPARC and
x64/x86 platforms. It has the largest installed base of any UNIX or Linux
OS on the planet, is available on hundreds of platforms from commodity
x64/x86 systems to mainframe-class UNIX systems and comes backed with Sun's
proven enterprise-class support services.
    About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    A singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer"(TM) -- guides Sun in
the development of technologies that power the world's most important
markets. Sun's philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is
at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun
can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com.
    NOTE: Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Sun Microelectronics, Sun
Fire, Solaris, and "The Network Is The Computer" are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and in
other countries. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are
trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. in the
United States and other countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are
based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
     For More Information:
     Joanne Kisling
     Sun Microsystems, Inc.
     650-257-4494
     joanne.kisling@sun.com