Fast Track to Solaris 10 Adoption: 64-bit Performance

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1. When we may expect the official release of the Solaris 10 OS?
2. Other than very large virtual address spaces, what other benefits can 64-bit applications provide?
3. What is Sun's intent for Java Desktop System- which is SuSE Linux-based — compared to the Solaris 10 x86? What should customers choose?
4. What are Sun's plans for AMD Opteron technology in the blade market?
5. Why did you make the decision to use D instead of an existing language for DTrace?
6. Does Sun sell the AMD64 system?
7. Are there plans to introduce any distributed file system, multi-writers features in ZFS? QFS is so expensive, but multi host writing, a single file system, would be a killer feature.
8. Are Zones supported on all currently shipping systems, in particular the IIIi servers? Are Zones supported on single-processor systems?
9. When is Sun Studio 10 software expected to ship — and ship to maintenance customers?
10. Given that the kernel in the Solaris 10 OS is larger (more lines of code) because of new functions such as DTrace, how can it perform faster?

Q: When we may expect the official release of the Solaris 10 OS?

A: January 31, 2005.

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Q: Other than very large virtual address spaces, what other benefits can 64-bit applications provide?

A: Unlike SPARC, where the number of registers is the same between 32- and 64-bit apps, with AMD64 you get eight additional registers. Plus, the calling convention for 64-bit C apps is faster since the first six parameters are passed in registers; 32-bit i386 apps must pass all parameters on the stack.

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Q: What is Sun's intent for Java Desktop System- which is SuSE Linux-based — compared to the Solaris 10 x86? What should customers choose?

A: The Sun Java Desktop System is also available on the Solaris OS. With the Solaris 10 OS, customers can take advantage of all of the new release's breakthrough technologies, with the affordable, user-friendly, fully integrated desktop client environment, which lets customers choose the right tool for the job.

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Q: What are Sun's plans for AMD Opteron technology in the blade market?

A: Stay tuned for more about Sun's blade roadmap. This is under consideration, though nothing has been announced.

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Q: Why did you make the decision to use D instead of an existing language for DTrace?

A: I'm not a DTrace expert, but DTrace has a major advantage in that it can be used in production environments. To do this, we needed to ensure the safety of the tool in production systems. D helps avoid shooting yourself in the foot by limiting certain things you could do in, say, C, the prime example being looping constructs. In D, you cannot create loops; in C or most other languages, you can create loops - infinite ones in fact. The D language also has a number of other unique and useful features, such as aggregations, strings as first-class citizens, and thread local variables. See http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/content/dtrace/ for more details.

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Q: Does Sun sell the AMD64 system?

A: Yes, today Sun sells a line of AMD64-based systems, including the Sun Fire V20z server, Sun Fire V40z server, Sun Java workstation W1100z and Sun Java workstation W2100z. More systems to come in the next calendar year, so stay tuned. Also, the Solaris 10 OS will run on systems from other AMD system vendors. Watch the Solaris OS hardware compatibility list grow.

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Q: Are there plans to introduce any distributed file system, multi-writers features in ZFS? QFS is so expensive, but multi host writing, a single file system, would be a killer feature.

A: Initially ZFS will be host based; distributed file system capabilities are being evaluated for the future.

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Q: Are Zones supported on all currently shipping systems, in particular the IIIi servers? Are Zones supported on single-processor systems?

A: Yes, Solaris Containers (a.k.a., Zones) is supported on all shipping systems, including single-processor systems.

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Q: When is Sun Studio 10 software expected to ship — and ship to maintenance customers?

A: Sun Studio 10 software will ship concurrently with the Solaris 10 OS on Jan 31st. It will be available to maintenance/supported customers at the same time.

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Q: Given that the kernel in the Solaris 10 OS is larger (more lines of code) because of new functions such as DTrace, how can it perform faster?

A: There are more lines of code due to added functionality, but much existing functionality (lines of code) have been re-tuned or implemented for optimal performance. For example, we ship multiple versions of libc tuned for AMD64, EM64T, or legacy x86 systems. The most optimal is configured based on the capabilities of the underlying platform at boot time.

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