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Solaris Subscriptions General FAQs
General QuestionsQ: What are Solaris Subscriptions?
A:
Solaris Subscriptions service plans cover enterprises running the Solaris OS on your choice of platform, including Sun SPARC and Sun or third-party x64/x86 hardware. They feature simple, per-system pricing based on the number of processor sockets in each system. Sun offers Solaris Subscriptions at Basic, Standard, and Premium levels.
Q: What is the difference between Solaris Service Plans and the new Solaris Subscriptions?
A:
Solaris Subscriptions are no different, in principle. Sun provides limited indemnification for third-party IP infringement claims related to the Solaris 10 OS, to help protect you from legal risks. Basic level of service now includes initial installation email and phone support to help you get up and running successfully. If your subscription expires, you still get the right to use the software! Solaris Subscriptions are most suitable for the evolving demand on the non-Sun x64/x86 platforms. View the details of the offerings.
Q: What platforms are Solaris Subscriptions supported on?
A:
Solaris 10 is supported on x64/x86 platforms, as well as SPARC. View a complete list of x64/x86 supported platforms.
Q: What patches/fixes/updates do you get with a Subscription?
A:
With a Subscription, you get separate patches/fixes as they become available. Without a Subscription, you can only get all the patches/fixes when they are rolled into a complete OS release. Security and driver fixes are available to all.
Q: Will free Solaris usage licenses be available for previous versions of Solaris?
A:
No, free usage licenses begin with Solaris 10.
Q: What services does Sun offer to help customers migrate from a non-Sun OS or a previous version of Solaris to Solaris 10?
A:
Sun offers migration services to help customers migrate databases from competitors environments to the Solaris 10 OS. Sun also offers SunReady Assessments, Performance Tuning and Architecture Consulting to assess and prepare existing infrastructure.
http://www.sun.com/service/solaris10/additionalservices.xml
Q: What is unique at the product level for free Solaris on the web compared to Solaris Under a Subscription?
A:
With a Subscription, you receive comprehensive technical phone support,(Standard and Premium plans) including Sun Connection for on demand updates and upgrades as they become available and access to a bundle web-based courses for Solaris 10. For free Solaris 10 without a Service Plan, you are not IP protected, nor will you have on demand access to updates. You must wait for the full next release of the OS.
Q: What is required to purchase a Solaris Subscription?
A:
You must purchase the correct Solaris Subscription offering for the version of OS you are running. There are unique part numbers for each version of Solaris that Sun supports.
Q: Will a Solaris 10 usage license be associated with a physical system or be freestanding?
A:
Freestanding, but subscriptions are associated with a physical system and is priced on a per-system basis.
Q: If you download Solaris 10, but do not purchase a Solaris Subscription, what can you receive?
A:
You can download future full Solaris releases and obtain security fixes, but you are not entitled to any support. Sun provides limited indemnification for third-party IP infringement claims related to the Solaris 10 OS, to help protect you from legal risks.
Q: How do Solaris Subscriptions differ from Solaris support in SunSpectrum?
A:
No difference. Solaris Subscription deliverables will become part of SunSpectrum support contracts with the release of Solaris 10. The automated software update capabilities and the included Educational Services make the offering more comprehensive than before.
Q: What Solaris versions are covered by Solaris Subscriptions?
A:
Solaris Subscriptions cover Solaris beginning with Solaris 7 but are optimized for Solaris 10 customers. Customers with support contracts on earlier versions of Solaris are rolled over at renewal time into Solaris version specific offerings and will not receive all of the benefits that Solaris 10 customers enjoy. Sun offers unique part numbers for each version of the OS Sun offers support for.
Q: Does the price of a Solaris Subscription change with versions of the OS?
A:
Sun reserves the right to change the price of a Solaris Subscription at any time, depending on market conditions and other factors. Price changes, if any, do not impact customers with existing and active support contracts. Additionally, once a product version reaches its End-Of-Life (EOL), the price of post-EOL product support can be higher. View details on
the Solaris life cycle and eol/eosl time lines.
Q: What is the difference between software updates and upgrades?
A:
Software updates are releases that include software updates (security fixes, recommended updates & non-critical updates), new platform support and limited new features (feature updates). Upgrades are major releases providing significant new features and might include major internal code changes (note the Solaris Application Guarantee – stable ABI).
Q: How do you order Solaris Subscriptions?
A:
You can order support through your Sun sales representative or you can choose which Solaris Subscription best meets your needs and then buy online.
Q: What educational benefits do I get with Solaris Subscription?
A:
Your Solaris subscription entitles you to certain educational services to help you get up to speed on Solaris 10 and keep your skills honed over time.
The Sun Solaris 10 learning modules are designed to introduce the fundamentals of using one of the most powerful operating systems on the planet, Solaris 10. Some of these modules introduce the Solaris 10 desktop system, file system, and shell. In addition, there is coverage of file archives and transfers between remote hosts. The System Boot procedures course explains how run levels, the boot process, and shutdown works in x86 and AMD 64-based systems. In addition to these modules and others, you are offered a Skill Assessment to test your knowledge on Solaris 10. Q: How can I determine if Solaris 10 is supported on my computer?
A:
Visit BigAdmin to determine if Solaris 10 is supported on your computer.
Q: I have just purchased a Solaris Subscriptions, how can get patches and updates?
A:
If you don’t already have one, you need to first create a Sun Online Account and accept the click through license agreement. This will give you access to NO COST patches designated as security patches and device drivers by Sun. To also get access to all Solaris Software Updates (patches) you need to also associate your subscription contract with Sun Online account. Go to: http://sunsolve.sun.com/pub-cgi/show.pl?target=home
Q: What is SunSolve?
A:
SunSolve is a proprietary online database of software patches, patch information, tools, technical articles and troubleshooting documents. It is an extremely valuable resource for supporting Sun hardware and software products. The SunSolve database is owned, developed and controlled by Sun Microsystems and is continuously updated based on knowledge and experience from support and engineering personnel and real-time production systems. The SunSolve database contains Solaris OS patches as well as information to help analyze and administer patches, and also to troubleshoot and support OS-related issues that may arise in production environments.
http://sunsolve.sun.com/ Q: I have multiple systems running Solaris, how many subscriptions do I need?
A:
A separate Sun support contract is required for every system to which you apply Software Updates (with the limited exception of Security Patches and Device Drivers). You must have either a Sun System Service Plan or a Solaris Subscription in place for each system or a site-wide support contract like Solaris Everywhere that covers all your systems. All the requirements are documented in Info Doc 83061
Q: I have an existing SunSolve Sun Online Account, do the changes to SunSolve License Agreement affect me?
A:
If you haven't already accepted the new Software License Agreement, the next time you login and access SunSolve Online, you will be prompted to accept the new Software License Agreement. This is stored on a cookie on your system, at times if you clear the cookie you will be asked to re-accept this license agreement. For complete information on all the changes go to Info Doc 83061
If you try to access anonymous FTP to download patches (which is no longer available) you will be prompted to select an alternate method to download such patches as documented in Info Doc 82023
Q: I have tried to access patches on SunSolve and I have been told that I require a Sun Service Plan?
A:
Sun Service Plan is not required for accessing NO COST patches designated as Security Patches and Device Drivers by Sun; however, you do need to have a Sun Online account and accept the Software License Agreement applicable to all Sun patches to have access to such patches.
Q: What is Solaris Everywhere?
A:
Solaris Everywhere Service Plans are customized site-wide Solaris support and ideal for customers that are building out their horizontal infrastructure based on a combination of Sun and non-Sun x64/x86 hardware. For more information on Solaris Everywhere, Contact your local sales rep
Q: Does Sun offer Solaris Developer support?
A:
Developer support options are available for code support, programming and technical assistance. Recognized industry-wide, Sun offers developer training and certification courses for Solaris, Java, and Web 2.0 developers. more info:
http://developers.sun.com/solaris/ Q: Is support available for OpenSolaris?
A:
Yes, there are many ways to receive support for OpenSolaris:
a) If you are a SunSpectrum System Plan Customer, OpenSolaris support is included with your System Service Plan |
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