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Solaris 8 Transition Information

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»  Solaris 8 Transition Frequently Asked Questions

The Solaris 8 Operating System (OS) was originally released in February 2000, and since then has been superseded by two later releases: the Solaris 9 OS which was initially released in May 2002, and the Solaris 10 OS which was initially released in January 2005. Click here for information on the most current Solaris release.

On August 16, 2006 Sun announced the transition of the Solaris 8 OS. Per this transition:
  • November 16, 2006 was the last date Solaris 8 media kits could be ordered
  • Sun shipped Solaris 8 media up until February 16, 2007; Solaris 8 media kits are no longer available
  • Solaris 8 entered retirement support mode Phase I on March 31, 2007;
  • Solaris 8 entered retirement support mode Phase II on March 31, 2009; and,
  • Solaris 8 will reach the end of its service life on March 31, 2012.
The total service life of Solaris 8 will thus be slightly more than 12 years.

In addition, Sun extended the period of time that customers were entitled to install Solaris 8 on new Sun SPARC systems at no additional charge. Instead of ending on the last ship date for Solaris 8 as it usually would, this right to install continued until December 31, 2007. Starting on January 1, 2008, installing Solaris 8 on a system requires the purchase of a Solaris 8 license. Licensing options and more information is available in the Frequently Asked Questions. Note that many newer SPARC systems require a more current release than Solaris 8.

Support for Solaris 8

You can continue to run your business or favorite applications on the Solaris 8 OS, even though it will enter End of Service Life (EOSL) Phase 2 on April 1, 2009. EOSL Phase 2 means that all Solaris customers will continue to receive telephone support and access to patches developed before April 1, 2009, but they will not receive patches developed on April 1, 2009 or after. Even security patches. However, for those of you who want to continue running Solaris 8, Sun provides two options:
  • Upgrade to Solaris 10 and run your applications inside Solaris 8 Containers.
  • Sign up for our Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Service.
  1. Running Solaris 8 Applications in Containers on a Solaris 10 System
    If you upgrade to Solaris 10, you can take advantage of the new features of Solaris 10 while continuing to run your Solaris 8 applications. All you have to do is get a subscription to Solaris 8 containers, then set them up inside the Solaris 10 OS. A container will host a Solaris 8 environment that will support your Solaris 8 applications. This article explains how.

    If you'd like to find out what's involved in the upgrade, or would like Sun to help you with the transition to Solaris 10, sign up for Sun's upgrade service. It will guide you through the entire process.

  2. Signing Up for Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Service
    If you prefer not to upgrade to Solaris 10, you can sign up for our Vintage Patch Service. We developed this service so that those of you who prefer to continue using Solaris 8 can still receive any patches that we might develop for that OS on or after April 1, 2009. Please note: if you don't sign up for the Vintage Patch service, you will have access only to patches developed before April 1, 2009.

    You can purchase the Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Service any time between now and March 31, 2012. Contact your local Sun sales representative or Sun authorized partner.

    For more information visit: Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Service

Upgrading to newer versions of Solaris

Upgrading to newer versions of Solaris, including the industry-leading Solaris 10 OS, is easy. Through the Solaris Application Guarantee program, Sun guarantees, at no additional cost, that applications currently running on Solaris version 2.6, 7, 8 or 9 will run without modification on the Solaris 10 Operating System. The Solaris Application Guarantee reflects the confidence Sun has in the compatibility of applications from one release of Solaris to the next and is designed to make re qualification—let alone porting—a thing of the past. Sun also makes it easy to develop and deploy on the Solaris Operating System running on both of the industry's most popular 32/64-bit processor platforms: SPARC and x86/x64. Visit the Solaris Binary Application Guarantee Program web page for more details.

Sun has included labeled security features for free in the latest Solaris 10 OS through the Solaris Trusted Extensions feature. Sun recommends new developments of labeled security to utilize this new Solaris 10 feature. More information is available at :

»  Solaris Security Features Page
»  Solaris Security Learning Center

Sun also offers the Solaris 10 Global Migration Program to assist customers in adopting Solaris 10. In conjunction with Sun global migration services partners, the program delivers services for a successful migration on time and on budget.

Customers with a valid SunSpectrum support contract for a Sun system or a Sun Software Support contract for the Solaris Operating System are entitled to receive the Solaris 10 or Solaris 9 OS and any associated updates.