ask | dr. root

The SunFire T2000 server uses the revolutionary UltraSPARC T1 processor. This processor is ideal for environments with:-

a) Multi-threaded applications or multiple (smallish) single threaded applications ie. an environment that results in lots of threads

b) Low requirement for floating point

So, would be suit a SunRay environment? Well, YES. But, and of course there is a 'but', not if you also use the Sun Ray server to serve up/run applications that are floating point intensive. That's just a small caveat - in the main the SunFire T2000 with UltraSPARC T1 is ideal as a SunRay server.

Sun have a T2000 Try and Buy Program which would allow you to try out a T2000 server and return it if it doesn't live up to your expectations: http://www.sun.com/emrkt/trycoolthreads/index.html


Dr. Root

Yes, you can use one single server to provision all your systems. Jumpstart has now the capability to cross bridges and routers. However, you should measure the size of your server with the amount of provisioning you will be doing, just to avoid shortfalls, poor performance or unnecessary network traffic.

You will need to build a linear scaleable NAS storage node. Solaris 10, with its completely re-written IP stack, and Sun's QFS file system, which allows multiple servers to ALL share and access the same data, will let you build a horizontally scaleable single-image IP platform. Additionally, SAM-FS will allow you to implement a multi-tiered backend where data can be transparently moved to different storage tiers (FC disk, SATA, Tape etc.) to reduce TCO.

You should also check Sun's Content Infrastructure System solution: www.sun.com/storage/solutions/content_infrastructure/

It depends on the method of upgrading. You are mentioning Live Upgrade and this is possible if the target disk for the upgrade is not encapsulated, as the vxfs driver is not part of Sun's distribution. If you want a mirrored environment, you should use Solaris Volume Manager. It will produce the same result.

You should check the documentation regarding Solaris 10 upgrades at http://docs.sun.com.

Sun offers support for Windows, Solaris and Linux.

For example - if you choose to run Windows on a Sun Fire X2100, X4100 or X4200 server, or on a Sun Ultra 20 workstation, you can opt for a Sun System Service Plan for Windows to get integrated hardware maintenance and OS support. The plan's four levels of coverage/response combinations will help you get the support that best matches your needs.

If you need more information on each System Service Plan, visit the Sun website at:
- Service Plans for Windows OS: http://www.sun.com/service/serviceplans/windows
- Service Plans for the Solaris OS: http://www.sun.com/service/serviceplans/solaris
- Service Plans for Linux OS: http://www.sun.com/service/serviceplans/linux

Or if you'd like to discuss your requirements, contact Horizon Open Systems.

In Sun's storage range, the Sun StorEdge 6920 and 9990 storage systems are powerful consolidation systems with virtualisation capabilities. The Sun StorEdge 6920 system offers the most cost-effective solution and is ideal for consolidating business-critical data in revenue-generating and business-sustaining operations. The Sun StorEdge 9990 system is designed for mission-critical, life-critical and tier 1 financial data. To consolidate at the file level, Sun StorEdge QFS and ZFS files systems handle massive amounts of data. QFS scales to 2 petabytes and ZFS, like its name suggests, scales to zetabytes.