For those of you trying to win a Sun Fire T2000, there's now a page with judging criteria and contest rules.

» Tags: SUN, CoolThreads, T2000, Servers, Datacenter

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Published: (2006-03-27 15:32:52.0)

I've discovered additional bloggers documenting their Try and Buy experience. Here's the list:

Useful links:

• Welcome page
• Getting started
• Installation Guide
• Resources
• FAQs

Additional info:

• Sun Fire T2000 Server Product Page
• Sun Fire T2000 Server Free 60-day Trial
• Coolthreads: Sun Fire T2000 Server Documentation

» Tags: SUN, CoolThreads, T2000, Servers, Datacenter

Comments [2] : Permalink

Published: (2006-03-24 13:03:26.0)

Colm MacCárthaigh has a great write up on his detailed benchmarks of a T2000 vs. a dual Itanium with 32Gb of memory

"Bottom line, the T2000 was able to handle over 3 times the number of transactions per-second and about 60% more concurrent downloads than the current ftp.heanet.ie machine can (a dual Itanium with 32Gb of memory) running identical software."

Additional info:

• Sun Fire T2000 Server Product Page
• Sun Fire T2000 Server Free 60-day Trial
• Coolthreads: Sun Fire T2000 Server Documentation

» Tags: SUN, CoolThreads, T2000, Servers, Datacenter

: Permalink

Published: (2006-03-23 17:04:48.0)

Several people are blogging about their Try and Buy experience. Here's a list of some of them:

Reading through the blogs and the forums, the biggest problem so far is having the right cables. Grkvlt points out in this thread:
You will need a serial null modem cable which connects to the RJ45 port (the port marked SER MGMT) on the sun, not the DB9 console port. The cable you need is a Cisco rollover console cable, and can be obtained from Ebay pretty cheaply, or you can make your own. if you make one, the pin-outs are available here http://hardwarebook.net/cable/serial/ciscoconsole9.html"

Newegg.com has a USB to Serial cable for $9.

Useful links:

• Welcome page
• Getting started
• Installation Guide
• Resources
• FAQs

Additional info:

• Sun Fire T2000 Server Product Page
• Sun Fire T2000 Server Free 60-day Trial
• Coolthreads: Sun Fire T2000 Server Documentation

» Tags: SUN, CoolThreads, T2000, Servers, Datacenter

Comments [8] : Permalink

Published: (2006-03-23 11:46:52.0)

Ian has created the SunFire Fanatics website for all of you Sun Fire T2000 "Try & Buyers." It's a place where you can ask questions and get some ideas on how to setup and run benchmarks to post on your blogs.

Ian wanted to take up Jonathan on his challenge, but knew he faced a few problems:

• His Solaris knowledge is flaky and out of date and he would probably need a little guidance about about how to set up a box and configure raid etc.
• He needed to figure out what to benchmark, and how best to do that.
• He needed to get his blog noticed by the Sun marketing guys.

Additional info:

• Sun Fire T2000 Server Product Page
• Sun Fire T2000 Server Free 60-day Trial
• Coolthreads: Sun Fire T2000 Server Documentation

» Tags: SUN, CoolThreads, T2000, Servers, Datacenter

: Permalink

Published: (2006-03-09 11:33:08.0)

Jonathan has blogged about it. Martin has blogged about it. Will has blogged about it. And Tim Bray has blogged about it. The 60-day freel trial has been improved, and customers are getting their machines in a timely manner. During a recent trip to our datacenter, I noticed someone lugging around the boxes. "You doing the try and buy on the T2000's? What did you think?" I asked. He immediately broke into a huge grin and replied "We love them. Fantastic boxes." Unfortunately I was laden down with equipment as well so I couldn't hang out and chat more. But it was good to hear that feedback.

Additional info:

• Sun Fire T2000 Server Product Page
• Sun Fire T2000 Server Free 60-day Trial
• Coolthreads: Sun Fire T2000 Server Documentation

» Tags: SUN, CoolThreads, Servers, Datacenter

Comments [5] : Permalink

Published: (2006-03-07 11:55:33.0)

We received a couple of the Sun Fire T2000's. They were slated for deployment at our datacenter, so I had a great chance for some hands on experience with the new machines.

Solid and clean - its a theme that repeats itself from the packaging to the machine. The boxes are solid - no need for me to worry about how they will do in the back of my truck. The rail kit and cable management are packaged in the same clean way.

After removing the machine and laying it on the staging cart, we took some time to admire the design and look it over. The LEDs on the front are nice. The power button is interesting. You need a stylus (or similar item) to press it. That's not a concern since most of us have the Treo phones. When you do press the power button, the fans fire off revving and then quiet down (a nice audio confirmation.)

We needed to install a card ... and it took less than a minute. No screwdrivers needed. Simply press the button (located in the lower center of this picture) and lift the cover. We could have done it quicker but we spent some time checking out the insides. Clean. Nice cable management. (If you look at the inside view shot, they've actually moved the SATA cables to the side for the picture). Lots of RAM. There's a lever that holds the slot cover, so simply swinging the lever enabled us to pull the cover out. We popped the card in, which fit perfectly. Swing back the lever and the card is locked in place. How sweet is that! I found myself staring dumbly at the screwdriver in my hand. At one point Will reached in and plucked out a fan - very nifty.

Datacenter deployment was simple as well. The rail mounting brackets simply snapped on. Sweet! The rails had a spacer tool which took a couple of minutes to figure out, but works very nicely. The only time I used a screwdriver was for putting the rails on the rack. There's no need to screw the server into place once installed - it simply snaps and locks into place. The really nifty item is the cable management kit. It mounts on the back and extends and folds out when you pull the machine forward, preventing your cables from being snagged or pulled out. And when you are wiring the machine, the arm can be released to swing out for easy cable installation. Schaweet! You can check out the Sun Fire T2000 Server Installation Guide for some nifty diagrams.

Additional info:

• Sun Fire T2000 Server Product Page
• Coolthreads: Sun Fire T2000 Server Documentation

» Tags: SUN, CoolThreads, Servers, Datacenter

Comments [1] : Permalink

Published: (2006-01-27 06:05:00.0)

In an earlier post I had bemoaned the fact I had missed the Sun Founders Panel event at the Computer History Museum. Much to my delight there's a webcast available at www.sun.com. Sweet! It clocks in at 58:38.

Comments [1] : Permalink

Published: (2006-01-19 11:24:09.0)

Anandtech has a review on Sun's UltraSparc T1. Here's a quote:

"The words "paradigm shift" and "disruptive" technology have been abused so many times that we don't like to use them. But in the case of the T1 CPU, it wouldn't be exaggerated to say that it is the herald of a new generation of server CPUs, and that it has disrupted the server market. Single core, single threaded CPUs do not have a chance in this market anymore. Does this also signal the end of superscalar CPUs in the server environment? Is the massive multi-core with scalar cores the future for the entire server world? The SUN UltraSparc T1 simply wipes the floor with the competition when it comes to performance per Watt. According to this metric, the UltraSparc T1 is 4 to 12 times better."

Via the Unix Admin Corner

» Tags: SUN, CoolThreads

: Permalink

Published: (2006-01-17 15:41:00.0)

I had really wanted to go to the Sun Founders Panel event at the Computer History Museum last night. And after reading this, I really, really wish I had.

» Tag: SUN

: Permalink

Published: (2006-01-12 08:31:58.0)

Im one of the newsletters I receive, there is a promotion for the "Designing and Building with Ajax" seminar. Having a design background, I'm always interested in the latest developments and technologies, so I was hooked. Reading through the workshop outline, one bullet caught my eye - "Why Ajax changes the rules of Web design." So the question is why would Ajax change the rules? That's a bit dramatic isn't it?

I think rather the problem is Ajax presents a whole slew of opportunities to break those rules. Alex Bosworth has a great list of Ajax mistakes, and the first one he lists had been foremost on my mind. "Using Ajax for the sake of Ajax." This problems reminds of me of Photoshop and everytime a new release adds filters. Everyone starts to use those filters just for the sake of using them - and then the web is flooded with awful images.

I do think Ajax has amazing potential. It's just a matter of finding the correct application.

» Tags: Ajax, Web Design

: Permalink

Published: (2006-01-11 11:32:04.0)

So hopefully by now you've read up on Sun's new CoolThreads Servers . And maybe you are even taking them for a spin on a 60-day trial.

During the past year, I've had the change to visit a few datacenters. And what do you think are the major problems that datacenters face? Limited space would be a good guess. Nope. Power and cooling are the major ones. Those two factors limit the space a datacenter can build out. In California the power cost alone is a limiting factor for most deployments (Hoffie has a good entry on this.)

So you can imagine my excitement when Sun announced servers that would took care of those two problems. It's a win win situation for datacenters and their customers. Datacenters get to build out more, and customers get to lower their power costs while improving their performance per watt.

» Tags: SUN, CoolThreads

: Permalink

Published: (2006-01-11 06:00:00.0)

A 10+ year old SPARCStation 20 had been our primary login database server for at least 6 years. Until our recent datacenter move, it had been running without reboot for nearly 4 years. And that reboot wasn't even the server's fault (an electrician at the datacenter managed to take out the circuit.) At the end, there was a real reluctance to shut it down, but we had to move it.

Back in the office, I reverently carried the machine down the hall to Warren (pictured) as I played "Ave Maria." I think I teared up ...

Just for kicks, here's a blurb from a SPARCSation 20 press release:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.- October 31, 1995 - Continuing its drive to provide power desktop users with the best value in the industry, Sun Microsystems Computer Company today announced the fastest multiprocessor and uniprocessor systems in the company's popular SPARCstation™ 20 family of high-performance workstations.

The new desktops sport a powerful 150 MHz SPARC™ processor with 512 Kilobytes of cache and provide a 30 percent performance improvement over current SPARCstation 20 systems. The multiprocessor SPARCstation 20 model 152MP features two 150 MHz SPARC processors. The new SPARCstation 20 TurboGX™ model 151 uses a single 150 MHz SPARC processor.

» Tag: SUN

Comments [1] : Permalink

Published: (2006-01-06 14:06:07.0)

» JavaOne

Comments [2] : Permalink

Published: (2005-06-29 21:51:26.0)

And now, time for some words ... In the morning I tag along with Kevin onto the Pavilion floor. Someone needs help configuring a storage unit. It needs to be configured via the serial port, and the process reminds me of my BBS hacking days. I bump into Patrick Chan - he's there for the birthday celebration. During the day I continue to meet new people, as well as former colleagues. I really enjoy the social aspect of JavaOne. I usually tend to be shy, but not in this setting. As we walk the halls we constantly stop to chat. Someone comments that we are a "magnet" for meeting people. I recognize many faces, even though I don't know their names. I have worked on several of the Technology showcases - Java Ring, Zaurus, Palms (I was uber sync master ). One of the great perks of working on these projects was that I got to meet and talk to a great deal of people. There have been many wonderful conversations.

Later on in the day I run into Martin, and roam around with him taking pictures. FYI - he did the narration for the video playing at the ONE booth. We hit up the retail store and score some phat lewt. I really dig the new colors, and pick up a week's worth of new shirts (I've been modeling them back in the office.) Then we're off to the blogger's party. It's definitely not a time to be shy - plenty of conversation and new faces await us. It's a great time and the time flies. We decide to have dinner and reluctanly leave for much needed food.

I head off to use the restroom, and on the way back to my table - a fellow walking ahead keeps looking back at me. Finally he stops and turns and says while looking down at my badge (which only identifies me as Technical Staff 1) "so you are here for JavaOne as well?" I respond yes, and the conversation begins. His name is Victor, and he's from Hungary. He's lived in New York for the last five years. "So where do you work Viktor?" He tells me that it's an online grocery place, and I probably haven't heard about. I then proceed to describe "a large refrigerated warehouse, and everything is done to order?" He's surprised. Turns out that I have heard about it, and actually seen a show on it. The conversation ends, but I'm smiling. How many times do you meet a stranger in a crowded restaurant, and strike up a friendly conversation? But that's JavaOne for you.

Dinner is great (tapas! yum!), and on the way out we run into Gonzo. Conversations with him are always a treat - because he multithreads. He immediately starts talking about JXTA - because that's what he's passionate about. And if you have any doubt about that passion - you need to talk to him. Because I guarantee afterwards you'll walk away talking to yourself "damn! why am I not using this?" He's fantastic, and it's comforting to know that people like him work at Sun.

Before we head out the door, we check in on the bloggers. Yep, they're still going.

» Find more about JavaOne at Technorati

Comments [1] : Permalink

Published: (2005-06-29 15:21:09.0)