Sun Microsystems has 'united' the Unix community against Microsoft following a surprise move to support and integrate the Linux operating system across all Sun hardware and software.

Speaking in San Francisco last week, Sun president Ed Zander insisted the company's support for Linux would not change its strategy for a single-platform architecture. "Linux was created over time and was mirrored on Solaris; you can go back and forth easily. We share the same philosophy, and are the one company that can do this," he said.

But many analysts disagree. "It shoots Sun's strategy to pieces," said Robin Bloor, founder and director of Bloor Research. "This set of announcements is not just support for Linux; it is saying, 'We are going into Linux.'"

Andy Butler, VP at Gartner, agreed it signified that Sun was moving from a single to a double platform strategy. "Sun isn't abandoning Solaris - Ed Zander called it a religion - but it is only a matter of time before we see Linux grow in its focus."

According to Jonathan Mills, UK software manager at Sun, the core of the network would maintain the same single architecture because, he argued, Linux operated at the edge of the network. "There are only a few suppliers that can deliver the level of integration needed for core business applications," he said.Bloor, however, argued, "There are loads of core Linux applications emerging. Many companies run clusters of hundreds of Linux computers. Sun's Linux strategy will grow stronger and stronger."

Butler argued that Sun's turning point meant that it acknowledged defeat under pressure from the success of Linux. "Sun's concession, after long resistance, of introducing Linux as a native OS on Intel-compatible hardware in its general-purpose server family means that it is finally acknowledging that one server strategy - the Sparc platform plus Solaris OS - will not suit all market needs. This will unite the Unix community against its common enemy Microsoft."

Linux is based on Unix and the first distribution, version .95, came out in 1992. IBM signed up to the open-source philosophy in 2000 and made all its systems Linux-compatible. Sun supported the operating system but never fully took its side until last week.

Bloor said the move would severely limit Unix development. "Unix will be marginalised to the large-machine space. Low-end servers will all go Linux."

Sun's Linux plans

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