Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard are taking their battle for
Unix server sales to a new low, in the form of entry level systems
that start at less than $1,000 (£700) and are aimed at uses such as
running Web sites and e-mail systems.
Sun has unveiled an upgraded version of its sub-$1,000 server,
adding a CD-Rom drive and the enterprise edition of its iPlanet Web
Server software.
The single-processor server has a base price of $995 (£692), the
same as the original model that Sun shipped early last year.
The move by Sun followed HP's introduction of a low-end Unix server
that also starts at $995. HP said the system is priced more than
half the price of its previous entry-level boxes.
There are some notable differences between the rival rack-mounted
systems. Sun's server, formerly called the Netra X1 and now renamed
the Sun Fire V100, comes with a 40GB disc drive as standard in
addition to the CD-Rom drive. Sun officials said the base system is
ready to install and use.
HP's rp2430 doesn't include a disk drive as a standard feature, and
the company said it expects typical configurations to cost about
$3,500 (£2,435). But a dual-processor model of the server offers
greater expansion capabilities than Sun does.
Companies needing an application server for distributed business
units and branch offices are a target market for the low-end Unix
machines.