Sun Microsystems is developing server software to manage the
provisioning of server resources in distributed computing
environments, one of several products it will roll out in the
coming years as part of its ambitious N1 project.
The N1 programme aims to help IT departments manage their
datacentres more efficiently. The idea is to make it possible for
administrators to pool resources such as processing power, storage
and bandwidth and allocate them to applications on an as-needed
basis, as easily as if they were part of a single system.
Sun plans to demonstrate a new provisioning server in the coming
weeks that should make it easier for enterprises to allocate
computing resources in such distributed environments. When an
application is performing poorly, an administrator will be able to
transfer some of the work to a different server that has spare
processing power.
The idea is to move from a "systems view" of the datacentre to a
view that looks primarily at applications and services, and then
make it easier to allocate system resources accordingly, said
Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice-president of Sun's software
group.
Sun already offers a handful of provisioning tools for its high-end
servers. Last month it introduced Change Manager, designed to
automate the installation and maintenance of software on large
groups of servers.
The provisioning server will probably draw from existing
technologies but should make it easier to manage servers that were
not previously linked by common tools.
"This is similar to what we do with our high-end boxes," Schwartz
said. "We need to transfer that to the Web, with boxes attached
together by Ethernet. N1 is simply the notion of 'cable once and
run forever' - you don't have to worry about cabling any
more."
Sun declined to say when the provisioning server would be launched
or provide further details. It will be the first of several server
products that Sun will roll out in the coming years as it builds
out its N1 architecture, said Anil Gadre, a vice-president with
Sun's software group.
A version of the product is likely to be bundled free with Sun's
operating system. Sun has decided to bundle a basic edition of all
its middleware products with Solaris and to synchronise the release
of all those products so that customers do not have to deal with
frequent upgrades and patches.
The decision to bundle its middleware with Solaris and update the
products together on a quarterly basis is "probably one of the most
important steps in our strategy", Schwartz said, adding that part
of the goal is to reduce complexity for customers.
"What we've heard from customers constantly is 'please make it
easier for us', " he said.
Sun has already bundled a version of its Sun ONE application server
and directory server with Solaris. Specific dates for bundling
other products with Solaris were not provided.
Sun's middleware and clustering software will be among "the kind of
core elements that will now become part of the operating system,"
Schwartz said.
The caveat is that the bundled products will be limited-use
editions, similar to the standard version of Sun's application
server offered with Solaris. "There is a price to scale them up,"
Schwartz said.
Schwartz rejected the idea that Sun's plan mimics Microsoft's moves
to bundle formerly independent applications, such as Internet
Explorer, into Windows.
"We complained about Microsoft being a monopoly and we complained
about integration and tying, which is when you cannot use the OS
without product 'xyz'. We do not live in that world," Schwartz
said.
Users are free to use other vendors' directory or messaging
products with Solaris even if those functions are already included
in Sun's operating system, he added.