Editing Sun Microsystems

{{Short description|American computer company, 1982–2010}}
{{Redirect|SunSoft, Inc.|the Japanese video game company|Sunsoft}}
{{Redirect|JAVA|other uses|Java (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Sun Microsystems, Inc.
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{Unbulleted list|class=nowrap|{{NASDAQ was|SUNW}} (1986–2007)|{{NASDAQ was|JAVA (2007–2010)}}}}
| logo = [[File:Sun Microsystems logo.svg|200px]]
| logo_caption = Logo used from the 1990s until acquisition by [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]]
| fate = Acquired by [[Oracle Corporation]]
| successor = 
| image = Wfm sun agnews.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_caption = Headquarters campus in Santa Clara, California
| foundation = {{start date and age|1982|02|24}}
| defunct = {{end date and age|2010|01|27}}
| founders = {{unbulleted list
  |[[Scott McNealy]]
  |[[Vinod Khosla]]
  |[[Andy Bechtolsheim]]
  |[[Bill Joy]]}}
| location_city = [[Santa Clara, California]]
| location_country = U.S.
| industry = {{Plainlist|
* [[Information technology]]}}
| products = {{Plainlist|
* [[Server (computing)|Server]]s
* [[Workstation]]s
* [[Computer data storage|Storage]]
* Services}}
| num_employees = 38,600 (near peak, 2006)<ref name="Sun_infopage">{{cite web | url = http://sun.com/aboutsun/company/facts.jsp | title = Company Info | website=Sun.com | access-date= 2006-12-04 | publisher = Sun Microsystems | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060828042628/http://sun.com/aboutsun/company/facts.jsp | archive-date=2006-08-28}}</ref>
| owner = [[Oracle Corporation]] (2010)
| homepage = {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104070711/http://www.sun.com:80/|title=sun.com}}
}}

'''Sun Microsystems, Inc.''', often known as '''Sun''' for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010<ref>{{cite press release |title=Churchill Club Presents: Scott McNealy in Conversation With Ed Zander |date=February 24, 2011 |publisher=[[Churchill Club]] |url=https://www.churchillclub.org/archived-programs/scott-mcnealy-in-conversation-with-ed-zander-premier-event/ |access-date=October 13, 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802000427/https://www.churchillclub.org/archived-programs/scott-mcnealy-in-conversation-with-ed-zander-premier-event/ |archive-date=August 2, 2020}}</ref> which developed and sold [[computer]]s, [[computer components]], [[software]], and [[information technology]] services. Sun contributed significantly to the evolution of several key computing technologies, among them [[Unix]], [[Reduced instruction set computer|RISC processors]], [[thin client]] computing, and [[virtualization|virtualized computing]]. At its height, the Sun headquarters were in [[Santa Clara, California]] (part of [[Silicon Valley]]), on the former west campus of the [[Agnews Developmental Center]].

Sun products included [[computer server]]s and [[workstation]]s built on its own [[Reduced instruction set computer|RISC]]-based [[SPARC processor architecture]], as well as on [[x86]]-based [[AMD]] [[Opteron]] and [[Intel]] [[Xeon]] processors. Sun also developed its own [[computer storage|storage]] systems and a suite of software products, including the Unix-based [[SunOS]] and later [[Solaris operating system|Solaris]] operating systems, developer tools, Web infrastructure software, and [[identity management]] applications. Technologies that Sun created include the [[Java (programming language)|Java programming language]], the [[Java (software platform)|Java platform]] and [[Network File System]] (NFS).

In general, Sun was a proponent of open systems, particularly Unix. It was also a major contributor to [[open-source software]], as evidenced by its $1 billion purchase, in 2008, of [[MySQL]], an open-source [[relational database management system]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Matt |date=November 30, 2006 |title=Sun begins releasing Java under the GPL |url=http://www.fsf.org/news/fsf-welcomes-gpl-java.html |access-date=June 14, 2011 |publisher=[[Free Software Foundation]] |quote=FSF president and founder Richard Stallman said, "I think Sun has contributed more than any other company to the free software community in the form of software. It shows leadership. It's an example I hope others will follow."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2008 |title=Sun to Acquire MySQL |url=http://mysql.com/news-and-events/sun-to-acquire-mysql.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718044718/http://mysql.com/news-and-events/sun-to-acquire-mysql.html |archive-date=2011-07-18 |access-date=2018-03-10 |website=MySQL.com}}</ref> Other notable Sun acquisitions include [[Cray Business Systems Division]], [[Storagetek]], and Innotek GmbH, creators of [[VirtualBox]]. On April 20, 2009, it was announced that [[Acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle Corporation|Oracle would acquire Sun]] for {{usd}}7.4&nbsp;billion. The deal was completed on January 27, 2010.<ref name="completion">{{cite web|author=Stephen Shankland|date=January 27, 2010|title=Oracle buys Sun, becomes hardware company|url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20000019-264.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821093146/http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20000019-264.html|archive-date=2010-08-21|access-date=June 14, 2011|publisher=[[CNET News]]}}</ref>

==History==
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|
{| style="font-size:90%; line-height:1.4em; width:230px; border-collapse:collapse; margin:0"
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Sun Microsystems logo history
|- style="border-bottom:1px solid #999"
| '''Logo'''|| '''Years'''
|-
| [[File:Sun-1 Badge.jpg|150px]] || <small>Original&nbsp;Sun&nbsp;Microsystems logo, as used on the nameplate of the [[Sun-1]] workstation</small>
|-
| [[File:Sun Microsystems 1980s logo.svg|150px]] || <small>Revised logo, used from 1983 to 1996</small>
|-
| [[File:Sun Microsystems logo.svg|150px]] || <small>From 1996 until 2010 / acquisition by Oracle Corporation</small>
|}
|}
The initial design for what became Sun's first Unix [[workstation]], the [[Sun-1]], was conceived by [[Andy Bechtolsheim]] when he was a graduate student at [[Stanford University]] in [[Palo Alto]], California. Bechtolsheim originally designed the [[SUN workstation]] for the [[Stanford University Network]] communications project as a personal [[CAD workstation]]. It was designed around the [[Motorola 68000 processor]] with an advanced [[memory management unit]] (MMU) to support the Unix operating system with [[virtual memory]] support.<ref>{{ cite tech report| url=http://i.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/csl/tr/82/229/CSL-TR-82-229.pdf| title=The SUN Workstation Architecture| first1=Andreas| last1=Bechtolsheim| first2=Forest| last2=Baskett| first3=Vaughan| last3=Pratt| name-list-style=amp| institution=[[Stanford University]], Computer Systems Laboratory| id=STAN//CSL-TR-82-229| date=March 1982| access-date=July 28, 2009}}</ref> He built the first examples from spare parts obtained from Stanford's [[Stanford University School of Engineering|Department of Computer Science]] and Silicon Valley supply houses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/wellspring/sun_spotlight.html |title=Wellspring of Innovation: Sun Microsystems Spotlight |first=Carolyn |last=Tajnai |website=Stanford.edu |access-date=July 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517063315/http://www.stanford.edu/group/wellspring/sun_spotlight.html |archive-date=2009-05-17}}</ref>

On February 24, 1982, [[Scott McNealy]], [[Andy Bechtolsheim]], and [[Vinod Khosla]], all Stanford graduate students, founded ''Sun Microsystems''. [[Bill Joy]] of Berkeley, a primary developer of the [[Berkeley Software Distribution]] (BSD), joined soon after and is counted as one of the original founders.<ref>{{cite book |title=Vinod Khosla and Sun Microsystems |author=Amar Bhide |type=Case study |publisher=Harvard Business School |date=September 28, 1989 |url=https://hbr.org/product/vinod-khosla-and-sun-microsystems-a/390049-PDF-ENG | url-access=subscription}}</ref> The company was the second, after rival [[Apollo Computer]], to specialize in workstations.<ref name="nicholls198902">{{Cite magazine |last=Nicholls |first=Bill |date=February 1989 |title=The Current Crop |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1989-02_OCR/page/n290/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=2024-10-08 |magazine=BYTE |pages=235–244}}</ref> The name "Sun" is derived from the initials of the Stanford University Network (SUN).<ref>{{cite book |title=Silicon Valley |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780762742394 |url-access=registration |last=Vance |first=Ashlee |author-link=Ashlee Vance |year=2007 |publisher= Globe Pequot Press |location=Goulford, CT, US |isbn=978-0-7627-4239-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780762742394/page/117 117]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title= Mr. Scott McNealy |website=Sun.com | publisher=Sun Microsystems| date=April 24, 2005| url=http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/edu/gelc/bios/scottmcnealy.html| access-date =September 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930034150/http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/edu/gelc/bios/scottmcnealy.html |archive-date=2009-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.sun.com/dador/entry/sunw_stanford_university_network_workstation |title=SUNW = Stanford University Network Workstation |website=Jim McGuinness's Weblog |access-date=February 22, 2009 |date=August 27, 2007 |first=Jim |last=McGuinness |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816154500/http://blogs.sun.com/dador/entry/sunw_stanford_university_network_workstation |archive-date=August 16, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>  Sun was profitable from its first quarter in July 1982.

By 1983, Sun was known for producing [[Motorola 68000|68k-based systems]] with high-quality graphics that were the only computers other than [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]]'s [[VAX]] to run [[4.2BSD]]. It licensed the [[Computer architecture|computer design]] to other manufacturers, which typically used it to build [[Multibus]]-based systems running Unix from [[UniSoft]].<ref name="fiedler198310">{{cite news| url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-10/1983_10_BYTE_08-10_UNIX#page/n133/mode/2up| title=The Unix Tutorial / Part 3: Unix in the Microcomputer Marketplace| work=BYTE| date=October 1983| access-date=30 January 2015| last=Fiedler| first=Ryan| page=132}}</ref> Sun's initial public offering was in 1986 under the [[Ticker symbol|stock symbol]] ''SUNW'', for ''Sun Workstations'' (later ''Sun Worldwide'').<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/02/sun_shows_metropolis/| date=June 2, 2004| title=Sun goes back to the future with Metropolis |first=Ashlee |last=Vance| access-date=January 31, 2007| work=[[The Register]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/investor/faq/#04| title=Sun Microsystems&nbsp;— Investor Relations: FAQ| website=Sun.com |access-date=January 23, 2007| publisher=Sun Microsystems |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621182201/http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/investor/faq/#04 |archive-date=2006-06-21}}</ref> The symbol was changed in 2007 to ''JAVA''; Sun stated that the [[brand awareness]] associated with its Java platform better represented the company's current strategy.<ref>{{cite web |first=Alexei |last=Oreskovic |url=http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/newsanalysis/techhardware/10376053.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&amp;cm_cat=FREE&amp;cm_ite=NA |title=Sun to Switch Symbol to JAVA |work=[[Thestreet.com]] |date=August 23, 2007 |access-date=July 28, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014061541/http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/newsanalysis/techhardware/10376053.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA |archive-date=October 14, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Sun's logo, which features four interleaved copies of the word ''sun'' in the form of a rotationally symmetric [[ambigram]], was designed by professor [[Vaughan Pratt]], also of Stanford. The initial version of the logo was orange and had the sides oriented horizontally and vertically, but it was subsequently rotated to stand on one corner and re-colored purple, and later blue.

=== Dot-com bubble and aftermath===
During the [[dot-com bubble]], Sun began making more money, with its stock rising as high as $250 per share.<ref>{{cite web| title=Sun Microsystems' Rise And Fall |url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/03/18/sun-microsystems-internet-technology-enterprise-tech-sun-microsystems.html| website=Forbes |access-date=27 December 2021}}</ref> It also began spending much more, hiring workers and building itself out. Some of this was because of genuine demand, but much was from web start-up companies anticipating business that would never happen. In 2000, the bubble burst.<ref>{{cite web |title=The $1.7 trillion dot.com lesson |url=https://money.cnn.com/2000/11/09/technology/overview/ |website=CNN |access-date=13 February 2020}}</ref> Sales in Sun's important hardware division went into free-fall as customers closed shop and auctioned high-end servers.

Several quarters of steep losses led to executive departures, rounds of layoffs,<ref>{{cite web|title=Sun to lay off 1,000 |url=http://news.cnet.com/Sun+to+lay+off+1,000/2100-1022_3-5078493.html |access-date=July 13, 2007 |date=September 18, 2003 |work=[[CNET News]] |first=Stephen |last=Shankland |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711071052/http://news.cnet.com/Sun-to-lay-off-1,000/2100-1022_3-5078493.html |archive-date=July 11, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| access-date=July 13, 2007| date=June 24, 2005| url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/24/sun_layoffs_2006/| title=Sun layoffs hit hundreds in US|first=Ashlee| last=Vance| work=The Register}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6058894.html| date= April 7, 2006 |access-date=July 13, 2007|title=Sun layoffs hit high-end server group| work=[[ZDNet]]| first=Stephen| last=Shankland| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070210194319/http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6058894.html| archive-date = February 10, 2007}}</ref> and other cost cutting. In December 2001, the stock fell to the 1998, pre-bubble level of about $100. It continued to fall, faster than many other technology companies. A year later, it had reached below $10 (a tenth of what it was in 1990), but it eventually bounced back to $20. In mid-2004, Sun closed their [[Newark, California]], factory and consolidated all manufacturing to Hillsboro, Oregon and Linlithgow, Scotland.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2004/01/12/daily49.html |date=January 16, 2004 |access-date=July 14, 2007|title=Sun to add jobs in Hillsboro | work=[[American City Business Journals|Portland Business Journal]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050905185327/http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2004/01/12/daily49.html | archive-date=2005-09-05 | url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref> In 2006, the rest of the Newark campus was put on the market.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/05/08/daily55.html |date= May 11, 2006 |access-date=June 14, 2011 |title=Sun to sell Newark campus, move 2,300 workers |work=San Jose Business Journal |first=Sharon |last=Simonson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622032553/https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/05/08/daily55.html |archive-date=2011-06-22 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref>

===Post-crash focus===
[[File:Meta HQ 2023.png|thumb|right|Former [[Menlo Park, California|Menlo Park]] campus, now owned by [[Meta Platforms]]]]
[[File:Sun Agnews Campus Bldgs 21 22.jpg|thumb|right|Buildings 21 and 22 at Sun's headquarters campus in Santa Clara]]
[[File:SunCanada.jpg|thumb|right|Sun in [[Markham, Ontario]], Canada]]
In 2004, Sun canceled two major processor projects which emphasized high [[instruction-level parallelism]] and operating frequency. Instead, the company chose to concentrate on processors optimized for [[Multithreading (computer architecture)|multi-threading]] and [[multiprocessing]], such as the [[UltraSPARC T1]] processor (codenamed "Niagara"). The company also announced a collaboration with [[Fujitsu]] to use the Japanese company's processor chips in mid-range and high-end Sun servers. These servers were announced on April 17, 2007, as the M-Series, part of the [[SPARC Enterprise]] series.

In February 2005, Sun announced the [[Sun Grid]], a [[grid computing]] deployment on which it offered [[utility computing]] services priced at US$1 per CPU/hour for processing and per GB/month for storage. This offering built upon an existing 3,000-CPU server farm used for internal R&D for over 10 years, which Sun marketed as being able to achieve 97% utilization. In August 2005, the first commercial use of this grid was announced for financial risk simulations which were later launched as its first [[software as a service]] product.<ref>{{cite press release| url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-24-2005/0004093251&EDATE=| date=August 24, 2005| title=CDO2 Unlocks The Power of Sun Grid for Faster Financial Risk Simulation| publisher=Sun Microsystems |access-date=2009-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605125124/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cdo2-unlocks-the-power-of-suntm-grid-for-faster-financial-risk-simulation-54991327.html |archive-date=2011-06-05}}</ref>

In January 2005, Sun reported a net profit of $19&nbsp;million for fiscal 2005 second quarter, for the first time in three years. This was followed by net loss of $9&nbsp;million on [[Generally accepted accounting principles|GAAP]] basis for the third quarter 2005, as reported on April 14, 2005. In January 2007, Sun reported a net GAAP profit of $126&nbsp;million on revenue of $3.337&nbsp;billion for its fiscal second quarter. Shortly following that news, it was announced that [[Kohlberg Kravis Roberts]] (KKR) would invest $700&nbsp;million in the company.<ref>{{cite press release| url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-23-2007/0004511496| date=January 23, 2007| title=Sun Microsystems Welcomes Endorsement and Investment From KKR| publisher=Sun Microsystems| access-date=2007-02-15| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929132028/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=%2Fwww%2Fstory%2F01-23-2007%2F0004511496| archive-date=September 29, 2007| url-status=live}}</ref>

Sun had engineering groups in [[Bangalore]], [[Beijing]], [[Dublin]], [[Grenoble]], [[Hamburg]], [[Prague]], [[St. Petersburg]], [[Tel Aviv]], [[Tokyo]], [[Canberra]] and [[Trondheim]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/9/37846828.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910041023/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/9/37846828.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-date=2008-09-10 | title=Offshoring Software Development | type=presentation by Sun to the OECD | first=Pavel |last=Suk |date=2006}}</ref>

In 2007–2008, Sun posted revenue of $13.8&nbsp;billion and had $2&nbsp;billion in cash. First-quarter 2008 losses were $1.68&nbsp;billion; revenue fell 7% to $12.99&nbsp;billion. Sun's stock lost 80% of its value November 2007 to November 2008, reducing the company's market value to $3&nbsp;billion. With falling sales to large corporate clients, Sun announced plans to lay off 5,000 to 6,000 workers, or 15–18% of its work force. It expected to save $700&nbsp;million to $800&nbsp;million a year as a result of the moves, while also taking up to $600&nbsp;million in charges.<ref>{{cite web|first=Ashlee|last=Vance|title=Crisis Hits Tech Sector With Layoffs as Sales Slump|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/15/technology/companies/15sun.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 14, 2008}}</ref>

==Sun acquisitions==
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2008}}
[[File:SunRackMountServers.jpg|right|thumb|Sun [[server rack]]s at [[Seneca College]] (York Campus)]]
[[File:Computer Museum of America (43).jpg|right|thumb|A Sun [[server rack]] at the [[Mimms Museum of Technology and Art]] in [[Roswell, Georgia]]]]

<!-- Please try to reference any acquisitions that you add to this section. Ideally, you should not use Sun's own press or Sunflash announcements, rather you should use a trusted external-to-Sun source such as CNet, ZNnet, etc. -->
* 1987: Trancept Systems, a high-performance graphics hardware company<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.dotcsw.com/trancept.html
| title = Trancept Systems
| website = DotCSw.com
| first=Nick | last=England
| access-date =May 12, 2007
}}</ref>
* 1987: Sitka Corp, networking systems linking the Macintosh with IBM PCs<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SMG/is_n3_v12/ai_12008406/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050122113504/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SMG/is_n3_v12/ai_12008406 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 22, 2005 |title=Sitka Corp |date=March 1992 |work=Software Magazine |access-date=April 20, 2012 |via=FindArticles.com}}</ref>
* 1987: Centram Systems West, maker of [[networking software]] for PCs, Macs and Sun systems
* 1988: Folio, Inc., developer of intelligent font scaling technology and the [[F3 (font format)|F3]] font format<ref>{{cite press release
 |title=  Sun Microsystems Acquires Folio, Inc.
 |publisher=Sun Microsystems
 |date= September 6, 1988
 |url= http://groups.google.com/group/comp.windows.news/msg/6b21cd36461d711d
 |access-date=November 12, 2007
}}</ref>
* 1991: [[Interactive Systems Corporation]]'s Intel/Unix OS division, from [[Eastman Kodak Company]]
* 1992: Praxsys Technologies, Inc., developers of the Windows emulation technology that eventually became [[Wabi (software)|Wabi]]<ref>{{cite news
  | title = Sun's SunSelect Acquires Windows-Under-Unix Emulation Firm Praxsys   <!--| commented out URL due to WP link blacklisting url = http://www.cbronline.com/news/suns_sunselect_acquires_windows_under_unix_emulation_firm_praxsys | access-date =April 3, 2009 -->
  | work=[[Computergram International]]
  | date = September 18, 1992
}}</ref>
* 1994: [[Thinking Machines Corporation]] hardware division
* 1996: [[Lighthouse Design]], Ltd.<ref>{{cite news| title=Sun pitches software savvy as it pushes past server identity| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2002/06/03/smallb2.html|  first=Ken Spencer| last=Brown| work=San Jose Business Journal| date=May 31, 2002| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026072712/https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2002/06/03/smallb2.html| archive-date=2012-10-26| url-status=live| url-access=limited}}</ref>
* 1996: [[Cray Research|Cray Business Systems Division]], from [[Silicon Graphics]]<ref name="Cray_BSD">{{cite press release
  |title=Sun Microsystems announces intent to purchase Cray Business Systems Division |publisher=Sun Microsystems |date= May 17, 1996
  |url= http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sun+Microsystems+Announces+Intent+to+Purchase+Cray+Business+Systems...-a018293601 |access-date=March 20, 2011
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023113441/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sun+Microsystems+Announces+Intent+to+Purchase+Cray+Business+Systems...-a018293601 |archive-date=2012-10-23}}</ref>
* 1996: Integrated Micro Products, specializing in [[fault tolerant]] servers
* 1996: Thinking Machines Corporation software division
* February 1997: [[LongView Technologies]], LLC<ref>{{ cite press release | title=Sun Microsystems, Inc. acquires LongView Technologies LLC | url = http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/1997-02/sunflash.970218.8791.xml | date= February 18, 1997 | publisher=Sun Microsystems | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205020630/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/1997-02/sunflash.970218.8791.xml | archive-date=2006-12-05 | access-date=2007-03-10}}</ref>
* August 1997: Diba, technology supplier for the Information Appliance industry<ref>{{ cite press release | url = http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/1997-08/sunflash.970825.10.xml | title = Sun Microsystems completes acquisition of DIBA, pioneer in information appliance industry | date= August 25, 1997 | publisher=Sun Microsystems | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901180308/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/1997-08/sunflash.970825.10.xml | archive-date=2007-09-01 | access-date=2007-03-10 }}</ref>
* September 1997: [[Chorus Systèmes SA]], creators of [[ChorusOS]]<ref>{{cite press release
 | title = Sun expands network software business to embedded systems market; agrees to acquire Chorus Systems
 | publisher=Sun Microsystems
 | date = September 10, 1997
 | url = http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/1997-09/sunflash.970910.1.xml
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061205020505/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/1997-09/sunflash.970910.1.xml
 | archive-date = 2006-12-05
 | access-date = May 13, 2007
 }}</ref>
* November 1997: [[Encore Computer]] Corporation's storage business<ref>{{ cite press release | url = http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/1997-07/sunflash.970717.1112.xml | date= July 17, 1997 | title = Sun Microsystems signs definitive agreement to acquire Encore Computer's storage business | publisher=Sun Microsystems | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061205015612/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/1997-07/sunflash.970717.1112.xml | archive-date=2006-12-05}}</ref>
* 1998: RedCape Software
* 1998: i-Planet<!-- yes, that's the correct spelling of the acquired company -->, a small software company that produced the "Pony Espresso" mobile email client—its name (sans hyphen) for the [[iPlanet|Sun-Netscape software alliance]]
* June 1998: Dakota Scientific Software, Inc.—development tools for high-performance computing<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-boucher/0/bb9/597|title=Michael Boucher|website=LinkedIn|access-date=2014-06-25}}</ref>
* July 1998: NetDynamics<ref>{{cite news| title=Will a big company buy your startup? |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/1998/07/20/smallb2.html |work=San Francisco Business Times | first=Susan Smith |last=Hendrickson |date=July 19, 1998 |url-access=limited}}</ref>—developers of the [[NetDynamics Application Server]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Sun buys NetDynamics |url=http://news.cnet.com/Sun+buys+NetDynamics/2100-1001_3-212908.html |date=July 1, 1998 |website=[[CNET News]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711133959/http://news.cnet.com/Sun-buys-NetDynamics/2100-1001_3-212908.html |archive-date=July 11, 2012 |url-status=dead |first1=Jeff|last1=Pelline |first2=Mike|last2=Ricciuti |first3=Tim|last3=Clark}}</ref>
* October 1998: Beduin,<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://news.cnet.com/Sun-buys-Canadian-firm-Beduin/2100-1001_3-216896.html | date=October 20, 1998 | title = Sun buys Canadian firm Beduin | work=[[CNET News]] | first=Stephen|last=Shankland | access-date=2011-09-29 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214001916/http://news.cnet.com/Sun-buys-Canadian-firm-Beduin/2100-1001_3-216896.html | archive-date=2015-02-14 | url-status=live }}</ref> small software company that produced the "Impact" small-footprint Java-based Web browser for mobile devices.
* 1999: [[Star Division]], German software company and with it [[StarOffice]], which was later released as open source under the name [[OpenOffice.org]]
* 1999: MAXSTRAT Corporation, a company in [[Milpitas, California]] selling [[Fibre Channel]] storage servers.
* October 1999: Forté Software, an enterprise software company specializing in integration solutions and developer of the [[Forte 4GL]]<ref>{{ cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/24/business/sun-microsystems-to-buy-forte-in-540-million-deal.html | title=Sun Microsystems to Buy Forte in $540 Million Deal | first=Lawrence M. | last=Fisheraug | website=[[The New York Times]] | date=August 24, 1999}}</ref>
* 1999: [[TeamWare]]
* 1999: [[NetBeans]], produced a modular [[Integrated development environment|IDE]] written in Java, based on a student project at [[Charles University]] in Prague
*  March 2000: Innosoft International, Inc. a software company specializing in highly scalable MTAs (PMDF) and Directory Services.
* July 2000: [[Sun Grid Engine#History|Gridware]], a software company whose products managed the distribution of computing jobs across multiple computers<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://news.cnet.com/Sun+snaps+up+software+company+Gridware/2100-1001_3-243555.html
 |title=Sun snaps up software company Gridware
 |date=July 24, 2000
 |access-date=May 18, 2007
 |website=[[CNET]]
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119131243/http://news.cnet.com/Sun-snaps-up-software-company-Gridware/2100-1001_3-243555.html
 |archive-date=January 19, 2013
 |url-status=dead
 |first=Stephen|last=Shankland
}}</ref>
* September 2000: [[Cobalt Networks]], an Internet appliance manufacturer for $2 billion<ref>{{ cite web
 | url = http://www.internetnews.com/fina-news/article.php/5_463841
 | title = Sun Takes a Shine to Cobalt
 | first=Carol | last=King
 | date = September 19, 2000
 | access-date = May 18, 2007
 | website=InternetNews.com
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20041115104412/http://www.internetnews.com/fina-news/article.php/5_463841
 | archive-date = November 15, 2004
}}</ref>
* December 2000: HighGround, with a suite of Web-based management solutions<ref>{{ cite web
 |url=http://news.cnet.com/Sun+snags+storage+company%2C+software+maker/2100-1001_3-249318.html?tag=item
 |title=Sun snags storage company, software maker
 |date=December 4, 2000
 |access-date=July 4, 2007
 |website=[[CNET News]]
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119150839/http://news.cnet.com/Sun-snags-storage-company,-software-maker/2100-1001_3-249318.html?tag=item
 |archive-date=January 19, 2013
 |url-status=dead
 |first=Melanie Austria|last=Farmer
}}</ref>
* 2001: LSC, Inc., an Eagan, Minnesota company that developed Storage and Archive Management File System (SAM-FS) and Quick File System [[QFS]] file systems for backup and archive
* March 2001: InfraSearch, a peer-to-peer search company based in Burlingame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2001/03/05/daily21.html|title=Sun buys InfraSearch|date=7 March 2001|website=www.bizjournals.com|access-date=2020-02-03}}</ref>
* March 2002: Clustra Systems<ref>{{ cite web
 |url=http://www.information-age.com/article/2002/march/sun_buys_clustra_for_iplanet
 |title=Sun buys Clustra for iPlanet
 |date=March 19, 2002
 |access-date=July 4, 2007
 |website=InformationAge
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927183701/http://www.information-age.com/article/2002/march/sun_buys_clustra_for_iplanet
 |archive-date=September 27, 2007
 |first=Natasha|last=Cheung
}}</ref>
* June 2002: [[Afara Websystems]], developed SPARC processor–based technology<ref>{{ cite web
 |url=http://news.cnet.com/Sun+buys+start-up+to+boost+UltraSparc/2100-1001_3-939307.html
 |title=Sun buys start-up to boost UltraSparc
 |date=June 25, 2002
 |access-date=July 4, 2007
 |website=[[CNET News]]
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119212818/http://news.cnet.com/Sun-buys-start-up-to-boost-UltraSparc/2100-1001_3-939307.html
 |archive-date=January 19, 2013
 |url-status=dead
 |first=Stephen|last=Shankland
}}</ref>
* September 2002: Pirus Networks, intelligent storage services<ref>{{ cite web
 |url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-958610.html
 |title=Sun to buy start-up to boost "N1" plan
 |date=September 19, 2002
 |access-date=July 4, 2007
 |website=[[CNET News]]
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119150652/http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-958610.html
 |archive-date=January 19, 2013
 |url-status=dead
 |first=Stephen|last=Shankland
}}</ref>
* November 2002: [[Terraspring]], infrastructure automation software<ref>{{ cite web
 |url=http://news.cnet.com/Sun+springs+for+software+maker/2100-1001_3-965980.html
 |title=Sun springs for software maker
 |first=John G. |last=Spooner
 |date=November 15, 2002
 |access-date=July 4, 2007
 |publisher=[[CNET News]]
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119151659/http://news.cnet.com/Sun-springs-for-software-maker/2100-1001_3-965980.html
 |archive-date=January 19, 2013
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref>
* June 2003: [[Pixo]], added to the Sun Content Delivery Server<ref>{{ cite web
 |url=http://www.techweb.com/wire/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=26801457
 |title=Sun Microsystems To Acquire Pixo
 |date=June 26, 2003
 |access-date=July 4, 2007
 |publisher=TechWeb
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929103009/http://www.techweb.com/wire/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=26801457
 |archive-date=September 29, 2007
}}</ref>
* August 2003: CenterRun, Inc.<ref name="acq-history">{{ cite web
 | url = http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/investor/sun_facts/merger_history.jsp
 | title = Sun Facts Acquisitions History
 | access-date = July 16, 2009
 | website = Sun.com
 | publisher = Sun Microsystems
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090424154820/http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/investor/sun_facts/merger_history.jsp
 | archive-date = April 24, 2009
}}</ref>
* December 2003: Waveset Technologies, identity management<ref name="waveset">{{cite press release |title= Sun completes acquisition of Waveset Technologies, Inc. |publisher=Sun Microsystems |date= December 10, 2003 |url= http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2003-12/sunflash.20031210.1.xml |access-date=January 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060905175519/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2003-12/sunflash.20031210.1.xml | archive-date=September 5, 2006 }}</ref>
* January 2004 Nauticus Networks<ref>{{cite press release | title = Sun Microsystems enhances network services integration into blades platform; Signs agreement to acquire Nauticus Networks | url = http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2004-01/sunflash.20040120.2.xml | publisher=Sun Microsystems | date=January 2, 2004 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231071858/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2004-01/sunflash.20040120.2.xml | archive-date=2006-12-31 | access-date=2007-03-10}}</ref>
* February 2004: Kealia, founded by original Sun founder Andy Bechtolsheim, developed AMD-based 64-bit servers<ref name="AB-returns">{{cite web
 |url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1010_3-5156828.html
 |title=Sun to buy Opteron server maker, reclaim co-founder
 |first=Stephen |last=Shankland
 |date=February 10, 2004
 |access-date=July 4, 2007
 |website=[[CNET]]
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130120055934/http://news.cnet.com/2100-1010_3-5156828.html
 |archive-date=January 20, 2013
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref>
* January 2005: SevenSpace, a multi-platform managed services provider<ref>{{cite press release |title= Sun Completes Acquisition Of Sevenspace |publisher=Sun Microsystems |date= January 11, 2005 |url= http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2005-01/sunflash.20050111.1.xml |access-date=October 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230231502/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2005-01/sunflash.20050111.1.xml |archive-date=2006-12-30 }}</ref>
* May 2005: [[Tarantella, Inc.]] (formerly known as [[Santa Cruz Operation]] (SCO)), for $25 million<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://news.cnet.com/Sun+to+buy+Tarantella/2100-1012_3-5701487.html?tag=item
 |title=Sun to buy Tarantella
 |first1=Dawn |last1=Kawamoto
 |first2=Stephen |last2=Shankland
 |date=May 10, 2005
 |access-date=July 4, 2007
 |website=[[CNET]]
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119223449/http://news.cnet.com/Sun-to-buy-Tarantella/2100-1012_3-5701487.html?tag=item
 |archive-date=January 19, 2013
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref>
* June 2005: SeeBeyond, a [[Service-Oriented Architecture]] (SOA) software company for $387m<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://news.cnet.com/Sun+to+buy+integration+outfit+SeeBeyond/2100-1014_3-5766116.html?tag=item
 |title=Sun to buy integration outfit SeeBeyond
 |first=Martin |last=LaMonica
 |date=June 28, 2005
 |access-date=July 4, 2007
 |website=[[CNET]]
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119140313/http://news.cnet.com/Sun-to-buy-integration-outfit-SeeBeyond/2100-1014_3-5766116.html?tag=item
 |archive-date=January 19, 2013
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref>
* June 2005: [[Procom Technology]], Inc.'s NAS IP Assets<ref name="acq-history"/>
* August 2005: [[StorageTek]], data storage technology company for $4.1 billion<ref>{{ cite press release | url = http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2005-08/sunflash.20050831.1.xml | title = Sun Microsystems Completes Acquisition of StorageTek | publisher=Sun Microsystems | date= August 31, 2005 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070401143725/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2005-08/sunflash.20050831.1.xml | archive-date=2007-04-01 }}</ref>
* February 2006: Aduva, software for Solaris and Linux patch management<ref>{{cite press release
 | title = Sun to Acquire Aduva
 | publisher=Sun Microsystems
 | date = February 22, 2006
 | url = http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2006-02/sunflash.20060222.2.xml
 | access-date = May 17, 2007
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060908225045/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2006-02/sunflash.20060222.2.xml
 | archive-date = 2006-09-08
 }}</ref>
* October 2006: Neogent<ref>{{cite press release
 | title = Sun to Bolster Identity Management Leadership and Service Offerings With Acquisition of Neogent
 | publisher=Sun Microsystems
 | date = September 27, 2006
 | url = http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2006-09/sunflash.20060927.1.xml
 | access-date = November 13, 2007
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071009145646/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2006-09/sunflash.20060927.1.xml
 | archive-date = 2007-10-09
 }}</ref>
* April 2007: [[SavaJe]], the SavaJe OS, a Java OS for mobile phones
* September 2007: [[Cluster File Systems]], Inc.<ref>{{cite press release
 |title=Sun Microsystems Expands High Performance Computing Portfolio with Definitive Agreement to Acquire Assets of Cluster File Systems, Including the Lustre File System
 |publisher=Sun Microsystems
 |date=September 12, 2007
 |url=http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2007-09/sunflash.20070912.2.xml
 |access-date=September 13, 2007
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002091821/http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2007-09/sunflash.20070912.2.xml
 |archive-date=October 2, 2007
}}</ref>
* November 2007: Vaau, Enterprise Role Management and identity compliance solutions<ref>{{cite press release |title = Sun Microsystems Strengthens Market-Leading Identity Management Portfolio with Intent to Acquire Vaau |publisher=Sun Microsystems |date = November 13, 2007 |via=Information Week |url = http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/government/208806898 |access-date =November 13, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020122819/http://www.informationweek.com/security/government/sun-to-purchase-id-firm-vaau/208806898 | archive-date=2012-10-20
 }}</ref>
* February 2008: [[MySQL AB]], the company offering the open source database MySQL for $1 billion.<ref>{{cite press release
 |title=Sun Microsystems Announces Completion of MySQL Acquisition; Paves Way for Secure, Open Source Platform to Power the Network Economy
 |publisher=Sun Microsystems
 |date=February 26, 2008
 |url=http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2008-02/sunflash.20080226.1.xml
 |access-date=February 26, 2008
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228025123/http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2008-02/sunflash.20080226.1.xml
 |archive-date=February 28, 2008
}}</ref>
* February 2008: [[Innotek GmbH]], developer of the [[VirtualBox]] virtualization product<ref>{{cite press release
 | title = Sun Microsystems Announces Agreement to Acquire innotek, Expanding Sun xVM Reach to the Developer Desktop
 | publisher=Sun Microsystems
 | date = February 12, 2008
 | url = http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2008-02/sunflash.20080212.1.xml
 | access-date =February 12, 2008
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080213053843/http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2008-02/sunflash.20080212.1.xml
 | archive-date = 2008-02-13
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
  |url = http://www.sun.com/software/innotek/
  |title = Sun Welcomes Innotek
  |access-date =February 26, 2008
  |publisher=Sun Microsystems
  |quote = On February 20 Sun completed the acquisition of innotek
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080302021721/http://www.sun.com/software/innotek/
  |archive-date = 2008-03-02
}}</ref>
* April 2008: [[Montalvo Systems]], x86 microprocessor startup acquired before first silicon
* January 2009: Q-layer, a software company with cloud computing solutions<ref>{{cite press release
 | title = Sun Microsystems Expands Cloud Computing Offerings with Acquisition of Q-layer
 | publisher= Sun Microsystems
 | date = January 6, 2009
 | url = http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2009-01/sunflash.20090107.1.xml
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090122183806/http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2009-01/sunflash.20090107.1.xml
 | archive-date = 2009-01-22
 | access-date = January 6, 2009
 }}</ref>

==Major stockholders==
As of May 11, 2009, the following shareholders held over 100,000 [[Common stock|common shares]] of Sun<ref name="proxy">{{cite web |url = https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/709519/000119312509126389/ddefm14a.htm |title = Definitive Merger Proxy |access-date =June 4, 2011 |author=Sun Microsystems |date = June 8, 2009 |work=[[EDGAR]] |publisher=United States Securities and Exchange Commission
}}</ref> and at $9.50 per share offered by Oracle,<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/018363|title=Oracle Buys Sun|date=April 20, 2009|publisher=[[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]]}}</ref> they received the amounts indicated when the acquisition closed.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Major investors in Sun
|-
!Investor
!Common shares
!Value at merger
|-
|[[Barclays Global Investors]]||37,606,708||$357 million
|-
|[[Scott McNealy]]|| 14,566,433||$138 million
|-
|[[Ken Oshman]]||584,985||$5.5 million
|-
|[[Jonathan I. Schwartz]]||536,109||$5 million
|-
|[[James L. Barksdale]]||231,785||$2.2 million
|-
|Michael E. Lehman||106,684||$1 million
|}

==Hardware==
For the first decade of Sun's history, the company positioned its products as technical [[workstations]], competing successfully as a low-cost vendor during the Workstation Wars of the 1980s. It then shifted its hardware product line to emphasize servers and storage. High-level telecom control systems such as [[Operational Support Systems]] service predominantly used Sun equipment.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

===Motorola-based systems===
Sun originally used [[Motorola 68000 family]] central processing units for the [[Sun-1]] through [[Sun-3]] computer series. The Sun-1 employed a 68000 CPU, the [[Sun-2]] series, a [[Motorola 68010|68010]]. The Sun-3 series was based on the [[Motorola 68020|68020]], with the later Sun-3x using the [[Motorola 68030|68030]].<ref name=Sun-3x>{{Cite book
|author1=George Becker |author2=Kathy Slatterly | year= 1991
| title= A System Administrator's Guide to Sun Workstations
| edition= First
| publisher= Springer Verlag
| location= New York
| pages= 10
| isbn= 0-387-97250-1 }}</ref>

===SPARC-based systems===
{{See also|SPARC}}
[[File:SPARCstation 1.jpg|right|thumb|SPARCstation 1+]]
In 1987, the company began using ''SPARC (Scalable Processor ARChitecture)'', a RISC processor architecture of its own design, in its computer systems, starting with the [[Sun-4]] line. SPARC was initially a [[32-bit]] architecture (SPARC V7) until the introduction of the SPARC V9 architecture in 1995, which added [[64-bit]] extensions.

Sun developed several generations of SPARC-based computer systems, including the [[SPARCstation]], [[Sun Ultra series|Ultra]], and [[Sun Blade (workstation)|Sun Blade]] series of workstations, and the SPARCserver, [[Sun Netra|Netra]], [[Sun Enterprise|Enterprise]], and [[Sun Fire]] line of servers.

In the early 1990s the company began to extend its product line to include large-scale [[symmetric multiprocessing]] servers, starting with the four-processor SPARCserver 600MP. This was followed by the 8-processor SPARCserver 1000 and 20-processor SPARCcenter 2000, which were based on work done in conjunction with [[Xerox PARC]]. In 1995 the company introduced [[Sun Ultra series]] machines that were equipped with the first 64-bit implementation of SPARC processors ([[UltraSPARC]]). In the late 1990s the transformation of product line in favor of large 64-bit SMP systems was accelerated by the acquisition of Cray Business Systems Division from Silicon Graphics.<ref name="Cray_BSD"/> Their 32-bit, 64-processor [[Cray CS6400|Cray Superserver 6400]], related to the SPARCcenter, led to the 64-bit [[Sun Enterprise 10000]] high-end server (otherwise known as ''Starfire'' or E10K).

In September 2004, Sun made available systems with [[UltraSPARC IV]]<ref>{{cite news |title= Sun plans to use UltraSparc IV chip to provide a superior server |work=TechSpot |date= September 13, 2004 | url= http://www.techspot.com/news/15374-sun-plans-to-use-ultrasparc-iv-chip-to-provide-a-superior-server.html |access-date=July 12, 2012 | first=Derek|last=Sooman }}</ref> which was the first multi-core SPARC processor. It was followed by UltraSPARC IV+ in September 2005<ref>{{cite news |title= Sun revamps Unix servers with UltraSparc IV+ |first=Stephen|last=Shankland |work=[[CNET News]] |date= September 20, 2005 | url= http://news.cnet.com/Sun-revamps-Unix-servers-with-UltraSparc-IV/2100-1010_3-5874506.html |access-date=July 12, 2012 }}</ref> and its revisions with higher clock speeds in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |title= Sun breaks omerta for UltraSPARC IV+ speed bump |website=[[The Register]] |date= April 4, 2007 | url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/04/sun_usfour_speedup/ |access-date=July 12, 2012 |first=Ashlee|last=Vance}}</ref> These CPUs were used in the most powerful, enterprise class high-end [[Non-Uniform Memory Access|CC-NUMA]] servers developed by Sun, such as the Sun Fire E15K and the [[Sun Fire E25K]].

In November 2005, Sun launched the [[UltraSPARC T1]], notable for its ability to concurrently run 32 threads of execution on 8 processor cores. Its intent was to drive more efficient use of CPU resources, which is of particular importance in [[data center]]s, where there is an increasing need to reduce power and air conditioning demands, much of which comes from the heat generated by CPUs. The T1 was followed in 2007 by the [[UltraSPARC T2]], which extended the number of threads per core from 4 to 8. Sun has open sourced the design specifications of both the T1 and T2 processors via the [[OpenSPARC]] project.

In 2006, Sun ventured into the ''[[blade server]]'' (high density rack-mounted systems) market with the [[Sun Blade]] (distinct from the Sun Blade workstation).

In April 2007, Sun released the SPARC Enterprise server products, jointly designed by Sun and Fujitsu and based on Fujitsu [[SPARC64 VI]] and later processors. The ''M-class'' SPARC Enterprise systems include high-end reliability and availability features. Later T-series servers have also been badged SPARC Enterprise rather than Sun Fire.

In April 2008, Sun released servers with UltraSPARC T2 Plus, which is an SMP capable version of UltraSPARC T2, available in 2 or 4 processor configurations. It was the first CoolThreads CPU with multi-processor capability and it made possible to build standard rack-mounted servers that could simultaneously process up to massive 256 CPU threads in hardware (Sun SPARC Enterprise T5440),<ref>{{cite web |title= Sun takes four-socket Victoria Falls Sparc plunge |website=[[The Register]] |date= October 13, 2008 | url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/13/sun_four_socket_sparc_t2/ |access-date=July 12, 2012 | first=Timothy Prickett|last=Morgan }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title= Sun T5440 Oracle BI EE World Record Performance |publisher=Oracle BestPerf blog |date= July 21, 2009 | url= https://blogs.oracle.com/BestPerf/entry/sun_t5440_oracle_bi_ee |access-date=July 12, 2012 }}</ref> which is considered a record in the industry.

Since 2010, all further development of Sun machines based on SPARC architecture (including new [[SPARC T-Series]] servers, [[SPARC T3]] and [[SPARC T4|T4]] chips) is done as a part of Oracle Corporation hardware division.

===x86-based systems===
In the late 1980s, Sun also marketed an [[Intel 80386]]–based machine, the [[Sun386i]]; this was designed to be a hybrid system, running [[SunOS]] but at the same time supporting [[DOS]] applications. This only remained on the market for a brief time. A follow-up "486i" upgrade was announced but only a few prototype units were ever manufactured.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Sun's need to control the code cost them the company |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-suns-need-to-control-the-code-cost-them-the-company/ |access-date=2022-07-02 |website=ZDNet |language=en}}</ref>

Sun's brief first foray into [[x86]] systems ended in the early 1990s, as it decided to concentrate on [[SPARC]] and retire the last [[Motorola]] systems and 386i products, a move dubbed by McNealy as "all the wood behind one arrowhead". Even so, Sun kept its hand in the [[x86]] world, as a release of [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]] for [[PC compatible]]s began shipping in 1993.

In 1997, Sun acquired Diba, Inc., followed later by the acquisition of [[Cobalt Networks]] in 2000, with the aim of building ''network appliances'' (single function computers meant for consumers). Sun also marketed a [[Network Computer]] (a term popularized and eventually trademarked by [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]]); the [[JavaStation]] was a diskless system designed to run Java applications.

Although none of these business initiatives were particularly successful, the Cobalt purchase gave Sun a toehold for its return to the x86 hardware market. In 2002, Sun introduced its first general purpose x86 system, the LX50, based in part on previous Cobalt system expertise. This was also Sun's first system announced to support [[Linux]] as well as Solaris.

In 2003, Sun announced a strategic alliance with [[AMD]] to produce x86/x64 servers based on AMD's [[Opteron]] processor; this was followed shortly by Sun's acquisition of Kealia, a startup founded by original Sun founder [[Andy Bechtolsheim]], which had been focusing on high-performance AMD-based servers.

The following year, Sun launched the Opteron-based Sun Fire V20z and V40z servers, and the [[Sun Java Workstation]] W1100z and W2100z workstations.

In September 2005 Sun unveiled a new range of Opteron-based servers: the Sun Fire X2100, X4100 and X4200 servers.<ref>[http://www.sun.com/nc/05q3/videos/index.jsp?exec=3 Sun Microsystems<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051203062546/http://www.sun.com/nc/05q3/videos/index.jsp?exec=3 |date=December 3, 2005 }}</ref>  These were designed from scratch by a team led by Bechtolsheim to address heat and power consumption issues commonly faced in data centers. In July 2006, the [[Sun Fire X4500]] and X4600 systems were introduced, extending a line of x64 systems that support not only Solaris, but also [[Linux]] and [[Microsoft Windows]].

In January 2007 Sun announced a broad strategic alliance with [[Intel]].<ref>{{cite press release
 |title= Sun And Intel Announce Landmark Agreement
 |publisher= Sun Microsystems
 |date= January 22, 2007
 |url= http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2007-01/sunflash.20070122.1.xml
 |access-date= January 23, 2007
 |archive-date= January 24, 2007
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070124052008/http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2007-01/sunflash.20070122.1.xml
 |url-status= dead
 }}</ref> Intel endorsed Solaris as a mainstream operating system and as its mission critical [[Unix]] for its [[Xeon]] processor–based systems, and contributed engineering resources to [[OpenSolaris]].<ref>{{cite press release
 |title = OpenSolaris & Intel Xeon Processors
 |publisher=YouTube
 |date= April 30, 2008
 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIb8VIg0JM0
  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/VIb8VIg0JM0| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|access-date=May 12, 2008
}}{{cbignore}}</ref>  Sun began using the Intel Xeon processor in its [[x64]] server line, starting with the Sun Blade X6250 server module introduced in June 2007.

In May 2008 AMD announced its Operating System Research Center (OSRC) was expanding its focus to include optimization to Sun's OpenSolaris and [[Sun xVM|xVM]] virtualization products for AMD processors.<ref>{{cite press release
 |title=AMD Expands Charter for the OpenSolaris OS and Sun xVM at the AMD Operating System Research Center
 |publisher=AMD
 |date=May 5, 2008
 |url=https://www.amd.com/gb-uk/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~125446,00.html
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116054951/http://www.amd.com/gb-uk/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0%2C%2C51_104_543~125446%2C00.html
 |archive-date=January 16, 2009
}}</ref>

==Software==
{{plain image with caption|SunSoft logo.svg|Logo of SunSoft, the company's dedicated software division, established in 1991}}
Although Sun was initially known as a hardware company, its software history began with its founding in 1982; co-founder Bill Joy was one of the leading Unix developers of the time, having contributed the [[Vi (text editor)|vi]] editor, the [[C shell]], and significant work developing [[TCP/IP]] and the [[BSD Unix]] OS. Sun later developed software such as the [[Java programming language]] and acquired software such as [[StarOffice]], [[VirtualBox]] and [[MySQL]]. In February 1991, the company established SunSoft, Inc., a wholly owned division of Sun dedicated to the development of operating systems and application software.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=February 1991 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/14/business/company-news-microsystems-new-divisions.html | title=Microsystems' New Divisions | journal=The New York Times | page=D4 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525230058/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/14/business/company-news-microsystems-new-divisions.html | archivedate=May 25, 2015}}</ref>

Sun used community-based and open-source licensing of its major technologies, and for its support of its products with other open source technologies. [[GNOME]]-based desktop software called [[Java Desktop System]] (originally code-named "Madhatter") was distributed for the Solaris operating system, and at one point for Linux. Sun supported its [[Java Enterprise System]] (a [[Middleware (distributed applications)|middleware]] stack) on Linux. It released the source code for Solaris under the [[open-source license|open-source]] [[Common Development and Distribution License]], via the OpenSolaris community. Sun's positioning includes a commitment to indemnify users of some software from intellectual property disputes concerning that software. It offers support services on a variety of pricing bases, including per-employee and per-socket.

A 2006 report prepared for the EU by [[UNU-MERIT]] stated that Sun was the largest corporate contributor to open source movements in the world.<ref name="MERIT-floss">{{cite web | title = Study on the: Economic impact of open source software on innovation and the competitiveness of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector in the EU | url = http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ict/policy/doc/2006-11-20-flossimpact.pdf | access-date = January 25, 2007 | author = Rishab Aiyer Ghosh | date = November 20, 2006 | publisher = [[European Union]] | pages = 51 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070124212401/http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ict/policy/doc/2006-11-20-flossimpact.pdf | archive-date = January 24, 2007 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> According to this report, Sun's open source contributions exceed the combined total of the next five largest commercial contributors.

===Operating systems===
{{Main|Solaris (operating system)}}

Sun is best known for its Unix systems, which have a reputation for system stability and a consistent design philosophy.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

Sun's first workstation shipped with [[UniSoft]] [[Version 7 Unix|V7 Unix]]. Later in 1982 Sun began providing [[SunOS]], a customized 4.2BSD Unix, as the operating system for its workstations.
SunOS included [[suntools]], an early [[GUI]] [[window system]].

In the late 1980s, AT&T tapped Sun to help them develop the next release of their branded UNIX, and in 1988 announced they would purchase up to a 20% stake in Sun.<ref>{{cite news | first = Burgess | last = John | title = AT&T to Buy Stake In Sun Microsystems | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/406816581.html?dids=406816581:406816581&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=JAN+07%2C+1988&author=John+Burgess+Washington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post | newspaper = The Washington Post | date = January 7, 1988 | access-date = January 23, 2007 | quote = American Telephone & Telegraph Co. announced yesterday that it will buy up to a 20 percent stake in Sun Microsystems Inc., a Silicon Valley-based maker of powerful small computers known as workstations. | archive-date = March 27, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070327204639/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/406816581.html?dids=406816581:406816581&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=JAN+07%2C+1988&author=John+Burgess+Washington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post | url-status = dead }}</ref> UNIX [[System V Release 4]] (SVR4) was jointly developed by AT&T and Sun.<ref>{{cite book
 |author1     = Simson Garfinkel
 |author2     = Gene Spafford
 |author3     = Alan Schwartz
 |authorlink1 = Simson Garfinkel
 |authorlink2 = Gene Spafford
 |date        = 2003-02-21
 |title       = Practical UNIX and Internet Security
 |publisher   = [[O'Reilly Media]]
 |isbn        = 978-0-596-00323-4
 |page        = 16
 |quote       = In the spring of 1988, AT&T and Sun Microsystems signed a joint development agreement to merge the two versions of Unix.
 |access-date = 2021-11-09
 |url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=50maN7VmpusC&pg=PT46
}}</ref> Sun used SVR4 as the foundation for Solaris 2.x, which became the successor to SunOS 4.1.x (later retroactively named Solaris 1.x). By the mid-1990s, the ensuing [[Unix wars]] had largely subsided, AT&T had sold off their Unix interests, and the relationship between the two companies was significantly reduced.

In the early 1990s, [[Brian P. Dougherty]], founder of [[Berkeley Softworks]] (which would go on to be re-incorporated as the ''GeoWorks Corporation'') accused 
the Java development team at Sun for studying GeoWorks's [[GEOS (16-bit operating system)|PC/GEOS]] operating system and incorporating features of PC/GEOS into their Unix-based operating system. Brian claimed that the object-oriented and flexible UI of PC/GEOS was "to this day the most sophisticated UI technology ever built into an OS".<ref name="Microworks">{{cite web | last=Camen | first=Kroc | date=August 24, 2006 | url=https://www.osnews.com/story/15223/geos-the-graphical-environment-operating-system/ | title=GEOS: The Graphical Environment Operating System | work=[[OSNews]] | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321041825/https://www.osnews.com/story/15223/geos-the-graphical-environment-operating-system/ | archivedate=March 21, 2023}}</ref>

From 1992 Sun also sold [[Interactive Unix]], an operating system it acquired when it bought Interactive Systems Corporation from Eastman Kodak Company. This was a popular Unix variant for the PC platform and a major competitor to market leader [[SCO UNIX]]. Sun's focus on Interactive Unix diminished in favor of Solaris on both SPARC and x86 systems; it was dropped as a product in 2001.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}

Sun dropped the Solaris 2.x version numbering scheme after the Solaris 2.6 release (1997); the following version was branded Solaris 7. This was the first 64-bit release, intended for the new [[UltraSPARC]] CPUs based on the SPARC V9 architecture. Within the next four years, the successors Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 were released in 2000 and 2002 respectively.

Following several years of difficult competition and loss of server market share to competitors' Linux-based systems, Sun began to include Linux as part of its strategy in 2002. Sun supported both [[Red Hat Enterprise Linux]] and [[SUSE Linux Enterprise Server]] on its x64 systems; companies such as [[Canonical Ltd.]], [[Wind River Systems]] and [[MontaVista]] also supported their versions of Linux on Sun's SPARC-based systems.

In 2004, after having cultivated a reputation as one of [[Microsoft]]'s most vocal antagonists, Sun entered into a joint relationship with them, resolving various legal entanglements between the two companies and receiving US$1.95&nbsp;billion in settlement payments from them.<ref>{{cite press release
  |url = http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2004-04/sunflash.20040402.3.xml
  |title = Microsoft and Sun Microsystems Enter Broad Cooperation Agreement; Settle Outstanding Litigation
  |access-date =June 16, 2008
  |date = April 2, 2004
  |publisher=Microsoft Corporation, Sun Microsystems
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060322045711/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2004-04/sunflash.20040402.3.xml
  |archive-date = March 22, 2006
}}</ref> Sun supported Microsoft Windows on its x64 systems, and announced other collaborative agreements with Microsoft, including plans to support each other's virtualization environments.<ref>{{cite news
  | author = Mary Jo Foley
  | title = Microsoft and Sun agree to support each other in virtualized environments
  | url = http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=712
  | work = [[ZDNet]]
  | date = September 12, 2007
  | access-date = February 6, 2008
  | archive-date = September 15, 2007
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070915061739/http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=712
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

In 2005, the company released Solaris 10. The new version included a large number of enhancements to the operating system, as well as very novel features, previously unseen in the industry. Solaris 10 update releases continued through the next 8 years, the last release from Sun Microsystems being Solaris 10 10/09. The following updates were released by Oracle under the new license agreement; the final release is Solaris 10 1/13.<ref>{{cite news
  | author= Oracle Corporation
  | title = Oracle Solaris 10 1/13
  | url = http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/solaris10/overview/solaris-latest-version-170418.html
  | work= Oracle Web site
  | date = Feb 8, 2013
  | access-date = March 13, 2013
}}</ref>

Previously, Sun offered a separate variant of Solaris called [[Trusted Solaris]], which included augmented security features such as [[multilevel security]] and a [[least privilege]] access model. Solaris 10 included many of the same capabilities as Trusted Solaris at the time of its initial release; Solaris 10 11/06 included Solaris Trusted Extensions, which give it the remaining capabilities needed to make it the functional successor to Trusted Solaris.

After the release of Solaris 10, the Solaris source code was opened under the [[Common Development and Distribution License|CDDL]] [[free software]] license and developed in open with contributing [[OpenSolaris#History|Opensolaris community]] through [[Solaris (operating system)#Development release|SXCE]] that used [[UNIX System V#SVR4|SVR4]] [[.pkg]] packaging and supported [[OpenSolaris]] releases that used [[Image Packaging System|IPS]].
Following the acquisition of Sun by Oracle, OpenSolaris continued to develop in open under [[illumos]] with [[illumos#Distributions|illumos distributions]].

Oracle Corporation continued to develop Solaris, reverting new development back to the [[proprietary software|proprietary]] licensing; its next release was [[Oracle Solaris 11]] in November 2011.

===Java platform===
{{Main|Java platform}}
The Java platform was developed at Sun by [[James Gosling]] in the early 1990s with the objective of allowing programs to function regardless of the device they were used on, sparking the slogan "[[Write once, run anywhere]]" (WORA). While this objective was not entirely achieved (prompting the riposte "Write once, debug everywhere"), Java is regarded as being largely hardware—and operating system—independent.

Java was initially promoted as a platform for client-side [[Java applet|''applets'']] running inside web browsers. Early examples of Java applications were the [[HotJava]] [[web browser]] and the [[HotJava Views]] suite. However, since then Java has been more successful on the [[Server-side|server side]] of the Internet.

The platform consists of three major parts: the Java programming language, the [[Java virtual machine|Java Virtual Machine]] (JVM), and several [[Java API|Java Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)]]. The design of the Java platform is controlled by the vendor and user community through the [[Java Community Process]] (JCP).

Java is an [[object-oriented programming]] language. Since its introduction in late 1995, it became one of the world's most popular programming languages.<ref>{{cite web
 |url = http://www.tiobe.com/tpci.htm
 |title = TIOBE Programming Community Index
 |access-date = July 5, 2007
 |date = June 2007
 |publisher = TIOBE Software
 |archive-date = November 29, 2007
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071129202943/http://www.tiobe.com/tpci.htm
 |url-status = dead
 }} Java was ranked 1st as of June 2007, and has ranked 1st, 2nd or 3rd in this index since its inception in 2001.</ref>

Java programs are compiled to [[byte code]], which can be executed by any JVM, regardless of the environment.

The Java [[application programming interface|API]]s provide an extensive set of library routines. These APIs evolved into the [[Java SE|''Standard Edition'' (Java SE)]], which provides basic infrastructure and GUI functionality; the [[Java EE|''Enterprise Edition'' (Java EE)]], aimed at large software companies implementing enterprise-class application servers; and the [[Java ME|''Micro Edition'' (Java ME)]], used to build software for devices with limited resources, such as mobile devices.

On November 13, 2006, Sun announced it would be licensing its Java implementation under the [[GNU General Public License]]; it released its [[Java compiler]] and JVM at that time.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.sun.com/2006-1113/feature/story.jsp | title = Sun Opens Java | access-date =January 25, 2007 | date= November 13, 2006 |  work=Sun Microsystems Web site | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070124154133/http://www.sun.com/2006-1113/feature/story.jsp| archive-date = January 24, 2007}}</ref>

In February 2009, Sun entered a battle with Microsoft and Adobe Systems, which promoted rival platforms to build software applications for the Internet.<ref name=Brandon>{{cite news|author=Brandon Bailey|title=Sun Microsystems, Adobe, Microsoft will battle for dominance in Internet software|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11741973|work=[[San Jose Mercury News]]|date=February 20, 2009|access-date=March 2, 2009}}</ref> [[JavaFX]] was a development platform for music, video and other applications that builds on the Java programming language.<ref name=Brandon/>

===Office suite===
In 1999, Sun acquired the German software company Star Division and with it the [[office suite]] [[StarOffice]], which Sun later released as [[OpenOffice.org]] under both [[GNU LGPL]] and the SISSL ([[Sun Industry Standards Source License]]). OpenOffice.org supported [[Microsoft Office]] file formats (though not perfectly), was available on many platforms (primarily Linux, Microsoft Windows, [[Mac OS X]], and Solaris) and was used in the [[open source community]].

The principal differences between StarOffice and OpenOffice.org were that StarOffice was supported by Sun, was available as either a single-user retail box kit or as per-user blocks of licensing for the enterprise, and included a wider range of fonts and document templates and a commercial quality spellchecker.<ref>{{cite web|title=Product Comparison|url=http://www.sun.com/software/star/openoffice/|work=Sun Microsystems|access-date=September 18, 2008|archive-date=August 24, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080824170011/http://www.sun.com/software/star/openoffice/|url-status=dead}}</ref>  StarOffice also contained commercially licensed functions and add-ons; in OpenOffice.org these were either replaced by open-source or free variants, or are not present at all. Both packages had native support for the [[OpenDocument]] format.

Derivatives of OpenOffice.org continue to be developed, these are [[LibreOffice]], [[Collabora Online]] and [[Apache OpenOffice]].

===Virtualization and datacenter automation software===
[[File:VirtualBox2.png|thumb|upright=1.35|[[VirtualBox]], purchased by Sun]]
In 2007, Sun announced the Sun xVM virtualization and datacenter automation product suite for commodity hardware. Sun also acquired VirtualBox in 2008. Earlier virtualization technologies from Sun like ''Dynamic System Domains'' and ''Dynamic Reconfiguration'' were specifically designed for high-end SPARC servers, and [[Logical Domains]] only supports the UltraSPARC T1/T2/T2 Plus server platforms. Sun marketed ''[[Sun Ops Center]]'' provisioning software for datacenter automation.

On the client side, Sun offered [[virtual desktop]] solutions. Desktop environments and applications could be hosted in a datacenter, with users accessing these environments from a wide range of client devices, including Microsoft Windows PCs, [[Sun Ray|Sun Ray virtual display clients]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] Macintoshes, PDAs or any combination of supported devices. A variety of networks were supported, from LAN to WAN or the public Internet. Virtual desktop products included [[Sun Ray Server Software]], [[Sun Secure Global Desktop]] and [[Sun Virtual Desktop Infrastructure]].

===Database management systems===
Sun acquired MySQL AB, the developer of the [[MySQL]] database in 2008 for US$1&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sun Microsystems to acquire Innotek |url=https://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2008/02/12/afx4645428.html |work=Forbes |date=February 12, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202173804/http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2008/02/12/afx4645428.html |archive-date=December 2, 2010 }}</ref> CEO [[Jonathan I. Schwartz|Jonathan Schwartz]] mentioned in his blog that optimizing the performance of MySQL was one of the priorities of the acquisition.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/entry/winds_of_change_are_blowing
 |title=Helping Dolphins Fly
 |access-date=February 28, 2008
 |date=January 16, 2008
 |publisher=Sun Microsystems
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117152758/http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/entry/winds_of_change_are_blowing
 |archive-date=January 17, 2008
}}</ref>  In February 2008, Sun began to publish results of the MySQL performance optimization work.<ref>{{cite web
 |url = http://www.sun.com/blueprints/0208/820-4498.html
 |title = Optimize MySQL Server on Sun x64 Servers and Storage
 |access-date = February 28, 2008
 |date = February 2006
 |publisher = Sun Microsystems
 |archive-date = March 10, 2008
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080310010437/http://www.sun.com/blueprints/0208/820-4498.html
 |url-status = dead
 }}</ref>  Sun contributed to the [[PostgreSQL]] project. On the Java platform, Sun contributed to and supported [[Java DB]].

===Other software===
Sun offered other software products for software development and infrastructure services. Many were developed in house; others came from acquisitions, including Tarantella, Waveset Technologies,<ref name="waveset"/> SeeBeyond, and Vaau. Sun acquired many of the [[Netscape]] non-browser software products as part a deal involving Netscape's merger with [[AOL]].<ref>{{cite press release |title=Sun-Netscape alliance targets e-commerce with new brand identity |publisher=Sun Microsystems |date=January 25, 2000 |url=http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2000-01/sunflash.20000125.5.xml |access-date=January 1, 2007 |archive-date=January 7, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107032224/http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2000-01/sunflash.20000125.5.xml |url-status=dead }}</ref> These software products were initially offered under the "iPlanet" brand; once the Sun-Netscape alliance ended, they were re-branded as "[[Sun ONE]]" (Sun Open Network Environment), and then the "[[Sun Java System]]".

Sun's middleware product was branded as the ''Java Enterprise System'' (JES), and marketed for web and application serving, communication, calendaring, directory, identity management and [[service-oriented architecture]]. Sun's [[Open ESB]] and other software suites were available free of charge on systems running Solaris, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, [[HP-UX]], and Windows, with support available optionally.

Sun developed data center management software products, which included the ''[[Solaris Cluster]]'' high availability software, and a grid management package called ''[[Sun Grid Engine]]'' and firewall software such as SunScreen.
For [[Network Equipment Provider]]s and telecommunications customers, Sun developed the Sun Netra High-Availability Suite.

Sun produced compilers and development tools under the ''[[Sun Studio (software)|Sun Studio]]'' brand, for building and developing Solaris and Linux applications.
Sun entered the [[software as a service]] (SaaS) market with [[zembly]], a social cloud-based [[computing platform]] and Project Kenai, an open-source project hosting service.

==Storage==
Sun sold its own storage systems to complement its system offerings; it has also made several storage-related acquisitions.
On June 2, 2005, Sun announced it would purchase [[Storage Technology Corporation]] (StorageTek) for US$4.1&nbsp;billion in cash, or $37.00 per share, a deal completed in August 2005.

In 2006, Sun introduced the [[Sun StorageTek 5800 System]], the first application-aware programmable storage solution. In 2008, Sun contributed the source code of the StorageTek 5800 System under the BSD license.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://opensolaris.org/os/project/honeycomb/
 |title       = OpenSolaris Project: HoneyComb Fixed Content Storage
 |access-date  = February 28, 2008
 |date        = February 2008
 |publisher   = Sun Microsystems
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20070422195703/http://opensolaris.org/os/project/honeycomb/
 |archive-date = April 22, 2007
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref>

Sun announced the [[Sun Open Storage]] platform in 2008 built with open source technologies.
In late 2008 Sun announced the Sun Storage 7000 Unified Storage systems (codenamed Amber Road). Transparent placement of data in the systems' [[solid-state drive]]s (SSD) and conventional hard drives was managed by [[ZFS]] to take advantage of the speed of SSDs and the economy of conventional hard disks.<ref>{{cite web
 |url = http://www.sun.com/x64/intel/zfs_solution_brief.pdf
 |title = Solaris ZFS Enables Hybrid Storage Pools: Shatters Economic and Performance Barriers
 |access-date = April 9, 2009
 |publisher = Sun Microsystems
 |archive-date = February 19, 2009
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090219055122/http://www.sun.com/x64/intel/zfs_solution_brief.pdf
 |url-status = dead
 }}</ref>

Other storage products included Sun Fire X4500 storage server and SAM-QFS filesystem and storage management software.

==High-performance computing==
Sun marketed the [[Sun Constellation System]] for [[high-performance computing]] (HPC). Even before the introduction of the Sun Constellation System in 2007, Sun's products were in use in many of the [[TOP500]] systems and supercomputing centers:
* [[Lustre (file system)|Lustre]] was used by seven of the top 10 supercomputers in 2008, as well as other industries that need high-performance storage: six major oil companies (including [[BP]], [[Shell plc|Shell]], and [[ExxonMobil]]), chip-design (including [[Synopsys]] and [[Sony]]), and the movie-industry (including [[Harry Potter film series|Harry Potter]] and [[Spider-Man]]).<ref>{{cite video
  | url = http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=965817030102279091
  | title = Lustre File System presentation
  | access-date = January 28, 2008
  | work = [[Google Video]]
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120210184526/http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=965817030102279091
  | archive-date = February 10, 2012
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>
* Sun Fire X4500 was used by high-energy physics supercomputers to run dCache
* Sun Grid Engine was a popular workload scheduler for clusters and computer farms
* [[Sun Visualization System]] allowed users of the [[TeraGrid]] to remotely access the 3D rendering capabilities of the ''Maverick'' system at the [[University of Texas at Austin]]
* [[Sun Modular Datacenter]] (Project Blackbox) was two Sun MD S20 units used by the [[Stanford Linear Accelerator Center]]

The ''Sun HPC ClusterTools'' product was a set of [[Message Passing Interface]] (MPI) libraries and tools for running parallel jobs on Solaris HPC clusters. Beginning with version 7.0, Sun switched from its own implementation of MPI to [[Open MPI]], and donated engineering resources to the Open MPI project.

Sun was a participant in the [[OpenMP]] language committee. Sun Studio compilers and tools implemented the OpenMP specification for shared memory parallelization.

In 2006, Sun built the [[Tsubame (supercomputer)|''TSUBAME supercomputer'']], which was until June 2008 the fastest supercomputer in Asia. Sun built ''Ranger'' at the [[Texas Advanced Computing Center]] (TACC) in 2007. Ranger had a peak performance of over 500 TFLOPS, and was the sixth-most-powerful supercomputer on the TOP500 list in November 2008.
Sun announced an OpenSolaris distribution that integrated Sun's HPC products with others.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://opensolaris.org/os/project/hpc-stack/
 |title       = OpenSolaris Project: HPC Stack
 |access-date  = June 4, 2011
 |year        = 2009 <!-- seems defunct? -->
 |publisher   = OpenSolaris Community
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080906203608/http://www.opensolaris.org/os/project/hpc-stack/
 |archive-date = September 6, 2008
 |df          = mdy-all
}}</ref>

==Staff==
{{Main article|List of Sun Microsystems employees}}
[[Image:Sun Microsystems campus, Santa Clara, with fountain.jpg|thumb|left|A fountain within the Sun main campus in Santa Clara]]

Notable Sun employees included [[John Gilmore (activist)|John Gilmore]], [[Whitfield Diffie]], [[Radia Perlman]], [[Ivan Sutherland]], [[Marc Tremblay]], and [[Satya Nadella]]. Sun was an early advocate of Unix-based networked computing, promoting TCP/IP and especially NFS, as reflected in the company's motto [[The Network is the Computer]], coined by [[John Gage]]. [[James Gosling]] led the team which developed the [[Java (programming language)|Java programming language]]. [[Jon Bosak]] led the creation of the [[XML]] specification at [[W3C]].

In 2005, Sun Microsystems was one of the first [[Fortune 500]] companies that instituted a formal [[social media]] program.<ref name="Barker (2008)">{{Cite Q|Q105074887}}</ref> Sun staff published articles on the company's blog site.<ref>{{cite web |title=Blogs.sun.com |url=http://blogs.sun.com |publisher=Sun Microsystems |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100105170057/http://blogs.sun.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-date= January 5, 2010}}</ref> Staff were encouraged to use the site to blog on any aspect of their work or personal life, with few restrictions placed on staff, other than commercially confidential material. Jonathan I. Schwartz was one of the first CEOs of large companies to regularly blog; his postings were frequently quoted and analyzed in the press.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600257.html| title=Sun CEO Among the Few Chiefs Who Blog| newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]| date=September 16, 2006| access-date=June 4, 2011| first=Rachel| last=Konrad}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-06-25-exec-sun_x.htm |title=Sun CEO sees competitive advantage in blogging |work=[[USA Today]] |date=June 26, 2006 |access-date=June 4, 2011 |first=Del |last=Jones}}</ref>

== Acquisition by Oracle ==
{{main|Acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle Corporation}}
[[File:Oracle Sun logo.svg|thumb|Logo used on hardware products by Oracle]]
On September 3, 2009, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed takeover of Sun Microsystems by Oracle.<ref>{{cite web |title= Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed takeover of Sun Microsystems by Oracle |url= https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_09_1271 |date=September 3, 2009 |publisher= European Commission |access-date= January 30, 2021 }}</ref> On November 9, 2009, the Commission issued a statement of objections relating to the acquisition.<ref>{{cite web |title= Commission File Number: 0-15086 |url= https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/709519/000118143109050589/rrd256710.htm |date=November 3, 2009 |publisher= United States Securities And Exchange Commission |access-date= January 30, 2021 }}</ref> Finally, on January 21, 2010, the European Commission approved Oracle's acquisition of Sun. The Commission's investigation showed that another open database, PostgreSQL, was considered by many users of this type of software as a credible alternative to MySQL and could to some extent replace the competitive strength that the latter currently represents in the database market.<ref>{{cite web | language=fr | title=Rachat de Sun par Oracle : l'Europe donne son feu vert | url=https://www.clubic.com/actualite-321236-rachat-sun-oracle-europe-feu-vert.html | author=Alexandre Laurent| date=January 21, 2010 | publisher=Clubic}}</ref>

Sun was sold to Oracle Corporation in 2009 for $5.6 billion.<ref name="proxy"/>

Sun's staff were asked to share anecdotes about their experiences at Sun. A website containing videos, stories, and photographs from 27 years at Sun was made available on September 2, 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title= A Tribute to Sun Microsystems |url= http://mysunw.com/ |year= 2009 |publisher= mysunw.com (previously thenetworkisthecomputer.com) |access-date= September 15, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130707161001/http://mysunw.com/ |archive-date= July 7, 2013 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref>

In October, Sun announced a second round of thousands of employees to be laid off, blamed partially on delays in approval of the merger.<ref>{{cite news |title= Sun to lay off another 3,000 employees |author=Steven Musil |work=[[CNET News]] |date= October 20, 2009 |url= http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10379673-92.html |access-date=July 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819200701/http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10379673-92.html |archive-date=August 19, 2011}}</ref>

The transaction was completed in early 2010.<ref name="completion"/>

In January 2011, Oracle agreed to pay $46&nbsp;million to settle charges that it submitted false claims to US federal government agencies and paid "kickbacks" to systems integrators.<ref>{{cite news |title= Oracle to pay $46&nbsp;million in false claims case |work= [[Reuters]] |date= January 31, 2011 |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oracle-justice-idUSTRE70U75920110131 |access-date= June 4, 2011 |archive-date= October 22, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121022210302/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/us-oracle-justice-idUSTRE70U75920110131 |url-status= live }}</ref>
In February 2011, Sun's former [[Menlo Park, California]], campus of about {{convert|1000000|ft2}} was sold, and it was announced that it would become headquarters for [[Facebook]].<ref>{{cite news |title=It's official: Facebook moving to Menlo Park |author=Tom Kraz |work=[[CNET News]] |date=February 8, 2011 |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20031022-265.html |access-date=June 14, 2011 |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102032937/http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20031022-265.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Facebook updates info: Menlo Park welcomes move Menlo Park opens arms to Facebook |author=Benny Evangelista |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]  |date=February 9, 2011 |url= https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Facebook-updates-info-Menlo-Park-welcomes-move-2476976.php |access-date=June 14, 2011 }}</ref>
The sprawling facility built around an enclosed courtyard had been nicknamed "Sun Quentin". The campus is now the headquarters of Facebook's parent company [[Meta Platforms]].<ref>{{cite news |title= Facebook Staffers: Sentenced To Sun Quentin? |first=Eric |last=Savitz |series=The Tech Trade blog |work=[[Forbes]] |date= January 2, 2011 |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2011/01/02/facebook-staffers-sentenced-to-sun-quentin/  |access-date=June 14, 2011 }}</ref>

On September 1, 2011, Sun India legally became part of Oracle. It had been delayed due to legal issues in Indian court.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area|Companies}}
* [[Callan Data Systems]]
* [[Curriki#History]]
* [[Hackathon]]
* [[Liberty Alliance]]
* [[List of computer system manufacturers]]
* [[Open Source University Meetup]]
* [[Solbourne Computer]]
* [[Sun Certified Professional]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book | last1 = Hall | first1 = Mark| last2 = Barry | first2 = John | title = Sunburst: The Ascent of Sun Microsystems | year = 1990 | publisher=Contemporary Books | location = Chicago |isbn = 0-8092-3989-2 | oclc = 232948325}}
* {{Cite book | last1 = Southwick | first1 = Karen | title = High Noon: The Inside Story of Scott McNealy and the Rise of Sun Microsystems | year = 1999 | url = https://archive.org/details/highnoon00kare | publisher = John Wiley | location = New York | isbn = 0-471-29713-5 | oclc = 41404354 | url-access = registration }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sun Microsystems}}
{{Finance links historical
| name = Sun Microsystems
| sec_cik = 709519
}}

* {{cite web |title= Oracle and Sun |url= https://www.oracle.com/sun
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210202015630/https://www.oracle.com/sun/
  |archive-date = 2021-02-02
  |access-date = 2021-06-07
  |publisher=Oracle Corporation}} Post-merge web site (removed in February 2021).
* {{cite web | url = http://sun.systemnews.com | title = System news for Sun Users }} A weekly third-party summary of news about Sun and its products published since 1998.

{{Sun Microsystems}}
{{Java (Sun)}}
{{Solaris}}
{{Oracle}}
{{Electronics industry in the United States}}
{{Authority control}}

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