Today, the conceptual slogan once proclaimed by the company Sun, "The network is a computer" is already taken for granted, and yet less than two decades ago, when the first workstations appeared on the market Sun-1, the validity of this motto was not so certain. At the time when the ideology of centralized information processing based on mainframes dominated, the company Sun proposed a new approach to development computer technology based on four principles:
- Open and compatible with a wide range of application software operating system Unix network-oriented hardware architecture.
- distributed network file system NFS
- specialized network administration tools.
Over time, these components developed and transformed, and by the beginning of the 90s, the basis of the technical concept Sun took shape in a solid design from the hardware RISC- platforms with architecture SPARC, operating system Solaris, network file system NFS and network administration platforms SunNet Manager, which was later replaced by software Solstice. But the initially chosen strategy, concentrating in the slogan<Сеть - это компьютер>, remained practically unchanged, and its fidelity was reflected in the statement Sun position as a strong leader in the production of workstations, servers and networking software and was characterized by a rise in product sales Sun in the early 90s.
When talking about successful companies in business, they often characterize their years of operation as key events in their history: big deals, important product announcements, profitable years. However, in order to track the stages of development of the company Sun, it is best to pay attention first to how the strategies adopted at an early stage affected the entire computer industry and how the Sun new technologies have become an integral part modern life computer industry.
Company Sun was established in 1982 at Stanford University, one of the best in the world educational institutions in the field of computer technology. Abbreviation SUN meant Stanford University Network- Network of Stanford University, thus, already in the very name of the company the idea of network computing was incorporated. It all started when an undergraduate student from Germany Andreas Bechtolsheim decided to build his own computer from available inexpensive components. In promoting the resulting product, he was assisted by a student in the field of economics Vinod Khosla who had the business acumen to understand the economic potential of the job Bechtolsheim and quickly raise funds among representatives of Silicon Valley. Soon in Sun came and Bill Joy who led the development UNIX at the University of California at Berkeley. And, finally, a friend took over to lead the work of the company Vinoda from the School of Business Scott McNealy. In 1984, Vinod left Sun, and Scott McNeely became president.
The founders of the company shared a common opinion about the need to use the ideas of open systems and networked computing as standards for their work. The decisions made at the first stage set the tone for the development of the company itself Sun with its innovative projects, and the entire computer industry as a whole. The combination of off-the-shelf components, a standardized and accessible operating system, and uncomplicated design has allowed the company to Sun Microsystems quickly enough to bring to market a powerful and affordable workstation for technicians. Wherein Sun also tried to use those new graphics and network technologies that were previously available only in more expensive and<закрытых>devices.
Initially, the company's strategy was aimed not so much at quick profits, but at expanding the market and holding fundamental research and developments. Thereby, Sun has benefited not only itself, but the entire industry as a whole, turning the operating system Unix into its core technology by offering the industry the network file system model NFS and licensing architecture SPARC and the Solaris operating environment, paving the way for safe investments for thousands of companies.
Today Sun, a company from the list Fortune 500, has a strong reputation in the business community as a market leader in workstations, servers, and Internet and Intranet technologies. Just a few years ago the company Sun proposed technology Java, which has now received mass recognition and the widest distribution. Sun is actually driving the evolution of Java technology, which is now a key player in Intranet/Internet and networking in general.
Sun Microsystems was a pioneer in the workstation market with its concept of open systems. Continuing this direction, the company is now focusing on building and managing enterprise networks. Announced a few years ago new series enterprise servers Sun Enterprise 3000-6000(systems 3500-6500 are now being produced), Sun, in addition to the workstation market, gained recognition in the Unix-based server market. The result was consolidated by the release in 1997 of a server with the capabilities of mainframe class systems - Sun Enterprise 10000, also known as StarFire. But computers based on Unix and in the lowest price range. At prices comparable to processor-based systems Intel, Sun Microsystems offers customers 2 and 4 processor servers working group Sun Enterprise 250 And Sun Enterprise 450, as well as workstations: Sun Ultra 5,Sun Ultra 10 providing users with the power and functionality Unix PC prices. At the same time, a feature of the systems of the family Ultra is that the same hardware components are often used in different classes of machines, that is, in fact, the systems have a modular architecture, which makes it possible to simplify and unify the development software for them.
One of the most important branches of the company's development in the field of software is the operating system Solaris. In 1991 Sun announced the release of a new version of the operating system Unix-Solaris, which was based on two varieties Unix: Berkeley 4.2/4.3 (BSD) And AT&T System V. grown out of Sun OS, the Solaris operating system, conforming to numerous industry standards ( X/Open UNIX 95, various sections POSIX 1003.1, X11R6), has one of its important properties a high degree of scalability. The same operating system is used on single-processor workstations, workgroup-scale servers, and 64-processor servers Sun Enterprise 10000, an enterprise scale server. Solaris provides an almost linear increase in performance as the number of processors connected to the system increases.
Now Sun also engaged in the development of cluster architectures. By combining individual servers Ultra into the overall system, users can achieve significant improvements in performance and reliability of computing systems. Sun offers two options for cluster solutions. First, it is a system of increased reliability HA (High Availability), where all the elements that form the cluster are duplicated. Thus, when a machine fails, the most critical application is launched on the standby cluster node. Second, it is a system PDB (Parallel Database), which is designed to ensure parallel operation of relational databases on the computers that make up the cluster.
One of the ways to implement the dominant concept Sun"The network is a computer", the meaning of which is to use for information computing not only a single computer with limited resources, but also practically unlimited network resources to which this computer has access, was embodied in the idea of creating a network computer. According to her, all large tasks should be solved on powerful servers, and the client should only have access to data input and results.
The start-up costs of a networked computer are low, and other costs, such as maintenance and upgrades of hardware and software, are also significantly lower than those of a conventional workstation or personal computer. Low prices are due to the fact that network computers do not need special administration. Since, for example, most networked computers will be left without their own permanent storage devices, all user data and configuration information will be stored on servers. Thus, when upgrading software or installing new applications, all replacements occur in only one place - on the server. Centralized administration and configuration can provide significant savings for businesses with thousands of client machines. Java technologies allow you to host applications on a server and make them available to any client, regardless of its platform. It's faster than traditional ways of distributing software and much cheaper than upgrading. a large number personal computers.
The concept of a network computer is very closely related to the company's Sun language Java And Java technologies generally. When calculating according to the model Java administrative and modernization tasks are moved from the client level to centralized servers. To support working with Java, servers must support interaction with clients. Java and application launch Java. For example, Sun releases servers Netra And Ultra Enterprise that meet these requirements. Since the bulk of the calculations when working with a thin client, which is a network computer, is performed on a server, it is necessary to take care of increasing the throughput of servers and their scalability in terms of performance and capacity.
Currently Sun offers a new network computer option sunray, which should gradually replace conventional PCs, although this time the company is ready for an indifferent attitude potential clients. This is not the first time Sun: the first networked computer designed Sun, -JavaStation- was introduced about two years ago, but then it was ruined by the global decline in prices for personal computers, numerous delays in the release of the product itself and slow work Java. Now there is a lot of new: the concept Hot Desk, which allows you to run applications on servers Sun, and also supports the work with Windows NT, office suite Staroffice from Star Division as well as support smart card for remote work and administration. In addition, the strategy itself for the distribution of networked computers has changed. Now Sun is going not to sell, but to rent out new network computers for about $10 a month.
In 1995 the company Sun Microsystems coined the term , denoting a corporate network infrastructure built on the principles of technology Internet and in particular www. The appearance of such new technology emerged from a project to develop a universal interface for household appliances. The initial goal was never achieved, but from this project a lot of things were born, without which it is now difficult to imagine Internet technologies. Thus, the proposed concept Intranet largely based on technology Java which was created to develop mobile applications For www.
So the language Java was born in the course of a project to create advanced software for various household appliances. At first, the project was implemented on C++, however, at some point, the developers realized the need to change the programming tool itself to deal with the problems that arose during the work. It became clear that a platform-independent programming language was needed that would allow programs to be written that would not require compilation on every new hardware architecture and that could be used on different processors on different operating systems.
Birth of language Java preceded by an interesting incident. Software Developer Patrick Naughton, one of the employees of the company, realized that he was no longer able to support hundreds of different interfaces of programs used in the company, and informed the executive director Sun and to your friend Scott McNeely that is going to leave the company. In response to this McNeely asked noton make a list of the reasons forcing him to take this step, as well as suggest possible ways to solve the problems that have arisen. Naughton did not expect his letter to receive at least some response, nevertheless he wrote it, criticizing many software developments in Sun, in particular the software architecture being developed at that time NeWS. However, this letter was sent to all the leading engineers Sun Microsystems, who immediately responded, supporting the ideas of their colleague. The appeal received approval from the top management Sun: Bill Joy, one of the founders Sun Microsystems, And James Gosling, chief noton. As a result, it was decided to start developing something new and unusual. This was done by a development team codenamed Green, which has chosen as the application of its forces the study of household devices, such as Nintendo Game Boys and remote control devices. It was necessary to find a means by which to establish the interaction between these heterogeneous devices, given that all of them - VCRs, laser disc players, stereos and other equipment - are implemented on different processors. Therefore, when developing software for such devices, it would be necessary to take into account the specific hardware features of each of them, to be squeezed within the provided hardware. These factors stimulated the emergence of a new approach to software programming, which would smooth out the existing differences in architectures and which was to become the leader in the consumer electronics market. And the developers of the group Green started to create a new program development tool, an object-oriented programming language, which was named oak in honor of the oak that grew under the window Gosling. Soon Sun transformed the team Green to the company First person. The company had an interesting concept, but still could not find a use for it. After a series of setbacks, the eyes were turned to the recently nascent Internet world wide web - world wide web. Then it was suggested to use the language oak to create Internet applications. So oak became a product in its own right, breaking away from the world of consumer electronics. A special Oak browser, named webrunner. In 1995 Sun Microsystems announced the release of a new product, renaming oak V Java, the explanation for which can only be found in the special love of programmers for coffee, and the browser webrunner has been renamed to HotJava.
In short, then Java is not only a language, but an application development platform that includes a simple, portable, interpreted, high-performance and object-oriented programming language, as well as a runtime environment.
One of the basic principles Java is that the operating system is separated from application development. In other words, developed with Java the code should not depend on the platform on which it is developed and executed. And the more platform independent the code is, the more mobile and portable it is. To ensure platform independence, a virtual Java machine, on which the Java programs, its architecture, command system and data representation are defined. Source texts Java programs translated into the codes of this machine. These are not machine codes like those produced by language compilers C, and the so-called bytecodes are high-level machine-independent codes for an abstract machine that consists of an interpreter Java and the execution system. Bytecode set Java not only easy to interpret, but also quite efficient to compile<на лету>into the machine codes of the platform on which the virtual machine is running Java. At the same time, bytecodes contain redundant information that allows you to check them for execution safety. The concept of a virtual machine ensures that when a new hardware and software platform appears, only Java machine, and all programs written in Java, no changes are required. Standard Java also defines that when editing the external links of the program in a transparent way for the user, the necessary objects can be searched not only on the local machine, but also on other computers available on the network.
At first, many considered Java just as a means of revitalization Web pages. However, there are other ways to diversify content. www, e.g. animated GIFs, programs JavaScript, specially designed for browsers plug-ins. A skate Java the possibility of mobile computing began to be considered. Programs that run on any platform and are freely transmitted over the network have proven to be very convenient. It should be noted that the ideas of mobile code on the web Internet existed for a long time, but there was no suitable environment for their implementation. The role of such an environment was seriously claimed by the system X Window, however, it did not have the generic interface required for this. Nevertheless, the mobile code also has a number of significant drawbacks, the main of which are the security of the transmitted code. First, the source program may initially contain<программные закладки>, viruses or just errors. Secondly, there is a danger of unauthorized access when using a mobile code. In order to get rid of possible problems associated with errors in the program code, in Java removed address arithmetic and introduced a special mode of working with memory. In this case, the program is launched in a separate, virtual machine with its own address space. In addition, tracking the process of allocating and freeing dynamic memory in Java no longer the programmer, but the environment itself. The programmer does not need to worry about the timely release of the part of dynamic memory that is no longer used by him, the garbage collector will take care of this; virtual cars. The main task of these measures was the fight against the most common errors: overflow of fixed-length string constants, stack overflow when calling subroutines, allocation and release of memory during program operation. Of course, this approach could not but affect the efficiency of the code. However, this disadvantage is compensated by the potentially greater stability of the system. To ensure security related to the possibility of unauthorized access when using a mobile code, the specification Java restrictions on the use of code on the network were introduced. First of all, this applies to the development and use of distributed information systems. Restrictions are placed on receiving and transmitting data and code to hosts other than the one from which it is launched Java applet, which leads to the need to use special proxy servers (proxy) to link all the necessary components.
Java technologies are especially widely used in network infrastructure Intranet. Term Intranet used to refer to the use of technology Internet in internal corporate networks. At the same time, on the basis Intranet lies the idea of efficient sharing of information through a single type of user interface - the browser Internet. Using the Browser Paradigm Internet simplifies the work of users on the network, avoids problems associated with updating software at user workstations, improves the internal interaction of systems in the corporate network as a whole. Used in Intranet The principles of web navigation and search make it easier for users to collect and analyze information. One of the advantages of using Java technologies in corporate networks is to allow users to log in from anywhere Intranet and still have access to their native working environment. In this centralized information management model, the cost of system administration is greatly reduced.
So, at the core Java Computing lies the client/server model, in which the program code Java loaded dynamically from the server at the request of the client. Applications Java can work anywhere where the virtual machine software is installed Java. This achieves platform independence and portability of the code. Java. So, for example, they can be executed in any Java-enabled browser. It is this property that makes it possible to achieve a gradual migration to thin and, therefore, easier to manage clients - special devices like JavaStation or a newly announced company Sun stations sunray.. Such devices - network computers - instead of a traditional OS contain a simple system, for example Java OS, which powers the Java Virtual Machine. Java OS and the Java virtual machine can be stored on the client in flash memory or downloaded from the network. User data and configuration information for clients are stored on servers, which provides centralized administration and the ability to access the necessary data from anywhere in the corporate network. Architecture Java OS is a collection of microkernel and memory manager, device drivers, Java virtual machine, system Java OS Graphics And JavaOS Windowing, network classes and support for all application programming interfaces (API) Java. Client-side applications communicate with servers using standard network protocols, but more complex protocols can also be used, such as the JDBC, which provides SQL-oriented connection to databases. More complex, layered applications can be built using distributed objects that have the ability to communicate using protocols. CORBA. It should be noted that the platform independence of Java allows you to use Java technologies not only in traditional desktop environments, but also in numerous devices such as smart phones with built-in displays, digital assistants (PDA) such as, Palm Pilot, in various consoles, cash registers, etc.
Java technology is guided by the motto "Write Once, Run Anywhere"("Write once, use everywhere"), setting the standard for cross-platform compatibility. This principle of software development allows you to optimize the process of creating and implementing applications, and allows you to shorten the cycles of developing new products. Language Java and modular application programming interfaces JavaBeans do not tie developers and users to any one platform. However, it should be noted that Java allows you to insert code written in other languages, such as C++. Therefore, in order to guarantee the portability of programs to Java, company Sun proposed an initiative 100% Pure Java(100% pure Java). This initiative defines a set of APIs that provide maximum cross-platform compatibility for Java applications developed with them. Java natively supports high level platform independence, code safety, ease of loading remote classes, and<сборку мусора>. However, when trying to link Java code to source platform code, these features can be lost. When using platform-specific methods, there is no longer a guarantee that the code will be safe and will not violate the stability of the system. Sometimes it may be necessary to include native platform methods to access system resources that are not supported by Java. In such cases, you can create an interface for communication between platform-specific codes and codes Java, however, such an application can no longer be considered 100% compliant with the Java cross-platform compatibility standards. To support maximum portability, the program code should be written entirely in Java only, without any inserts in other languages, for example C++. Applications claiming 100% definition pure java must undergo special certification. Parts of applications that are written using Java codes and other codes can also be certified. In this case, those parts of the application that meet the definition of 100% can be certified. pure java. Such, for example, are client/server applications, the client part of which is written entirely in Java.
The most important basis for the development of applications on Java is an application programming interface Java API. It provides interaction between Java components, applets, and applications, and defines a set of key interfaces that developers use to write applications. Java API consists of two components: basic interface Java Core API and interface of standard extensions Java Standard Extension API. Standards Compliant Applications 100% Pure Java, must fully comply with the basic specifications of application programming interfaces Java (Java Core API).
Relatively recently the company Sun released a new version of the platform Java - Java 2, formerly named Java 1.2. This version significantly improves the performance of the application runtime, implements a new flexible security model, and includes an extended set of programming interfaces. (API). Now interface Java Core API consists of fifteen class libraries covering core technologies Java: applet, awt, beans, io, lang, math, net, rmi, security, sql, text, util, accessibility, swing, corba. The previously existing sandbox security model, i.e. isolating an application running in a virtual machine from a real operating system, has been extended so that developers, administrators and users have the opportunity to define their own flexible security policy, or a set of rules that provide control over the actions of applications and applets. The permissions of Java programs can vary depending on the source of the Java program, which determines the level of access that program has to system resources. Java 2 also includes the implementation of a set of programming interfaces JFC - Java Foundation Classes, which allow you to solve a large number of standard application programming problems. IN Java 2 the integration mechanism with a number of existing network programming technologies is also included. So, for example, V Java 2 enabled module Java IDL, which enables remoting according to CORBA standards.
One of the branches of a sprawling tree Java technologies from Sun- technology JavaBeans, which implements the concept of a platform-independent modular software architecture for the development environment Java. module JavaBeans almost any part of a software system can, from a graphical user interface element to a large application program element with a large number of functions. Technology advantage JavaBeans is based on the principle of modularity, which means that the same code can be reused in different applications. So, for example, a text editor implemented as JavaBeans component, can be used in a wide range of developing applications without rewriting its code. Following the principles of Java, technology JavaBeans does not depend on platforms, so solutions based on it can be used both on traditional computers and on other architectures, for example, in cell phones or microcomputers of the "personal assistant" type.
Modular software JavaBeans can be integrated into other modules, such as ActiveX. This compatibility is provided through the company-developed Sun controls ActiveX (JavaBeans Bridge for ActiveX). This tool give a chance JavaBeans work in traditional shells ActiveX, such as Microsoft office And VisualBasic.
One of the new technologies that Sun has high hopes and in which, perhaps, he sees the foundation of network computing for the next century, is called jini. Fundamentally jini is a software architecture based on the language Java, which allows operating system services to be distributed throughout the network. In other words, jini is part of the software environment Java which runs on a virtual machine Java and allows devices to dynamically connect to the network and take advantage of the capabilities of all other devices in it, if they have specially registered their services and agree to provide them to the network community. In the future, Sun sees the ability to connect devices to the network and instantly communicate with other devices on the network without the use of any additional drivers. To start free communication of the device with its<коллегами>it will be enough just to plug it into the network.
Project jini began to develop in parallel with the growth Java technologies, originating in 1994, when it was announced Java. The main goal of the project was to create a network infrastructure that would allow easy integration of dissimilar devices in the network. It is not surprising that interest in this project immediately showed many companies involved in consumer electronics, peripheral computing devices, providing network services, supplying computer systems and generally associated with the use of advanced computer technology, since the market demand for technology that simplifies the operation of devices in a computer network and makes this network more functional is obvious. Many companies are now partnering with Sun to develop and test technology jini, analyzing and testing it in solving their problems.
At the heart of the technology creation concept jini the following idea lay: the work of most modern information and computing systems is based on computer networks, which are now being created and developed everywhere. At the same time, the equipment operating on the network, as well as network software, can be difficult to get to work smoothly without additional financial costs. This gives particular inconvenience to the user who needs a simple and reliable network that does not require constant care and support for its operation, which does not force you to spend a lot of effort on connecting new devices. For example, the advantages of the developed company Sun technologies jini can be illustrated as follows: when a device is connected to the network, for example, Palm Pilot, this immediately becomes known to other devices operating on the network: the PDA will automatically become part of it. At the same time, the computer can obtain information about other network devices and the services they provide. For example, a user can easily access data on some computers, process it with programs on others, and then print the information on a nearby printer without using any additional drivers, but simply accessing the services provided by devices connected to the network and using technology jini. Such automatic integration should be implemented for all electronic devices, from personal computer to cell phone.
Technical principles of the technology jini consist of the following actions: when the device is connected to the network, it is automatically registered in the search service lookup service using discovery and join services Discovery and Join Service, thereby the device enters the so-called<федерацию>. The interaction of network objects is carried out using the mechanism of Calling Remote Methods (Remote Method Invocation, RMI)- a high-level way to support distributed computing by the Java platform. The RMI specifications allow remote devices to advertise the set of services they can provide (this is called a remote object interface declaration in Java terms). When a client system wishes to use a service registered with a search service, the search service tells that client system the address of the device where the service is directly available (in Java terms, returns a reference to a remote object that implements the desired interface). The Leasing leasing model defines the principles for removing lists of registered services from the bulletin board and for contracting, and the list of access rights Access Control List of this service determines who can use it.
True, this concept of distributed computing architecture is hardly something completely new. David Gelernter, professor at Yale University, once put forward the idea of distributed architecture in the project Linda. Similar ideas were later developed in Lucent Technologies within technology Inferno, at IBM in the project T Space, in the national laboratory Oak Ridge in project Parallel Virtual Machine. Microsoft is also making plans to develop a distributed operating system called Project Millennium.
Theoretically technology jini can be applied to any devices or programs running on the network. Jini is not a new network operating system, but a network infrastructure built on technology Java and making an attempt to bring distributed network computing to a new level. jini solves the problem of incompatibility of network equipment, and also provides an effective mechanism for the interaction of computing devices and applications in the network.
Now Sun moves to a new stage in the development of network technologies and, in particular, electronic business and commerce, putting forward the concept<.com>. <.Com>is a more global concept than a simple transfer of operations to the network. According to Sun, using the principles<.com>will allow companies to improve contacts with their customers, suppliers, partners and employees. The relative novelty of this idea is that now computer companies, and primarily Sun, intend to offer their services even more integrated in order to save their customers from having to configure and adjust purchased hardware and software on their own. The user needs to receive services, and this is the main thing. The main attention of the user will be focused exclusively on his immediate tasks, whether it is the provision of any services through computer technology, trade, production. In this vision, the computer industry approximates in form to the telephone network, where service consumers are very loosely connected to the mechanism for ensuring their communication, and all they need is to pick up the phone, hear the dial tone and dial the number. In essence, the concept<.com>was a natural stage in the development of services Sun Microsystems, especially given the significant development network business and commerce in recent years. As they say, now comes new era invisible computing, leaving behind personal computers.
One of the foundations<.com>has become a recently released new version of the operating system Solaris - Solaris 8. Operating environment Solaris 8- a potential standard of the era ".com" is a product built using a flexible and scalable architecture and having extended functionality compared to previous versions of the system. This version of the system allows you to significantly increase the performance of Web servers through the use of NCA (Network Cache Accelerator). According to the Sun application Java in some cases increase productivity several times due to the use of the subsystem Java hotspot. Database performance Oracle increases by 40% according to Sun. With the release of a new version Solaris Sun introduces a new business model that includes free access to the operating system Solaris, including the OS source code, and free software licenses for end users.
Combining its hardware platforms and software technologies such as Java And jini as well as a new operating system Solaris 8, and calling updated A complex approach to service delivery concept<.com>, Sun is trying to take a new step in the development of the network business in particular and the provision of network services in general.
Development of the company Sun Microsystems keeps pace with the evolution of network computing. Having laid the foundation for the explosion of networking technology, Sun remains one of the leading companies in this sector of the market. Now no one doubts the fact that a modern computer is unthinkable without a network, which confirms the slogan put forward at the founding of Sun<Сеть - это компьютер>. Today, Sun continues its research and brings to the computer market technologies that will allow users of not only computers, but also a wide variety of electronic devices, to access the power of modern networked computing systems with simplicity worthy of the technologies of the next millennium.
In preparing this article, materials from the company's web servers were used Sun Microsystems: http://www.sun.com/ , http://www.sun.ru/ , as well as publications of journals ComputerWorld, LAN, Networks and etc.
The site explorer studied the history of Sun Microsystems, one of the fastest growing US companies in the 80s, which developed the SPARC processor architecture and the Java programming language, but due to the dot-com crisis and management errors, suffered losses for almost a decade and was sold to Oracle.
Sun Microsystems ceased to exist in 2010 after it was taken over by Oracle. Despite this ending to the company's history, Sun Microsystems is remembered for its products, strong growth, and extraordinary founders. For two decades, Sun has been considered one of the most successful computer companies USA. Then her position was undermined by the dot-com crisis, the departure of the founders and the controversial decisions of the leadership.
Sun Microsystems office
Andy Bechtolsheim. Founding of Sun Microsystems
The history of Sun Microsystem must begin with the brilliant engineer Andy Bechtolsheim, thanks to whose developments the company was created. Andreas von Bechtolsheim was born in 1955 in Germany. His father was an elementary school teacher and his mother was a housewife. Andy was the second child in the family.
The childhood of the future entrepreneur took place on a farm in the Alps. The family did not have a TV, the closest neighbors lived a few kilometers from the Bechtolsheim house, and therefore Andy was not distracted by anything. He was an inquisitive boy, asked his parents questions about everything in the world, read a lot and was interested in electronics, in which he had rather an applied interest, trying to figure out how this or that device works, and he also made various devices on his own.
In 1963, the Bechtolsheim family moved to Rome, where they lived for five years. There is no information about the reasons for the move. In 1968 they returned to Germany in the small town of Nonnenhorn. It was here that Andy spent his teenage years. At school, he was famous for his success in physics, including helping the teacher during laboratory work. There is information that Andy had to replace the teacher from time to time.
However, the development that preceded it began much earlier - in 1983, when Sun was engaged in the Sunrise project to produce a coprocessor that performs computational operations with floating point numbers. Following the conclusions made by Bechtolsheim, Sunrise was finalized to a full-fledged processor.
The first workstation to use this processor was the Sun-4. The SPARC architecture was officially introduced in 1987. The company itself did not produce microprocessors, relying on third-party manufacturers, of which there were already four by 1988.
In 1989, for promotional purposes, the company dropped the Sun name from its product lines, using SPARC instead. The first SPARCstation was presented to the public in 1989. It was released to compete with the Macintosh and IBM PC. Despite the fact that it was not possible to achieve impressive success, SPARCstation lasted on the market for six years, and about 35 thousand units were sold in the first year.
To trade licenses for the SPARC architecture, Sun was created non-profit organization SPARC International. Everyone can get membership in it, but you still have to pay for a license. SPARC International trades, among other things, finished products. The creation of this organization was due to the desire to repeat the success of IBM and, by trading in licenses for own equipment, enter the market hundreds of clones.
In 1987, the company surpassed Apollo in sales and took the lead in the market. In 1988, the company's sales amounted to one billion dollars. There was nothing unusual about such success. Sun entered the workstation market during their popularization. In addition, the company was one of the pioneers in the industry and was able to quickly acquire the best people, from Bechtolsheim and Joy to talented university graduates.
In addition, Sun has correctly chosen to focus on open systems, defeating Apollo with it. During the first ten years of its existence, Sun from small company has become the market leader in its industry, has produced more than 10 million workstations and entered the Fortune 500 list.
In 1987, Sun partnered with AT&T to further development UNIX operating system to become standard workstation software. It should be noted that until that moment, Sun used its own UNIX-based operating system, SunOS, on workstations. During the collaboration, AT&T acquired 20% of Sun. Together they released Unix System V Release 4. Sun would eventually adapt this development for its own products, and it would become known as Solaris.
In response, several workstation companies fearful of Sun's reign, including Hewett Packard and IBM, formed the OSF consortium. Together they were going to develop and disseminate open software systems. They created an operating system based on UNIX - OSF/1.
AT&T and Sun did not stand aside and, having teamed up with Data General and Unisys, launched a competing organization - Unix International. The two consortiums competed for some time to define a commercial UNIX standard for the entire industry.
These and subsequent events became known as the UNIX wars, and the struggle between the consortia prevented UNIX from gaining market leadership. AT&T sold its stake in Sun in 1991 and exited the operating system market in 1993. This date is considered to be the end of the UNIX wars, and soon a common standard was defined, known as the Single UNIX Specification. However, its appearance did not change the situation - Windows has already achieved market supremacy.
Despite being actively involved in all these endeavors, in 1989, Sun ran into some problems - launching the SPARCstation 1 on the market, management simultaneously tried to support two other product lines that were losing their relevance. The situation was exacerbated by rapid growth and active staff growth, which in turn led to managerial difficulties. Demand for SPARCstation was also clearly underestimated, which resulted in the inability to fully meet the needs of the market. Moreover, due to the fact that Hewlett Packard in 1989 acquired Apollo, for some time the company lost its leadership.
Sun Microsystems in the 90s. Creating Java
Sun management had to deal with all this already in the new decade, and it turned out relatively easily. First of all, the product line was reduced, in which only SPARC-based products remained. Revenues for 1990 increased by 40%, and the market position was restored.
In the early 1990s, competition in the workstation market became increasingly fierce. Sun's competitors released several successful products, which kept the company from falling behind.
Good financial indicators allowed Sun to expand its product line in different directions. The company started with the production of workstations for the insurance business, air carriers, brokerage companies. However, the entry into the office computer market cannot be called too successful due to a large number competitors. Then it was decided to launch a line of budget products. A cheaper $5,000 workstation was soon introduced.
In parallel, the company was negotiating with software manufacturers to adapt it for SPARC. In 1991, she managed to negotiate with the developers to adapt programs to SPARC 2,800. The company continued to actively work with external contractors, while retaining the assembly and testing of products.
At the same time, Sun became active in the software market. Two subsidiaries were created - SunSoft, which sold the company's operating system to other computer manufacturers, and Sun Technology Enterprises, which provided software for SPARC. The main areas of work of Sun Microsystems were also separated into subsidiaries. Each subsidiary operated autonomously, with its own development, production, and independent marketing and sales activities.
In 1992, Sun had 21 subsidiaries in different countries peace. Half of the company's income was provided by the external market. However, already during this period, analysts, who had previously admired the rapid growth of Sun, predicted a slowdown.
Especially the opinion of Sun experts did not bother. The company, through the efforts of Bechtolsheim, continued to improve its own technologies in the field of multiprocessors. Of course, there have been successful innovations in other areas as well. In 1991, a project was launched to create a computer for ordinary users, called Green.
At the head were Bill Joy, Patrick Naughton and James Gosling. The development had to have reliable and convenient functionality. As the project progressed, it became clear to the project managers that they would need new language programming. The development was called Oak, which will eventually be finalized and will receive a new name Java.
However, this is a shorter version of events. Usually, the history of the creation of Java begins with a story about the programmer Patrick Noughton. He informed management of his decision to leave for NeXT due to the fact that he was tired of adapting software for great amount Sun OS and architectures. There is an opinion that Noughton was completely at odds with Sun's development approach. McNeely, who was friends with Naughton, suggested that he clearly define and set out in writing causes of dissatisfaction, as well as ways to solve existing problems.
A letter written by Naughton to the management and engineers of the company, in which he sharply criticized Sun Microsystems and its development approaches, had an unexpected effect. Bill Joy and James Gosling drew attention to him and supported Naughton's ideas. This story ended with the proposal of the management to the developers and to Noughton himself to create something extraordinary and revolutionary. This is how the Green project was launched.
As a result, his team set about creating some kind of tablet, with which it was possible to control various equipment that had computer chips. At that time, according to Gosling's observation, it became more and more. During the development process, it became clear that the Green team would need a new programming language to create software with a minimum focus on certain platforms.
At first, Gosling tried to redesign C++ for this purpose. However, little came of this idea. Gosling soon had to admit that a completely new programming language was needed, which he undertook to create. The development was called Oak. Gosling managed to make the first version of Oak in just a few months.
James Gosling
Bechtolsheim has invested in a large number of companies, but his most famous and successful investment came in 1998. It was then that two graduate students from Stanford University, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, turned to him. At that time, Brin and Page had already received several refusals to invest, but Bechtolsheim was interested in their idea.
By all accounts, he almost immediately agreed to invest $100,000 in the company, not really listening to the programmers' presentation. According to one version, Andy was just in a hurry and made a quick decision. In any case, the meeting ended successfully for Page and Brin and set the stage for the creation of one of the largest conglomerates of our time.
By the way, some sources believe that the meeting of Brin and Page with Bechtolsheim caused another interesting consequence. Andy incorrectly entered the name on the receipt - instead of Googol - Google. Page and Brin had to put up with it. However, there are other versions of the origin of the name Google.
The Rising Sun Company
On Tuesday, the computer language Java, developed by Sun Microsystems, was officially distributed over the global computer network Internet. The company's executive director Scott McNeely has high hopes for his brainchild, intending to use it to radically change the balance of power both in the hardware market and in the software market.
sun king
Scott J. McNeely, #1 manager at the #1 computer company, was born in Columbus, Indiana, in 1954. Scott's father, R. William McNeely, was vice chairman of American Motors Corp. As a teenager, Scott spent evenings with his father writing AMC documents and playing golf with automotive industry luminaries such as Lee A. Iacocca. He says he saw competitors push AMC out of business because the company didn't have a significant market share, and swore he would never let that happen to his own firm.
The makings of a leader showed up in Scott at school - Cranbrook Kingswood School (located north of Detroit) - he became the captain of the school tennis team. At Harvard, he became interested in economics, thanks in large part to classmate William J. Radachel, who later became Sun's chief information officer and head of the corporate development program. McNeely was not an outstanding student. He was not accepted to business schools - both to Harvard and Stanford (three times in the latter). Therefore, in 1976, he went to work as a foreman at the Rockwell International Corp. plant. in Ashtabula, Ohio. The factory was rushing to produce a large number of car bonnets in anticipation of the strike. As a result of two months of work for 14 hours per shift, McNeely overexerted himself, fell ill with hepatitis and ended up in the hospital for a month and a half. And then he still entered Stanford on the fourth attempt.
Student habits and chosen curriculum did not make McNeely "exemplary material for creating an executive director." First, he focused on production, in those days when the way to the top was through finance. Moreover, according to friends at the institute, Scott preferred playing golf to attending lectures. McNeely himself explains that he did not attend those classes that, in his opinion, did not contribute to getting a job in the future. With a business school diploma, he held various positions at the tank manufacturing company FMC Corp. and the minicomputer company Onyx Systems.
In those days, he seemed reluctant to follow in his father's footsteps, believing that it was his workaholic habits that led to his parents' divorce. Scott dreamed of owning a small car dealership that he could pass on to his heirs and retire early.
In 1982, an event occurred that changed the fate of McNeely. Vinod Khosla, a Stanford acquaintance, suggested to McNeely and computer designer Bechtolsheim to create Sun. Scott's manufacturing experience helped the fledgling company cope with rapidly growing demand, and as a result, the firm's sales grew from $9 million in 1983 to $39 million in 1984. McNeely says that he "fired up" production so much that orders for manufactured products soon became scarce. He tried to find intermediaries. But then new orders blocked financial opportunities for expansion. McNeely began looking for someone who could help, and found him in the person of Eastman Kodak Co., which used Sun workstations in one of their projects.
Business Ability The McNeelys made a strong impression on Philip Samper, then Kodak's executive vice president. In 1984, in exchange for a $20 million investment, Kodak insisted that McNeely become president of his firm. (Samper later served as chief of Sun's computer division.) Around the same time, a dispute between Sun chief executive Khosla and the board of directors led to his resignation, and McNeely was appointed president, temporarily, until the board of directors could find a more experienced manager. But luck smiled at Sun, and the directors stopped looking for a replacement. McNeely was officially named chief executive at the age of 30.
Sun activities
Workstations (annual revenue — $2.7 billion). Sun has lost the lead to Hewlett-Packard but is hoping to bounce back with new UltraSPARC machines. Competitors in this sector are also IBM, Silicon Graphics, Digital Equipment.
Servers (annual revenue — $1.3 billion). In this area, Sun has achieved the greatest success in corporate computing and related to the global computer network Internet lines of business. Competitors are the same as in the workstation sector.
Computer services (annual income — $885 million). Demand for consulting on the Unix operating system and network computing is growing, but competition from firms such as EDS, IBM, Oracle is also intensifying.
Software (annual income — $395 million). The Unix operating system is the most popular operating system in network computing, but it is difficult to sell to those who use it. computer technology issued by other companies. The main competitors in the sector are Microsoft and IBM.
SPARC Technology ($99 million annual revenue) Sun's SPARC chips are leaders in their field, but their position is potentially threatened by cheaper Pentium Pro microprocessors. The main competitors in the sector are IBM and Digital Equipment.
He had long dreamed of breaking windows
During his decade as CEO, McNeely's main tasks were: first, to prove to the world that computers work better in a network than alone; second, to shake the industry dominance of the Microsoft-Intel duumvirate. The first idea was already well understood in the mid-eighties by techies and Wall Street brokers who became users of Sun workstations. The general public preferred what was cheaper and simpler. Usually this cheaper and simpler was an IBM PC clone. In the early nineties, sales and profits Sun Microsystems began to decline, some analysts began to predict the sunset of the "sun". But then the "Internet boom" began. The number of amateurs who wanted to connect to the world's largest computer network began to grow at a frantic pace. Apparently, it was on them (and on the more experienced, but economical users) that McNeely made a bet when he supported the Java project.
The essence of the project, which began to be developed at the end of 1990 by engineer Patrick Naughton, is as follows. The new language can be used to write small "applets" programs (applets) that can be easily sent over the Internet and used on any type of computer. Programs written in the Java language can be used on any type of computer and on any operating system. Thus, "platform wars" between computer manufacturers (PC vs. Macintosh) and "operating system wars" between software manufacturers (Windows, UNIX, OS/2 - each for himself) are made potentially meaningless. Market-dominant Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. soon, you may have to give up your position to the monopolists. According to McNeely, there should be a "post-Wintel era" (the word is short for Windows and Intel). Sun's goal is to make Java the de facto standard for creating new programs and using them on the Internet.
But that's not all. Competing platforms and operating systems, according to McNeely's plan, should leave the stage altogether, clearing the way for new products - special terminals connected to the global network (by Sun, of course), the price of which will be significantly lower than the price of a PC, which will ensure their superiority in the market. There will be no disk drive in the terminal - due to the lack of need for it. All programs will be located on the Internet itself, and the user will be able to download from there at any time. latest version. A huge array of terminals will be controlled by Sun's central supercomputer. Unable to withstand the competition with the terminals, "personal computers" will simply wither away.
The plan is ambitious, you can't say anything. The question is whether consumers will behave the way Scott McNeely expects. In the meantime, a license for a new programming language was bought from Sun 14 largest companies computer business, including IBM, Toshiba, Netscape Communications, Oracle Systems and even Microsoft.
Are apples for sale?
"Dine or be dined" is Scott McNeely's motto. IN last days in funds mass media Increasingly, there has been talk that Sun wants to dine on nothing less than veteran computing company Apple Computer Inc.
A report from New York City that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on the day of the official birth of the Java language says that Apple Computer and Sun Microsystems have resumed merger talks, and the deal is imminent. The first round of negotiations began in September last year, but was interrupted in early January. The reporters were unable to find out the details of the second round of discussions, except that the merger is supposed to be done through a swap operation and Apple is valued at $4 billion (about $33 per share). At the same time, it became known that Oracle Corp. also claims Apple.
However, at Apple's annual shareholder meeting held on the same Tuesday Executive Director Michael Spindler proudly declared that his firm was not for sale.
When asked about the newspaper article, both Spindler and Apple chairman Markkula respond with the traditional "no comments."
Analysts point out that Spindler's statement can be interpreted in two ways: either the Apple-Sun negotiations have failed completely, or the company wants to raise the price. By the way, once a similar version of events has already played out. In 1994, IBM bid for Apple for $40 per share, but Spindler asked for $60 and the deal fell through.
What is happening is somewhat symbolic. Apple was once the #1 company, but with the advent of cheaper IBM clones, the mass consumer turned away from its products. Now Sun wants to overthrow the dominance of the PC with the Intel microprocessor and operating system Windows while simultaneously join forces with the former leader. History repeats itself.
ALEXEY B-ALEKSEEV
Sun Microsystems is a global provider of networking solutions: servers, storage systems, software and services, located in Santa Clara, California, in Silicon Valley. IN currently is being acquired by Oracle for $7.4 billion. The corporation was founded in 1982. Vinodom Khosla(Vinod Khosla) and Andreas Bechtolsheim(Andreas Bechtolsheim). Sun is an acronym for Stanford University Networks. Traditionally, it has been one of the largest manufacturers of servers and workstations based on RISC processors and Unix-compatible systems.
Industries Sun operates in: telecommunications, media and entertainment, financial services, government agencies, education and research, healthcare, Internet services, manufacturing, transport, energy. The corporation operates in more than 100 countries around the world. The company's partners are Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Fujitsu, Oracle, SAP, Google.
Performance indicators
2008-2009 Net loss of Sun Microsystems following the results of 2008-2009 financial year which came to the end on June 30 made $2.23 billion, against profit the previous year in the amount of $403 million. Revenue of the company according to the results of the reporting period was reduced by 17.5% to $11.45 billion.
2007-2008
- turnover - $13.9 billion
- operating profit - $372 million
- net profit - $403 million (2008)
Merged with Oracle
Sun in Russia
In July, 2010 it became known that the largest Russian distributors of Sun Microsystems can lose the status of its authorized partners. They are not able to fulfill the requirement of Oracle, which is buying this corporation, to pass an anti-corruption audit. This is fraught with the loss of discounts on Sun products, reaching up to 50% of the retail price.
Oracle and Sun Microsystems, which it is preparing to acquire, sent letters to the five largest Russian partners - Croc, Verysell, OCS Distribution, Technoserv and Jet Infosystems, ordering them to provide full information on sales of Sun products. Representatives of two large Russian IT companies that received such letters told Vedomosti about this. Vedomosti also got acquainted with copies of these letters. It follows from them that the goal of Oracle and Sun is to audit all transactions made by Russian distributors for the sale of equipment and software. It is required to specify their amounts, level of profitability, structure, buyers, etc. Sun substantiates these requirements, in particular, with the norms of the American antimonopoly law.
For non-compliance with the requirements, Oracle threatens to deprive Russian distributors of the status of Sun's authorized partners. At the same time, they will lose special discounts on Sun products, according to a copy of the Oracle letter. 15-50% off the recommended retail price the average size discounts provided by Sun Microsystems to authorized partners, says a top manager of a major Russian IT distributor. In some cases, discounts can reach 70%.
But in many cases, these requirements are not feasible, representatives of both Russian IT companies say: with a number of clients (for example, with government agencies), IT integrators and their clients enter into confidentiality agreements. And disclosing the data requested by Sun and Oracle is against the Trade Secrets Act, one of them adds. Technoserv would like to maintain partnerships with Oracle and Sun, but it has no right to violate the terms of contracts concluded with customers, says its representative Andrey Konyaev. Representatives of Croc, Verysell and Jet Infosystems did not provide official comments, they failed to contact OCS Distribution yesterday.
The representative of the Russian office of Oracle Marina Savinova is not aware of the problems of Russian partners. Oracle EMEA Vice President Marcel van de Morten (signed Oracle's letter) said he was not authorized to comment on the company's relationship with Russian partners. It was not possible to get comments from the legal adviser of the Russian office Alexander Filatov (signed the letter to Sun) yesterday.
Participants in the Russian IT market find it difficult to imagine why Sun and Oracle have decided to conduct a rigorous audit of the partner network right now. According to a representative of one of the IT companies, American corporations did this after a series of corruption scandals related to the supply of IT equipment to Russia. The last such scandal occurred in December last year, when law enforcement Germany was presented with several former managers Hewlett-Packard allegations of bribing Russian officials. Allegedly, these bribes allowed the company to win a tender to equip the Prosecutor General's Office with computer equipment. Oracle has always had information about its buyers software products, since those who buy software licenses must register as users, a representative of a Russian distributor explains. And tracing the path of Sun equipment is more difficult. As a result, Russian distributors will be able to find a compromise with Sun and Oracle, he hopes, but does not undertake to suggest what the terms of such an agreement might be.
Story
Company founders - Vinod Khosla and Andreas Bechtolsheim
