Sun Microsystems and Linuxcare Team to Deliver Linux Support for Sun Storedge T3 Array

Linux Customers Can Now Build High-Availability Storage Solutions with Industry's First Open-Source Failover Storage Software

San Jose, Calif. August 15, 2000 - At the LinuxWorld Conference today, Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) and Linuxcare, a recognized leader in providing comprehensive professional services and solutions for Linux and open-source technologies, announced that Sun's new Sun StorEdge(TM) disk array is now available on the Linux platform. Sun and Linuxcare will demonstrate Linux running on the Sun StorEdge T3 array in the Sun booth, #1240, and in the Linuxcare booth, #1308, at the San Jose Convention Center.

The failover storage software is open-sourced and available free from Linuxcare to those using Intel servers (http://open-projects.linuxcare.com/t3/). It is the industry's first high-availability Linux support and failover storage software for storage systems.

The Sun StorEdge T3 array is ideal for Linux environments because it offers a modular design that can quickly scale from entry-level workgroup levels to high-end enterprise environments. Additionally, as Linux bulks up to increasing workloads within business environments, high-availability Linux systems are crucial to maintain an always-on e-business. Linux customers can use the failover storage software to create highly available storage systems using two or more Sun StorEdge T3 arrays. If one array goes offline, operations can immediately switch to the online array, thus avoiding costly downtime.

"Linuxcare was able to take advantage of our coding expertise and our relationships with the open-source community to help Sun ensure the competitiveness of the Sun StorEdge T3 array and other network storage products," said David L. Sifry, co-founder and CTO of Linuxcare. "We are proud to host and maintain the Sun StorEdge T3 project and look forward to helping Sun incorporate the Linux community's ideas into future updates of the software."

"We chose to work with Linuxcare because of its well-known Linux development and service expertise and because we wanted to stay with the open-source philosophy of the Linux community," said Denise Shiffman, vice president of marketing, Sun Network Storage. "When we announced the Sun StorEdge T3 array last month, we unveiled an off-platform plan for the product. We're delivering on this off-platform promise by offering Linux customers the opportunity to protect their data with a highly reliable, available and scalable disk array that integrates seamlessly into their Linux environments."

Sun StorEdge T3 Array Addresses Scalability, Reliability and Availability Needs of Linux Customers
As a result of working with Linuxcare, the Sun StorEdge T3 family of network storage arrays delivers the industry's most scalable high-availability storage solutions for entry-level workgroup to high-end enterprise environments on the Linux platform. The system's capacity ranges from 162 gigabytes (GB) to 88 terabytes (TB) and scales capacity, performance and availability in a linear and predictable fashion. As capacity increases, performance increases by a predictable amount, and availability scales as additional data paths and redundancy are added. This provides for higher performance as capacity grows.

The Sun StorEdge T3 array has many features that are compatible with any network. The fibre channel interface provides better data throughput than the SCSI interconnects on which competitive products are based. The onboard cache results in faster I/O service time and therefore better performance. The Sun StorEdge T3 array will easily fit into a SAN environment, making it a solid storage area network.

Pricing and Availability
The Sun StorEdge T3 arrays for the workgroup and the enterprise are now shipping. List pricing for a 162 GB Sun StorEdge T3 array for the workgroup starts at $32,500. The Sun StorEdge T3 array for the enterprise is list priced at $91,450 for a 327 GB configuration, while a 2.6 TB configuration is list priced at $465,900. Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.

The Linux failover storage software will be available free of charge at the Linuxcare website (http://open-projects.linuxcare.com/t3/) starting on August 15, 2000.

About Sun Network Storage
Sun Network Storage was formed by Sun Microsystems in July 1998 and is a recognized multi-billion dollar industry leader in the UNIX(R) and open systems storage market. Sun is changing the rules in network storage by delivering software and hardware written to an open network architecture. Sun's commitment to standards enables timely availability of new technology, investment protection for existing technology, and a thriving partner community. The comprehensive Sun StorEdge family of products enables customers to match storage to the application while providing scalable capacity and performance in a "pay-as-you-grow" architecture.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision - "The Network Is The Computer(TM)" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that power the Internet and allow companies worldwide to dot-com their businesses. With $15.7 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 170 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com.

About Linuxcare, Inc.
Linuxcare, Inc. is a recognized leader in providing comprehensive professional services and solutions for Linux and open-source technologies. Linuxcare helps original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), independent software vendors (ISVs), Internet infrastructure vendors and Global 2000 companies maximize their success in putting Linux and open-source solutions to work. The company, with funding from Kleiner Perkins and corporate partners such as ITOCHU, Motorola, Oracle, and Sun, hosts http://www.linuxcare.com, a leading technical resource for Linux and open-source solutions. Founded in 1998, Linuxcare is headquartered in San Francisco with offices around the world. The company can be reached at +1-415-354-4878.

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Sun StorEdge and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc., in the United States and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, exclusively licensed through X/Open Company Ltd. Linuxcare is a trademark of Linuxcare, Inc. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.