Playing its Intel Corp trump card Digital Equipment Corp yesterday snatched Unix server vendor Sequent Computer Systems Inc from under Sun Microsystems Inc’s nose as the first partner for its effort to establish Digital Unix as an industry standard on Intel’s 64-bit IA-64 architecture (CI No 3,310). Under a cross-licensing agreement, the two will co-develop a new version of the Alpha RISC-based operating system for use on Intel IA-64 systems as well as Alpha, including the IA-64 products both companies will begin selling in 1999. DEC says the resulting code will be ideal for volume products as well as high-end markets, and claims to be in discussions with potential OEM partners in other Unix-on-Intel camps, including Santa Cruz Operation Inc’s Big E posse, as well as with vendors which have yet to declare their 64-bit Unix plans. The operating system is currently unnamed – its working moniker, Bravo, is already taken. The new operatingsystem will combine Sequent’s high-end kernel and ccNUMA Dynix/ptx technologies with DEC’s clustering, very large memory and much under-employed 64-bit technologies. DEC and Sequent promise binary compatibility across any IA-64 platform running the new operating system and are implementing Digital Unix APIs on Dynix/ptx enabling Sequent customers to run their applications on the new operating system and take advantage of 64-bit functionality after recompiling their programs. DEC has 4,500 64- bit applications running on Digital Unix and hopes many will be recompiled to run on the new operating system, though ISVs will need to maintain a separate binary to support both Alpha and IA- 64 versions. However because Alpha and IA-64 are both little- endian architectures DEC says the transition to Intel will be less painful than migrating to IA-64 from other big-endian RISCs such as Sparc or PA-RISC. Users can also take advantage of data stored on both architectures and will be able to leverage DEC’s full range of Windows NT integration tools which will be integrated into the new system software. The two companies will differentiate their products by market space: DEC says it will develop Unix-based IA-64 systems for the low- and mid-range of the market and keep Alpha for its high-end and technical requirement, while Sequent will continue its focus on mid-to-high end commercial server space. However DEC revealed to Computergram that it already has system designs in its labs which could take advantage of the Sequent-derived ccNUMA technology in around 18 months time. Intel, which has endorsed Hewlett-Packard Co, SCO, Sun and now DEC and Sequent’s Unix-on-IA-64 initiative is the clear winner. It’s got all the Unix ducks feeding out of its hand, and each one believing it has some sort of special relationship with it. Wouldn’t it be easier to deal with a single Unix for Intel? The industry has clearly decided there should be multiple Unixes for the Intel IA-64 architecture, Intel says. Sequent’s deal with DEC is clearly a blow Sun CEO Scott McNealy’s plan to establish Solaris and the Coca-Cola of Unix as yet another own-brand Unix-on-Intel soda is created.
