Sun Microsystems has previewed the first and only four-socket, 2U quad-core system on the market from a tier-one vendor.

It is powered by the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor 7300 series that Intel announced separately on the same occasion.

At the processor launch in San Francisco, Intel also endorsed the Solaris Operating System (OS) as the only mission-critical UNIX operating system for the Intel Xeon processor, recommending that OEMs and systems builders show support for the Solaris OS on Xeon-based platforms, said an official spokesman.

The next-generation server Sun demonstrated today, ideal for network services consolidation, compute services and database applications, will be widely available within 60 days.

The server incorporates unique design elements that provide customers with extremely high density and energy efficiency, resulting in substantial savings in space and power costs.

In the future, Sun will offer various systems based on the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor 7300 series to meet the needs of multiple market segments.

'Sun's mission is to design and deliver the industry's most innovative, high performance, energy-efficient systems on the market,' said managing director, Sun Microsystems Middle East and North Africa, Chris Cornelius.

'In addition to announcing the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor 7300 series today, Intel is reinforcing our commitment to the Solaris OS as a mainstream OS and the enterprise-class, mission critical UNIX OS for Intel Xeon processor-based servers,' said vice-president and general manager of Intel Corporation's Digital Enterprise Group Tom Kilroy. -Trade Arabia News Service