Will Sun adopt AMD roadmap for Linux boxes?

Because Sun is Intel's enemy, does that make it AMD's friend?

When AMD started making public noises about Hammer in press releases, it was noticeable to us here at the INQ that one of its publicity shots gave prominence in its first or second paragraph to an endorsement by Sun of its X86-64 platform.

hammgraf.gif On the 18th of August 2000, AMD, in a release about the architectural spec of the X86-64, the second paragraph said the following:

"Sun Microsystems' Solaris team is very excited about AMD's x86-64™ technology. We applaud AMD's ISV compatibility and upgrade strategy as well as their open technology announcement today. We will be following their progress closely as this technology comes to market," said Anil Gadre, vice president and general manager for Solaris at Sun Microsystems."

Intel is Sun's enemy. At an Intel Developer Forum two years ago, a day before senior VP Paul Otellini lambasted Sun for failing to support its "Merced" Itanium strategy sufficiently, we were leaked the story which to us in our years of covering the chip giant, was an all time first.

Intel wants what it considers its real partners in its 64-bit initiative to succeed - those OEMs are Compaq, HP and to a lesser extent IBM. Their enemies are Sun, but Scott McNealy's company has no bigger enemy than Intel itself.

As we've pointed out here before, Intel's does take the long view about the market, as well as having to engage in short term tactics too.

As far back as 1992, one of the then two European general managers of Intel told us that he wanted Sun's business to be its business.

Fairly quietly, AMD has cultivated the Linux community in its bid to introduce X86-64 "Hammer" technology as a rival chip architecture in the marketplace.

Sun has said it will start introducing its low end boxes during this summer and that they will use X86 processors, being careful not to specify whether they be AMD or Intel flavours.

There would be no justifiable business reason for Intel to refuse to sell its X86 processors to Sun, and it could well breach regulations if it did so.

But on the other hand, there is now every reason to think that Sun may well assist AMD in cocking a snook at Chipzilla by rejecting Intel chips and perhaps, also, by being one of the first companies to adopt Clawhammer, and then perhaps Sledgehammer next year, into its family of low end boxes. µ

See Also
AMD crash forces Solaris switch AMD's Hammer versus Intel's Itanic
Sun goes gung ho on Linux
AMD's Hammer to beat McKinley
Linux developer community rallies round X86-64 strategy AMD PR
Virtuhammer press release AMD PR
X86-64 spec for developers AMD PR