Sun Microsystems

Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold <a href="/facts/Computer/SQe1aK05">computers</a>, <a href="/facts/Computer_components/SQe1aK05">computer components</a>, <a href="/facts/Software/RP79lVSW">software</a>, and <a href="/facts/Information_technology/glMzunwe">information technology</a> services. Sun contributed significantly to the evolution of several key computing technologies, among them <a href="/facts/Unix/0pNL2seI">Unix</a>, <a href="/facts/Reduced_instruction_set_computer/aQbGM62p">RISC processors</a>, <a href="/facts/Thin_client/GtBdBho5">thin client</a> computing, and <a href="/facts/Virtualization/bEqH0Wtf">virtualized computing</a>. At its height, the Sun headquarters were in <a href="/facts/Santa_Clara%2c_California/lkQTssCF">Santa Clara, California</a> (part of <a href="/facts/Silicon_Valley/gdot9J7e">Silicon Valley</a>), on the former west campus of the <a href="/facts/Agnews_Developmental_Center/kQDxhxyF">Agnews Developmental Center</a>.
Sun products included <a href="/facts/Computer_server/dEaYFD7r">computer servers</a> and <a href="/facts/Workstation/h5tK4hTt">workstations</a> built on its own <a href="/facts/Reduced_instruction_set_computer/aQbGM62p">RISC</a>-based <a href="/facts/SPARC_processor_architecture/m7KhEtET">SPARC processor architecture</a>, as well as on <a href="/facts/X86/Kypq5fgu">x86</a>-based <a href="/facts/AMD/CB1G7QTb">AMD</a> <a href="/facts/Opteron/IF1ueyIJ">Opteron</a> and <a href="/facts/Intel/SMF0gJJX">Intel</a> <a href="/facts/Xeon/j1M8Hp6D">Xeon</a> processors. Sun also developed its own <a href="/facts/Computer_storage/wPHKFpdx">storage</a> systems and a suite of software products, including the Unix-based <a href="/facts/SunOS/oWMcGLqc">SunOS</a> and later <a href="/facts/Solaris_operating_system/KPfT98EJ">Solaris</a> operating systems, developer tools, Web infrastructure software, and <a href="/facts/Identity_management/D4Ukft0T">identity management</a> applications. Technologies that Sun created include the <a href="/facts/Java_(programming_language)/9ScgFyAL">Java programming language</a>, the <a href="/facts/Java_(software_platform)/fpn6x8WL">Java platform</a> and <a href="/facts/Network_File_System/jWRRALVo">Network File System</a> (NFS).
In general, Sun was a proponent of open systems, particularly Unix. It was also a major contributor to <a href="/facts/Open-source_software/HzTaB8E9">open-source software</a>, as evidenced by its $1 billion purchase, in 2008, of <a href="/facts/MySQL/QEEDNBDP">MySQL</a>, an open-source <a href="/facts/Relational_database_management_system/pEKGmJLy">relational database management system</a>. Other notable Sun acquisitions include <a href="/facts/Cray_Business_Systems_Division/ojpQsYg9">Cray Business Systems Division</a>, <a href="/facts/Storagetek/Cru6d1xs">Storagetek</a>, and Innotek GmbH, creators of <a href="/facts/VirtualBox/8wordR1n">VirtualBox</a>. On April 20, 2009, it was announced that <a href="/facts/Acquisition_of_Sun_Microsystems_by_Oracle_Corporation/W2K9XL4y">Oracle would acquire Sun</a> for US$7.4 billion. The deal was completed on January 27, 2010.

Sun Microsystems open-in-new

Sun Microsystems