In the past, high-end engineering workstations predominantly used Unix operating systems rather than Linux. Companies like Apollo and Sun Microsystems gained popularity, with Sun’s Solaris being a widely recognized Unix variant. Following Oracle’s acquisition of Sun, the future of Solaris seemed uncertain. However, Oracle recently declared that Solaris 11.4 CBE can now be freely downloaded and utilized for non-production purposes.
Are you interested? If you’ve ever desired to experience a “true” Unix environment, this is a viable option. Alternatively, consider Free BSD, which boasts robust community support. Virtualizing a machine to test Solaris could be a worthwhile endeavor.
For those holding onto old SPARC systems, this news may be groundbreaking. While the exact range of compatible hardware remains unknown, reviving an old Sun server from an online marketplace may now be achievable with Solaris 11.4 CBE. If you possess an FPGA SPARC setup, exploring Solaris could prove intriguing, albeit the additional requirements for utilization are uncertain.
Are you inclined to install Solaris? Feel free to share your reasons for or against it. Solaris was seemingly fading away in 2017, but this recent development may offer a lifeline to those still relying on Solaris 9.
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