If you thought 7 was great, you might want to spend the $80 bucks it takes to get to this level.

As a Systems Administrator, I had been exposed briefly to Unix. I had played with Linux but had no SUN exposure at all. However, a change of environments changed all that and it changed my opinion of everything. The company I currently work for was using Solaris 6 on SUN SparcStation 30's, so I wanted to know what all the hoopla was about. They sent me off to Sun Training, and now I have a great appreciation of the environment. Some highlights of the OS:

Java plugins:

Since Sun's dive into Java, Solaris has been increasingly changing with the increase in Java based administration GUI utilities. Learning from the older fans of unix, the command line is always the better way to go in my opinion, but there are just some things the command line can't give you...like remote administration of NIS servers from anywhere. This is one of my favorite advances, and makes the job of administering server clusters efficient and relatively easy. Known as the Solaris adminsuite (version 3.0.1), you can now administer useraccounts, groups, and whatever you want to do using NIS....from ANY machine you want. I currently have it running on my Ultra 5 workstation...how's that for anywhere?

Another step in the right direction for SUN has been it's focus on security. Although there is no way to make a machine 100% "hack proof" (unless you disconnect the machine from the net), SUN has spent some time making things more secure. Their compatibility with ssh, ip filters, wrappers, and kerberos gives administrators enough flexibility to implement the Solaris solution in almost any environment. Even Windows 2000 plays nice with this OS. (Windows 2000 services for Unix is a must have for any mixed PC, Solaris environment...access to NFS shares right on your PC)

Only one negative to the story...Solaris 8 x86. Could not get this to run on any PC I tried. In fact, people I know that configure SUN systems as distributors complained about it's configuration nightmares. Most of them have stuck to 7 on the PC. I would recommend the same. It's on the Sparcs that this OS really shines.

In my opinion, there is no alternative. This OS gives you the power to do anything...whether it be on a workstation or large server. You can get Ultra 5's now for about $2,000 new or $1,200 refurb, so if you really enjoy Unix, this is the best thing going.



Recommended: Yes