confused? so was i

Tuesday, Jun 21. 2005  –  Category: OpenSolaris

Some friends who have been playing around with OpenSolaris have asked me to clarify what everything means. So here’s a (very very very) brief summary of what means what, and some analogies to Linux (specifically Fedora, since I’m a Fedora-fan) and other OS’s:

Solaris 10 – This is our officially supported Sun distribution. This is a free download, and we will release binary patches, updates, etc. etc. The current release is Solaris 10 01/06 which we refer to (internally at least) as “Solaris 10 Update 1″, or s10u1 for short. The initial release was Solaris 10 03/05 which was the FCS release of Solaris 10. Update releases are “service pack” releases that add new features and fix bugs for the main Solaris 10 distribution. Solaris 10 is probably best analogous to Red Hat’s Enterprise Linux type of distribution. Except we provide free downloads in binary form ;-) (oh yeah, and support is cheaper)

Solaris Express Community Release – This is the base for OpenSolaris (currently). These are our super bleeding-edge bits… our latest internal build… what will be Solaris 11, currently codenamed Nevada. Currently, as of Feb 22nd 2006, this is Nevada, build 33 (also referred to in shorthand with snv_33, or nv_33). These are released typically every 2 weeks in sync with the ONNV build schedule.

Solaris Express – this is the official Sun ‘bleeding-edge’ bits (as opposed to the OpenSolaris ‘bleeding-edge’ bits. these are provided primarily for customers interested in testing out new features of the new Solaris release without the total cutting-edge-ness of the Solaris Express: Community Release. Currently, the newest release is 02/06 which is Nevada, build 31. These are typically updated every month or two… at a frequency less than Community Release. Solaris Express is a minimally-qualified SXCR, meaning, it boots, and has passed some minimal testing.

OpenSolaris – This is probably best analogous to kernel.org, except with more. :-P It’s our ON (OS/Net) consolidation, and contains the kernel (like kernel.org) as well as other user-land utilities/tools (unlike kernel.org), but is NOT enough to get a whole system bootstrapped currently (like kernel.org). So you’d have to download the Solaris Express Community Edition (Nevada, build 34), and pop the OpenSolaris bits on top. Not unlike downloading Fedora Core, and then downloading the latest Linux kernel and installing it on top. Alternatively, you can download any of the other OpenSolaris-based distributions, such as Schilix, Belenix, or Nexenta GNU/Solaris. We have the OpenSolaris roadmap up for viewing which should also help give an idea for how OpenSolaris will be unfolding over the next year.

I hope that helps explain the relationships somewhat… so what should you use if you want to go Solaris? Depends, what do you need?

Are you running a server, and worried about uptime and stability? use Solaris 10. It’s our official ‘enterprise’ distribution, and is rock solid because it’s not always in flux. :) Plus it’s supported…. and hey, it’s still free…

Are you an end user, but want to play with the latest features that aren’t in Solaris 10 – but not necessarily interested in jumping into the code? Then you should use Solaris Express Community Edition. Also, a free download… but no guarantees you won’t find a bug, or a panic. Solaris Express is also an option, but may lag in features/bugfixes by a build or two.

And lastly, if you want to jump in and start poking at the code, then go grab Solaris Express Community Edition + OpenSolaris, or one of the previously mentioned OpenSolaris-based distros. They’re all open source, and free.

This blog entry, brought to you by the word

FREE

Update: [0222] Updated to reflect new builds, release timings, and new OpenSolaris distros besides Schilix.

Update: [1206] Updated to reflect accurate release timings

Update: [0621] Updated to reflect the difference between ‘Solaris Express’ and ‘Solaris Express Community Release’.

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13 Comments to “confused? so was i”

  1. aaron Says:
    June 21st, 2005 at 10:27

    I see. This is very useful. Thanks Steve! One question, significance of the name “Nevada”?

  2. stevel Says:
    June 21st, 2005 at 10:37

    I wasn’t sure, so I went and asked Danek (our friendly Solaris Nevada gatekeeper) who told me that it was a completely random choice that was mentioned (by valerie ) during a meeting. It may have some connection to ‘Wyoming’, the codename for the 64-bit sparcv9 port of Solaris done for Solaris 2.7 I think. Most importantly: it’s not a copyrighted/trademarked name. ;-)

  3. Steve Potter Says:
    March 27th, 2006 at 18:40

    I wish I had seen this earlier today, before I wrote much the same thing (although without the great level of detail) for a confused internal client. I’ll make sure to pass this on to him to explain why, no I am not going to be “supporting” OpenSolaris instead of Solaris.

  4. Ravi Says:
    December 9th, 2006 at 01:26

    Thanks for your post, its really useful for who lost in open solaris

    -Ravi http://unix.vc

  5. nico Says:
    February 6th, 2007 at 13:51

    thanks !!!

  6. wwwroot Says:
    February 25th, 2007 at 09:53

    thanks for the intro.. any clarification regarding the licenses under which solaris/open solaris is issued?

    thanks again.

  7. Alfred Says:
    February 26th, 2007 at 01:01

    One problem with the naming stuff lies in the bugzilla.mozilla.org. Several categories exist in this bug system: SunOS/Solaris/OpenSolaris. To put all these names together is a little bit weird I think. As the bugs are related to Solaris 8/9/10 and Nevada, is there any better solution to go like “Linux”?

  8. ccj Says:
    March 17th, 2007 at 08:52

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NevadaTestSite says it all :lol:

  9. kidari Says:
    March 27th, 2007 at 04:16

    When you get time, would you mind adding a note or two with regard to the apparent dropping of “Solaris Express” (non-community edn)?

    The link here:

    Solaris Express – this is the official Sun ‘bleeding-edge’ bits (as opposed to the OpenSolaris ‘bleeding-edge’ bits.

    now takes one to the Developer edition. :-0

  10. dougs Says:
    August 20th, 2007 at 07:45

    The following entry is the only entry where the first date is later than the second — typo??

    onnv_77 11/29/2007 11/05/2007

    HTH

  11. sehat tan Says:
    August 26th, 2007 at 20:24

    I just received 2 pcs DVD Open Solaris. When opened the case, it make me rethink again. What’s the differenc between this OpenSolaris with the Solaris Developer Edition from SUN itself? And if from opensolaris side, the development and update will become in 2 month and more release, and what’s the benefit for a user like me to judge which one is suited for me? I haven’t made decision to install both of Solaris from SUN and opensolaris. Thanks to answer my question.

  12. Eddie Says:
    April 20th, 2009 at 08:47

    I am confused by the Solaris Express edition. I do not see any option with Sun to obtain this (they do have the Solaris Express Community Edition, which thanks to your nice page I know the difference).

    BTW, I found this page via http://wiki.genunix.org/wiki/index.php/OpenSolarisFAQ#WhatisthedifferencebetweenOpenSolaris.2CSolarisExpress.2CSolaris10.2C_etc..3F

  13. Dave Abrahams Says:
    March 1st, 2010 at 09:56

    This information can’t possibly still be up-to-date 5 years later, can it? Because it’s referenced from various “official” places like #opensolaris on irc.freenode.net, it would be good if someone could make it accurate again.

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