Sun Locks Down Desktop

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) is on a mission to strip down users desktops and move applications back to the data center with a new strategy unveiled at the RSA Conference today.

The move is part of the company’s Secure Network Access Platform (SNAP) which was first announced last year, targeted at the government and defense sectors.

Now, however, Sun has launched an enterprise version, targeted at businesses. So, what does this involve? Instead of a traditional computer network where PCs use operating systems to run a range of applications, Sun is instead touting networks of "dumb terminals" connected to servers back in a data center.

The terminals are "stateless," which means they have no operating system of their own. Instead, the operating system and all the various applications are kept back in the user's data center.

If it sounds familiar, well... it is. Of course, many IT managers might see the move as a migration back to the days of mini computers and mainframes.Sun is plugging this as a robust way to build corporate networks, enabling tight central control over end-user devices. “If you move all that data back to the server you can build true data-center security,” says Sandra Cook, Sun’s director of desktop mobility and security.

In an effort to underline this message, Cook explains that the strategy was developed in conjunction with the U.S. military’s Joint Intelligence Center Pacific (JICPAC). Another early adopter cited by Cook, is the Space And Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR). The Sun exec refused to divulge the identities of any of the other government agencies using SNAP.

Jill Eckhaus, president of data center managers’ organization Afcom says this all sounds eminently sensible: “With all the security issues and everything else that is going on in IT at the moment, it makes sense to keep centralized control within the data center.” This gives IT managers more control over their organization, she adds.

There is a method in Sun’s madness. The vendor is clearly hoping to steal a march on rival vendors IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), and Wyse Technology., who are all pushing different "thin client" devices.

Sun’s Cook told NDCF that the new enterprise strategy would be a perfect fit for service providers and telecom firms. “Maybe a telecom firm could manage a call center or even, for small to medium-sized firms, could manage their business applications.”Again, Cook was unwilling to name names but she says Sun is already to talking to a number of service providers and telecom firms “around the world” about the initiative.

— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-Gen Data Center Forum