Sun Wednesday said it will begin selling, supporting and pre-installing Windows Server 2003 on all its server hardware within the next three months and that it will work with Microsoft on developing interoperability between their virtualization and other technologies.

The two also said they will work together in a lab on Microsoft’s Redmond campus that will include engineers from both companies working on virtualization interoperability as well as customer support issues.

The announcement came the same day the Microsoft/Novell Interoperability Lab opened in Cambridge, Mass., where virtualization is also a main focus.

Microsoft officials, however, said there won’t be any cross-pollination initially between the two efforts.

Sun and Microsoft billed their announcement as an expansion of an interoperability agreement made in April 2004 that is best remembered for the hockey-jersey peace offering between longtime foes Scott McNealy of Sun and Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer.

Microsoft, Sun also to be lab partners

“Even as it was three-and-a-half years ago, this is two companies bowing down to the demands of the marketplace with customers clearly needing interoperability and wanting Windows running on some specific hardware,” said Dwight Davis, vice president with analyst firm Ovum Summit. “In part you could tie this a little to [Sun CEO] Jonathan Schwartz’s leadership being less antagonistic toward Microsoft than Scott McNealy’s and more pragmatic about what is good for Sun.”

Wednesday’s press conference focused on Sun becoming a Windows OEM and on collaboration efforts to optimize Windows Server on Sun x64 systems. Sun, which already certifies Windows on Solaris, said it will provide utilities and value-added software as part of its Windows-enabled servers.

Sun officials, however, were coy about whether the agreement will extend to Windows Server 2008, which is slated to ship next year. The server operating system will be the last from Microsoft that includes a 32-bit version.

John Fowler, the executive vice president of Sun’s systems group, also touted Solaris as a premier platform for hosting other Microsoft software including SQL Server, Exchange Server and Microsoft Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Edition.

He said Sun and Microsoft are already working with AT&T around the IPTV platform.

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