It's been several months since I've sent out a new issue of Techtips, primarily because there wasn't a topic that was screaming at me. This installment is going to drift a little away from my normal themes and drift near the realm of a sales pitch. Fear not, I'm not turning to the "dark side" but I thought this was important enough that folks need to hear about it.
One of the biggest problems with upgrading the operating system on a production system is the time is takes to go over the new features, test the system with your applications and document procedures. It's a shame, as newer versions of Solaris are adding a ton of new features. One way to get new functionality is to follow Solaris Maintenance updates. The other way was to upgrade to a newer version.
Enter Solaris Express.
Sun is now making available, on a monthly basis, ISO images of "Solaris Next." Downloads are free or you can pay a small fee to have CDs mailed out. Utilizing the Solaris Express program (SE) can give you a jump on upgrades. The SE program gives you the opportunity to try snapshots of the code base as it develops.
Being able to try out and test new features gives you power because now you're able to plan for upgrades. You can see if the new features being developed give you the tools that you need to reduce cost. It streamlines the upgrade path because you've been able to do preliminary testing of those features against your application stack.
Sun gets a longer test cycle, you get a jump on new technologies that can increase your business's bottom line. You might also be able to solve an existing problem and make yourself look like a wizard. In our current economic climate, that's never a bad thing.
Check out the program at http://www.sun.com/solarisexpress it's very cool.
I'd like to get this newsletter out on a more regular basis, but to do so I need your help. If you've got a question, nagging problem or an idea that you'd like to see fleshed out send it to me at doug.otto@govstor.com with "TechTips" in the subject line and I'll do my best to get it addressed. If it's just a tip you'd like to see passed on I'll even give you credit for it.
