What are SunOS and Solaris?

SunOS is a Sun Microsystems implementation of the Unix operating system. Solaris is SunOS packaged with a number of additional tools, and a graphical user interface (GUI) environment. Since Sun Microsystems did not offer the Solaris product until SunOS 4, SunOS and Solaris have different version conventions (e.g., Solaris 1 includes SunOS 4, while Solaris 2 includes SunOS 5). To further confuse the naming scheme, Sun now refers to Solaris by just its point release (e.g., Solaris 7, 8, or 9 instead of 2.7, 2.8, or 2.9).

When Bill Joy, one of the main programmers of the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), helped found Sun in 1982, he brought with him the elements for the first release of SunOS. Up through version 4.1.x (Solaris 1.x), SunOS remained a heavily BSD-influenced Unix implementation. However, in the late '80s, Sun entered into a partnership with AT&T, which was then developing the other major Unix flavor, System V. The result was System V release 4 (SVR4), which incorporated BSD as well as SunOS extensions (e.g., NFS). Subsequently, with its version 5.x (Solaris 2.x) releases, SunOS shifted from its BSD origins to SVR4.

For more information about SunOS and Solaris, including FAQs, white papers, and upgrade and purchasing information, visit Sun's Solaris web page.

Additionally, you can consult the following newsgroups:

comp.unix.solaris
alt.solaris.x86
Those in the comp.sys.sun.* hierarchy

UITS offers support for users and administrators of SunOS and Solaris servers and workstations. For more information, visit the UITS Sun/Solaris Microsystems web page.

Note: In common parlance, when people speak of SunOS, they usually mean the older BSD-based versions (SunOS 1 through 4.1.x and Solaris 1.x). The term "Solaris" typically refers to the SVR4 releases (SunOS version 5 and higher, and Solaris version 2 and higher) exclusively.

At Indiana University, to get support for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems, see At IU, how do I get support for Linux or Unix?

Also see:

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Last modified on August 22, 2008.

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