4 ms·

Why would somebody use Solaris, does it have any real benefits?

• rvnx 5y ago
  At some point, Solaris Containers / Zones were a great innovation, just outdated now that there is LXC (+ ZFS obviously)
• hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
  Solaris used to have some interesting features that were later implemented in Linux and FreeBSD. It took years and not all of these work perfectly well, but at this point there is no reason whatsoever to use Solaris instead of Linux. Unless you want to test if your software builds for the dozen or so of existing Solaris users.
  • pjmlp 5y ago
    There is no Linux using something like SPARC ADI, unless we are talking about Android, which isn't proper Linux anyway.
    • trelane 5y ago
      There is, ADI is a feature of the SPARC architecture, not Solaris. https://lwn.net/Articles/678410/ https://lwn.net/Articles/678410/ is support for it in Linux.
      • pjmlp 5y ago
        Other than Oracle Linux, which other one does actually ship SPARC ADI in production? None.
        • trelane 5y ago
          Maybe? I've not looked. It seems likely, probably because nobody else really has SPARC boxen anymore. Regardless, the kernel does support it, a fact that you recognize.
• sgt 5y ago
  Absolutely. Solaris is rock solid and you should definitely use it, but only if you happen to go 15-20 years back in time.
  • pjmlp 5y ago
    Solaris with SPARC ADI is still a future that Linux is yet to reach.
    • monocasa 5y ago
      https://lwn.net/Articles/678410/ https://lwn.net/Articles/678410/
      • pjmlp 5y ago
        Contributed upstream by Oracle after being implemented in Oracle Linux. The point was that most Solaris deployments are SPARC based, thus it is the only UNIX in production with hardware memory tagging at scale. Linux currently needs a SPARC for it, in which case most enterprises will use Oracle Linux anyway. CHERI and MTE Linux mainstream workloads are far from being a common deployment.
        • monocasa 5y ago
          Sparc with ADI is also far from a common deployment; it came out on the M7, and then Oracle cancelled Sparc development upon taping out the M8. And ARM MTE on Linux has millions of deployments in Android.
          • pjmlp 5y ago
            Interesting given that ARM MTE on Android is only becoming a thing on Android 13, so I wonder where are those millions. Besides ask Termux guys how much Linux is Android.
            • monocasa 5y ago
• jlouis 5y ago
  Some of the core offerings in Solaris (ZFS, Zones, dTrace, mdb) were ahead of their time, arguably. And the implementation is far more balanced than what you see in e.g., Linux, with good central documentation. So if you have a system which was built on Solaris, it might be smart to keep it operating on Solaris because you happen to know the tools and so on. It's likely any greenfield tech is better built on other systems. I'd use Illumos over Solaris, or FreeBSD.
• pjmlp 5y ago
  For one, it is one of the few UNIXes with proper hardware memory tagging, so if one cares about UNIX and security critical apps, that is a possible benefit.
• blihp 5y ago
  Unless you are part of their existing installed base, don't waste your time. It's an attempt to generate interest in a dead product. Oracle long ago killed any chance of it remaining relevant in the larger software world.