Under terms of the agreement, the companies will have access to aspects of each other's server-based technology, and will use the information to develop new products that will work better together, they said. Initially, the work will center on Windows Server and Window Client, but will also include other areas such as E-mail and database software. As a result, information is expected to be shared between Microsoft Active Directory and the Sun Java System Identity Server, resulting in less complex and more secure platforms.
Sun has agreed to license the Windows desktop operating system communications protocols, and Microsoft will continue to provide support for Microsoft Java Virtual Machine that customers have deployed in Microsoft products.
The companies announced Windows certification for Sun's Xeon-based severs and said certification of Sun's Opteron-based systems is "moving forward."
Sun and Microsoft also pledged to work together in the future to improve technical collaboration between Java and .Net technologies.
The agreement settles Sun's complaint over Microsoft's server communications that led to the European Union's ruling against Microsoft last month. That ruling also was based on Microsoft's bundling of its media player with Windows, though Sun did not play a role in that complaint. "Sun is also satisfied that the agreements announced today satisfy the objectives it was pursuing in the EU actions pending against Microsoft," Sun said in its statement.
