Motivating Sun.

[Chuck Yerkes <chuck+obsd_(_at_)_2002_(_dot_)_snew_(_dot_)_com>]

Quoting Darren Reed (avalon_(_at_)_coombs_(_dot_)_anu_(_dot_)_edu_(_dot_)_au):
> "I've got a purchase order here for 1000 SunBlade 2000's for running
> OpenBSD on them.  When will you be making the documentation for
> the UltraSPARC-III available tp the OpenBSD team so they can make
> the port happen and allow me to purchase and use it on your systems ?"
> 
> Well, 1000 280R's might be more likely, but you get the idea.

I concur.

A long Sun problem, esp for hardware, is that they sell through
VARs.  VARs take the brunt of complaints and filter them.  As
a VAR you don't want to piss of your supplier.  So a customer
outraged by poor performance (e.g. State of SPARC in 1994)
becomes "a couple of our customers are having concerns with
speed and are looking at competitors."  Sun gets filtered info
and has often been out of the loop for mass sales.

At large sites, Sun might have a rep or two on site, but all
sales are still through VARs.

So, if you need/want OpenBSD on Ultra 3, get a P.O. cut.  Tell
your VAR that you will get the 1CPU 280R, or Blade 2000 only
if it can run OpenBSD and follow through.  You needn't buy
1000, but showing the VAR and a Sun rep if you have one, that
you want it on Ultra3, and holding up the money carrot will
ALSO create pressure from the sales side, internally.

*THAT* is more motivation that you know.


If they know that a successful port will release P.O. for 50
systems from different companies, that's around $350k they get
for complying with their own press.

(RE: open.  Don't be mislead into believing that PR has much
 to do with strategy.  Java got opened more cause it was going
 to DIE without that.)