Unix Tipz & Tricz

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The Solaris 8 Operating System (OS) was originally released in February 2000, and since then has been superseded by two later releases: the Solaris 9 OS was initially released in May 2002, and the Solaris 10 OS was initially released in January 2005. The current updates of these releases are Solaris 9 9/05 and Solaris 10 8/07.

On August 16, 2006 Sun announced the transition of the Solaris 8 OS. As per this transition:

• November 16, 2006 was the last date Solaris 8 media kits could be ordered
• Sun shipped Solaris 8 media up until February 16, 2007; Solaris 8 media kits are no longer available
• Solaris 8 entered retirement support mode Phase I on March 31, 2007;
• Solaris 8 will enter retirement support mode Phase II on March 31, 2009; and,
• Solaris 8 will reach the end of its service life on March 31, 2012.

The total service life of Solaris 8 will thus be slightly more than 12 years.
Starting on January 1, 2008, installing Solaris 8 on a system requires the purchase of a Solaris 8 license. Note that many newer SPARC systems require a more current release than Solaris 8.

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Support for Solaris 8

Each Solaris release is supported for five years after it stops shipping, utilizing a two-phase support program. Support for Solaris 8 will continue beyond its last ship date of February 16, 2007 through this program.