Sun takes Netra to high end

Sun Microsystems (SUNW) announced three new Netra Internet server models intended for large Web site growth and expansion and internal corporate departments.

Sun, among the first companies to announce a dedicated hardware and software Web server bundle, is expanding the line from its low-end roots. Two new models, the 4000 and 5000, are based on the high-end Ultra Enterprise servers Sun unveiled earlier in the year.

Both symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) machines are expandable to dozens of processors, continuing Sun's underlying corporate vision of heavy back-end processing and dedicated front-end applications.

Sun also announced the 2/1200, a departmental dual-processor Netra model intended for internal departments that want to link into a corporate intranet.

Additionally, the company refreshed its software with version 3.1 of the Netra Internet Server software package, now including firewall, server intrusion detection, and virus scanning. A key component of the software bundle is Sun's Solaris operating system and Netscape Communications SuiteSpot Web server suite.

All models will be available by the end of the year at prices starting at $7,495.