Dell plans servers based on Sun Solaris software

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Dell Inc (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) will license Sun Microsystems Inc's JAVAD.O Solaris operating system and build server computers based on the Sun software, the companies said on Wednesday.

Details of the multiyear deal were announced by Michael Dell, founder and chief executive of Dell, and Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's CEO, at Oracle Corp's (ORCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) OracleWorld user conference in San Francisco.

No financial terms were disclosed.

Solaris-based computers can run on Sun's SPARC processors or on more mainstream microprocessors from Intel Corp (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

"Dell's offering of Solaris redefines the market opportunity for both companies," Schwartz said in a statement. "The relationship gives Dell broader reach into the global free software community with Solaris and OpenSolaris, and gives Sun access to channels and customers across the volume marketplace."

(Reporting by Eric Auchard; additional reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston; editing by John Wallace)