A mainframe version of the OpenSolaris operating system is now available for download, IBM and Sun have announced.
IBM and Sun call the mainframe port a prototype. It was designed by Sine Nomine Associates, a research and engineering firm, with financial and technical support from IBM and Sun.
Sine Nomine also is developing a Java software port for the mainframe, which should be available in late 2009 or early 2010.
The IBM/Sun partnership also includes an agreement for Solaris to run on x86 servers and blades, and an IBM endorsement of Sun's xVM virtualisation initiative.