Sun trying to keep server chip flaw under wraps

Sun servers crashing? Yes, and Sun Microsystems has been spending tens of

millions of dollars to fix the problem, which has surfaced only just now after

the company tried, without much success, to keep the problem from getting

publicized.

Apparently, according to Sun executive vice president John Shoemaker, certain

cache memory components in the company’s flagship Enterprise servers cause

them to crash. Sun won't name the supplier of the chips.

Sun has tried to keep the problem from gaining notoriety in the media by

asking customers to sign a non-disclosure agreement when they asked for a

repair. After that leaked out, Sun canceled that policy.

Unlike Intel, which suffered greatly at the hands of consumers for

downplaying a Pentium processor design flaw in 1995, Sun is not likely to get

lot of negative publicity over its effort to keep the problem out of public

view. That’s because all of Sun’s Enterprise customers are large

corporations, rather than consumers. And Sun, unlike Intel or Microsoft, is not

a household product brand name.