Unsung heroes perhaps but don't underestimate the impact of Dell, ie "x86 getting good enough" was more than just about clock speed and branch prediction type stuff. Mass production of x86 servers killed Big Unix as much as advances in the chips.
After all, Unix on x86 was very widely deployed thanks to SCO, who had a lock on the retail POS and store backend type of IT, but who ran on PCs that were not what we would call servers today.
However once Dell mastered volume production of servers to similar build quality as the Sun SS20 pizza boxes at a fraction of the cost, they had the runway to build bigger and better servers and it was all over for Big Unix.
This isn't a Dell post, but they offered both Dell Unix and Solaris for a time, before Sun tried to fight them off with Cobalt rack servers. But it was too late.
You’re making me pretty nostalgic. I helped maintain a SCO “beefier than a desktop but cheaper than a server” server that ran a clothing factory’s serial terminals for years. And I had a Cobalt Cube :)
After all, Unix on x86 was very widely deployed thanks to SCO, who had a lock on the retail POS and store backend type of IT, but who ran on PCs that were not what we would call servers today.
However once Dell mastered volume production of servers to similar build quality as the Sun SS20 pizza boxes at a fraction of the cost, they had the runway to build bigger and better servers and it was all over for Big Unix.
This isn't a Dell post, but they offered both Dell Unix and Solaris for a time, before Sun tried to fight them off with Cobalt rack servers. But it was too late.