Please consider the tag [OpenIndiana] instead of [OpenSolaris] since OpenSolaris is no longer an active project. OpenSolaris was an open source computer operating system based on Solaris created by Sun Microsystems. After the acquisition of Sun Microsystems, Oracle decided to discontinue open development of the core software, and replaced the OpenSolaris distribution model with the proprietary Solaris Express.
OpenSolaris was based on Solaris, which was originally released by Sun in 1991. Solaris is a version of UNIX System V Release 4 (SVR4), jointly developed by Sun and AT&T to merge features from several existing Unix systems. It was licensed by Sun from Novell to replace SunOS.
OpenSolaris is a descendant of the UNIX System V Release 4 (SVR4) code base developed by Sun and AT&T in the late 1980s. It is the only version of the System V variant of UNIX available as open source. OpenSolaris is developed as a combination of several software consolidations that were open sourced subsequent to Solaris 10. It includes a variety of free software, including popular desktop and server software. Sun has announced that future versions of its commercial Solaris operating system will be based on the OpenSolaris project.
