Sun`s new file system is such an example.

The Zettabyte File System (ZFS), one of the latest additions to the Solaris 10 Operating System (OS) from Sun Microsystems, is designed to be one of its greatest differentiators in a market where, until recently, there was relatively little to distinguish one OS from another.

Sun Microsystems and Microsoft are two exceptions. “These are really the only two companies that are innovating around operating systems, and although there is some work going on in Linux, it can`t compare to the other two,” says UK-based Sun technology evangelist Simon Ritter.