Project Monterey
| Company type | Collaborative project |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer software / Operating systems |
| Founded | 1998-10 |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Fate | Discontinued |
Area served | Multiple hardware platforms including POWER, PowerPC, IA-32, IA-64 |
Key people | IBM, Santa Cruz Operation (SCO), Sequent, Intel Corporation |
| Products | Unix operating system variants unified under Project Monterey |
Project Monterey represented an effort to create a single, unified Unix operating system capable of running across multiple 32-bit and 64-bit hardware platforms with support for multiprocessing. The initiative sought to address the challenge of platform incompatibility, which hindered wider Unix adoption, by delivering an enterprise-grade UNIX tailored for the emerging IA-64 architecture, then expected to become the dominant server platform. Nonetheless, the project was discontinued due to the increasing popularity of Linux and delays in IA-64 development.
Launched in October 1998, the collaboration brought together leading Unix vendors: IBM contributed support for POWER and PowerPC architectures via AIX, Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) provided compatibility for IA-32, and Sequent integrated multiprocessing capabilities from their DYNIX/ptx platform. Intel Corporation supplied both expertise and financial backing to facilitate porting to their upcoming IA-64 (Itanium) processor.
By March 2001, as Linux's rapid expansion reshaped the market, IBM and its partners redirected their efforts away from Monterey. IBM acquired Sequent in 1999, while SCO's UNIX segment was bought by Linux distributor Caldera Systems in 2000, which subsequently evolved into the SCO Group. IBM officially terminated Project Monterey in 2000. Concurrently, Intel, IBM, and Caldera collaborated on Project Trillian, successfully porting Linux to IA-64 with functional code available by February 2000. Late in 2000, IBM announced a $1 billion investment focused on Linux.
In May 2001, a beta release of AIX-5L for IA-64 materialized, achieving one of Monterey’s core objectives. However, Intel’s two-year postponement of Itanium processors significantly reduced the potential market for Monterey-based software. Beyond the IA-64 port and multiprocessing enhancements from Dynix MP, Monterey primarily aimed to unify existing Unix variants—a persistent challenge complicated by vendor lock-in practices that safeguarded proprietary markets: IBM on POWER and IA-64 platforms, SCO on IA-32 and IA-64.
The failure of Project Monterey played a role in the 2003 legal dispute, where the SCO Group sued IBM over contributions to Linux. From a commercial perspective, IBM sold only 32 Monterey licenses in 2001 and fewer units in 2002.
External links
- Archived Project Monterey Developer Program (20 April 2001)