In doing some reporting for Sun’s Solaris 10 announcement Monday, I asked some analysts for their thoughts on Sun’s overall Solaris vs. Linux strategy and if the Sun-Microsoft deal, signed earlier this year, was having any influence on it.Analysts generally agree that until they see the first fruits of the Sun-Microsoft deal, not likely until sometime next year, it is hard to say what impact it might have on Sun’s future Solaris vs. Linux set of priorities. But one thing is clear to some observers, the Microsoft-Sun deal shapes up as one that is tactical and not strategic.“(Sun and Microsoft) needed to put aside some issues that their respective users had in terms of their products playing better together. Their users were saying to them, ‘If you don’t make these products work together, then as we are planning our future platform strategies we will plan both of you out’,” said Dan Kusnetzky, vice president of System Software research with IDC. Kusnetzky and others do not expect the relationship to have a long life because each company has a similar but conflicting goal: each company sees itself as central to everything going on in the market and that’s one too many companies trying to lead in that dance.“So while there is an opportunity for them to work together now, future events will very likely cause them to work in separate directions,” Kuznetzky said.While it remains to be seen how if Sun will use the Solaris 10 announcement to further promote their proprietary OS at the strategic expense of Linux, some think that at some point the company needs to take a stronger, more consistent stance in terms of Linux. “Is Sun overlooking the strategic importance of Linux? Sometimes it sure feels that way. They are vocal supporters of Linux, but when it comes to delivering product and moving consistently in that direction, it seems they have more of a containment strategy,” said IDC’s AL Gillen, IDC’s Research Director of System Software. “But I don’t think there is any reason why Sun can’t have a strong commitment to Solaris and still endorse Linux at the same time. The two do not have to be mutually exclusive of one another,” he added.By Ed Scannell Technology Industry