Frequently Asked Questions

Sun has selected a specific set of products and configurations to offer in this trial program. See Try and Buy products to find out about available products. Note that product offerings may vary slightly by country. To view the products available for your country, go to Apply Online and select your country.

No. In order to offer such a wide variety of free trial systems to such a wide audience on a global basis, we need to have set configurations. If you are interested in a free trial for products or configurations not available through this program, please see your local Sun sales representative or Authorized Sun Partner.

The systems shipped for these free trials are new or equivalent to new products. This is especially important if you choose to purchase, because you need not trade it in at the end of your trial. You can keep the product in your environment.

Within five business days, you should receive an email from Sun with the status of your application. If approved, you should receive subsequent emails notifying you of:

1. the scheduled ship date
2. the actual ship date, containing shipping details for tracking purposes
3. any changes to the scheduled ship date prior to shipping

If for any reason you do not receive these emails, you may call or email us directly.

The entire process from application to receipt of the trial system at your location can take an estimated 8-20 business days, but may vary or be longer in some countries. This includes:

Yes. We highly encourage you to contact your preferred Authorized Sun Partner. Let them know that you are interested in this program and that you would like to work through them to apply for a trial system. Locate a Sun Authorized Partner.

Depending on what type of applicant you are, you might be able to have more than one trial product active at any one time. All trial products must be ordered on separate applications. If your application comes from an applicant type that allows more than one outstanding trial at one time, you can apply separately for each system. For example, if you need two Sun Fire T2000 servers, then submit two separate applications.

The number of outstanding, active trials allowed depends on the type of applicant:

• If you are applying as a company, government, or educational institution: There is a maximum of five outstanding trial systems at any one time.
• If you are an Authorized Sun Partner: There is a maximum of ten outstanding trial systems at any one time. (Note: Sun partners may request an extension to this limit if needed. Such a request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Contact your Sun sales or marketing representative or submit a request via the web query form.)
• If you are an individual: There is a maximum of one outstanding trial system at any one time.

SunSpectrum Support is Sun's award-winning support service offering. While warranty support only covers hardware, SunSpectrum is a full-support service that protects your hardware and the OS. There are several levels of coverage from which you can choose.

No, you are supported during the trial period by Sun's warranty level support. The Support contract quote is being provided simply for convenience so that you have all the necessary information when you are ready to make a purchasing decision.

This quote is applicable only for the trial system and will expire in 60 days. However, we will be happy to quote you a new service contract for your other Sun systems.

In Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, United Kingdom (Great Britain), and the United States of America: Anyone can apply. Applications are accepted from companies, governments, educational institutions, Sun partners, and individuals.

In Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Venezuela: Applications are accepted from companies, governments, education, and Sun partners. Applications from individuals are not accepted directly. It is recommended that individuals contact an Authorized Sun Partner.

In South Korea: Applications are accepted from Sun distributors. All other interested parties should contact an Authorized Sun Partner to inquire about applying through them.

Worldwide: Sun employees are not eligible to participate in the Try and Buy Program, nor are they allowed to complete the application on behalf of any other entity. Applications completed by Sun Microsystems employees will be denied.

The online application form will take you through the process. You'll need to do the following:

• Read the Official Rules and agree to the the Try and Buy Agreement
• Select your product and desired configuration
• Apply as a company, government, education, individual, or a Sun partner, distributor, reseller, independent software vendor (ISV), or system integrator (SI)
• Provide applicant, shipping, and billing information, including name, address, phone, and email
• Answer U.S. export control questions. Due to U.S. government requirements, these are required for applications from all countries, including the United States.
• If you are applying as a company: Provide your tax ID number
• If you are applying as a company, educational institution, government or Sun partner, NO purchase order or credit card is required.
• If you are applying as an individual: You do not need to provide your credit card information in the online application form. However, once your application is submitted, a customer service representative will contact you to gather your credit card information so that it can be used to pre-authorize your application. Your credit card will not be billed at this time, but to be approved for the free trial, you do need to have enough credit to cover the purchase price of the trial product. (Note: If you decide to buy the system at the end of the trial, a customer service representative will contact you to bill your credit card for the system that you are buying at that time.)

No. A purchase order is not required as part of the free trial application process. It will, however, be needed to purchase the system for your company at the end of the trial. (If you are applying as an individual, please see the next question regarding credit cards.)

Credit card information is requested only from individual applicants as part of the review/approval process for their application. It is not requested during the online application. However, once your application is submitted, a customer service representative will contact you to gather your credit card information so that it can be used to pre-authorize your application. Your credit card will not be billed at this time, but to be approved for the free trial, you do need to have enough credit to cover the purchase price of the trial product. (Note: If you decide to buy the system at the end of the trial, a customer service representative will contact you to bill your credit card for the system that you are buying at that time.)

You are charged only after you decide the buy the trial product or if you do not return the product at the end of the trial. Per the rules of the program, at the end of the 60-day trial period, if you have not initiated the purchase or return process, an invoice will be sent automatically to the billing contact provided in your application.

Once an application is submitted for the Try and Buy program, the application is subject to a number of 'checks' as part of the guideline using the program. Approval criteria includes:

• Confirmation of accurate and complete contact, bill-to and ship-to information
• Credit check
• Export control review
• Previous use of the Try and Buy Program
• Pass credit limit check
• Must NOT have any outstanding trial units in 'collections'
• Must NOT have any outstanding auto-invoices
• Must be within standard unit limit of 10 trials (unless increase has been submitted and approved)

If any of these guidelines are not met the application will be rejected or put on hold until the issue is resolved.

Sun reviews applications within five business days. You will receive an email (sent to the applicant email address) notifying you of the status of your application.

If for any reason, your application from an individual, company, government or educational institution is denied, we recommend contacting an Authorized Sun Partner to inquire about applying through them.

No. For export control compliance reasons, we will approve only applications where the applicant and the ship location are in the same country.

We hope that your test and evaluation of the trial product results in complete satisfaction.

A Sun representative will contact you during the trial to see how the trial is going for you, if you have any questions, and if there are ways that we can assist you in a successful trial experience.

All products come with Sun's standard warranty support during the trial period, for free. In addition, there are extensive online resources available for trial products. See Trial Support.

There is no fee for this support during the trial period.

Additional service support contracts are available for purchase. Please go to Sun Services Website for more information.

At the end of the trial, you will be expected to initiate a purchase or a return for the trial product. A Sun representative will contact you to help initiate this, or you can initiate this directly whether you wish to buy the product or return the product.

A Sun representative will be in touch with you during the trial period. Please contact them or see how to buy.

A Sun representative will be in touch with you during the trial period. Please contact them or see how to return.

No. The system that you try is the system that you would then buy. If you need to change the system or desire a different base configuration, you can return the product and buy an alternate product. If you simply need to add additional components to the system, you can buy the trial system and then, separately, you can purchase additional upgrade components.

A Sun representative will be in touch with you during the trial period. Please contact them or see how to buy.

You may make any changes prior to purchasing a support contract. Please contact the Sun representative as stated on the quote to make the desired changes.

Please contact your local Sun office.