The new product, Project Blackbox, fits several racks of computing gear, along with the necessary power and cooling equipment, into a standard shipping container eight feet wide, eight feet tall and 20 feet long.

Sun believes the technology will appeal to customers who are running out of space in their current data centers, providing backup computing gear for disaster recovery services, or setting up operations in remote locations. Buyers will be able to stack a few containers, attach a network, power cables, chilled water lines and have a functioning facility. The containers filter and dehumidify air and hold as much as 10 tons of equipment. They can also withstand a shock nine times the force of gravity, meaning a six-inch drop won't hurt.

"We have a lot of discussions with our big customers. About 70 percent are out of space, power and cooling in the data center. Just about everybody has a story, 'I need a little headroom now. I'm growing faster than expected,'" says Dave Douglas, Sun's VP of advanced technology.

Sun says Project Blackbox is the latest attempt by the company to sweep away complexity in the computing industry and replace it with simpler, more standardized technology. Sun hopes to begin selling Project Blackbox systems next summer.