SPARCstation

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Sun SPARCstation 1+ "pizzabox", 25 MHz SPARC processor, early 1990s SPARCstation 1.jpg
Sun SPARCstation 1+ "pizzabox", 25 MHz SPARC processor, early 1990s
SPARCstation Voyager SPARCstation-voyager.jpg
SPARCstation Voyager

The SPARCstation, SPARCserver and SPARCcenter product lines are a series of SPARC-based computer workstations and servers in desktop, desk side (pedestal) and rack-based form factor configurations, that were developed and sold by Sun Microsystems.

Contents

The first SPARCstation was the SPARCstation 1 (also known as the Sun 4/60), introduced in 1989. The series was very popular and introduced the Sun-4c architecture, a variant of the Sun-4 architecture previously introduced in the Sun 4/260. Thanks in part to the delay in the development of more modern processors from Motorola, the SPARCstation series was very successful across the entire industry. The last model bearing the SPARCstation name was the SPARCstation 4. The workstation series was replaced by the Sun Ultra series in 1995; the next Sun server generation was the Sun Enterprise line introduced in 1996.

Models

Desktop and deskside SPARCstations and SPARCservers of the same model number were essentially identical systems, the only difference being that systems designated as servers were usually "headless" (that is, configured without a graphics card and monitor), and were sold with a "server" rather than a "desktop" OS license. For example, the SPARCstation 20 and SPARCserver 20 were almost identical in motherboard, CPU, case design and most other hardware specifications.

Most desktop SPARCstations and SPARCservers shipped in either "pizzabox" or "lunchbox" enclosures, a significant departure from earlier Sun and competing systems of the time. The SPARCstation 1, 2, 4, 5, 10 and 20 were "pizzabox" machines. The SPARCstation SLC and ELC were integrated into Sun monochrome monitor enclosures, and the SPARCstation IPC, IPX, SPARCclassic, SPARCclassic X and SPARCstation LX were "lunchbox" machines.

SPARCserver 1000 and SPARC Storage Array disk array SS1000-ssa.jpg
SPARCserver 1000 and SPARC Storage Array disk array

SPARCserver models ending in "30" or "70" were housed in deskside pedestal enclosures (respectively 5-slot and 12-slot VMEbus chassis); models ending in "90" and the SPARCcenter 2000 came in rackmount cabinet enclosures. The SPARCserver 1000's design was a large rack-mountable desktop unit.

Later versions of the SPARCstation series, such as the SPARCstation 10 and 20, could be configured as multiprocessor systems as they were based on the MBus high-speed bus. These systems could accept one or two single or dual central processing units packaged in MBus modules.

Until the launch of the SPARCserver 600MP series, all SPARCstation/server models were also assigned Sun 4-series model numbers. Later models received S-prefix model numbers.

Models are listed within their category in approximately chronological order.

"Pizzabox" systems

NameModelCodenamePlatformCPUCPU MHzRAM (max)AnnouncedEnd of SalesEnd of Support
SPARCstation 1 4/60Campussun4cFujitsu MB86901A or LSI L6480120 MHz64 MBApril 1989May 1999
SPARCstation 1+ 4/65Campus Bsun4cLSI L6480125 MHz64 MBMay 1990May 1999
SPARCstation 2 4/75Calvinsun4cCypress CY7C601 or Weitek SPARC POWER μP WTL 860140, 80 MHz128 MBNov 1990Dec 1999
SPARCstation 10 S10Campus-2sun4mSuperSPARC I/II or Ross hyperSPARC 33, 36, 40, 50, 60, 75, 80, 90, 100, 125, 150, 180, 200 MHz512 MBMay 1992Oct 1994Oct 1999
SPARCstation 20 S20Kodiaksun4mSuperSPARC I/II or Ross hyperSPARC50, 60, 75, 90, 100, 125, 150, 180, 200 MHz512 MBMar 1994Sep 1997
SPARCstation 5 S5Aurorasun4mmicroSPARC II or Fujitsu TurboSPARC 70, 85, 110, 170 MHz256 MBMar 1994Dec 1998
SPARCstation 4 S4Perigeesun4mmicroSPARC II70, 85, 110 MHz160 MBFeb 1995Jul 1997
SPARC Xterminal 1 [Note 1] S114Perigeesun4mmicroSPARC50 MHz128 MBFeb 1995
  1. The SPARC Xterminal 1 was an X terminal, using the same enclosure as the SPARCstation 4, but a different motherboard. A board-swap upgrade to a SPARCstation 4 was also sold.

"Lunchbox" systems

NameModelCodenamePlatformCPUCPU MHzRAM (max)AnnouncedEnd of SalesEnd of Support
SPARCstation IPC 4/40Phoenix sun4c Fujitsu MB86901A or LSI L6480125 MHz48 MBJul 1990Dec 1999
SPARCstation IPX 4/50Hobbessun4cFujitsu MB86903, Weitek W8701, or Weitek SPARC POWER μP WTL 860140, 80 MHz64 MBJul 1991May 2000
SPARCclassic [Note 1] 4/15Sunergysun4m microSPARC 50 MHz128 MBNov 1992May 1995May 2000
SPARCstation LX 4/30Sunergysun4mmicroSPARC50 MHz128 MBNov 1992Jul 1994Jul 1999
SPARCclassic X [Note 2] 4/10Hamletsun4mmicroSPARC50 MHz96 MBJul 1993May 1995May 2000
SPARCstation ZX 4/30Sunergysun4mmicroSPARC50 MHz96 MBAug 1993March 1994
  1. The SPARCclassic was originally to be called the SPARCstation LC but was renamed shortly before launch to avoid confusion with the SPARCstation ELC.
  2. The SPARCclassic X was a stripped-down SPARCclassic (no hard drive or diskette drive, and only 4 or 8 MB of memory) sold as an X terminal. Kits were sold to upgrade it to a SPARCclassic.

Integrated monitor/portable systems

NameModelCodenamePlatformCPUCPU MHzRAM (max)AnnouncedEnd of SalesEnd of Support
SPARCstation SLC 4/20Off-Campussun4cFujitsu MB86901A, LSI L64801 or LSI LSIS1C000720 MHz16 MBMay 1990Nov 1996
SPARCstation ELC 4/25Node Warriorsun4cFujitsu MB86903 or Weitek W870133 MHz64 MBJul 1991Oct 1998
SPARCstation Voyager S240Gypsysun4mmicroSPARC II60 MHz80 MBMar 1994Dec 1995Dec 2000

Server systems

NameModelCodenamePlatformCPUCPU busCPU MHzRAM (max)Announced
SPARCserver 330 4/330Stingraysun4Cypress CY7C60125 MHz72 MB
SPARCserver 370 4/370Stingraysun4Cypress CY7C60125 MHz72 MB
SPARCserver 390 4/390Stingraysun4Cypress CY7C60125 MHz72 MB
SPARCserver 470 4/470Sunraysun4Cypress CY7C60133 MHz96 MB
SPARCserver 490 4/490Sunraysun4Cypress CY7C60133 MHz96 MB
SPARCserver 630MP S630Galaxysun4mUp to four Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC I MBus 40, 50, 60 MHz1 GBSep 1991
SPARCserver 670MP S670Galaxysun4mUp to four Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC I MBus 40, 50, 60 MHz2.5 GBSep 1991
SPARCserver 690MP S690Galaxysun4mUp to four Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC I MBus 40, 50, 60 MHz3.5 GBSep 1991
SPARCserver 1000/1000E S1000Scorpion sun4d Up to eight SuperSPARC I/IIXDBus ×140, 50, 60, 85 MHz2 GB
SPARCcenter 2000/2000E S2000Dragon sun4d Up to 20 SuperSPARC I/IIXDBus ×240, 50, 60, 85 MHz5 GB
Cray Superserver CS6400 CS6400SuperDragon sun4d Up to 64 SuperSPARC I/IIXDBus ×460, 85 MHz16 GB

Note that the above configurations were those supported by Sun Microsystems. Various third-party processor upgrades were available for SPARCstation/server systems, for instance the 80 MHz Weitek POWER μP for the SPARCstation 2 or IPX, or the Ross hyperSPARC MBus modules rated at clock speeds up to 200 MHz. As mentioned above, some models listed as SPARCstations were also available in SPARCserver configuration and vice versa.

The CS6400 was developed by an outside group working cooperatively with, rather than competitively against, Sun Microsystems; [1] [2] as a result, although sold by Cray Research as the Cray Superserver 6400, all of its components had Sun OEM part numbers and the machine was documented in Sun's System Handbook. [3] In 1996, when Cray Research was bought by Silicon Graphics, the CS6400 development group was sold to Sun, and released the 64-processor Sun Ultra Enterprise 10000 "Starfire" the following year.

Sun timeline

Sun BladeSun FireSun FireSun EnterpriseSun Ultra EnterpriseSPARCserverSun Ultra seriesSun Ultra seriesSun Ultra seriesSun Ultra seriesSun Blade (workstation)Sun 386iSun Java WorkstationSun Ultra seriesSPARCstationSun-3Sun-2Sun-1SPARCstation

References

  1. How the Sun Enterprise 10000 Was Born
  2. "Scaling Solaris for Enterprise Computing", Cray Users Group 1995 Spring Proceedings
  3. "Sun System Handbook v2.1, 2003 March". Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-08-12.