SPARCstation

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SPARCstation was the name given to a series of SPARC-based computer workstations developed and sold by Sun Microsystems. The SPARCserver series comprised desktop, deskside (pedestal) and rackmount server models. The desktop SPARCservers were effectively the same as the equivalent SPARCstation models, but intended as servers and hence usually headless (i.e. lacked video cards). For example, the SPARCstation 20 and SPARCserver 20 were almost identical in motherboard, CPU, case design and most other hardware specifications. Conversely, some of the deskside SPARCservers were also available in workstation configuration as SPARCstations.

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; this was 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 20. The series was replaced by the Sun Ultra series in 1995.

Most desktop SPARCstations and SPARCservers shipped in either "pizzabox" or "lunchbox" enclosures, making them easily identifiable from other Sun computers. 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 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 form-factor 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 and could accept multiple central processing units packaged in MBus modules.

Until the launch of the SPARCstation 10, all SPARCstation/server models were also assigned Sun 4-series model numbers. Later models received S-prefix model numbers.

Contents 1 Models 1.1 "Pizzabox" systems 1.2 "Lunchbox" systems 1.3 Integrated monitor/portable systems 1.4 Server systems 2 External links

[edit] Models

[edit] "Pizzabox" systems

Name	Model	Codename	Platform	CPU	CPU MHz	RAM (MAX)	Announced	End of Sales	End of Support
SPARCstation 1	4/60	Campus	sun4c	Fujitsu MB86901A or LSI L64801	20 MHz	64 MB			May 1999
SPARCstation 1+	4/65	Campus B	sun4c	LSI L64801	25 MHz	64 MB			May 1999
SPARCstation 2	4/75	Calvin	sun4c	Cypress CY7C601	40 MHz	128 MB			Dec 1999
SPARCstation 10	S10	Campus-2	sun4m	SuperSPARC I/II	33, 36, 40, 50, 60, 75 MHz	512 MB	May 1992	Oct 1994	Oct 1999
SPARCstation 5	S5	Aurora	sun4m	microSPARC II or TurboSPARC	70, 85, 110, 170 MHz	256 MB			Dec 1998
SPARCstation 20	S20	Kodiak	sun4m	SuperSPARC I/II or hyperSPARC	50, 60, 75, 100, 125, 150 MHz	512 MB			Sep 1997
SPARCstation 4	S4	Perigee	sun4m	microSPARC II	70, 85, 110 MHz	160 MB			Jul 1997
SPARC Xterminal 1	S114	Perigee	sun4m	microSPARC	50 MHz	128 MB

[edit] "Lunchbox" systems

Name	Model	Codename	Platform	CPU	CPU MHz	RAM (MAX)	Announced	End of Sales	End of Support
SPARCstation IPC	4/40	Phoenix	sun4c	Fujitsu MB86901A or LSI L64801	25 MHz	48 MB			Dec 1999
SPARCstation IPX	4/50	Hobbes	sun4c	Fujitsu MB86903 or Weitek W8701	40 MHz	64 MB			May 2000
SPARCclassic 1	4/15	Sunergy	sun4m	microSPARC	50 MHz	128 MB	Nov 1992	May 1995	May 2000
SPARCstation LX	4/30	Sunergy	sun4m	microSPARC	50 MHz	128 MB	Nov 1992 / Aug 1993	Jul 1994	Jul 1999
SPARCstation ZX	4/30	Sunergy	sun4m	microSPARC	50 MHz	96 MB	Aug 1993		March 1994
SPARCclassic X	4/10	Hamlet	sun4m	microSPARC	50 MHz	96 MB	Nov 1992	May 1995	May 2000

Note 1: The SPARCclassic was originally to be called the SPARCstation LC but was renamed shortly before launch to avoid confusion with the SPARCstation ELC.

[edit] Integrated monitor/portable systems

Name	Model	Codename	Platform	CPU	CPU MHz	RAM (MAX)	Announced	End of Sales	End of Support
SPARCstation SLC	4/20	Off-Campus	sun4c	Fujitsu MB86901A or LSI L64801	20 MHz	16 MB			Nov 1996
SPARCstation ELC	4/25	Node Warrior	sun4c	Fujitsu MB86903 or Weitek W8701	33 MHz	64 MB			Oct 1998
SPARCstation Voyager	S240	Gypsy	sun4m	microSPARC II	60 MHz	80 MB	Mar 1994	Dec 1995	Dec 2000

[edit] Server systems

Name	Model	Codename	Platform	CPU	CPU MHz	RAM (MAX)
SPARCserver 330	4/330	Stingray	sun4	Cypress CY7C601	25 MHz	72 MB
SPARCserver 370	4/370	Stingray	sun4	Cypress CY7C601	25 MHz	72 MB
SPARCserver 390	4/390	Stingray	sun4	Cypress CY7C601	25 MHz	72 MB
SPARCserver 470	4/470	Sunray	sun4	Cypress CY7C601	33 MHz	96 MB
SPARCserver 490	4/490	Sunray	sun4	Cypress CY7C601	33 MHz	96 MB
SPARCserver 630MP	4/630	Galaxy	sun4m	Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC I	40, 50, 60 MHz	1 GB
SPARCserver 670MP	4/670	Galaxy	sun4m	Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC I	40, 50, 60 MHz	1 GB
SPARCserver 690MP	4/690	Galaxy	sun4m	Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC I	40, 50, 60 MHz	1 GB
SPARCserver 1000/1000E	S1000	Scorpion	sun4d	SuperSPARC I/II	40, 50, 60, 85 MHz	2 GB
SPARCcenter 2000/2000E	S2000	Dragon	sun4d	SuperSPARC I/II	40, 50, 60, 85 MHz	5 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.

[edit] External links

• Sun Microsystems
• The Sun Hardware Reference, Part 1
• Obsolyte! - Fan site for old Unix Workstations, including Sun machines
• Sun Field Engineer Handbook, 20th edition