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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.
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.
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 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.
| 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 | April 1989 | May 1999 | |
| SPARCstation 1+ | 4/65 | Campus B | sun4c | LSI L64801 | 25 MHz | 64 MB | May 1990 | May 1999 | |
| SPARCstation 2 | 4/75 | Calvin | sun4c | Cypress CY7C601 or Weitek SPARC POWER μP WTL 8601 | 40, 80 MHz | 128 MB | Nov 1990 | Dec 1999 | |
| SPARCstation 10 | S10 | Campus-2 | sun4m | SuperSPARC I/II or Ross hyperSPARC | 33, 36, 40, 50, 60, 75, 80, 90, 100, 125, 150, 180, 200 MHz | 512 MB | May 1992 | Oct 1994 | Oct 1999 |
| SPARCstation 20 | S20 | Kodiak | sun4m | SuperSPARC I/II or Ross hyperSPARC | 50, 60, 75, 90, 100, 125, 150, 180, 200 MHz | 512 MB | Mar 1994 | Sep 1997 | |
| SPARCstation 5 | S5 | Aurora | sun4m | microSPARC II or Fujitsu TurboSPARC | 70, 85, 110, 170 MHz | 256 MB | Mar 1994 | Dec 1998 | |
| SPARCstation 4 | S4 | Perigee | sun4m | microSPARC II | 70, 85, 110 MHz | 160 MB | Feb 1995 | Jul 1997 | |
| SPARC Xterminal 1 [Note 1] | S114 | Perigee | sun4m | microSPARC | 50 MHz | 128 MB | Feb 1995 |
| 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 | Jul 1990 | Dec 1999 | |
| SPARCstation IPX | 4/50 | Hobbes | sun4c | Fujitsu MB86903, Weitek W8701, or Weitek SPARC POWER μP WTL 8601 | 40, 80 MHz | 64 MB | Jul 1991 | May 2000 | |
| SPARCclassic [Note 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 | Jul 1994 | Jul 1999 |
| SPARCclassic X [Note 2] | 4/10 | Hamlet | sun4m | microSPARC | 50 MHz | 96 MB | Jul 1993 | May 1995 | May 2000 |
| SPARCstation ZX | 4/30 | Sunergy | sun4m | microSPARC | 50 MHz | 96 MB | Aug 1993 | March 1994 |
| 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, LSI L64801 or LSI LSIS1C0007 | 20 MHz | 16 MB | May 1990 | Nov 1996 | |
| SPARCstation ELC | 4/25 | Node Warrior | sun4c | Fujitsu MB86903 or Weitek W8701 | 33 MHz | 64 MB | Jul 1991 | Oct 1998 | |
| SPARCstation Voyager | S240 | Gypsy | sun4m | microSPARC II | 60 MHz | 80 MB | Mar 1994 | Dec 1995 | Dec 2000 |
| Name | Model | Codename | Platform | CPU | CPU bus | CPU MHz | RAM (max) | Announced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | S630 | Galaxy | sun4m | Up to four Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC I | MBus | 40, 50, 60 MHz | 1 GB | Sep 1991 |
| SPARCserver 670MP | S670 | Galaxy | sun4m | Up to four Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC I | MBus | 40, 50, 60 MHz | 2.5 GB | Sep 1991 |
| SPARCserver 690MP | S690 | Galaxy | sun4m | Up to four Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC I | MBus | 40, 50, 60 MHz | 3.5 GB | Sep 1991 |
| SPARCserver 1000/1000E | S1000 | Scorpion | sun4d | Up to eight SuperSPARC I/II | XDBus ×1 | 40, 50, 60, 85 MHz | 2 GB | |
| SPARCcenter 2000/2000E | S2000 | Dragon | sun4d | Up to 20 SuperSPARC I/II | XDBus ×2 | 40, 50, 60, 85 MHz | 5 GB | |
| Cray Superserver CS6400 | CS6400 | SuperDragon | sun4d | Up to 64 SuperSPARC I/II | XDBus ×4 | 60, 85 MHz | 16 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.
