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.

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 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. +ModelsNameForm factorModelCodenamePlatformCPUCPU busCPU MHzRAM (max)AnnouncedEnd of SalesEnd of SupportSPARCstation 1Pizzabox4/60Campussun4cFujitsu MB86901A or LSI L64801—20 MHz64 MBApril 1989May 1999 SPARCstation 1+4/65Campus Bsun4cLSI L64801—25 MHz64 MBMay 1990May 1999SPARCstation 24/75Calvinsun4cCypress CY7C601 or Weitek SPARC POWER μP WTL 8601—40, 80 MHz64 MBNov 1990Dec 1999SPARCstation 10S10Campus-2sun4mSuperSPARC I/II or Ross hyperSPARC—33-200 MHz512 MBMay 1992Oct 1994Oct 1999SPARCstation 20S20Kodiaksun4mSuperSPARC I/II or Ross hyperSPARC—50-200 MHz512 MBMar 1994Sep 1997SPARCstation 5S5Aurorasun4mmicroSPARC II or Fujitsu TurboSPARC—70-170 MHz256 MBMar 1994Dec 1998SPARCstation 4S4Perigeesun4mmicroSPARC II—70-110 MHz160 MBFeb 1995Jul 1997SPARC Xterminal 1 S114Perigeesun4mmicroSPARC—50 MHz128 MBFeb 1995SPARCstation IPCLunchbox4/40Phoenixsun4cFujitsu MB86901A or LSI L64801—25 MHz48 MBJul 1990Dec 1999SPARCstation IPX4/50Hobbessun4cFujitsu MB86903, Weitek W8701, or Weitek SPARC POWER μP WTL 8601—40-80 MHz64 MBJul 1991May 2000SPARCclassic 4/15Sunergysun4mmicroSPARC—50 MHz128 MBNov 1992May 1995May 2000SPARCstation LX4/30Sunergysun4mmicroSPARC—128 MBNov 1992Jul 1994Jul 1999SPARCclassic X 4/10Hamletsun4mmicroSPARC—96 MBJul 1993May 1995May 2000SPARCstation ZX4/30Sunergysun4mmicroSPARC—96 MBAug 1993March 1994SPARCstation SLCAll in one4/20Off-Campussun4cFujitsu MB86901A, LSI L64801 or LSI LSIS1C0007—20 MHz16 MBMay 1990Nov 1996SPARCstation ELC4/25Node Warriorsun4cFujitsu MB86903 or Weitek W8701—33 MHz64 MBJul 1991Oct 1998SPARCstation VoyagerS240Gypsysun4mmicroSPARC II—60 MHz80 MBMar 1994Dec 1995Dec 2000SPARCserver 330Server4/330Stingraysun4Cypress CY7C601—25 MHz72 MBSPARCserver 3704/370Stingraysun4Cypress CY7C601—25 MHz72 MBSPARCserver 3904/390Stingraysun4Cypress CY7C601—25 MHz72 MBSPARCserver 4704/470Sunraysun4Cypress CY7C601—33 MHz96 MBSPARCserver 4904/490Sunraysun4Cypress CY7C601—33 MHz96 MBSPARCserver 630MPS630Galaxysun4mUp to four Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC IMBus40, 50, 60 MHz1 GBSep 1991SPARCserver 670MPS670Galaxysun4mUp to four Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC IMBus40, 50, 60 MHz2.5 GBSep 1991SPARCserver 690MPS690Galaxysun4mUp to four Cypress CY7C601 or SuperSPARC IMBus40, 50, 60 MHz3.5 GBSep 1991SPARCserver 1000/1000ES1000Scorpionsun4dUp to eight SuperSPARC I/IIXDBus ×140, 50, 60, 85 MHz2 GBSPARCcenter 2000/2000ES2000Dragonsun4dUp to 20 SuperSPARC I/IIXDBus ×240, 50, 60, 85 MHz5 GBCray Superserver CS6400CS6400SuperDragonsun4dUp 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;How the Sun Enterprise 10000 Was Born"Scaling Solaris for Enterprise Computing", Cray Users Group 1995 Spring Proceedings 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. 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.

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References

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