---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash SPARCclassic engine: Low Cost CPU Board for Embedded Applications SunFLASH Vol 50 #5 February 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- **************************************************************** * * * Sun introduces the lowest priced SPARCengine(TM) board * * ever! * * * * - GREAT PRICE/PERFORMANCE, 26.4 SPECint92, 21.0 SPECfp92, * * 4.6 MFLOPS, 59.1 MIPS -- TWICE TODAY's SPARCengine 2 and * * SPARCengine IPX(TM) * * * * - Ideal for telecommunications, CIM controllers, and * * medical imaging applications * * * * - Same board used in the SPARCclassic(TM) desktop system * * * * - Runs the standard Solaris(R) 2.1 environment and later * * Solaris 2.x releases * * * * - 1 Year Warranty * * * **************************************************************** The SPARCclassic engine breaks new ground in price/performance leadership in the OEM embedded marketplace. Using the latest chip technology from Sun, the SPARCclassic engine is a highly integrated, low-cost single board computer, twice the performance for half the price of previous Sun SPARCengines. The SPARCclassic engine is a strong candidate for applications that require more performance than 386- or 486-based boards. Unlike typical 386- or 486-based boards, the SPARCclassic engine integrates most of the I/O interfaces required by today's embedded applications such as 10MB/sec SCSI-2, Ethernet, SBus, color frame buffer, serial ports and a parallel port, on a single board. The SPARCclassic engine is ideal for applications such as telecommunication switches, routers, gateways, industrial controllers and rugged/Tempest workstations. The price/performance of this board makes it appealing to a number of applications that our previous SPARCengine boards could not address due to price. The SPARCclassic engine allows OEMs to concentrate on developing their added value instead of wasting time and money on developing CPU boards. By embedding Sun's SPARCclassic engine, OEMs can do what they do best -- develop hardware or software. SPARCengine boards give OEMs the ability to grow in two ways. First, each board allows OEMs to add memory, SBus cards or peripheral devices as system requirements increase. Second, Sun's commitment to stay on the leading edge of technology means that Sun will continually introduce new products, giving OEMs access to the highest performance products available. FEATURES AND BENEFITS o 50MHz processor offers superior price/performance for embedded applications - 26.4 SPECint92, 21.0 SPECfp92, 59.1 MIPs, 4.6 MFLOPs o Support for up to 96Mbytes on-board RAM o Two 25MHz SBus slots o On-board color frame buffer supports standard 1152x900 Sun monitors and 1024x768 SVGA monitors o Industry standard I/O ports - two SCSI-2 connectors (10Mbyte/sec) - twisted pair and AUI Ethernet (10MBit/sec) - two serial ports - floppy disk interface - Parallel port (4Mbytes/sec) - 8 bit I/O Audio ports o Runs standard Solaris 2.1 environment and later Solaris 2.x releases HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE CONSIDERATIONS o The SPARCclassic engine comes with 0MB memory. Customers can order the same memory that is used on the SPARCclassic desktop. o All the I/O connectors are located on a separate I/O connector board. o The SPARCclassic engine supports SVGA monitors, but third party SVGA monitors will not work. o Since the SPARCclassic engine is the same board used in the SPARCclassic desktop system, all peripherals compatible with the SPARCclassic desktop systems are compatible with the SPARCclassic engines QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q. What operating system does the SPARCclassic engine support? A. The SPARCclassic engine is fully compatible with Solaris 2.1 and future versions of Solaris 2.x. The SPARCclassic engine does not support Solaris 1.x. Q. Why does the SPARCclassic engine have a Cat A discount category whereas the SPARCclassic desktop and the SPARCclassic server offer zero discount? A. The purpose of the zero discount price strategy for the SPARCclassic desktop and SPARCclassic server is to make these products more competitive in the PC marketplace where the target customers are end-users. Discounts are already accounted for in the price. The SPARCclassic engine, however, is targeted at OEMs interested in designing the SPARCclassic engine into their products. For OEMs, the Cat A discount category makes sense since larger volume customers should receive larger discounts than smaller volume customers. Q. How much memory does the SPARCclassic engine come with? A. The SPARCclassic engine comes with 0MB memory. This gives OEMs the flexibility to purchase as much or as little memory as required by their application. The SPARCclassic engine can support up to 96MB RAM. The SPARCclassic engine uses the same memory as the SPARCclassic desktop system. With Sun's aggressive memory pricing, OEMs have little reason to purchase memory from third party companies. Sun sells 8MB RAM (X108R) for $595, 32MB RAM (X132R) for $3,000. Q. Does the SPARCclassic engine use the same memory SIMMs as the SPARCengine IPX or SPARCengine 2? A. No, the SPARCclassic engine does not use the same memory SIMMs as the SPARCengine IPX or SPARCengine 2. The memory SIMMs used by the SPARCclassic engine are standard 60ns, 72 pin memory SIMMs. Q. When should a customer consider using the SPARCengine IPX or SPARCengine 2 over the SPARCclassic engine? A. Since the SPARCclassic engine offers similar performance to the SPARCengine IPX or SPARCengine 2 at a substantially lower price, you should generally consider using the SPARCclassic board over the SPARCengine IPX or SPARCengine 2. The only time a customer might consider the SPARCengine 2 over the SPARCengine Classic is if the customer requires 3 SBus slots or if the customer needs to run Solaris 1.x. Q. What is the warranty of the SPARCclassic engine? A. The warranty for the SPARCclassic engine is the same as the warranty for the SPARCclassic desktop system - 1 year return-to-factory. Q. Can the SPARCclassic engine work with any SVGA monitor? A. While the SPARCclassic engine uses an SVGA monitor interface, most SGVA monitors available in the market today cannot be used with the SPARCclassic engine. This is because most SVGA monitors work from 60-72Hz whereas the SPARCclassic engine SVGA interface works at 76Hz. Customers interested in using an SVGA monitor can purchase a cable adapter and monitor through the Spares catalog, #365-1268. Q. Why doesn't Sun offer the CPU board used in the SPARCstation LX(TM) system? A. From a board level point of view, the SPARCclassic engine and the CPU board in the SPARCstation LX are very similar. The performance of both boards is identical. The differences between these two boards are shown below: ______________________________________________________________________ | | SPARCclassic engine | SPARCstation LX CPU board | |_________________|_______________________|___________________________| |ISDN | no | yes | |onboard graphics | color frame buffer | GX accelerator | |Audio | 8 bit | 16 bit CD quality | |_________________|_______________________|___________________________| The features of the SPARCstation LX CPU board that the SPARCengine Classic does not have - GX graphics, CD-quality audio and ISDN - are features that are not required by most SPARCengine customers. For most OEMs, the SPARCclassic engine is a better solution, offering the same performance as the SPARCstation LX CPU board, but at a lower cost. Sun will make the SPARCstation LX CPU board available to OEMs who do require these additional features. Q. What is the I/O connector board for on the SPARCclassic engine? A. Due to the small size of the SPARCclassic engine, 9"x9", all the I/O connectors could not fit on one side of the board. Therefore, a separate I/O connector board was designed with two rows of connectors. The I/O connector board does not have any active components. It connects to the SPARCclassic engine using a 160 pin edge connector. The I/O connector board does not come with the SPARCclassic engine. Customers can purchase the I/O connector board through spares, #501-2198. Having a separate I/O connector board gives OEMs the flexibility to design their own I/O board or to use Sun's I/O connector board. OEMs with packaging or space constraints may want to design their own I/O connector board. OEMs who are concerned with time-to-market can simply use the Sun I/O connector board. Q. Where can I get more information about the SPARCclassic engine? A. OEMs interested in the SPARCclassic engine should order the SPARCclassic engine User`s Guide (pn SECL-HW-DOC). This is a detailed document that includes all of the information an OEM needs inorder to design with the SPARCclassic engine. Additionally, since the SPARCclassic engine is the same CPU board used in the SPARCclassic workstation, most technical information on the SPARCclassic system will also apply to the SPARCclassic engine. THE FOLLOWING ITEMS APPEAR ON THE RESELLER PRICE LIST - U.S. Pricing Short Order List Discount Same Day Description Number Price Category Service Price ======================================================================== SPARCclassic engine 4015-0 $3,100 Cat A NA (includes Solaris 2.1 RTU) 8-Mbyte Memory X108R $595 Cat A N/C 32-Mbyte Memory X132R $3,000 Cat A N/C SPARCclassic engine SECL-HW-DOC $100 Cat B NA User's Manual 15" Color Monitor X361A $1,000 Cat A $25 Specifications are subject to change without notice. (c) 1992 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Solaris, IPX, and LX are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All SPARC trademarks, including the SCD Compliant logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. SPARCclassic and SPARCengine are licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For information send mail to info-sunflash@Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@Sun.COM. Archives are on solar.nova.edu, uunet.uu.net, sunsite.unc.edu, src.doc.ic.ac.uk and ftp.adelaide.edu.au All prices, availability, and other statements relating to Sun or third party products are valid in the U.S. only. Please contact your local Sales Representative for details of pricing and product availability in your region. Descriptions of, or references to products or publications within SunFlash does not imply an endorsement of that product or publication by Sun Microsystems. John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@Sun.COM. (305) 776-7770.