SPARCstation 20
| Industry | Computer hardware |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 24, 1982 in Santa Clara, California, United States |
| Products | SPARCstation 20, SPARCstation 5, SPARCstation 10, Ultra series workstations |
| Website | www |
The SPARCstation 20—known internally as Kodiak—is a powerful workstation introduced by Sun Microsystems on March 29, 1994, at the same time as the more affordable SPARCstation 5. It supports dual SuperSPARC or hyperSPARC processors and can be expanded to accommodate up to four CPUs operating concurrently through symmetric multiprocessing. The price range for this model varied between US$12,195 and US$29,995. In November 1995, the SPARCstation series was succeeded by the Ultra series, which featured the new UltraSPARC processor architecture.
Processor Support
Equipped with two 50 MHz MBus slots, the SPARCstation 20 allows for higher-speed CPU modules compared to its predecessor, the SPARCstation 10. By utilizing two dual-processor modules combined with enhanced firmware, the system can run up to four CPUs simultaneously. The top-performing CPU option available for this workstation is the 200 MHz Ross Technology hyperSPARC.
Processor compatibility is governed by the system’s PROM firmware, with Sun’s final BootPROM release being version 2.25 and Ross Technology providing version 2.25R.
Memory
The workstation is equipped with eight 200-pin DSIMM slots, enabling memory expansion up to 512 MB when using 64 MB modules. These memory modules are compatible with systems such as the SPARCstation 10, Sun Ultra 1, and other machines within the sun4m and sun4u families; however, they are not physically compatible with SIMM slots found in PC systems.
Additionally, there are two wider SIMM slots designed for non-memory expansion cards like caching NVSIMM and video VSIMM boards.
Storage Devices
Internally, the SPARCstation 20 houses two SCA drive bays and provides an external SCSI interface along with two additional bays for either CD-ROM or floppy disk drives. Early versions of the chassis featured shorter bays for CD-ROM and floppy drives that were incompatible with standard PC hardware; subsequent revisions introduced a slimmer floppy bay that accommodates standard CD-ROM drives.
The built-in SCSI controller does not support IDE drives. Moreover, all versions of the OpenBoot PROM impose a boot limitation preventing startup from disk sectors located beyond the 2 GB boundary.
Networking
Networking capabilities include one integrated AMD Lance 10BASE-T Ethernet port plus a proprietary 26-pin AUI connector. Expansion of Ethernet connectivity is possible through additional SBus network interface cards.
Video Output
A native video output is provided via a built-in 13W3 connector powered by an optional SX (CG14) framebuffer residing on a VSIMM card. VSIMMs are available in either 4 MB or 8 MB sizes, supporting display resolutions up to (4 MB) or (8 MB) with 24-bit color depth. To utilize two VSIMM cards simultaneously requires an extra video board to supply a second 13W3 connector. The system also supports multiple SBus graphics adapters such as the 8-bit Turbo GX (CG6) and the high-color 24-bit ZX (Leo).
Audio
The workstation incorporates integrated audio featuring four standard 3.5 mm jacks designated for headphones, microphone input, line input, and line output.
NVRAM
System configuration data including host ID (serial number) and MAC address are stored in a battery-backed NVRAM module within the SPARCstation 20. Should this battery fail, replacement or modification with an external battery is necessary, followed by reprogramming of both MAC address and host ID. A frequently used substitute chip is the M48T08-100PC1 model.
Operating systems
- SunOS versions from 4.1.3_U1B onward
- Solaris ranging from 2.3 through 9
- Various Linux distributions including Debian, Gentoo, and SuSE versions 7.0 to 7.3
- NetBSD
- OpenBSD supported up to version 5.9
- MirOS BSD
- NeXTSTEP 3.3 and OPENSTEP 4.x (compatible exclusively with SuperSPARC CPU modules)
Significant applications
- A total of 117 SPARCstation 20 Model HS11 machines—comprising 87 equipped with dual 100 MHz hyperSPARC processors and 30 featuring quad 100 MHz hyperSPARC CPUs—alongside a singular octo-processor SPARCserver 1000, were utilized in the rendering process of Toy Story, highlighting these systems' proficiency in advanced graphics computing.
Associated systems
External links
- FAQABOSS: Resource for vintage Sun hardware
- The Rough Guide to MBus Modules (Detailed catalog of CPU modules for the SPARCstation 20)