Ultra 80

Sun Microsystems
Industry	Computer hardware
Founded	February 24, 1982; 44 years ago in Santa Clara, California, United States
Fate	Acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2010
Products	Computer workstations, servers, software
Website	www.oracle.com/sun/

The Sun Microsystems computer workstation known as the Ultra 80 was available for purchase between November 1999 and 2002.

This workstation features a sizable tower chassis, measuring high, wide, and deep, and has a weight of . Upon its release, it operated on Solaris 7 and was offered in configurations equipped with one (model 1450), two (model 2450), or four (model 4450) 64-bit UltraSPARC II processors, supporting up to 4 GB of RAM. At the time, it represented Sun’s top-tier performance workstation.

While the Ultra 80 shares similarities with the more affordable Sun Ultra 60, it distinguishes itself by accommodating a greater number of CPUs and higher memory capacity. Although primarily designed as a workstation, it can be installed in a rack using an optional mounting kit. The Enterprise 420R server is derived from the Ultra 80’s motherboard but incorporates chassis and power supplies tailored for server environments.

Orders for the Ultra 80 were accepted until July 2002, with final deliveries completed by October that year. Its successor in the Ultra series, the Ultra 45, launched in 2006, supports only up to two processors, fewer than the Ultra 80’s maximum of four.

Operating system

The Ultra 80 was initially shipped with Solaris 7 Update 8/99 and maintains compatibility with Solaris versions up to Solaris 10 (Oracle Solaris 11 discontinued support for UltraSPARC II-IV processors). Additionally, it supports Linux and NetBSD operating systems. Native execution of Microsoft Windows is not possible; however, Windows can run via internal PCI expansion cards such as the SunPCi II Pro.

Hardware specifications and notes

Complete technical details are accessible through Sun’s official website.

CPU

Available configurations included single-, dual-, or quad-processor setups, although three-processor arrangements are also supported. Each CPU operates at a clock speed of 450 MHz and features separate 16-KB caches for data and instructions alongside a shared secondary external cache of 4 MB. Every processor integrates its own floating-point unit; one example CPU bears the part number X1195A.

Memory

The Ultra 80 utilizes 144-pin, 5V, 60-nanosecond DIMM modules available in sizes of either 64 MB or 256 MB. Memory must be installed in groups of four identical DIMMs. With sixteen DIMM slots in total, the system supports up to 4 GB of RAM when populated entirely with sixteen 256 MB modules. Its memory bus spans 576 bits—512 bits dedicated to data transfer and an additional 64 bits reserved for error correction—resulting in a peak bandwidth of 1.78 GB/s. Performance is enhanced through two-way interleaving (achieved with either 512 MB or 2 GB installed) and reaches optimal levels using four-way interleaving when all slots are filled (1 GB or 4 GB total RAM).

Memory is split evenly between the motherboard and a riser board, which requires careful handling during installation. The riser board connector is not intended for frequent removal and must be secured using a torque wrench provided with the Ultra 80, following guidelines outlined in the service manual.

Internal storage

Internally, the Ultra 80 can house one or two SCSI disk drives with a height of one inch using SCA interfaces. Initially offered with disk capacities of either 18.2 GB or 36.4 GB, it supports any SCA disk mounted within a carrier assembly (Sun part number 540-3024). The internal SCSI backplane assigns fixed IDs of 0 and 3 to these drives.

Additional optional storage devices include a floppy drive with a capacity of 1.44 MB; DDS-3 tape drives offering native/compressed capacities of 12/24 GB; DDS-4 and larger tape units; a SunCD-compatible CD-ROM drive providing photo CD functionality at speeds up to 32X (644 MB); and a DVD-ROM drive capable of reading at ten times speed. The system also supports third-party rewritable CD-ROM drives.

PCI and UPA slots

The Ultra 80 is equipped with four full-length PCI slots that adhere to the PCI 2.1 specification:

One PCI slot operating at either 33 or 66 MHz, compatible with 32- or 64-bit data buses and 3.3 V signaling
Two PCI slots running at 33 MHz, supporting 32- or 64-bit data buses with 5 V signaling
One PCI slot at 33 MHz, designed for a 32-bit data bus and 5 V signaling

It should be noted that certain systems may experience incompatibility issues with PCI cards designed for version 2.2.

Framebuffer

The system incorporates two UPA graphics slots functioning at 112 MHz, which can accommodate one or two Elite3D m3 and/or Elite3D m6 graphics cards. Although the widely used Creator3D framebuffer is not officially supported, it might operate sporadically. Some Ultra 80 units came with the PGX32 framebuffer, which offers lower performance but is more suitable for server environments. Additionally, later generation XVR and Expert3D framebuffers are compatible despite not being initially marketed for the Ultra 80.

SCSI

Featuring a dual-channel Ultra-3 SCSI controller capable of 40 MB/s transfer rates, the Ultra 80 assigns one channel (c0) to internal devices such as disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and tape drives. The second channel (c1) is dedicated to an external 68-pin Ultra wide SCSI connector located on the rear panel.

Input and output connectors

The Ultra 80 provides the following connectivity options:

Two serial ports conforming to RS-232C/RS-423 standards with 25-pin D-sub connectors
A Centronics-compatible parallel port supporting speeds up to 2 MB/s, also using a 25-pin D-sub connector
A Mini DIN-8 port designed for Sun keyboard and mouse connections
An external Ultra wide SCSI interface via a 68-pin connector
Integrated 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet through an HME network adapter
IEC standard power input connector

An optional Sun X1141A Ethernet card allows network speeds up to 1 Gbit/s. While USB support is not officially provided, some PC USB cards have been successfully utilized under Linux and Solaris operating systems.

Power consumption

The device’s peak power draw reaches up to 380 watts, supplied by a Sony-manufactured power supply rated at 670 watts and delivering 12 amps (Sun part number 300-1357).

Construction quality

As a premium workstation model, the Ultra 80 incorporates high-grade components rather than the standard parts found in entry-level systems like the Ultra 5 and Ultra 10. Its design addresses previous thermal management challenges experienced in Sun’s earlier SPARCstation 20 quad-processor workstation.

Support

Official maintenance and support for the Ultra 80 concluded in October 2007. Nonetheless, knowledgeable user groups—including former Sun personnel—remain active on Usenet forums such as comp.unix.solaris, comp.sys.sun.hardware, and comp.sys.sun.admin.

Benchmarks

Sun Microsystems released SPECint95 and SPECfp95 benchmark scores for various Ultra 80 configurations:

Performance Benchmarks for Sun Ultra 80
Benchmark	Model 1450 (Single CPU)	Model 2450 (Dual CPU)	Model 4450 (Quad CPU)
SPECint95	19.7	19.7	19.7
SPECfp95	27.9	36.1	44.6

Additional benchmark results for SPECfp_rate95 and SPECfp_rate_base95 are accessible through the SPEC organization’s website:

SPEC Benchmark Scores for Sun Ultra 80
Benchmark	Model 1450 (Single CPU)	Model 2450 (Dual CPU)	Model 4450 (Quad CPU)
SPECfp_rate95	233	455	799
SPECfp_rate_base95	211	401	690

External links