---------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Sun Product Announcements SunFLASH Vol 17 #4 May 1990 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: SPARCstation SLC, SPARCserver 470, SPARCserver Manager, Database Excelerator, & SunCD Announcement Strengthening Sun's Distributed Computing Story Sun has built an industry leading position in the RISC/UNIX workstation market place by providing functionality, flexibility, and ease of use while adhering to industry standards. Sun's SPARC/UNIX/OPEN LOOK/ONC platform provides a wide variety of solutions for end-users and developers. * SPARC - Scalability provides the basis for a wide variety of price points for clients and servers. * UNIX - Functionality and Standards to support inovation. * OPEN LOOK - Intuitive user interface. * ONC - Connectivity that allows users to share resources transparently across heterogeneous networks. Together with value-added software and hardware (Software Engineering Tools, Graphics and Personal Productivity) Sun delivers the best platform to develop and execute the applications required by today's sophisticated, demanding users. Today's announcement enhances Sun's leadership position by expanding Sun's SPARCstation and SPARCserver product lines, increasing application performance, simplifying system administration, and establishing an efficient, cost effective software distribution media. *** The SPARCstation SLC sets a new standard for "entry level" price/performance for RISC desktops. Its low price makes SPARCstation SLC a viable alternative to X-terminals and workgroup personal computers. * Hardware Specifications: 12.5 MIPS, 1.2 DPMFLOPS, 8/12/16MB memory, SCSI interface, 17" mono monitor package, 2 serial ports, and an audio chip and speaker. * System Software: 4.0.3c or later *** SPARCserver 470 complements the existing Sun server product line by providing a high performance platform more competitively priced for compute, file, database, or communications server applications where SPARCserver 490 expandability, backup and large storage capacity is not required. SPARCserver 470's IPI disk configurations are an attractively priced, high performance alternative to Sun's SS 370 SMD configurations. The SPARCserver 490 remains Sun's premier server with greater expandability, better unattended backup solutions and the storage capacity to support larger environments with centralized file server and database needs. * Hardware Specifications: 22 MIPS, 3.8 DPMFLOPS, 17.6 SPECmarks, up to 160 MB E.C.C. memory, 128 KB write-back cache, support for 64 contexts, I/O cache, IPI disk subsystems, GX graphics, SCSI disk options, 12 slot Office pedestal * System Software: 4.0.3 (4.1 PSR June) *** Sun's initial value-added Server Software offerings, SPARCserver Manager and Database Excelerator, provide performance beyond the traditional CPU MIPS. Large databases and increasing user demand place new demands on computing resources. Sun's SPARCserver Software Family of unbundled software products increases the versatility of the high-performance SPARCserver platform. Now SPARCservers can be used in data-intensive applications in a widerange of computing environments. Sun SPARCserver Software satisfies users' needs for robust and reliable performance, offering features that enhance: (1) performance, (2) data availability, and (3) ease of administration. The first two products in the series are Sun Database Excelerator and SPARCserver Manager. *** The Sun Database Excelerator strengthens Sun's price-performance leadership in the UNIX database server market. This easy-to-install, unbundled software dramatically increases Sun SPARCserver performance with database applications from the four leading DBMS vendors--Informix, Ingres, Oracle, and Sybase. With Sun Database Excelerator database server customers will experience increased system throughput and improved response times, particularly under heavy system loads. Maximum throughput increases by up to 50% while supporting up to five times as many concurrent users. * Features: Improved Memory Management; increased number of file descriptors per process; faster, asynchronous, raw I/O. * System Software: SunOS 4.1 and 4.1 PSRs only. *** SPARCserver Manager provides integrated disk mirroring for more reliable system operation and safe on-line backups. Disk mirroring is a "check-box" item for bids in financial services, database, and other technical and commercial accounts. SPARCserver Manager also allows files to span disks. This feature helps win server business for ECAD, Earth Resources, and other technical customers. SPARCserver Manager provides a set of easy-to-use, window-based tools that manage SPARCservers remotely, from any SPARCstation on the network. System administrators can examine storage configuration and status, run online tests, control routine filesystem operations, and analyze system performance. See your power pack for further information. The Product Data Sheet and Sales Guide are not yet available, but will be distributed shortly. * Features: Disk mirroring; logical volumes; System administration tools * System Software: SunOS 4.0.3 and 4.1 (including PSRs) * Desktop and SPARCengine OS versions are NOT supported *** SPARCsystem Workgroup Packages: Attractively priced packages of SPARCserver 490, SPARCstation SLC's, SunDBE, and SPARCserver Manager designed to meet the needs of a typical workgroup. *** Today, Sun announced several CD-ROM products and special promotions that support Sun's plan to convert EXCLUSIVELY to Compact Disc for all distribution of its system and application software by 1991. Sun selected CD for its future distribution media because it provides users with many benefits: lower-costs, easy to use, reliable and compact (up to 644 Mbtytes per Disc). To support our customers transition Sun announced: * SunCD drive is available on all SPARCstations and SPARCservers (except SS390). * SunOS 4.1 is now shipping on CD and through August 31, 1990 is FREE to those customers ordering a SunCD drive. SunOS on CD includes: Boot capability for Sun4, 4c and binaries for Sun3, 3x, 4, 4c. * RTU upgrade price for Pre-SunOS 4.1 customers is 50% off through August 31, 1990 to those ordering SunCD drive. The SunCD provides SPARCsystems access to hundreds of industry standard (ISO 9660) databases (financial, ECAD, government), CD audio and multimedia applications. * System Software: 4.0.3 SPARCstation 1 only, 4.1 for other supported systems, see Power Pack for details. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sunflash is an electronic mail news service from Sun Microsystems, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Please address comments to FLASH [John McLaughlin] (sun!sunvice!flash or flash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM). (305) 776-7770.