---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Press Release: Summary of Sun Announcements for May 15 SunFLASH Vol 17 #6 May 1990 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUN'S LESS-THAN-$5,000 RISC WORKSTATION HIGHLIGHTS NEW PRODUCT OFFERINGS New Desktop and Server Products Advance Sun's Workgroup Computing Leadership MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. --May 15, 1990-- Sun Microsystems today unveiled major additions to its family of SPARC(TM)-based workstations and servers, including the SPARCstation SLC(TM), the industry's first full-feature RISC workstation priced less than $5,000. Sun also introduced a powerful, balanced server for two environments: technical users and sites needing mid-range commercial file and database servers. A new graphics workstation version of this server performs 2-D and 3-D graphics. Along with the new hardware, Sun introduced advanced server software that gives SPARC servers enhanced capabilities and allows them to outperform competing systems costing many times more. The new SPARC systems expand the SPARCstation and SPARCserver(TM) product families at the entry and mid-range, giving Sun the most complete RISC/UNIX(R) solution for workgroup computing. Sun workstations and servers range in price from $4,995 to more than $500,000. The SPARCstation SLC: $4,995 The SPARCstation SLC, priced at $4,995 (U.S. list), delivers on Sun's desktop computing strategy, since it is an affordable RISC system with broad features and functionality for cost-conscious users in technical and office environments. The system's innovative design incorporates the computer's CPU board inside a small-footprint monitor to optimize desktop space. The SPARCstation SLC packs 12.5 million instructions per second (MIPS) of processing power and has a high-resolution 17-inch monochrome display. The new system is 100 percent compatible with all Sun SPARC-based computers. This includes the recently introduced SPARCstation 1+, which is even more powerful than the SPARCstation SLC while offering expandability and accelerated color graphics as an option. All Sun SPARC systems are capable of running more than 2,000 SPARCware(TM) applications and feature OPEN LOOK(TM), an intuitive graphical interface that simplifies the operation of UNIX-based systems and makes them as easy to use as a personal computer. "The battle today is on the desktop. Sun already has the fastest-selling RISC workstation the SPARCstation 1 and we are bringing this technology to an even broader base of users," said Scott McNealy, Sun's president and CEO. "With a new entry-level system, combined with our sophisticated server software enhancements, Sun now offers the most complete client/server solution in the industry," he said. "Our new server software brings new features to UNIX that no other vendor provides today." The SPARCserver 470 Office Server Sun's new server is specifically designed to address the needs of both technical and commercial environments that require a balance of fast processing power, high I/O throughput and large system expandability. Unlike many "compute-only" engines, the SPARCserver 470 has all the necessary power and expansion for demanding fileserver and database applications as well as providing balanced performance as a compute server. The SPARCserver 470 delivers data center performance and features and is priced beginning at $59,900 (U.S. list) for a fully configured system. With 22 million instructions per second (MIPS), this RISC server has the same performance as Sun's high-end SPARCserver 490. However, it is housed in a smaller package in order to meet the price needs and space constraints of customers who don't require the full storage capabilities of the larger server. An accelerated graphics workstation version of the SPARCserver 470 called the SPARCstation 470GX is also available, with prices beginning at $69,900 (U.S. list). The new workstation offers superior throughput for demanding applications such as earth resources, imaging, electronic design automation and geographic information systems. Sun Database Excelerator Sun designed its new Sun Database Excelerator server software to increase database performance of SPARCservers by boosting the system throughput and response time, particularly under heavy system loads. Sun Database Excelerator uses a number of sophisticated techniques to optimize performance of applications that run with software developed by Sun's DBMS partners. For example, Sun Database Excelerator can increase database throughput performance by as much as 50 percent. The software also increases the number of concurrent users by up to 500 percent. With Sun Database Excelerator, SPARCservers offer better performance at a lower cost than any competing system. It is priced at $1,000 (U.S. list) for desktop servers and $5,000 for all other SPARCservers. SPARCserver Manager: Advanced Server Functionality SPARCserver Manager is an unbundled product aimed at high-end server customers who need more reliable and flexible data storage than normally found in UNIX servers. It offers data mirroring, which allows users to continue working normally even in the event of disk or controller failures. Data mirroring makes possible safe on-line backups, so that users can continue working with their data during the backup process. This new software also enables files to span multiple disks, in case files are larger than a single disk. SPARCserver Manager includes window-based tools for easy system administration. SPARCserver Manager's tools monitor hardware configuration and status, run remote diagnostics, manage file systems and mirroring, record and analyze system performance data and facilitate routine tasks in storage administration. SPARCserver Manager is priced at $7,500. As part of an introductory offer, both Sun Database Excelerator and SPARCserver Manager will be offered at no cost with Sun's high-end commercial database engine, the SPARCserver 490. Sun Cuts Memory Prices, Adds 4-Megabyte SIMMs Sun also announced today that prices for add-in memory using 1-megabyte SIMMs (single in-line memory modules) have been cut in half for all systems in the SPARCstation and SPARCserver 300 family. For example, the price of 8-megabytes of expansion memory has been reduced from $4,000 to $2,000. In addition, Sun is now offering add-in memory based on 4-megabyte SIMMs for this product family. This increases the maximum memory configuration to 72 megabytes. Four-megabyte SIMM memory is already available for the SPARCstation 1 and 1+ and SPARCserver 1 and 1+. Sun also announced that the 327-megabyte drive bundled with the SPARCstation and SPARCserver 330 has been upgraded to a 669-megabyte drive for no additional cost. Sun Microsystems, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is a leading worldwide supplier of network-based distributed computing systems, including professional workstations, servers and UNIX operating system and productivity software. ### SPARC, SPARCstation, SPARCserver and SPARCware are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T. OPEN LOOK is a trademark of AT&T. All other products or services mentioned in this document are identified by the trademarks or service marks of their respective companies or organizations. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sunflash is an electronic mail news service from Sun Microsystems, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. 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