sunflash-Distributed to mailing list sun/NC/north-carolina sunflash-Send requests, problems to owner-sunflash@suntri.east.sun.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash Sun's Hottest Volume 4 Number 1 SunFLASH Vol 61 #x January 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 61.01 Sun's Hottest Volume 4 Number 1 This article contains the text of a newsletter, "Sun's Hottest", that is printed and mailed to many customers. It is an excellent summary of Sun's recent product announcements. Send comments to Tracey Hoskinson at comments@goldenbear.Corp.Sun.COM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- C O N T E N T S The Hottest in Visual Computing Premium 20-inch color monitor Over 75 UNIX leaders announce common UNIX OS API specification Networking Notes... SunCD Plus: Dazzling speed, new multimedia capabilities World Cup technology will be state of the art SPARCcluster 1 Sun/Oracle TPC-A Result for SPARCserver 1000 Sun leads the market in UNIX-based relational databases Cray Research Superservers introduces 64-way SPARC MP server Introducing Solaris 2.3 AT&T Selects Sun for Rightsizing Solution CIOs rank Sun #1 The technical market leader One million and counting... SBus IEEE standard New Type 5 mouse Wabi on R/S 6000 and other Platforms NFS Version 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: The Hottest in Visual Computing New products bring multimedia into mainstream --------------------------------------------- Sun has come out with several new products that mark the start of an exciting new age of visual computing for workstation users. * Multimedia workstation packages Introducing two new multimedia workstation packages specifically configured for networked environments where the integration of video and graphics is required. Both of the multimedia workstation packages -- the SPARCclassic M and the SPARCstation 10 M systems -- include a fully configured workstation, a SunVideo card, a color NTSC video camera, and a multimedia CDware CD containing third-party multimedia software. The SPARCclassic M is an ideal entry-level video conferencing and multimedia delivery system, and can be used for low-cost multimedia authoring. For more demanding authoring environments, the SPARCstation 10 M system, configured around the revolutionary SX imaging technology, offers true color (24-bit with 8-bit overlay) and enables power users to create large multimedia training applications or presentations more quickly. Sun also officially announced the availability of the SPARCstation 10SX, which provides industry-leading image processing performance, full 24-bit color, 3-D graphics, and hardware-accelerated video playback. * Multimedia kit If worrying about cameras, software, and compatibility issues has kept you from delving into video conferencing, Sun's new Multimedia Kit may be for you. This bundled kit includes a color NTSC video camera, the SunVideo SBus card, and a CDware CD containing sample software. It enables existing SPARCstation systems as well as new systems to become video ready. * New Kodak and Adobe support Eastman Kodak Company and Adobe Systems Inc. have demonstrated their support for Sun with the following announcements: - Sun will bundle PhotoShop 2.5 with the SPARCstation 10SX. - Solaris now supports access to Kodak PhotoCD images. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Premium 20-inch color monitor As soon as you plug in Sun's new 20-inch premium color monitor, you'll notice better focus, clearer colors, and sharper images. You'll also notice that it has no knobs, but a unique remote control device that lets you adjust image size, brightness, contrast, tilt, and image polishing. Resolutions and frequencies are industry standard. And, the monitor comes stereo-ready and multimedia compatible, providing outstanding performance for today's most demanding applications. What's more, the new monitor costs the same as the 19-inch monitor it replaces. This new color monitor is the most compact 20-inch monitor in the industry, but offers a very large usable screen area. The unique Sun industrial design results in a smaller volume and larger screen/bezel size, with recessed cables that allow the monitor to be flush against a wall for maximum convenience and minimum footprint. The new monitor is also TCO-compliant and offers an advantage for anyone who may be sensitive to the effects of electromagnetic emissions: its emissions are approximately one half of the emissions from MPR 1990:10 compliant monitors currently available. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Over 75 UNIX leaders announce common UNIX OS API specification More than 75 leading UNIX system suppliers and software developers recently endorsed a comprehensive draft specification defining a common set of application programming interfaces (APIs) for UNIX-based operating systems. The common API specification enhances the portability of UNIX system-based applications, while maintaining the benefits of multiple, competitive implementations for the operating system. * Unprecedented cooperative effort will increase choices for customers Standardization puts an end to the "What is UNIX?" wars. With a single interface specification, vendors will supply implementations that adhere to the spec and compete based on the quality of their products. Customers, in turn, will have the freedom to choose the best solutions based on price, performance, ease of installation, support, and time to market. * A standard set of UNIX APIs The specification deals with the core operating system (OS) and is intended to deliver the promise of a single, consistent programming interface across a range of UNIX platforms. With all major companies backing this effort, every UNIX system supplier will be able to work with a single set of interfaces for the core OS. A standard specification will allow developers to write a single version of each application and recompile it to make it available across all compliant UNIX system platforms. It will also let them continue to exploit the unique functions of each vendor's products. * Improved application development, portability, and availability Driven by the need to improve application development and portability among the various UNIX systems, this agreement reinforces UNIX's position as the world's premier, highest-volume, 32-bit operating environment for enterprise-wide computing. UNIX customers will benefit because their applications can now run on multiple platforms. Simply, no other operating system besides UNIX adheres to this level of standardization, while offering this range of portability, scalability, and choice of platforms. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Networking Notes... * Introducing multiport Ethernet card Sun Microsystems Computer Corp. (SMCC) introduced a low-cost SBus Quad Ethernet Controller (SQEC), providing four fully buffered twisted-pair Ethernet ports. The SQEC partitions heavily loaded networks into numerous smaller nets for higher performance and reliability because fewer systems are affected in the event of traffic overload or network fault. Additionally, SQEC can be used in a gateway or router. * Sun joins Fast Ethernet Alliance In August, Sun joined forces with leading networking companies to create the Fast Ethernet Alliance. Responding to the demand for increased network bandwidth and product flexibility, the alliance is committed to open, cost-effective and interoperable 100-Mbps Ethernet solutions. The alliance supports the CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection) protocol of the original Ethernet standard. Preserving the core CSMA/CD protocol enables networking companies to ensure a natural, safe, and cost-effective migration path to 100-Mbps Ethernet technology. A key part of this migration path is high performance at low cost. The alliance's goal is to give customers ten times the performance of todays 10-BaseT products at about twice the cost. Specifications developed by the alliance will be submitted to the IEEE 802.3 standards committee. * Momentum continues for ONC+ Sun announced agreements with several leading companies to license its ONC+ networking technology. ONC+ technology has become the industry standard for cross-platform interoperability and is now available on everything from PCs to workstations to supercomputers. Additionally, ONC+ was adopted for the Common Open Software Environment (COSE) and is licensed by the Santa Cruz Operation and the UNIX System Laboratories. * New Fibre Channel reduces data transfer time Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM launched the first prototype of a high-speed fiber optic technology that dramatically reduces the time needed to transfer large files. Part of a joint effort called the Fibre Channel Systems Initiative, the three companies are working to create high-speed "on-ramps" to the digital information highway. The goal is the advancement of Fibre Channel as an affordable, high-speed interconnection standard for workstations and peripherals. The companies will develop specifications to assist all computer manufacturers in designing products with Fibre Channel technology. * DCE products for Solaris 2 Sun recently announced a milestone in support of the Common Open Software Environment by making DCE core networking services available for the Solaris 2.2 SPARC computing environment. Sun will distribute and support Transarc Corp's DCE product suite, which was developed for the Solaris 2.2 operating environment. The DCE software will be incorporated into the Solaris Federated Services networking architecture, allowing DCE services to operate as a peer to the ONC+ services within enterprise-wide networks. The product suite includes DCE Base Services, the DCE Cell Directory Service, the DCE Security Service, and the DCE Application Toolkit. The DCE Distributed File System and the DCE Enhanced File Service for the Solaris environment will be added in late 1993. * ONC+ RPC Application Toolkit 2.0 The Solaris 2 version for the existing ONC+ RPC Application Toolkit is now available. ONC+ RPC Application Toolkit is the RPC protocol compiler that supports Sun's TI-RPC. Automatically generating the necessary client-server communications code, the Toolkit speeds and simplifies the development of distributed applications. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: SunCD Plus: Dazzling speed, new multimedia capabilities In September, Sun introduced the new SunCD Plus Pack -- a high-performance CD-ROM drive that features improved performance over the SunCD drive and support for extended multimedia formats. * Twice as fast SunCD Plus is twice as fast as the SunCD drive. Its 300-KB per second data transfer rate makes loading your software 60 percent faster. SunCD Plus saves magnetic disk space because it can execute many multimedia applications directly from the compact disc; and it supports CD-DA over SCSI, enabling multimedia applications to transfer audio bits over the SCSI bus. * New multimedia applications Besides supporting existing CD-ROM standard filesystem formats (High Sierra File System, ISO 9660 and Rockridge), SunCD Plus supports two new multimedia formats: CD-ROM Extended Architecture (XA) and Kodak's PhotoCD. CD-ROM XA is used to interleaf data and audio on a single track for applications such as full-motion video, and PhotoCD transfers 35mm film images to a compact disc. These new formats enable you to access new data types and integrate them into advanced multimedia applications. * Complete compatibility SunCD Plus is thoroughly compatible with all hardware platforms and operating system releases. It replaces SunCD drives, effective immediately. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Update: World Cup technology will be state of the art According to Bill Alaoglu, the World Cup USA 1994 Organizing Committee's director of technology, a number of innovative and state-of-the-art aspects of technology are planned for the 1994 World Cup. "Number one is the installation of a nationwide, high-speed network that uses Sprint optical lines. It runs more than 3000 miles through multiple time zones. That has never been done before," Alaoglu says. "When completed, the World Cup will have a thousand Sun workstations across the country that will be capable of doing all needed tasks, from information services and processing transactions, to the office work of various departments and electronic mail." "Number two is the distribution of video images on the network. Using Sun computers and applications developed by EDS, accreditation photos of players, staff, and other participants will be available nationwide," adds Alaoglu. The network being established by the World Cup USA 1994 and its "Big Three" marketing partners -- EDS, Sun Microsystems, and Sprint -- will ultimately serve a wide audience, including the press, FIFA officials, the public, and people on the network all over the world. Sun: Exclusive Computer Supplier to the 1994 World Cup ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: SPARCcluster 1 * Sun unveils the first network cluster Sun's newest file server, the SPARCcluster 1, is the highest performance, most scalable and affordable network file server available. Designed to meet the unique needs of large file server environments, the SPARCcluster 1 addresses three primary system administration and user needs: - Network complexity - Network bandwidth - Fast, reliable access to data The SPARCcluster 1 server will have the strongest impact for sites with many networks, many users, and systems administrators who need to consolidate resources for easier administration -- while maintaining fast access to data and fast system response times. * High capacity -- and high performance The SPARCcluster 1 is the first network cluster product in the industry. It meets the requirements of system administrators by consolidating SPARCserver 10 systems and ONT technology, which consists of both hardware and software components, into a single physical enclosure. This architecture provides the benefits of centralized administration while preserving the advantages of distributing the network file service load among multiple servers for reliability, increased server uptime, and outstanding performance for large numbers of users. The SPARCcluster 1 is an exceptionally fast file server delivering 3069 NFS operations per second. As a result, users enjoy the fast response times they need, even at peak working hours. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Sun/Oracle TPC-A Result for SPARCserver 1000 * Sun and Oracle offer the industry's leading price/performance for TPC-A Sun has beaten out all other UNIX database servers with the new SPARCserver 1000 system running the Oracle7 Cooperative Server database. Sun and Oracle set the industry price/performance record in November when the SPARCserver 1000 delivered 400.47 transactions per second and $4981 U.S. tpsA. The results are based on the Transaction Processing Performance Council Benchmark A (TPC-A), a complete system benchmark that represents online transaction processing environments. Introduced in May 1993, the SPARCserver 1000 is a compact departmental server that can be configured with up to eight SuperSPARC processors. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Sun leads the market in UNIX-based relational databases In an International Data Corporation (IDC) study of the UNIX RDBMS market, Sun was the leading UNIX platform for relational database software products. Nearly one-quarter of the UNIX RDBMS software market revenues were on Sun platforms in 1992, ranking Sun ahead of other leading manufacturers. Sun was also the fastest growing platform, with a phenomenal 47.9 percent growth over 1991. [IDC study: "The UNIX Relational Database Software Market 1992-1997," IDC #7683, July 1993. For further information on this report, please contact IDC at 800 343-4935.] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Cray Research Superservers introduces 64-way SPARC MP server On October 25, 1993, Cray Research Superservers, a subsidiary of Cray Research Inc., announced a new SPARC-based server family -- the CRAY SUPERSERVER 6400 (CS6400) product line. The new product further expands SPARC/Solaris based systems to 64-way multiprocessing for both commercial and technical markets. These new systems are based on the SPARCserver 1000/SPARCcenter 2000 technology, licensed by Cray Research Superservers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Introducing Solaris 2.3 Solaris 2.3, the latest, most advanced version of Sun's Solaris 2 software environment, is now available. Solaris 2.3 features robust new security, networking, system administration, and multimedia capabilities, as well as powerful performance in-creases in database transactions, graphics, and window systems. Further, this Solaris version includes a binary compatibility package (BCP) that allows users to run most of their Solaris 1 applications on their Solaris 2 systems. The BCP supports dynamically and statically linked applications, enabling users to run existing applications with no loss in performance. The most effective software solution for the enterprise today, Solaris 2.3 offers the leading price/performance ratio for multiprocessor systems, lowering the overall cost of system ownership. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: AT&T Selects Sun for Rightsizing Solution AT&T's customers can feel more confident that their questions will be handled quickly and efficiently thanks in part to an AT&T and Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation partnership and SPARCcenter 2000 systems. * The problem AT&T needed a client-server environment that could provide reliable availability and superior performance to handle its call servicing support activities. Its call servicing support database is accessed by a 6000-employee service staff answering questions from AT&T customers. The database runs in two centers in and near Denver, Colorado. Because of the critical nature of call servicing, it was imperative that the system ensured minimal downtime and could handle high-performance multi-user activity. Furthermore, database availability and performance were critical, resulting in Sybase being chosen as the database platform for the call servicing support system. * The solution AT&T strategically decided to replace its existing Stratus and 3B2-1000 systems with ten SPARCcenter 2000 systems. The Stratus and 3B2 computers were configured in a distributed architecture, that became difficult to administer and maintain; one side effect of the distributed architecture was that there were more than 120 different versions of the database throughout the system. A centralized client-server architecture was seen as the solution to the problem. The applications were re-engineered, rather than simply being migrated, to take advantage of the new environment and to solve inherent problems in the existing applications. The SPARCcenter 2000 was chosen because of Sun's winning combination of low price and outstanding performance. These systems, together with software, team up to deliver a high-availability and high-performance environment that won't slow down AT&T's fast-paced call servicing organization. The SPARCcenter 2000 systems offer high performance multi-user activity while ensuring against costly downtime -- both critical when handling customer service calls. Each server has 2 GB of memory for excellent multi-user performance. The servers, along with Online: DiskSuite, provide system-level redundancy and automatic failover capabilities. User acceptance testing starts in November 1993, and the first office application begins in April 1994. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: CIOs rank Sun #1 Leading chief information officers (CIOs) gave Sun Microsystems top ranking in most categories in a recent survey conducted by CIO magazine. Sun was ranked number one in five out of seven workstation categories in the Reader's Choice Award, including best return on investment, leadership in technology, best price/performance, and brand awareness. CIOs also voted Sun the company they would most likely consider purchasing products from within the next 12 months. CIO magazine's readers control the spending of information technology budgets, averaging $23 million (U.S.) each annually. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: The technical market leader Recently released figures from Dataquest demonstrate Sun's continuing leadership in the core technical markets for workstations -- mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD), electronic design automation (EDA), and software development (for example CASE). Sun recently displaced IBM and Hewlett-Packard as the MCAD leader with 36 percent unit volume and continues its lead in EDA with 60 percent of the market share. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: One million and counting... On September 30th, Sun marked a major milestone by manufacturing its millionth computer. In addition, more than 1.4 million copies of the Solaris operating environment have been shipped to date. To commemorate these events, Sun chose a significant long-term partner, Fujitsu, Inc., to receive the millionth machine and Solaris software. A new SPARCstation 10 workstation and a Japanese-language Solaris CD were presented to Fujitsu's chief executive officer, Tadashi Sekizawa, in a special ceremony. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: SBus IEEE standard In response to the rapidly increasing SBus installed base and a growing number of SBus card vendors, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has accepted the SBus input/output specification as an industry standard. The SBus IEEE standard defines all of the electrical, logical, and mechanical interfaces necessary to build SBus products. First designed and introduced by Sun in 1989, SBus is the highest performance local bus available for UNIX operating systems and is included in all SPARCstation and SPARCserver computers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: New Type 5 mouse A new Type 5 mouse is featured in all new Sun systems* . The Type 5 mouse offers a number of performance enhancements over the Type 4 mouse, including a higher resolution of 300 cpi (compared to 200 cpi for the Type 4 mouse), micro switches that require less pressure to actuate, improved flexibility, and an improved ergonomic and aesthetic case design. * Except SPARCstation ELC, SPARCstation IPC, SPARCstation IPX, and SPARCstation 2 systems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Wabi on R/S 6000 and other Platforms Sun has licensed Wabi software to IBM for use on IBM's RISC System/6000 workstation family. Wabi allows RISC/UNIX system users to run Microsoft Windows applications right out of the box, without MS-DOS or Microsoft Windows itself. The agreement means Wabi will now be available on the majority of UNIX workstations and will be licensed by the leading UNIX operating system vendors, including UNIX System Laboratories (USL), Hewlett-Packard, SCO, and IBM. To promote ongoing enhancements to Wabi functionality and performance, IBM also entered into a development agreement for future releases of the Wabi technology. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: NFS Version 3 NFS Version 3, the latest revision of the industry-standard protocol for enterprise-wide network computing, is now available from Sun. NFS Version 3 extends the capabilities of the NFS distributed computing file system and is based on requirements specified by industry leaders including Cray, Digital Equipment Corp., IBM, HaL Computer Systems, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun. In addition to delivering wide-area network efficiency and multiplatform interoperability, NFS Version 3 provides these enhancements to NFS: improved performance, increased server scalability, high bandwidth network support, improved security, and support for large files. Product availability may vary by country. Please contact your sales representative. Tracey Hoskinson, Product Marketing Programs Manager; Alice Hausladen, Sales Program Representative; Andrea Fleming, Marcom Manager, International; Redgate Communications Corporation, Writing, Design, Production and Printing. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please send electronic mail to comments@goldenbear.Corp.Sun.COM (c) 1993 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation, the Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation logo, SunVideo, CDware, ONC+, Solaris, ECL, IPC, IPX, Wabi, NFS, ONT, Online: DiskSuite, and SunCD 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, SPARCstation, SPARCserver, SPARCcluster, SuperSPARC, and SPARCcenter are licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. Adobe is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. MS-DOS and Microsoft are registered trademarks and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. Oracle7 is a trademark of Oracle Corp. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners. ********************************************************************** For information about SunFlash send mail to info-sunflash@Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@Sun.COM. Archives are on draco.nova.edu, ftp.uu.net, sunsite.unc.edu, src.doc.ic.ac.uk and ftp.adelaide.edu.au For last month's digest, send email to flashadm@sun.com with a Subject line of 60.00 For Gopher and WAIS access: sunsite.unc.edu. (Login as 'gopher' for a simple gopher client, 'swais' for a simple WAIS client (over 500 databases). 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. Send brief articles (e.g. third party announcements) and include contact information (non-800#, fax #, email, etc) to: John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@Sun.COM. +1 305 351 4909