---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash Boston Stock Exchange Chooses Sun Workstations SunFLASH Vol 30 #9 June 1991 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Color SPARC Workstations Replace DOS-Based Zenith Computers MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. --June 12, 1991-- Looking at increased future capacity needs because of growing trading volume, the Boston Stock Exchange (BSE) is moving from a network of PCs to a local area network (10BaseT) using powerful UNIX(R)-based, color SPARCstation(TM) IPC workstations from Sun Microsystems. Known as the Boston Exchange Automated Communication and Order-routing Network (BEACON), the system will allow the exchange to handle more than 20,000 trades a day, about four times its present trading volume. This high-speed network will link 125 SPARCstation IPC desktop systems to existing fault-tolerant Stratus minicomputers, which receive real time stock price and quote information from the Security Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC) in New York and buy and sell orders from its member firms' computer systems. For each user, a single SPARCstation IPC will replace a DOS-based Zenith PC, which had supported two monochrome monitors and keyboards. The power and multi-windowing capabilities of the SPARCstation allow for the integration of the information -- market data, trading positions, limit order books and trading activity -- on a single monitor. According to James B. Crofwell, executive vice president of the BSE, "Real estate is at a premium on our trading floor. We used to have keyboards and monitors stacked about eight feet high and kept adding terminals on top of one another. Now, a single Sun workstation gives us more horsepower and easier, faster access to critical information, not to mention more room to trade." As the BSE continues to expand, the SPARCstation will be able to support additional monochrome or color monitors, which can be used to add other information services. The BSE looked at solutions from several vendors and determined that a workstation offered better price/performance than a similarly configured '386 PC. According to Crofwell, "Of the vendors we looked at, Sun had the best sales support and showed that the system could handle the high transaction volume we demand. Sun also had the best track record with UNIX -- a very stable environment and more value-added extensions to their operating system." Developer's Guide Eases Software Development The BSE was able to quickly customize an OPEN LOOK(R) graphical user interface for the trader's workstation using Sun's OpenWindows(TM) Developers' Guide (DevGuide). DevGuide is a prototyping tool from Sun that helps developers design software using the icon-based, 3-D OPEN LOOK interface. It provides a basic palette of icons and automatically generates the user interface code, thereby saving days of development time. "For our traders, the 'point and click' functionality of the OPEN LOOK interface cuts the time we spent on our earlier keyboard system in half," said Crofwell. "Now, when a specialist wants to execute a trade, he simply clicks the mouse once on a single word [execute, stop, cancel, edit], instead of using the multiple keystrokes previously required." Sun's selection by the Boston Stock Exchange demonstrates the company's growing success as a leading global supplier of UNIX-based workstations and servers for securities trading at exchanges, securities firms, banks, and investment companies. Sun computers are also used by the New York Stock Exchange, NASD, London International Financial Futures Exchange and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Sun dominates the world wide financial workstation market, with a 53 percent share, according to a recent survey by International Data Corporation. Boston Stock Exchange, Inc., is the third oldest of the seven stock exchanges in the nation, with revenues of $13.3 million. In 1990, an average of 4,600 trades and 3.1 million shares a day took place at the exchange covering more than 1,800 listed stocks. The aggregate market value of shares traded during that year was $28.6 billion. PR contact Sun Microsystems, Inc. Nancy Groves (415) 336-6411 Boston Stock Exchange, Inc. James B. Crofwell (617) 723-9500 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For information send mail to info-sunflash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. Archives are on solar.nova.edu and paris.cs.miami.edu. 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. John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. (305) 776-7770.