Sun Ultra series
The Sun Ultra series is a line of workstation and server computers developed and sold by Sun Microsystems, comprising two distinct generations,.
The original Ultra workstations and the Ultra Enterprise (later, "Sun Enterprise") servers were UltraSPARC-based systems produced from 1995 to 2001, replacing the earlier SPARCstation and SPARCcenter/SPARCserver series respectively. This introduced the 64-bit UltraSPARC processor and in later versions, lower-cost PC-derived technology, such as the PCI and ATA buses (the initial Ultra 1 and 2 models retained the SBus of their predecessors). The original Ultra/Enterprise series itself was later replaced by the Sun Blade workstation and Sun Fire server ranges.
The original Ultra range were sold during the dot com boom, and became one of the biggest selling series of computers ever developed by Sun Microsystems, with many companies and organisations—including Sun itself—relying on Sun Ultra products for years after their successor products were released.
The Ultra brand was later revived in 2005 with the launch of the Ultra 20 and Ultra 40, albeit to some confusion, as they are based on x86-64-architecture processors rather than UltraSPARC processors.
The SPARC-based Ultra 3 Mobile Workstation laptop was released in 2005 as well, but it would prove to be a short-lived design and was retired the next year.
New Ultra 25 and Ultra 45 desktop UltraSPARC IIIi-based systems were introduced in 2006. In October 2008, Sun discontinued these, effectively ending the production of SPARC architecture workstations. x64-based Ultra systems remained in the Sun portfolio for two more years; the last one, the Intel Xeon-based Ultra 27, was retired in June 2010, thereby concluding the history of Sun as a workstation vendor.
Sun Ultra models
Ultra workstations (1995-2001)
Model | Code | Codename | Processor(s) | Processor MHz | Expansion Buses/Slots |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ultra 1 | A11 | Neutron | UltraSPARC I | 143, 167 | 3 SBus; SCSI |
Ultra 1E | A12 | Electron | UltraSPARC I | 143, 167, 200 | 2 SBus, 1 UPA (Creator); SCSI |
Ultra 2 | A14 | Pulsar | Up to two UltraSPARC I or II | 143, 167, 200, 300, 400 | 4 SBus, 1 UPA; SCSI |
Ultra 30 | A16 | Quark | UltraSPARC II | 250, 300 | |
Ultra 3000 | A17 | Duraflame | Up to six UltraSPARC I or II | 167, 250, 336, 400 | |
Ultra 4000 | A18 | Campfire | Up to 14 UltraSPARC I or II | 167, 250, 336, 400 | |
Ultra 450 | A20 | Tazmo | Up to 4 UltraSPARC II | 400 | |
Ultra 5 | A21 | Otter | UltraSPARC IIi | 270, 333, 360, 400 (440 works, but is unsupported) | 3 PCI; EIDE |
Ultra 10 | A22 | Sea Lion | UltraSPARC IIi | 300, 333, 360, 440 | 4 PCI, 1 UPA; EIDE |
Ultra 60 | A23 | Deuterium | Up to two UltraSPARC II | 300, 360 or 450 (400 works, but is unsupported) | |
Ultra 80 | A27 | Quasar | Up to 4 UltraSPARC II | 450 | |
Ultra Enterprise/Enterprise servers
Entry-level
Model | Code | Codename | Processor(s) | Processor MHz |
---|---|---|---|---|
UltraServer 1 Ultra Enterprise 1 |
A11 | Neutron | UltraSPARC I | 143 or 167 |
UltraServer 1E Ultra Enterprise 1E |
A12 | Electron | UltraSPARC I | 143, 167, 200 |
UltraServer 2 Ultra Enterprise 2 |
A14 | Pulsar | Up to two UltraSPARC I or II | 143, 167, 200, 300 |
Ultra Enterprise 150 | E150 | Dublin | UltraSPARC I | 167 |
Enterprise Ultra 5S | A21 | Otter | UltraSPARC IIi | 270, 333, 360, 400 |
Enterprise Ultra 10S | A22 | Sea Lion | UltraSPARC IIi | 300, 333, 360, 440 |
Enterprise 450 | A25 | Tazmax | Up to 4 UltraSPARC II | 250, 300, 400, 480 |
Enterprise 250 | A26 | Javelin | Up to two UltraSPARC II | 250, 300, 400 |
Enterprise 420R | A33 | Quahog | Up to 4 UltraSPARC II | 450 |
Enterprise 220R | A34 | Razor | Up to two UltraSPARC II | 360, 450 |
Note: the Enterprise 220R is an Ultra 60 motherboard in a rackable server chassis with hot-swappable power supplies. Similarly, the Enterprise 420R is an Ultra 80 motherboard in a server chassis.
Mid-range and high-end
Model | Code | Codename | Processor(s) | Processor MHz |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ultra Enterprise 3000 | E3000 | Duraflame | Up to six UltraSPARC I or II | 167, 250, 336, 400, 464* |
Ultra Enterprise 4000 | E4000 | Campfire | Up to 14 UltraSPARC I or II | 167, 250, 336, 400, 464* |
Ultra Enterprise 5000 | E5000 | Campfire | Up to 14 UltraSPARC I or II | 167, 250, 336, 400, 464* |
Ultra Enterprise 6000 | E6000 | Sunfire | Up to 30 UltraSPARC I or II | 167, 250, 336, 400, 464* |
Enterprise 3500 | E3500 | Duraflame+ | Up to eight UltraSPARC I or II | 167, 250, 336, 400, 464 |
Enterprise 4500 | E4500 | Campfire+ | Up to 14 UltraSPARC I or II | 167, 250, 336, 400, 464 |
Enterprise 5500 | E5500 | Campfire+ | Up to 14 UltraSPARC I or II | 167, 250, 336, 400, 464 |
Enterprise 6500 | E6500 | Sunfire+ | Up to 30 UltraSPARC I or II | 167, 250, 336, 400, 464 |
Enterprise 10000 | E10000 | Starfire | 4 to 64 UltraSPARC II | 250, 336, 400, 466 |
- = available as upgrade option only
Ultra workstations (2005-2010)
In the intervening time gap, Sun workstations were named Sun Blade and Sun Java Workstation.
UltraSPARC
The A60 Ultra-3 rebadged the Tadpole SPARCle (550 and 650 MHz) and Viper (1.2 GHz) laptops. The A61 Ultra-3 was physically different and was based on the Naturetech 888P (550/650 MHz) and Mesostation 999 (1.28 GHz). The two lines are unrelated systems otherwise.
Model | Code | Codename | Processor(s) | Processor freq. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ultra 3 | A60/A61 | ? | UltraSPARC IIi or IIIi | 550 MHz, 650 MHz, 1.28 GHz |
Ultra 45 | A70 | Chicago | Up to two UltraSPARC IIIi | 1.6 GHz |
Ultra 25 | A89 | South Side | UltraSPARC IIIi | 1.34 GHz |
x86
Model | Code | Codename | Processor(s) | Processor freq. | ram |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ultra 20 | A63 | Marrakesh | AMD Opteron Single Core 144, 148, 152 or Dual Core 180 | 1.8, 2.2, 2.6, 3.0 GHz | 4gb |
Ultra 40 | A71 | Sirius | Up to two AMD Opteron Dual Core 246, 254 or 280 | 2.0, 2.4, 2.8 GHz | |
Ultra 40 M2 | A83 | Stuttgart | AMD Opteron Dual Core 2000 Series | 1.8, 2.2, 2.6, 2.8, 3.0 GHz | |
Ultra 20 M2 | A88 | Munich | AMD Opteron Dual Core 1200 series | 1.8, 2.2, 2.6, 2.8, 3.0 GHz | |
Ultra 24 | B21 | Ursa | Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad/Quad Extreme | 2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.66, 3.0, 3.16 GHz | |
Ultra 27 | B27 | Volans | Intel Xeon Quad Core 3500 series | 2.66, 2.93, 3.20, 3.33 GHz |
External links
- Oracle Legacy Product Documentation: Workstations
- Sun System Handbook
- Sun Field Engineer Handbook, 20th edition
- Sun graphics cards
Sun timeline
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