Issue No. 72
- NEW MARKETING PROGRAMS FROM SPARC INTERNATIONAL
- SPARC INTERNATIONAL WELCOMES TWO NEW MEMBERS!
- SCSL JUST IN TIME FOR Y2K INNOVATIONS!
- TATUNG’S NEW DUAL-PROCESSING SYSTEMS REACH 450 MHZ.
- FUJITSU GP7000F AIMS FOR TOP OF THE CLASS
- US SOFTWARE ANNOUNCES NETPEER
- EIS COMPUTERS INTRODUCES NEW HIGH PERFORMANCE, VERY LOW PROFILE SERVER FOR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS
- RAVE SYSTEMS RACKMOUNT-2UAXI TO BE DEMONSTRATED AT ISPCON FALL RAVE COMPUTER ASSOCIATION, INC.
- EMPRESS RDBMS HOT SWAP REPLICATION FOR EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
- RED HAT ANNOUNCES RED HAT LINUX 6.1, LATEST VERSION OF LEADING OPEN SOURCE SERVER OPERATING SYSTEM
II. SCD CERTIFIED TESTING ADDITIONS IN SEPTEMBER
III. SPARCSHOP
I. SPARC News
I. A. – NEW MARKETING PROGRAMS FROM SPARC INTERNATIONAL
Santa Clara, CA–September 30, 1999–SPARC International announces two new programs to assist our members in expanding their marketing programs.
First, we are now offering banner advertisements on our home and index pages which will direct prospects and existing customers directly to your home page. Just discussing the possibility with some members has resulted in two pre-announcement orders for this valuable service. As you probably know, this method of advertising has been shown to be a far more cost effective means as opposed to those in the print media since it is directed to a specific audience. Please contact Nev Griffin; nev@sparc.org for details.
Secondly, SPARC International has secured a substantial number of web site addresses which include the words “SPARC” as well as additional ones with “Linux”, etc. These are now available to our members at a nominal cost that can serve as a home site for a specific product line offering. Once again, contact Nev Griffin for details.
I. B. -SPARC INTERNATIONAL WELCOMES TWO NEW MEMBERS!
Oragne, CA–September 9, 1999–Transcend Information Inc. was founded in 1988 and is a leading international brand name for memory and motherboard products. Transcend develops quality, solution-driven memory upgrades that meet industry specifications – and customer expectations. Transcend designs and manufactures all upgrades in-house, allowing total quality control from conception to product delivery. All Transcend design and manufacturing is ISO 9001/9002 certified, around the globe.
Eagan, MN–September 13, 1999–North America Systems International (NASI) was established in 1993 and is a premeir provider of integrated solutions to the midrange computer marketplace. Offerings include Business Partner alliances and value added solutions for the IBM AS/400 and RS/6000, the Hewlett Packard 9000, Sun Microsystems, and Silicon Graphics.
Graphic Systems International, a division of NASI, specializes in gigabit networking and server solutions for the prepress industry.
I. C. – SCSL JUST IN TIME FOR Y2K INNOVATIONS!
Sun’s Community Source Licensing (SCSL) initiative is a new model for licensing intellectual property. It was designed to provide a more flexible process for gaining access to technology that allows tool vendors, chip designers, commerical OEMs, universities and research organizaions access to the picoJava(TM), SPARC(TM) V8 and V9 microprocessor source files without fees during the initial evaluation and development phases. Community members can help each other refine, extend, and improve picoJava(TM) and SPARC(TM) technologies by sharing information and test-driving the technologies without the barrier of up-front fees. Making intellectual property readily available for evaluation and early-stage development will increase the rate of innovation, allowing new products to be developed more quickly.
For detailed information regarding the SCSL program, go to our web site at www.sparc.org then follow the links below:
Program Overview
Principles
PicoJava and SPARC Technology
Licensing
I. D. – TATUNG’S NEW DUAL-PROCESSING SYSTEMS REACH 450 MHZ.
Milpitas, CA–Sept. 14, 1999–Tatung Science & Technology, Inc. (TSTI), celebrating more than 10 years of commitment to the SPARC systems market, today introduced its fastest dual-processing system to date, the COMPstation U60-2450. This new PCI-based, Sun Ultra 60-compatible system leverages the 450 MHz UltraSPARC-II microprocessor.
Tatung offers the system in both tower and rack-mount configurations. The tower supports high-end graphics and Java development applications, while the rack-mount models deliver a break through solution to the challenges experienced by today’s Internet Service Providers, OEMs, industrial, commercial, and e-commerce users.
The COMPstation U60-2450 is equipped with two 64-bit UltraSPARC-II processors, boasting impressive system performances of 19.7 SPECint_95* and 32.7 SPECfp_95*.
U60-2450: Tower Model Delivers High-Performance Graphics Support
The desktop offers sophisticated functionality and high-performance graphics, making it the preferred choice among geophysicists, CAD and MCAD/MCAE designers, animators and other graphics intensive users. The U60-2450 is especially suitable for users working with complex, interactive graphics applications where performance is critical, such as 3D modeling, medical imaging or full digital prototyping.
The desktop supports high functionality graphics and imaging APIs including Sun’s XIL, an imaging API for delivering powerful VIS (Visual Instruction Set) accelerated imaging and video functionality to applications and application developers. Users can also take advantage of OpenGL, the popular 3D graphics API for advanced graphics visualization applications.
Tatung offers flexible configurations on the COMPstation U60-2450 to meet diverse application requirements. Components and peripherals can be easily customized based on user’s requirements. Standard configurations include dual 450 MHz UltraSPARC-II processors, 128 MB of RAM, 9 GB of hard disk storage, PCI graphics card and the Solaris 7 operating system pre-installed.
The COMPstation U60-2450 supports one 33 MHz, 32-bit PCI device, two 33 MHz, 64-bit PCI devices, and one 66 MHz, 64-bit PCI device. A 64-bit UPA slot is available for add-ons such as Creator or Elite3D graphics cards. Other standard features consist of Ultra Wide SCSI, two serial ports, one parallel port, and a 100-BaseT Ethernet interface.
The tower model offers up to five drive bays for incorporating two, standard 3-1/2″ hard drives, a 5-1/4″ CD-ROM drive, a 4- or 8 mm tape drive and another device that will fit into a 5-1/4″ slot.
U60-2450R: Rack-Mount System Offers a Space-Saving Solution
The desktop offers sophisticated functionality and high-performance graphics, making it the preferred choice among geophysicists, CAD and MCAD/MCAE designers, animators and other graphics intensive users. The U60-2450 is especially suitable for users working with complex, interactive graphics applications where performance is critical, such as 3D modeling, medical imaging or full digital prototyping.
The desktop supports high functionality graphics and imaging APIs including Sun’s XIL, an imaging API for delivering powerful VIS (Visual Instruction Set) accelerated imaging and video functionality to applications and application developers. Users can also take advantage of OpenGL, the popular 3D graphics API for advanced graphics visualization applications.
Tatung offers flexible configurations on the COMPstation U60-2450 to meet diverse application requirements. Components and peripherals can be easily customized based on user’s requirements. Standard configurations include dual 450 MHz UltraSPARC-II processors, 128 MB of RAM, 9 GB of hard disk storage, PCI graphics card and the Solaris 7 operating system pre-installed.
The COMPstation U60-2450 supports one 33 MHz, 32-bit PCI device, two 33 MHz, 64-bit PCI devices, and one 66 MHz, 64-bit PCI device. A 64-bit UPA slot is available for add-ons such as Creator or Elite3D graphics cards. Other standard features consist of Ultra Wide SCSI, two serial ports, one parallel port, and a 100-BaseT Ethernet interface.
The tower model offers up to five drive bays for incorporating two, standard 3-1/2″ hard drives, a 5-1/4″ CD-ROM drive, a 4- or 8 mm tape drive and another device that will fit into a 5-1/4″ slot.
U60-2450R: Rack-Mount System Offers a Space-Saving Solution
Available in a rack-mount version, the COMPstation U60-2450R features a 19-inch rack-mountable chassis design that conveniently fits into existing ISP server banks and adapts easily to OEM, telecommunications and industrial configurations. With a small footprint that is 7 inches high, 17.25 inches wide, and 18-inches deep, the server’s design allows for easy vertical stacking and provides a solution for space-restricted environments.
Standard configurations are the same as the tower model and include dual 450 MHz UltraSPARC-II processors, 128 MB of RAM, 9 GB of hard disk storage, and the Solaris 7 operating system pre-installed. The COMPstation U60-2450R supports one 33 MHz, 32-bit PCI device, two 33 MHz, 64-bit PCI devices, and one 66 MHz, 64-bit PCI device. A 64-bit UPA slot is available for add-ons. Other standard features consist of Ultra Wide SCSI, two serial ports, one parallel port and a 100-BaseT Ethernet interface.
The COMPstation U60-2450R uses network storage and features slots for two, one-inch, 3-1/2″ drives. An optional add-on disk array storage subsystem available from Tatung, enables users to add peripherals as needed. With hard disk capacity of more than 250 GB, the disk array makes the COMPstation U60-2450R robust enough to support departmental or small enterprise Internet or intranet applications.
Available options on the rack-mount server include up to 2 GB of RAM, up to 18 GB of hard disk storage, ATM connectivity, Ultra Wide SCSI and a wide range of monitors. The U60-2450R is offered at suggested list prices starting at $16,800 for a standard rack-mount configuration.
For users who need extra storage space, Tatung also offers the COMPstation U60-2450R in other rack-mount cabinet configurations which provide support for more storage devices.
For more information, contact Tatung Science & Technology, Inc., 1840 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035. Toll Free: 1-800-659-5902; email:mkt@tsti.com Web site:www.tsti.com.
I. E. – FUJITSU GP7000F AIMS FOR TOP OF THE CLASS
Tokyo,–September 30, 1999–Fujitsu Limited today announced the global deployment of the first high availability, Integrated Data Center servers in its GP7000F Unix server range. The new GP7000F Model 2000 scales to 64 SPARC64(TM) GP processors, while the new Model 1000 scales to 32 processors. The new servers are expected to be able to achieve around 150,000 transactions per minute, with plans in the next iteration to aim for about three times this performance. All GP7000F models run the Solaris™7 operating system and provide levels of RAS (reliability availability and serviceability) normally associated with corporate mainframe systems. In addition, the larger systems will include dynamic system reconfiguration and hardware redundancy to support 24×7 operation.
Both new models introduced today enhance Fujitsu’s strategic support and commitment to the Solaris operating system while expanding the existing GP7000F series to a fully scalable server range from two-processor systems all the way to 64 processors. But the scalability will not stop there. The next step will be a 128-processor GP7000F server.
These additions to the GP7000F series pave the way for ever larger systems that will be required to service the demands of Business to Business and Business to Customer networked applications, server farms and corporate server consolidation expected to take hold in the early years of the 21st century.
Fujitsu has incorporated its own unique performance enhancement developments in these GP7000F systems. The SPARC64(TM) GP processor has higher levels of internal cache and more error detection and correction technology than previous SPARC processors. This can significantly reduce both the time processors have to wait for instructions from memory and the possibility of system failure due to parity errors. When memory and processors need to talk, they use Fujitsu’s world leading cross bar switch bus technology that runs at 40.96GB/sec. The future 128 processor systems will be able take advantage of Fujitsu’s leading edge R&D in 0.18 micron copper wire CMOS, which will soon lift this bus bandwidth to 51.2GB/s running at 200MHz.
GP7000F system compatibility with Sun UltraSPARC processors and Sun’s software development and sourcing strategy means that Fujitsu will not be developing a rival set of software tools and services. Rather it will be leveraging and promoting Sun’s software sets, and it aims to maximize their adoption as the strategic products of choice across the Fujitsu customer base.
Fully compatible with the Solaris operating system, GP7000F systems are ideal for use with major vendor products such as Oracle’s relational database, data warehousing and financial systems. This has resulted in Oracle and Fujitsu entering into a strategic alliance for the promotion and delivery of combined Oracle and GP7000F solutions.
These very large and robust SPARC64(TM) GP Solaris servers have adopted many of the important large system features of previous mainframe technology. But they also are very flexible and can be configured in both partitioned and non-partitioned modes. Fujitsu’s highly enforced partitioning functions in particular provide lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) when used for server consolidation purposes.
For more information contact Fujitsu at www.fujitsu.com.
I. F. – EIS COMPUTERS INTRODUCES NEW HIGH PERFORMANCE, VERY LOW PROFILE SERVER FOR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS
Camarillo, CA–Sept. 15, 1999–EIS Computers today introduced the VerteX 400-2U, a server designed and optimized for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that can be installed and easily maintained in rack environments.
Featuring a configuration that supports one or two of the latest Intel Pentium-III processors and large hard drive capacity, the VerteX 400-2U is considered the highest performance solution for the ISP, according to David Van Beveren, EIS CEO. The server can be delivered with the customer’s choice of Windows NT 4.0, Red Hat Linux 6.0 or Solaris 7 for Intel processors. The VerteX 400-2U features a specially engineered 19-inch rack-mount enclosure that allows easy access for maintenance and upgrade. Its mission critical capabilities include hot-swappable power supplies, fans and a locking front door to prevent unauthorized access to the system.
Van Beveren noted that up to 24 of the new 2U units can be stacked in standard racks used by many ISPs.
He added that first shipments of the new product are scheduled for October 1999, and they will be demonstrated at ISPCon in San Jose, Oct. 26-28, 1999.
The VerteX 400-2U has a Pentium-III Intel motherboard capable of operating with single or dual 600 MHz processors and up to two GB of PC-100 RAM. The integrated motherboard includes two Ultra-2 LVD SCSI disk channels, 10/100 base-T Ethernet and a 2MB SVGA video port, all onboard. The 2U enclosure can hold up to six hard drives, providing over 200GB total storage. Options include a hardware RAID controller, CDROM or tape drive, and it is designed to allow customers to add up to two additional PCI cards for further expansion.
EIS offers a similar 2U server built using the same enclosure, and driven by a Sun UltraSPARC PCI system board, which supports Solaris 7 and Red Hat Linux 6.0 operating systems.
Whether configuring a system around the UltraSPARC or Intel 2U server, EIS pre-installs the customer’s choice of operating system, as well as Zeus Technology’s High Performance Clustered Web server, Sun’s Internet mail or ISP server, Web Caching applications and C and Java development tools. Rack-mountable accessories include a 1U Keyboard-Video-Mouse tray, combined with an eight- or 16-port integrated console switch to control a complete rack of servers. In addition, there is a MasterSwitch AC Power manager to manage power via a Web browser; and rack-mountable LVD, FibreChannel and RAID storage subsystems. EIS offers a two-year warranty and an optional on-site support program with every server package.
EIS can be reached at www.eis.com and (800) 351-4608.
I. G. – RAVE SYSTEMS RACKMOUNT-2UAXI TO BE DEMONSTRATED AT ISPCON FALL RAVE COMPUTER ASSOCIATION, INC.
Sterling Heights, MI–October 1, 1999–Rave Computer Association, Inc., will be present at ISPCON Fall to demonstrate Rave Systems RackMount-2UAXi. ISPCON Fall, hosted by Boardwatch, will be held at San Jose Convention Center from October 26 to 28, 1999.
Rave Computer Association, Inc., a Sun Microsystems authorized Master value-added integrator, will display the capabilities and features of Rave Systems RackMount-2UAXi inside booth 2043. Rave Computer has integrated Sun Microsystems UltraAXi motherboard into Raves sleek 19 inch 2U rackmount chassis. The UltraAXi motherboard has many robust features such as integrated dual-channel Ultra-wide SCSI, single upgradeable UltraSPARC-IIi processors and two 33MHz/32-bit PCI slots. The system can hold up to 1 GB of memory and can be pre-loaded with Solaris 2.6. or Red Hat Linux 6.0. The chassis comes standard with two exposed drive bays, and can accommodate up to three internal low profile 7,200 or 10,000 RPM disk drives or two half height drives. Internally the chassis has six cooling fans and 300 Watt auto-sensing power supply.
Rave Systems RackMount-2UAXi is manufactured at Rave Computers headquarters based in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Other members of the UltraAXi family manufactured by Rave Computer are Rave Systems RackMount-5UAXi and Rave Systems Tower-AXi.
The base price of Rave Systems RackMount-2UAXi begins at $2,750. The compact size of the system reduces rack space requirements and allows compute-intensive users to deploy a series of powerful UltraAXi servers at its sites.
Rave Systems provide the ideal solution for those looking for UNIX systems that allow for robust performance, scalability, and reliability. Rave Computers UL test facility and ISO-9002 procedures ensure quality products and services. More information about Rave Computer Association, Inc., and its Rave Systems can be found on their web site at: www.rave.net or by calling 1-800-966-7283.
I. H. -US SOFTWARE ANNOUNCES NETPEER
Hillsboro, OR–September 27, 1999–US Software, a leading developer of real-time embedded-application products, today announced the release of NetPeer, a Distributed Operating Environment and Embedded Desktop Interface. NetPeer allows users to create dynamic interfaces for their workstation applications. The product was developed because almost every embedded application requires an interface for status and diagnostic abilities, control and configuration. Product development coincides with the increased demand for remote and distributive computing capabilities. Currently, competitive products offer only static displays and passive connections and are limited by large code sizes. Workstations and embedded systems cooperate in a simple manner to create interconnected distributed applications.
NetPeer provides an embedded target application with a client, a server and a broad, flexible real-time interface to remote services over a network with or without an RTOS. Additionally, NetPeer provides a multi-user GUI so many users can simultaneously connect to the same target. Or, multiple targets may interface with a single workstation.
NetPeer’s embedded target module is a C library requiring less than 16k of code space and 2k of RAM. This library can be built for many different processors and tool chains. TCP/IP, IrDA, RF, Ethernet and PPP are among the vast array of supported protocols. NetPeer operates in most embedded application and workstation environments. On the target, NetPeer is RTOS and TCP/IP stack independent. On the workstation, NetPeer is a complete stand-alone application operating in many environments including Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows NT, Linux, Solaris, Mac, and UNIX.
In addition to serving as an interface, NetPeer is a catalyst for new embedded applications in heavy industry, healthcare and the small office/home office markets. For example, in a hospital setting, electrocardiogram monitors with embedded systems can notify nursing stations under predetermined emergency settings.For typical applications, NetPeer pricing starts at $7500.
Since 1975, US Software, located in Hillsboro, OR, has developed, marketed and supported real-time development components for embedded applications. Additional information may be found at www.netpeer.com.
I. I. – EMPRESS RDBMS HOT SWAP REPLICATION FOR EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Greenbelt, MD–September 10, 1999–Empress Software introduces hot swap replication to Empress RDBMS V8.60. Hot swap replication enhances database performance by delivering data where and when it is needed and providing for swappable masters for maximal uptime. It accelerates data access and protects a companys valuable data because multiple copies of database objects exist within a distributed network as well as multiple copies of the master database. Via hot swap replication, Empress RDBMS users benefit from improved database performance, secure protection of database integrity, and back-up resources in case a principle database server fails or becomes unavailable.
Hot swap replication results in significant performance improvements with faster, more efficient access to data. Data access time is shortened since different applications can call different sources such as a primary database server or local data replicas to get the same piece of data. Network system resources are conserved by reducing the amount of network traffic to any given source, resulting in an overall speed up in data retrieval and throughput.
Empress RDBMS hot swap replication is the answer for demanding 24 x 7 embedded systems, states Njai Wong, Empress Softwares Director of Product Development. Hot swap replication puts information next to those who really need it. It provides fall back copies of not only replicated data but the master database as well.
Loss of access to corporate data even for a few hours can be paralyzing to a company. Hot swap replication helps to secure continuous access to data by providing one or more back-ups in case a primary database server fails. Local database replicas can be accessed while a primary database is down. Moreover, with Empress RDBMS hot swap replication, a specified replica table can serve as a master table of other replica tables when the principle master database is not available. Priorities can be set in order to determine which database replica will take over as the master of other replicated databases.
Empress Software develops and supports the Empress Relational Database Management System. The Empress RDBMS is one of the most powerful and cost-effective development databases especially designed for embedded systems developers operating on UNIX, Windows or real-time environments. Empress has been utilized successfully in many fields including image and voice management, telecommunications, medical systems, telephony systems, geographical information systems and network management.
For more information about Empress, please call 301-220-1919. Check our web site at www.empress.com or send e-mail to info@empress.com. You can write to us at Empress Software, 6401 Golden Triangle Drive, Greenbelt, MD, 20770.
Durham, NC–October 4, 1999–Red Hat, Inc., a leading provider of open source solutions, today announced the release of a suite of Official Red Hat Linux 6.1 products. The latest release of the award-winning Red Hat Linux operating system incorporates easy installation, software update information and access, and improved system management capabilities. These new features enable users to harness the power of open source software in the demanding enterprise and Internet applications that run the day-to-day business of companies worldwide.
Users can move quickly through installation with graphic-based directions, choosing from GNOME, KDE, server or custom interface settings, with seamless integration of software RAID configurations to safeguard critical data and application availability. Additionally, the PXE 2.0 technology (part of the Wired for Management Baseline 2.0) enables Red Hat Linux 6.1 installations to be done across the network, with no need for local media.
Red Hat Linux 6.1 also provides customers with fast access to the latest software technology from Red Hat through the Red Hat Update Agent, an online customer service application for retrieval and management of software updates. Red Hat has combined the RPM package management technology with the Internet capabilities of Red Hat Linux to seamlessly enable customers to take advantage of the continuous technology improvements offered from the open software development community. Red Hat Linux 6.1 combines the power, stability and flexibility of Linux-based open source operating systems with tools and services to handle critical business applications that ensure the peace of mind for corporate users.
Red Hat Linux 6.1 applies many advances in the 2.2.12 Linux kernel and the collaboration of the open source community, including improvements for high availability Internet server clustering and new Web or email-based configuration support for the Apache Web server.
Red Hat is based in Durham, N.C. and has offices worldwide. Visit Red Hat on the Web at www.redhat.com.
II. SCD CERTIFIED TESTING ADDITIONS IN SEPTEMBER
The SPARC Compliant brand, awarded by SPARC International, assures end users that systems so branded will work with any other product branded to the same level of the SPARC Compliant Definition (SCD). This list, updated monthly, includes changes made to the master list of SPARC Compliant products. To view the master list, please access our web site at www.sparc.org or send email to info@sparc.org.
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– Managing Editor –
Cheryl Hostetler
Direct Inquiries To – sparc-flash-request@sparc.org
SPARC International promotes the design, development and application of SPARC to computer and peripheral products; establishes hardware and software standards; enables compatibility across SPARC-branded products; and provides, promotes and protects SPARC and SPARC-related brand names.
SPARC International has verified to the best of its ability all of the product information contained in this newsletter. Information in this newsletter has been provided by the vendors. SPARC International has not reviewed claims made about product features or functions, and is not responsible for the accuracy of such claims. Users may want to obtain references, documentation, and/or demonstrations before purchasing any products or services. No vendor is authorized to act as an agent of SPARC International, or to make any representations or warranties on SPARC International’s behalf.
The following are Registered® Trademarks of SPARC International, Inc.:
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Other Trademarks that are in use or Pending Registration include:
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Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd. All other product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.