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                                                        The Florida SunFlash

             SMCC INTRODUCES WORLD'S FASTEST UNIX SERVER

SunFLASH Vol 47 #15					       November 1992 
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SAN JOSE, Calif. -- November 10, 1992 -- Sun Microsystems Computer
Corporation (SMCC) today introduced the industry's most powerful,
expandable and affordable high-end UNIX(R) server. It is based on the
SPARC(R)/Solaris(R) platform. The SPARCcenter(TM) 2000 server, which
offers unprecedented expandability -- up to 20-way multiprocessing --
as well as storage capacity, begins at $95,000.  This is at least two
to four times less expensive than comparable systems from other
vendors. SMCC's new server -- a mainframe-caliber system for datacenter
applications -- also delivers expansion options from one-fifth to
one-half the price of similar products from other system vendors.

"With the SPARCcenter 2000 server, we are aiming at organizations that
need the processing power and capacity of a mainframe system, but
demand the flexibility of a system that can grow with them," said Larry
Hambly, vice president of marketing at SMCC.

The SPARCcenter 2000 server features a variety of innovations,
including an advanced new multiprocessing bus technology.  This system
utilizes a single system board design, which can be replicated up to 10
times to easily configure a larger, more powerful system. The basic
system board has capacity for up to two SuperSPARC(TM) modules, 64 to
512 megabytes of memory, and provides one high-speed SBus I/O channel
with up to four expansion options. It has 4.2 gigabytes of disk
storage, which can be increased to more than 100 times this capacity.
Its modular design permits expansion in multiple dimensions -- CPU,
I/O, memory -- each time a new system board is added.

For example, a two-processor entry-level configuration can be upgraded
to a 20-way multiprocessing system by simply adding processor modules
and system boards to the original package. In its maximum
configuration, the system features up to 10 independent SBus I/O
channels, providing more than 500 megabytes per second of dedicated I/O
throughput.

The new Sun(TM) server has higher performance than any other UNIX
server available today. In its 20-way configuration, it delivers 2.19
GIPS (giga {billion} instructions per second) and 269 MFLOPS (million
floating point operations per second). In just the eight-way
configuration, it is the SPECrate world champion, performing at 8,047
SPECrate_int92 and 10,600 SPECrate_fp92.  Database performance for an
eight-way system is expected to exceed 500 transactions per
second(tps).

The SPARCcenter 2000 server includes Solaris, the world's
highest-volume, 32-bit distributed computing environment. With its
multithreaded operating system featuring symmetric multiprocessing,
this scalable environment gives companies a robust,
super-high-performance solution upon which to build their
mission-critical applications.

Third-Party Relationships

The SPARCcenter 2000 is an ideal platform for several popular software
products and services that address the needs of data center users. All
the leading relational database products -- from Cincom, Informix,
Ingres, Oracle, Software AG and Sybase -- will be available for the
SPARCcenter 2000 server.

In addition, leading system administration tools available or in
development for the Sun platform include the Tivoli Management
Environment (TME) from Tivoli Systems and CA-UNICENTER from Computer
Associates. Legent Corp. and SMCC recently announced that they have
signed an agreement to port Legent's system management tools to the Sun
SPARCserver(TM) and SPARCstation(TM). SMCC also offers the industry's
best-selling distributed network management solution, SunNet(TM)
Manager, from SunConnect.

There also are DB2 and Customer Information Control System (CICS)
emulators for the SPARCcenter 2000, such as XDB-Server from XDB
Systems, VIS/TP from VI Systems and UniKix from Integris. Also recently
announced was an agreement between SMCC and Universal Software, which
provides IBM System 36 emulation. Universal will port its Open/36
software to the Sun platform.

In addition, SMCC has signed an agreement with Storage Technology
Corp.(Storage Tek) and Epoch Systems to jointly market
mainframe-quality backup and retrieval solutions for the SPARCcenter
2000 server. These products will allow users to back up the SPARCcenter
2000 network on tape silos and libraries provided by Storage Tek,
leveraging their existing data center investments in Storage Tek
systems. Storage Tek and Epoch Systems, a leading supplier of UNIX
system advanced storage management systems, co-developed this backup
and storage technology.

SMCC has also partnered with Xerox PARC to develop the XDBus(TM),
technology making its debut in the SPARCcenter 2000 server. This dual,
high-performance bus design uses high-bandwidth, packet-switched
technology that provides excellent connectivity, throughput and data
consistency for shared memory multiprocessing.  These buses work in
parallel to provide in excess of 500 megabytes per second of sustained
throughput and 640 megabytes per second of peak bandwidth, as well as
increased system availability through redundancy.

SMCC also introduced Sun Service 2000(SM), a comprehensive service and
support package designed to provide SPARCcenter 2000 server users with
all the services they need for maximum system availability, including
99 percent guaranteed up-time. Sun Service 2000, which can be tailored
to a customer's unique computing environment, delivers a variety of
services, including 7-day, 24-hour, around-the-clock support, on-site
and system support and on-site consulting and training. SunService 2000
is unique in the industry in that it allows customers to set the
priorities of problems, so that they get the response they need -- when
they need it.

When purchasing a high-end server, leasing options also are important.
SMCC is making available an innovative new leasing program that
simplifies acquisition.

Pricing and Availability

The SPARCcenter 2000, which is available initially in configurations
from two to eight processors, will be generally available in
April,1993. The entry-level configuration, which includes two
SuperSPARC processors, 64 megabytes of main memory and 4.2 gigabytes of
disk, is priced at $95,000. An eight-processor system, which contains
eight SuperSPARC processors, 512  megabytes of main memory and 16.8
gigabytes of disk, is priced at $266,200.  System boards, processors,
memory and disks will be available in flexible configurations, allowing
virtually any configuration to be built using standard components.

SMCC is offering upgrade options for current owners of Sun
SPARCservers. Owners of the SPARCserver 690 system can upgrade for
$65,000; owners of the SPARCserver 490 or 390 systems can upgrade for
$70,000.

Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation (SMCC), a subsidiary of Sun
Microsystems, Inc., is the world's leading supplier of open,
client-server computing solutions. SMCC has its headquarters in
Mountain View, Calif.

			###

Sun, Sun Microsystems, Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation, the Sun
logo, SunNet, Sun Service 2000, and Solaris are trademarks, registered
trademarks or service marks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.  All SPARC
trademarks, including the SCD Compliant logo, are trademarks or
registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc.  SPARCstation,
SPARCcenter, SPARCclassic, microSPARC and SPARCserver are licensed
exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. SuperSPARC is a trademark of
SPARC International, Inc., and is licensed to Texas Instruments, Inc.
Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture
developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of
UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. XDBus is a trademark of Xerox Corp. All
other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their
respective owners.

For reader inquiries, telephone 1-800-821-4643.

PR contact:  Carol Sacks  (415) 336-0521.

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John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. (305) 776-7770.

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