Opus Systems Introduces Turbo SPARCard 5; Industry's Fastest SPARC-Based PC Add-in Board.CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 1996--Opus Systems, a leading supplier of SPARC-based OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and board-level products, today introduced the Turbo SPARCard 5, the newest member of its industry-leading family of PC add-in boards. Based on the recently introduced TurboSPARC processor from Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc., the Turbo SPARCard 5 doubles the performance of previously available SPARCard boards. Coupled with Opus Systems' Incognito in·cog·ni·to adv. & adj. With one's identity disguised or concealed. n. pl. in·cog·ni·tos 1. One whose identity is disguised or concealed. 2. software, the new board makes it easy for PC users running Windows to access and run any of the 10,000+ high-end workstation-class applications available for Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA[3]) is an American vendor of computers, computer components, computer software, and information-technology services, founded on 24 February 1982. SPARCstations, without giving up their native PC environment. The 170 MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. TurboSPARC processor has been benchmarked at 143 SPECint92 and 119 SPECfp92. "We are pleased to see Opus Systems adopt the TurboSPARC processor in their SPARCard 5 product line," said Alex Gargarita, Fujitsu Microelectronics, Inc. product marketing manager for processor products. "The Opus implementation extends the reach of the TurboSPARC processor into predominantly PC-based environments. In these installations, PC users will continue to use their familiar Windows desktop environment, while the TurboSPARC processor runs high-end, computer-intensive applications. It is an ideal use for the TurboSPARC design, and further proof of the superior performance of the SPARC (Scalable Performance ARChitecture) A family of RISC CPUs from Sun that runs mostly under Sun's Solaris, but also under Linux and BSD operating systems. After development began in the mid-1980s by David Patterson of the University of California at Berkeley and Bill architecture." Craig C. Forney, president of Opus Systems notes, "With the new TurboSPARC-based system, our Turbo SPARCard 5 addresses the needs of an even broader range of customers who want both SPARC and PC processing power in a single system footprint, including computer telephony See CTI, VoIP and IP telephony. Computer Telephony - Computer Telephone Integration , medical imaging, 3D visualization equipment manufacturers, and internet service providers Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. . And with a performance-to-price index that is almost two times better than our previous generation of SPARCard, the Turbo SPARCard 5 is suited to an even broader range of vertical markets." Beyond the significant performance increase offered by the new board, the Turbo SPARCard 5 brings two major advances to the SPARCard product family. First, the Turbo SPARCard 5 includes an industry-first power management facility which shuts down the CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. during idle periods to increase system reliability, reduce CPU heating, prolong CPU life, and save on power. Second, the Turbo SPARCard 5 demonstrates the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of SPARCard 5 systems. All SPARCard 5 systems feature a modular two-board system, with one board housing the processor and memory, and the second supporting all of the workstation interfaces. Field upgrades to the new TurboSPARC processor require just a processor board swap. System memory and workstation interfaces are fully functional with the new CPU and processor board. Complete Sun Workstation Capability As with all SPARCard systems, Turbo SPARCard 5 is 100% binary compatible (1) Refers to any data, hardware or software structure (data file, machine code, instruction set, etc.) in binary form that is 100% identical to another. See binary compare. with Sun Microsystems workstations, runs the Solaris operating environment In computing, an operating environment is the environment in which users run programs, whether in a command line interface, such as in MS-DOS or the Unix shell, or in a graphical user interface, such as in the Macintosh operating system. , and supports the 10,000+ Catalyst (SPARCware) applications available today. Turbo SPARCard 5 supports 256 MB of memory and all of the standard workstation interfaces, including Ethernet, SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. , serial, parallel, audio and an SBus expansion slot A receptacle inside a computer or other electronic system that accepts a printed circuit board. The number of slots determines future expansion. See PC data buses. (hardware) expansion slot - A connector in a computer into which an expansion card can be plugged. . It installs into ISA/EISA PCs and shares the PC monitor, mouse, keyboard, and floppy disk drive floppy disk drive - disk drive . Power Management Capability The Turbo SPARCard 5 features a sophisticated power management capability which directs the CPU to shut down when idle. This heat-reducing capability is ideal for the Turbo SPARCard 5's OEM customers who need to install it in a wide variety of industrial environments, where heat dissipation Noun 1. heat dissipation - dissipation of heat chilling, cooling, temperature reduction - the process of becoming cooler; a falling temperature and power consumption are important considerations. And this feature makes the board well suited to a wide range of chassis, including rack-mounted and embedded PC chassis. By reducing CPU heat generation, the power management capability increases system reliability, reduces power consumption, and prolongs the life of the CPU. TurboSPARC Architecture The TurboSPARC is a highly-integrated SPARC microprocessor that runs under Version 8 of the SPARC architecture and is completely compatible with SunOS and Solaris. It is designed to double or triple the performance of MicroSPARC II-based systems, including the SPARCard 5 and the SPARCstation 5. The TurboSPARC uses a nine-stage pipeline and 16 KB of instruction cache and 16 KB of data cache, and up to 1 MB of secondary cache See L2 cache. (memory management) secondary cache - (Or "second level cache", "level two cache", "L2 cache") A larger, slower cache between the primary cache and main memory. . High-Speed PC-Unix Interface Turbo SPARCard 5 systems are frequently used as embedded RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. systems in PC-based products. In many instances, these embedded systems need to transfer very large datasets to and from the PC environment. For example, medical imaging systems where data acquisition is handled by the PC and data reduction and analysis are processed on the SPARC system, need to transfer megabytes of data between the PC and Unix environments. Turbo SPARCard 5 has an optional shared-memory interface based on high-speed SRAM See static RAM. SRAM - static random-access memory with throughput of approximately 2 MBytes/sec. Supports Solaris and Incognito The Turbo SPARCard 5 supports the Solaris 1.1.1 and Solaris 2.x operating environments. And, as with all SPARCard systems, it supports the Incognito middleware software that blends Unix capabilities into a PC environment. With Incognito software, Windows users have complete, transparent access to the SPARC environment from their PC system. Incognito software allows the Turbo SPARCard 5 to share the PC monitor, mouse, keyboard, and floppy disk drive. PC users can cut-and-paste between Windows and Unix applications, and even launch a SPARCware application by clicking on an application icon in Windows. Pricing and Availability The product will begin shipping November 1, 1996. The list price for a complete Turbo SPARCard 5 system, with 170 MHz processor, PC3i frame buffer, Solaris, and Incognito software, is $5,495. Quantity discounts are available. Hard disk drive and memory are sold separately. About Opus Systems Opus Systems is the market leader in providing products that integrate Unix workstation capabilities into PC environments, without compromising either environment. The company's PC-centric approach brings Unix capabilities to the PC user in a form that is both easy to install, and transparent in use. Opus products are distributed through select OEMs, ISVs and systems integrators. Opus Systems is located at 10050 Bubb Road, Cupertino, CA 95014. Phone 408/342-1060, Fax 408/342-1061, http://www.opus.com. -0- Note to Editors: SPARCard is a trademark of SPARC International, licensed exclusively to Opus Systems. Incognito is a trademark of Opus Systems. Solaris and SPARCstation are trademarks of Sun Microsystems Inc. Unix is a registered trademark of Unix Systems Laboratories. Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation. SPARC is a registered trademark of SPARC International. DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CONTACT: Opus Systems Barbara Watanabe, 408/342-1060 barbara@opus.com or Dave & Bairey Communications Fiona Hughes, 510/672-9547 James Bairey, 707/836-0104 |
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