Fujitsu Ltd’s Ross Technology Inc has now brought its systems plans to fruition, and for its first workstation and server systems, its Austin, Texas-based Ross Microcomputer division has judged that what most people want is not 64-bit pzazz, but the best 32-bit performance possible. Up to now, Ross, in which Sun Microsystems Inc has a minority stake, has simply designed Sparc microprocessors for others to build into systems amd its first system offerings are the high-performance hyperStation 3 0 and entry level hyperStation 20. They support multiprocessing and are claimed to enhance features and performance over existing 32-bit Sparc systems. Most of the recent attention given to the Sparc marketplace has focused on Sun’s 64-bit UltraSparc implementation, but the Sparc user base still runs 32-bit applications, under 32-bit operating systems, asserts marketing director Raj Tanna, adding that the hyperStations raise 32-bit Sparc performance to its highest level ever. The hyperStation 30 uses a 66MHz MBus-compatible motherboard with ISDN and four SBus expansion slots for greater input-output throughput, plus support for up to 1Gb of main memory. The hyperStation 30 starts at $17,270. It can have one to four 133MHz hyperSparcs with 512Kb secondary cache or 142MHz parts with 1Mb secondary cache; or one or two 150MHz or 166MHz parts with 512Kb secondary cache in either case. The hyperStation 20 comes with single, dual or quad 125MHz hyperSparc each with a tightly-coupled 2 56Kb secondary cache. It has a 50MHz MBus-compatible motherboard with four SBus slots, supports up to 512Mb memory and starts at $10,484, immediately.
