  SPARCstation 20 front and rear | |
| Codename | Kodiak |
|---|---|
| Developer | Sun Microsystems |
| Manufacturer | Sun Microsystems |
| Type | Workstation |
| Release date | March 29, 1994; 31 years ago (1994-03-29) |
| Availability | March 29, 1994[1] |
| Introductory price | $12,195–29,995 |
| Operating system | |
| CPU | SuperSPARC orhyperSPARC |
| Memory | 64–512 MB |
| Predecessor | SPARCstation 10 |
| Successor | Ultra 2 |
TheSPARCstation 20 (code-namedKodiak) is aworkstation made bySun Microsystems. The SPARCstation 20 was released on March 29, 1994, alongside the lower-endSPARCstation 5.[2] The SPARCstation 20 shipped with dualSuperSPARC orhyperSPARC CPUs, supporting up to four such CPUs allrunning in parallel. It sold for betweenUS$12,195 at the low end to US$29,995 at the high end (equivalent to $38,165–119,676 in 2024).[3] Sun superseded the SPARCstation line in November 1995 with theUltra series, which featuredUltraSPARC processors.
The SPARCstation 20 has dual 50 MHzMBus ports that allow it to use faster CPUs than theSPARCstation 10. With two dual-CPU modules and updatedfirmware, the SPARCstation 20 supports a maximum of four CPUs. The fastest CPU produced for the SPARCstation 20 is the 200 MHzRosshyperSPARC.
ThePROM in the SPARCstation 20 determines CPU compatibility. Version 2.25 is the last BootPROM release from Sun, and 2.25R from Ross.
The SPARCstation 20 has eight 200-pin DSIMM slots, and supports a maximum of 512 MB of memory with 64 MB modules. Memory modules for the SPARCstation 20 are compatible with theSPARCstation 10,Sun Ultra 1, and some other computers in thesun4m and sun4u families, but they are physically incompatible with the SIMM slots found inPC computers.
Two of the eight SIMM slots are wider than the others and can be used with non-memory peripherals like cachingNVSIMM and videoVSIMM cards.
The SPARCstation 20 has two internalSCA bays, an external SCSI connector, and two bays forCD-ROM orfloppy drives. Earlier revisions of the SPARCstation 20 case contain a CD-ROM and floppy bays that are slightly shorter than a standard 3.5" bay and regular devices intended forPC compatible computers do not usually fit. Later revisions of the SPARCstation 20 and SPARCstation 5 have a narrower slot for the floppy drive so a more-standard CD-ROM can fit.
TheSCSI host controller is integrated with the motherboard. The SPARCstation 20 does not supportIDE devices.
A limitation in all releases of theOpenBootPROM for the SPARCstation 20 prevents it from booting from a point on a disk past the 2 gigabyte mark.
The SPARCstation 20 has one integratedAMD Lance10BASE-T Ethernet interface, along with a custom 26-pinAUI interface. Additional Ethernet interfaces can be added with anSBus card.
The SPARCstation 20 has a built-in13W3 video socket driven by an optional SX (CG14)framebuffer built onto a VSIMM.[4] The VSIMM is available in 4 MB or 8 MB capacity, capable of up to1152 × 900 (4 MB) or1280 × 1024 (8 MB) in 24-bit color. If two VSIMMs are installed, an auxiliary video board must also be installed to provide a second 13W3 video socket.[4] Alternatively, SBus cards can be used, including the 8-bit color Turbo GX (CG6), 24-bit colorZX (Leo) and others.
The SPARCstation 20 has integrated sound with four standard 3.5 mm audio jacks for headphones, microphone, line in, and line out.
The SPARCstation 20 uses a battery-backed NVRAM module to hold data about the system, such as the host ID (serial number) andMAC address. If the battery on the chip dies, then the NVRAM module must be replaced (or modified to use an external battery), and the NVRAM must be reprogrammed with a MAC address and host ID. Optionally a M48T08-100PC1 can be used.[5]
| Hardware |
|  | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software | ||||||||
| Storage | ||||||||
| Performance | ||||||||
| Research | ||||||||
| Education | ||||||||
| Acquisitions | ||||||||
| Slogans | ||||||||
| Community |
| |||||||