Sun Microsystems' recent launch of the Sun Blade 150 workstation reinforces its worldwide leadership in the 64-bit workstation market and will be welcomed by the high graphics industry and entry-level developers.
This is the view of Dumisani Mtoba, senior systems engineer at Sun Microsystems SA, who says the 64-bit Unix desktop featuring Sun's latest UltraSPARC IIi processor offers up to 19% better price performance gains over Sun's previous workstations.
"It is also less than half the price of comparable competitor entry-level systems, making it a very compelling value proposition. Heavy-duty technical applications and customers loading large data sets for development work, stand to benefit from the price performance features offered by the re-engineered Sun Blade 150."
Mtoba adds that users who wish to use an entry-level workstation for application development can be assured that these applications can be deployed on any of Sun's SPARC-based products, ensuring protection of investment.
The launch of the Sun Blade 150 comes in the wake of a recent announcement that Sun Microsystems has increased its lead as the world's top Unix workstation vendor.
With a 69% lion's share of the workstation market, Sun has amassed $255 million in global revenue, according to second quarter 2002 results from analyst firm IDC. Sun captured significant revenue market share from HP, gaining nearly all of HP's 8% quarter-over-quarter loss.
In shipments, Sun increased its market share by nearly 5% over the first quarter of 2002, again outpacing all competitors combined.
"Sun's number one share in the Unix workstation market reflects the value customers place on its continued investment in price-leading high-performance workstations," says Kara Yokley, research manager in IDC's workstation programme.
"Its continued dedication to the UltraSPARC technology and Solaris Operating Environment resonates with its core technical audience. We expect Sun to continue to extend its share in the traditional workstation market," Yokley continues.
Highlighting the investment protection aspect, Mtoba queries the value of PCs that are "tossed out" every year or two. "Sun has sold over one million Sun Ultra 5 and Ultra 10 workstations that have provided our customers with years and years of reliable performance.
"When these customers need more compute horsepower or graphics capabilities, the Sun Blade 150 workstation is the perfect upgrade, providing full binary compatibility for a seamless transition and offering a very low price point for today's tight budgets."
The Sun Blade 150 workstation's improved computing performance and memory addressability make it an ideal upgrade for software developers currently using entry-level Sun Ultra 5 or Sun Blade 100 workstations.
The new workstation's vastly improved 3D graphics performance also makes it an excellent upgrade for Sun Ultra 10 workstation users.
The Sun Blade 150 workstation delivers twice the L2 on-chip cache memory, up to twice the 3D graphics performance, and double the storage capacity of the Sun Blade 100 workstation.
Aimed at technical markets that require mission-critical stability and scalability, the Sun Blade 150 workstation's 64-bit UltraSPARC processor and 64-bit Solaris Operating Environment deliver a powerful platform for technical computing customers.
When configured with the new Sun XVR-500 graphics accelerator, the Sun Blade 150 workstation delivers advanced workstation graphics capabilities at an affordable price.
Features include: 16MB of dedicated memory for texture mapping operations; 32MB of dedicated frame buffer memory; 32-bit Z-buffer support, which provides over 250 times greater precision for three dimensional graphics compared to 24-bit architectures; and high resolution 3D display support.
The Sun Blade 150 workstation is binary compatible with Sun's entire range of workstations and servers. And with the optional Sun PCi II Pro coprocessor board, Sun Blade 150 workstation customers can run multiple operating systems simultaneously, including most Windows platforms, providing a faster, more productive environment for cross platform software development while reducing system overhead.
Unlike some PCs that are limited by 32-bit architectures, the Sun Blade 150 workstation's UltraSPARC/Solaris platform can address up to 2GB of system memory and run both 32- and 64-bit applications without compromising performance.
Other features offered in the Sun Blade 150 are:
* Large memory capacity - Up to 2GB of addressable memory helps enable support to run complex technical applications with very large data sets;
* Increased internal storage - Up to two internal 40GB 7200-RPM EIDE hard drives provide high capacity internal storage and expansion;
* Latest I/O technology - Four USB ports and two IEEE 1394 ports for peripherals. Customers can connect USB-based storage or supported alternative keyboards and mice to suit their preferences. IEEE 1394 helps ensure high-end digital video performance by delivering synchronised video/audio I/O; and
* Built-in smart card reader - Provides enhanced security for log-in and access authentication to the system.
Share
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision - "The Network Is The Computer" - has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 170 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com.
For additional information, join the Sun ONE Inner Circle Program at http://www.sun.com/sunone/innercircle
For additional information, become a member of the Sun ONE Executive Boardroom Program at http://www.sun.com/sunone/boardroom
Sun has publications and programs that will help you stay current with technology. Explore the Sun ONE Subscription Centre to find e-mail newsletters and programs that will help with your business needs. http://www.sun.com/sunone/subscribe
Editorial contacts