- SPARCstation 20
The SPARCstation 20 (a.k.a. SS20, codename Kodiak) is a
Sun Microsystems workstation based on the SuperSPARC or hyperSPARC CPU. It was the last model in theSPARCstation family of Sun "pizza box" computers, which was superseded by the UltraSPARC design in 1995.pecifications
CPU support
The SPARCstation 20 had dual 50 MHz MBus ports that allowed it to use faster CPUs than the
SPARCstation 10 . With two dual-CPU modules and updatedfirmware , the SPARCstation 20 supported a maximum of 4 CPUs. The fastest CPU produced for the SPARCstation 20 was the 200 MHz Ross hyperSPARC.The
PROM in the SPARCstation 20 determines CPU compatibility. Version 2.25r was the last PROM release for the SPARCstation 20.Memory
The SPARCstation 20 has 8 200-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 the
SPARCstation 10 ,Sun Ultra 1 , and other computers in thesun4m andSun4d family, but they are physically incompatible with the SIMM slots found in PC computers.2 of the 8 SIMM slots are wider than the others and can be used with non-memory peripherals like caching
NVSIMM and videoVSIMM cards.Disk drives
The SPARCstation 20 has two internal SCA bays, an external SCSI connector, and two bays for
CD-ROM or floppy drives. The CD-ROM and floppy bays are slightly shorter than a standard 3.5" bay and regular devices intended forPC compatible computers do not usually fit.The
SCSI host controller is integrated with the motherboard. The SPARCstation 20 does not support IDE devices.A limitation in all releases of the
OpenBoot PROM for the SPARCstation 20 prevents it from booting from a filesystem larger than 2 gigabytes.Network Support
The SPARCstation 20 has one integrated
AMD Lance 10baseT Ethernet interface. Additional Ethernet interfaces can be added with anSBus card.Graphics Support
The SPARCstation 20 has a builtin AVB (13W3 video) socket driven by an optional SX (CG14)
framebuffer , capable of up to 1280x1024 (8MB) or 1152x900 (4MB) in 24-bit color. Alternatively, SBus cards can be used, including the ZX (Leo), Turbo GX (CG6) and others.ound Support
The SPARCstation 20 has integrated sound with 4 standard 3.5 mm audio jacks for headphones, microphone, line in, and line out.
NVRAM
The SPARCstation 20 uses NVRAM to hold data about the system, such as the serial number and MAC address. If the battery on the chip dies, then the NVRAM must be reset.
Operating systems
SunOS 4.1.3_U1B onwards, Solaris 2.3 to 9, Linux (Debian, Gentoo, SuSE 7.0 - 7.3, probably others), MirBSD,NetBSD andOpenBSD run on the SPARCstation 20. On certain CPU modules (Sun SuperSPARC only),NeXTSTEP 3.3 andOPENSTEP 4.x also run..Related computers
*
SPARCstation 10
*Sun Ultra 1
*Sun Ultra 2 External links
* [http://www.sunstuff.org/hardware/systems/sun4/sun4m/SPARCstation20/ OSIAH SPARCstation 20 Specifications]
* [http://faqaboss.sunhelp.org/ FAQABOSS for old Sun computers]
* [http://public.planetmirror.com/pub/sun-bootroms/ Sun OpenBoot PROM images]
* [http://mbus.sunhelp.org/index.htm The Rough Guide to MBus Modules] (A list of CPU modules for the SPARCstation 20.)Vendor Documentation
* [http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/hardware/docs/pdf/806-2222-10.pdf SPARCstation 20 System Configuration Guide]
* [http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/801-6189-12 SPARCstation 20 Service Manual]
* [http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Systems/SS10/PROM_BootPROM_Sun4m.html Sun4m Boot PROM Revisions]
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