Sun-2
{{Short description|Computer}}
{{Multiple issues|{{More citations needed|date=April 2023}}
{{Original research|date=April 2023}}}}
{{Infobox computer
| name = Sun Microsystems Sun 2
| discontinued =
| website =
| related =
| successor = Sun-3
| predecessor = Sun-1
| dimensions =
| weight =
| os =
| slots =
| processor = Motorola 68010
| releasedate = {{Start date and age|November 1983}}
| aka =
| manufacturer =
| developer = Sun Microsystems
| designfirm =
| type = Workstation
| caption = Sun 2/120 server with SMD disk tower
| image_size = 270px
| image = Sun 2-120 Server.jpg
| logo =
| logo_caption =
| logo-size =
| baseprice = 2/120: {{USD|29300}} ({{Inflation|US-GDP|29300|1986|fmt=eq|r=-3}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}})
2/160: {{USD|48800}} ({{Inflation|US-GDP|48800|1986|fmt=eq|r=-3}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}})
2/170: {{USD|79500}} ({{Inflation|US-GDP|79500|1986|fmt=eq|r=-3}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}})
}}
The Sun-2 series of UNIX workstations and servers was launched by Sun Microsystems in November 1983.{{cite book |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813121307/http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/presskits/25years/coverage.html |archive-date=2009-08-13|url-status=dead |title=Articles from the Past 25 Years |chapter=Sun Unveils 32-Bit Workstation|work=sun.com |chapter-url=http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/presskits/25years/coverage.html |date=November 7, 1983 |access-date=March 11, 2014 |author=}} As the name suggests, the Sun-2 represented the second generation of Sun systems, superseding the original Sun-1 series. The Sun-2 series used a 10 MHz Motorola 68010 microprocessor with a proprietary Sun-2 Memory Management Unit (MMU), which enabled it to be the first Sun architecture to run a full virtual memory UNIX implementation, SunOS 1.0, based on 4.1BSD. Early Sun-2 models were based on the Intel Multibus architecture, with later models using VMEbus, which continued to be used in the successor Sun-3 and Sun-4 families.
Sun-2 systems were supported in SunOS until version 4.0.3.
A port to support Multibus Sun-2 systems in NetBSD was begun in January 2001 from the Sun-3 support in the NetBSD 1.5 release. Code supporting the Sun-2 began to be merged into the NetBSD tree in April 2001.{{cite web |url=http://www.netbsd.org/ports/sun2/faq.html |title=NetBSD/sun2: Frequently Asked Questions |work=netbsd.org |date=January 1, 2013 |access-date=March 11, 2014 |author= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311081205/http://www.netbsd.org/ports/sun2/faq.html |archive-date=March 11, 2014 |url-status=live}} sun2 is considered a tier 2 support platform as of NetBSD 7.0.1.{{cite web| url=http://www.netbsd.org/ports/| title=Platforms Supported by NetBSD |website=NetBSD}}
Sun-2 models
Models are listed in approximately chronological order.
| class="wikitable"
!Model !CPU board !Display !Max. RAM !Chassis |
| 2/120
| Sun-2 Multibus or Sun-2 Multibus Prime | Monochrome | 8 MB |9-slot Multibus (deskside) |
| 2/170
| Sun-2 Multibus or Sun-2 Multibus Prime | Optional | 8 MB | 15-slot Multibus (rackmount) |
| 2/50
| Sun 2050 VME | Monochrome | 8 MB | 2-slot VME (desktop) |
| 2/130
| Sun 2050 VME | Monochrome | 8 MB | 12-slot VME (deskside) |
| 2/160
| Sun 2050 VME | Color | 8 MB | 12-slot VME (deskside) |
A desktop disk and tape sub-system was introduced for the Sun-2/50 desktop workstation. It could hold a 5 ¼" disk drive and 5 ¼" tape drive. It used DD-50 (sometimes erroneously referred to as DB-50) connectors for its SCSI cables, a Sun specific design. It was often referred to as a "Sun Shoebox".
{{Gallery
|title=Sun-2 Disk and Tape Sub-System
|align=center
|Image:SunShoebox_Front.jpg|Sun-2 Disk and Tape Sub-System (front)
|Image:SunShoebox_Rear.jpg|Sun-2 Disk and Tape Sub-System (rear)
}}
Sun-1 systems upgraded with Sun-2 Multibus CPU boards were sometimes referred to as the 2/100U (upgraded Sun-100) or 2/150U (upgraded Sun-150).
A typical configuration of a monochrome 2/120 with 4 MB of memory, 71 MB SCSI disk and 20 MB 1/4" SCSI tape cost $29,300 (1986 US price listSun U.S. Price List, End User and OEM Version, Effective March 25, 1986, Sun Microsystems).
A color 2/160 with 8 MB of memory, two 71 MB SCSI disks and 60 MB 1/4" SCSI tape cost $48,800 (1986 US price list).
A Sun 2/170 server with 4 MB of memory, no display, two Fujitu Eagle 380 MB disk drive, one Xylogics 450 SMD disk controller, a 6250 bpi 1/2 inch tape drive and a 72" rack cost $79,500 (1986 US price list).
Sun-2 hardware
=Sun 2 Multibus systems=
Sun 2/120 (9 slot deskside) and 2/170 (15 slot rackmount) systems were based on the Multibus architecture. The CPU board was based on a 10 MHz 68010 processor with a proprietary Sun Memory Management Unit (MMU) and could address 8 MB of physical and 16 MB of virtual memory. The top 1 MB of physical memory address space was reserved for the monochrome frame buffer. The Multibus CPU board supported the Sun-1 parallel keyboard and mouse as well as two serial ports.
{{gallery|title=Sun-2 Multibus circuit boards
|align=center
|Image:Sun2_CPU.jpg|Sun-2 Multibus CPU board
|Image:Sun2_1MbMemory.jpg|Sun-2 Multibus 1 MB memory board
|Image:Sun2_Ethernet.jpg|Sun-2 Multibus Ethernet board
|Image:Sun1_ColorGraphicsCard.jpg|Sun-1 Multibus color graphics board
|Image:3Com_Ethernet.jpg|3Com Multibus Ethernet board
|Image:Xylogics_450SMD_DiskController.jpg|Xylogics Multibus SMD disk controller board
|Image:Helios_4MbMemory.jpg|Helios Multibus 4 MB memory board
}}
=Sun 2 VMEbus systems=
The Sun 2/50 (2 slot desktop), Sun 2/130 (12 slot monochrome deskside) and Sun 2/160 (12 slot color deskside) used quad-depth, triple height Eurocard VMEbus CPU boards. The VMEbus CPU board was based on the same design as the Multibus CPU but also included 2 MB or 4 MB of memory, the Sun-2 monochrome frame buffer, and 10 Mbit/s Thick Ethernet on board.
Sun provided 1 MB Multibus memory boards and 1 MB and 4 MB VMEbus memory boards but only supported configurations with a maximum of 4 MB RAM. Companies such as Helios Systems also made 4 MB memory boards that would work in Sun systems.
A common frame buffer was the Sun-2 Prime Monochrome Video. This board provided an 1152x900 monochrome display with TTL or ECL video signals, and keyboard and mouse ports. It normally occupied the top 1 MB of physical memory address space. There was also a Sun-2 Color Video board available that provided an 1152x900 8-bit color display. This board occupied the top 4 MB of address space.
42 MB MFM disks were commonly used for storage. Two disks could be connected to an Adaptec MFM/SCSI and then to a Sun-2 Multibus Serial/SCSI Host Adapter. The SCSI board provided two additional serial ports. For larger storage requirements, 65, 130, and 380 MB SMD disks were connected to a Xylogics 450 SMD Controller. The SMD controller could support four disks even though Sun only supported two. A 20 MB QIC tape drive could be connected through an Archive QIC/SCSI converter. The system also supported 1/2" tape drives connected to a Computer Products Corporation TAPEMASTER or a Xylogics 472 board.
An Ethernet connection was provided by a Sun board based on the Intel 82586 chip, or a 3Com 3c400 board. The server could support diskless Sun-2/50 clients through the Ethernet board.
Other supported Multibus boards included the Sky Computer Floating Point Processor, Sun ALM (Asynchronous Line Multiplexer) with 8 serial ports, and Sun SunLink Communications Processor (SCP) for SNA and X.25 connectivity.
{{gallery|title=Sun-2 VME circuit boards
|align=center
|Image:Sun_2-50_Processor.JPG|Sun-2 VME CPU board
|Image:Sun_2-50_RAM-SCSI.JPG|Sun-2 VME 1 MB Memory and SCSI board
}}
Reception
BYTE in August 1984 described the Sun-2/120 as a "VAX-class machine", with "superb graphics and excellent response time under loading".{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1984-08/page/n137/mode/2up | title=Benchmarking UNIX Systems | magazine=Byte| volume=9| issue=8 | date=Aug 1984 | access-date=23 February 2016 | author=Hinnant, David F. | pages=132–135, 400–409}}
See also
{{Sun computer timeline}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.sunhelp.org/faq/sunref1.html The Sun Hardware Reference, Part 1]
- The Sun-2 Hardware Reference: [http://sunstuff.org/Sun-Hardware-Ref/s2hr/part1 Part 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927084328/http://sunstuff.org/Sun-Hardware-Ref/s2hr/part1 |date=2007-09-27 }} and [http://sunstuff.org/Sun-Hardware-Ref/s2hr/part2 Part 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927084335/http://sunstuff.org/Sun-Hardware-Ref/s2hr/part2 |date=2007-09-27 }}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222850/http://www.soupwizard.com/sun2/index.htm soupwizard.com Sun-2 Archive]
- [http://web.cuzuco.com/~cuzuco/sun2/ Sun2 Review from UNIX/WORLD October 1984]
- [http://www.solivant.com/OldStuff/sun100/ Sun 100u with Sun2 boards]
- [http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/sun/sun2/ Sun 2 board manuals]
- [https://gunkies.org/wiki/Sun-2 gunkies.org Sun-2 wiki]
- [https://people.csail.mit.edu/fredette/tme/index.html The Machine Emulator (Sun-2 Emulator running on NetBSD)]
{{Sun Microsystems}}
Category:Computer-related introductions in 1983