* Sun’s latest servers use UltraSparc IV processor
Sun last week introduced four- and eight-processor servers – the Sun Fire V490 and V890 – which are based on the UltraSparc IV processor and chip multithreading technology.
The Sun Fire V490 is a four-processor server that succeeds the UltraSparc III-based V480.
The new V890, according to Sun’s claims, is twice as fast as the Sun Fire V880 while costing only 10% to 30% more. The older V880 uses the UltraSparc III processor. The V890 is an eight-processor server that can execute multiple concurrent threads. It comes standard with 1.2-GHz processors.
The new server comes pre-configured with Java Enterprise System software and Solaris 9. Because of the application binary-compatibility of the Sparc processor, users are able to move workloads from older Sparc servers.
The V890 has Sun’s FirePlane Interconnect, a cache-coherent, shared-memory interconnect. The V890 also contains integrated I/O controllers, so the controllers don’t consume PCI slots. Hot-swappable and hot-pluggable disks, power supplies, fans and PCI slots ensure system availability.
The server is housed in a tower enclosure 28.1 inches high. The V890 features 16M bytes of static RAM cache per processor and 16 slots for additional memory. It also features 12 hot-pluggable, dual-port Fibre Channel loop disk drives and two on-board Ethernet interfaces – one Gigabit Ethernet, the other Fast Ethernet.
The V890 features Remote System Control server management software, which allows customers to control their servers over a serial port or network connection.
The Sun Fire V490 and Sun Fire V890 are available now, starting at $31,000 and $40,000, respectively.
