ROSS Technology Unveils New 200 MHz hyperSTATION
Multiprocessor Workstation and Server Systems
Announces Price Cuts on Existing CPU Upgrades and Systems
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Ross Technology Inc , based here, today announced
immediate availability of new hyperSTATION(TM) 30 workstation and server systems configured
with dual 200 MHz/512 KB secondary cache hyperSPARC(TM) CPUs. The new
multiprocessing systems enhance the features and extend performance over existing systems, are
fully compatible with the SunOS(R) and Solaris(R) operating systems, and maintain full Sun
compatibility.
In a related development, the company also announced price reductions ranging from 15 to 60
percent on its lower clock speed hyperSPARC CPU upgrades, SPARCplug(TM) PC systems,
and hyperSTATION workstation and server systems.
"Our new 200 MHz hyperSTATION systems clearly fulfill our mission of delivering the benefits of
continued scalability and extensibility of the SPARC architecture, without penalties. And that's a
claim that no other SPARC system provider can make," said Roger D. Ross, President, CEO and
Chairman of ROSS Technology.
According to industry analysts, up to half of the installed base of SPARC workstations are still
running the firmly-established SunOS operating system, and strongly resist migration to the more
recently-announced Solaris operating system.
"The SPARC marketplace today is concerned about the performance benefits of a Version 8
operating system, i.e., Solaris, forced to run on a Version 9, UltraSPARC(TM) architecture," said
Ross.
"Only a handful of SPARC Version 9 applications exist today, and the real action is with the
growing number (over 10,000) Version 8 applications." According to Ross, a more accurate "real
world" customer evaluation is price/performance on existing applications, comparing the new 200
MHz hyperSTATION systems and Sun's Ultra 2 Creator system. "We believe SPARC users are
most interested in performance they can actually achieve, and on a 32-bit compiler, the dual 200
MHz hyperSTATION delivers equivalent performance to the Ultra 2200, but at a third less cost."
Ross said freedom of choice in operating systems is an important consideration, since Version 9
systems are completely incompatible with the SunOS. "Why should half of the existing SPARC
users undergo the pain of a forced operating system migration when ROSS continues to
demonstrate the performance scalability of the SPARC Version 8 architecture? We don't believe
existing SPARC users should be penalized by paying a premium for new systems that deliver only
marginal performance improvements, and don't support half of the installed operating system
base," he said.
The new hyperSTATION 30 workstation systems, configured with 64 MB RAM, 24-bit graphics
card, 2 GB hard drive and 6X CD-ROM, have an MSRP of $19,133. The new hyperSTATION
30 server systems, configured with 64 MB RAM, 2 GB hard drive and 6X CD-ROM, have an
MSRP of $13,561.
The new hyperSTATION workstation and server systems, like all ROSS products, maintain
absolute compliance with Sun standards, including SPARC SCD, SPARC Version 8 Architecture,
and Level 2 (multiprocessing) MBus. In addition, the Solaris 1.1.2 (SunOS 4.1.4), 2.3, 2.4 and
the Solaris 2.5 operating systems are both fully qualified on hyperSPARC and supported directly
by Sun Microsystems' SunSoft(R).
Further information is available on the company's World Wide Web site at ross.com,
via e-mail to info@ross.com, or via telephone at 800-ROSS-YES. International customers may
call for more information to 512/349-3108, or via fax to 512/349-3101.
Price Reductions
ROSS today also announced a series of price reductions for existing CPU upgrades and systems,
as follows:
Product Price Reduction
hyperSPARC CPU upgrades 40 percent to 60 percent
SPARCplug PC systems 30 percent to 40 percent
hyperSTATION systems 15 percent
ROSS Overview
ROSS Technology, incorporated in 1988, is a majority-owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited. A
minority position in ROSS is held by Sun Microsystems, Inc. As of September 30, 1996, the
Company's outstanding Common Stock was held 60 percent by Fujitsu, 5 percent by Sun, and 35
percent by employees and the public. The Company's objective is to drive SPARC, the industry's
highest-volume reduced instruction set computing architecture, to increased performance
leadership and market share. ROSS is one of the industry's most prominent suppliers of SPARC
microprocessors and SPARC system products to both the OEM and end-user markets.
ROSS and the ROSS logo are registered trademarks, and hyperSTATION is a trademark of
ROSS Technology, Inc. All SPARC trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of
SPARC International. hyperSPARC and SPARCplug are licensed exclusively to ROSS
Technology, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed
by Sun Microsystems, Inc. SPARCstation and UltraSPARC are licensed exclusively to Sun
Microsystems, Inc. Solaris, SunSoft and SunOS are registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems,
Inc. All other products or service names herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE Ross Technology |
