ALBRECHT%caliph@UMIX.CC.UMICH.EDU (Steve Albrecht) (09/23/89)
Apollo Computer introduces new workstation for less than $4000 -------------------------------------------------------------- Last night, Apollo unveiled their new low-end UNIX workstation to the public. The DN2500 workstation will be available in Q4/89 with a base price of $3900 for the following configuration: o 20MHZ 68030 cpu (4 MIPS) o diskless o 4MB memory o 15" monochrome display (1024 x 800 resolution) o choice of one: EtherNet, IBM Token Ring, or Apollo Ring o 7-device SCSI adapter (primarily for disk and tape devices) o 1 serial port o 1 parallel printer port (some doubt whether there is even one!) Here is the list of configuration and expansion options: o RAM memory to 16MB o 1 or 2 disks, or 100MB or 200MB capacity each internally. ..... $1500 for each 100MB disk, $3500 for each 200MB disk o Total addressable disk space(internal + external) is 660MB(some doubt here) o External 1/4" cartridge tape (40MB or 60MB) o 19" monochrome (1280 x 1024 resolution) .... ($1500 more for this) Limitations of the DN2500: o No color, ever! o No ESDI disks (ever?) o no apparent way to add additional serial or parallel ports o no internal cartridge tape possible o little or no internal bus slots (unsure, but box is very small) Software compatibility/availability o Binary-compatible with other Apollo 680x0 nodes (closest to DN3500) o Designed to run Domain/OS 10.2 (which includes X-Windows) o Will initially ship with Domain/OS 10.1 and PSK #25 to patch 10.1 for hardware differences o I did not get hard assurances, but the indication was that anything that runs under 10.1 on a DN3500 will run on the DN2500 with the PSK. (::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::) ) Steve Albrecht - IntelliCorp, Inc. - Knowledge Systems Product Development ) ( "Opinions expressed here are my own, if anyone's, and not my employer's." ( ) DDS albrecht@intellicorp.com : COMPUSERVE 73657,1342 ( ( UUCP ...!sun!intellicorp.com!albrecht : public bbs (415)969-5643 ) ) or ...!sun!icmv!albrecht : "c"omment to sysop ( (::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::) -------
dbfunk@ICAEN.UIOWA.EDU (David B Funk) (09/24/89)
WRT posting: <622509938.750000.ALBRECHT@CALIPH> > Last night, Apollo unveiled their new low-end UNIX workstation to > the public. The DN2500 workstation will be available in Q4/89 with > a base price of $3900 for the following configuration: Actually the first public showing of the DN2500 was at the ADUS conference in New Orleans on Tuesday night (9/12). > o 1 serial port > o 1 parallel printer port (some doubt whether there is even one!) The DN2500 has no parallel printer port but 3 serial ports ala the DN3500. IE there is one DB25 socket on the machine but you can add the optional expander "pig-tail" to use all 3 ports. > Limitations of the DN2500: > > o No color, ever! > o No ESDI disks (ever?) > o no apparent way to add additional serial or parallel ports > o no internal cartridge tape possible > o little or no internal bus slots (unsure, but box is very small) True, no color, no ESDI disks, no internal add in capability beyond the memory "sim" sockets and the SCSI disks. There is one AT-bus slot but that's where the network controller goes, and it's not optional. However, you can connect up external SCSI devices, Apollo currently provides support for disk, C-tape, M-tape (?), and V-tape. In the sr10.2 GPIO package there is support for user written device drivers to talk to external devices on the SCSI bus. Thus you could add any SCSI device that doesn't conflict with an Apollo device. The bottom line is that this was designed for the lowest cost for a general usage machine. We are a "seed" site for the DN2500 and have had one for about a month. So far, it has worked with everything that we've hit it with (except for bugs in the beta-1 sr10.2). It feels like 80% to 85% of a DN3500. IE based upon various benchmarks, the CPU speed, disk speed, display update speed all seem within 80% to 85% of comparable things on a DN3500 with the same amount of RAM (8mb) and a 348 FA disk. For the price, this is good performance. You may wonder how a 20MHZ 68030 cpu (DN2500), which is exactly 80% of a 25MHZ 68030 cpu (DN3500), can have a thru-put of better than 80% for some operations. The answer is that they were able to design out some hardware delays when they left behind all the baggage needed to support the AT-bus I/O for general devices. Thus connections between CPU, memory, display hardware, and the SCSI controller are tighter and for some kinds of operations are faster. Dave Funk