SPARC Enterprise Servers

The low end of the server series are known as the "T-class", and consists of seven different models. The T1000 and T2000 models contain only one UltraSPARC T1 processor running at between 1.0 to 1.4 GHz (depending on the CPU), up to 63 gigabytes of memory, and up to four SAS hard disks.

The T5120 and T5220 are essentially the same, with the main difference being an increased memory capacity. They both use just one UltraSPARC T2 processor running at up 1.4 GHz, but both have 64 gigabytes of memory instead of the 32 GB of the previously mentioned models. The T5120 and T5220 differ only in their storage capacity. The T5120 uses up to four SAS hard disks, while the T5220 can hold up to eight.

The T5140 and T5240 models are slightly more powerful. Each containing two UltraSPARC T2+ processors running up to 1.4 GHz. The T5140 and T5240 utilize 128 and 256 gigabytes of memory respectively. The T5140 contains only four SAS hard disks, while the T5240 can run up to sixteen.

Finally, the upper end of the T-class is the T5440. It contains four UltraSPARC T2+ processors running at either 1.2 or 1.4 GHz, has 512 gigabytes of memory, but can only hold up to four SAS hard disks. What really sets this model apart from the rest of the T-class is the inclusion of 4-way SMP.

The midrange and high-end of the SPARC Enterprise server family is designated the "M-class" (M indicates mainframe class features). These servers use SPARC64 VI or VII processors that operate at between 2.15 and 2.52 GHz. The "midrange" servers include the M3000, M4000, and M5000, operating with one, four, and eight processors respectively, and 32, 128, and 256 GB of RAM. They only use, however, between two and four SAS hard disks.

The high-end contains the M8000 and M9000 server models. The M8000 contains sixteen SPARC64 processors, 512 GB of memory, and sixteen SAS hard disks. The real behemoth, however, is the M9000 using sixty-four high-end processors simultaneously, a whopping 2048 GB of RAM, and sixty-four hard disks.

What really separates the T-class from the M-class is the SPARC64 processor. The SPARC64 VI is a dual-core processor, with each core capable of two-way vertical multithreading (VMT). A M9000 server using all 64 CPUs could run 256 threads simultaneously. The SPARC64 VII processor is even more powerful. It is a quad-core processor, also capable two-way vertical multithreading-meaning a M9000 with all 64 CPUs could run 512 threads simultaneously. Finally, another powerful ability of the M-calls servers is the ability to handle a variety of processor clock speeds within the same system. For example, one server could use both SPARC64 VI and VII processors simultaneously, with each processor running at their top speed-there is no "clocking down" to the speed of the slowest CPU.