Bit 3 Announces Two Products to Complement Sun's New PCI I/O-based Ultra 30 Workstations

A new PCI I/O Ultra 30Æ workstation from Sun© can become bus master processors on VMEbus systems with Bit 3 Adaptors. Bit 3's PCI - VMEbus Adaptor provides a memory mapped interface between the PCI I/O bus and the VMEbus to provide direct control for I/O between the two systems. Hardware latency for random access (PIO) reads and writes is approximately 2 msec. A Solaris© device driver is available from Bit 3. Because the Bit 3 Solaris API is the same for the SBus workstations and the Ultra 30 workstations, applications can easily port from SBus to UltraSPARC PCI. The PCI - VMEbus Adaptor's built-in DMA capability allows block transfers up to 26M Bytes/sec for memory-to-memory transfers between the new PCI I/O-based UltraSPARC workstation and VMEbus system. Optional Dual Port RAM (DPR) provides a common memory between the PCI bus and VMEbus. Access to DPR by one system does not use bandwidth from the other. DPR is available in sizes from 32K to 8M bytes. Standard copper-conductor cable is available in lengths up to 25 feet. Optional fiber-optic cable is available in lengths up to 2,000 meters. PCI - MULTIBUS and PCI - Q22-bus Adaptors are also available from Bit 3 Computer. Bit 3 PCI Slot Expansion Units Up to 13 PCI slots can be added to a Sun Ultra 30 workstation by using a stand-alone Bit 3 Expansion Unit. Seven-slot Expansion Units are available with mini-toweror 19' rack-mount enclosures. A 13-slot 19' rack-mount enclosure is also available. Solaris applications view PCI cards installed in the Expansion Unit exactly like PCI cards plugged into the local Ultra 30 workstation. "Bit 3's PCI Expansion Units give Sun's users the flexibility of adding additional PCI slots," explains Mark Tolliver, Vice President, Sun Microsystems Computer Company. "Coupled with the Ultra 30's multiple PCI bus architecture, users can take advantage of up to 52 PCI slots." Bit 3's Expansion Unit enclosures connect to a Bit 3 PCI host card installed in one slot of a 4 PCI slot Ultra 30 workstation via copper cable. Each slot in the 7-slotenclosures receives 5V from the power supply. In the 13-slot unit, the power supply delivers 5V and 3.3V to each slot. OEMs may purchase the printed circuit cards and cable separately to build PCI expansion units using their own enclosures. Bit 3 and Sun have developed a unique working relationship over the last year. "Sun has proven their commitment to Bit 3 in providing an easy migration path to those customers who want to move to PCI I/O-based solutions. As a member of Sun's PCI Vendor Program, we have received top notch technical and marketing support to help us develop and distribute our PCI products," describes Jerry Medley, Director of Sales and Marketing, Bit 3 Computer Corporation. Availability for all items: Stock Pricing: Contact Bit 3 directly or your local Bit 3 distributor About Bit 3 Bit 3 is a division of SBS Technologies, Inc. Founded in 1979, the company manufactures, designs, and sells advanced bus connection and extension solutions for PCI, VME, SBus, EISA, ISA, and GIO buses. For more information, contact Bit 3: 8129 Penn Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55431. Phone: 612/881-6955. Fax: 612/881-9674. E-mail: info@bit3.com. Web Site: www.bit3.com/sun.html. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo, Solaris, and Ultra, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems.