[rescue] Sun Enterprise Models

[Skeezics Boondoggle]

On Sun, 24 Aug 2003, Jonathan C. Patschke wrote:

> On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 vance at neurotica.com wrote:
> 
> > What is the difference between the Enterprise x000 models and the
> > Enterprise x500 models?
> 
> I believe the only differences are:
>   * faster backplane x000 has 83MHz, and the x500 has 100MHz

One small nit: 90Mhz in the E6500, due to limitations with the 16-slot
chassis.

>   * x500 systems ship with FC-AL instead of SCSI, normally.

Another nit:  the Sbus I/O boards do have 68-pin SCSI and 10/100bT
Ethernet, as well as the three slots and two FC-AL GBIC ports.  I think
the major difference was that the E3500 is a 5-slot machine (up to 8
CPUs), whereas the E3000 had only four (for a max of 6 CPUs); the E3500
uses FC-AL internal disks, while the E3000 had SCA-type SCSI slots.

But these are great machines; really solid.  It's _amazing_ to see how
cheap they are on Ebay now... 8-way/8GB E4500's for ~$2.5k... astounding.

> Obviously this doesn't apply to the E10k.

Yeah, the mezzanine boards provide Sbus or PCI slots and there are not, to
my recollection, any I/O ports on the system boards themselves (very much
like the CS6400 that preceded it).

There was an E10k I'd been watching on Ebay that had been relisted a few
times -- 20-way 400Mhz/8MB and 20GB of RAM, two SSPs, two D1000's, $20k.
(The Solaris license alone, with a developer discount, would be $96k...)

I just snagged a 220R for work from a guy across town for $700, which
blows my mind... New, from Sun, with our discounts, we bought a new 220R
less than three years ago for over $7000.  Gee, if the price drop trend
continues, that E10k will be just $2000 in 2006, and I could afford it,
then! :-)

Sigh.

-- Chris