Sun386i

The Sun386i (codenamed Roadrunner) is a discontinued hybrid UNIX workstation/PC compatible computer system produced by Sun Microsystems, launched in 1988. It is based on the Intel 80386 microprocessor but shares many features with the contemporary Sun-3 series systems. Unlike the Sun-3 models, the Sun386i has a PC-like motherboard and "mini-tower"-style chassis. Two variants were produced, the Sun386i/150 and the Sun386i/250 with a 20 or 25 MHz CPU respectively. The motherboard includes the CPU, 80387 FPU, 82380 timer/DMA/interrupt controller and a custom Ethernet IC called BABE ("Bus Adapter Between Ethernet"). Floppy disk, SCSI, RS-232 and Centronics parallel interfaces are also provided, as are four ISA slots (one 8-bit, three 16-bit) and four proprietary 32-bit "local" bus slots. The latter are used for RAM and frame buffer cards. Two types of RAM card are available, a 4 or 8 MB card, and the "XP Cache" card, incorporating up to 8 MB with an 82385 cache controller and 32 KB of cache SRAM. Up to two memory cards can be installed, to give a maximum RAM capacity of 16 MB. Mass storage options are either 91 or 327 MB internal SCSI hard disks and a 1.44 MB 3.5-in floppy drive. A storage expansion box that holds two more disks can be mounted to the top of the chassis. Frame buffer options include the 1024×768 or 1152×900-pixel monochrome BW2 card, the 8-bit color CG3 with similar resolutions, or the accelerated 8-bit color CG5, otherwise known as the Roadracer or GXi framebuffer. This uses the TI TMS34010 graphics processor and had a resolution of 1152x900. In addition, a "SunVGA" accelerator card can be installed in the ISA expansion slot that allows a DOS session to display a full VGA window on the desktop. The Sun386i introduced the Sun Type 4 keyboard, a hybrid of the earlier Type 3 and PC/AT layouts. This was later used for the SPARCstation line of workstations. The Sun386i's firmware is similar to the Sun-3's "PROM Monitor". A 386 port of SunOS is the native operating system. SunOS releases 4.0, 4.0.1 and 4.