Aucbvax.4716
fa.editor-p
utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!editor-people
Tue Oct 27 17:22:37 1981
Re:  Hardware and Editor Technology
>From CSL.BKR@SU-SCORE Tue Oct 27 16:38:57 1981
Stanford University Computer Systems Lab has designed and built a personal
workstation that does not have a local disk. It is based around an MC68000.
The vanilla SUN machine, as we call them, has a 68000 processor, 256Kbytes
of memory on the processor board, a graphics board with a 1024x1024x1 frame
buffer, and a 3Mbit Ethernet processor board. They are connected by a
Multibus protocol, and housed in an 8-card cage with room for various
expansions. 

These machines are being built by a company called CadLink, in Troy Michigan;
they can be bought for something like $7k or so right now, in unit
quantities. In large quantities, the parts cost of this machine in today's
prices is under $2000, so it is not unreasonable to expect it to be available
for about $5000 in a couple of years.

We currently use the Ethernet as a virtual disk, sending out for disk 
blocks to a shared central VAX. We expect soon to have Unix Emacs running
native on the SUN machine; a local industrial lab has got Unix 32V running
on a wirewrap version of the machine.

We expect that about 80% of the computing needs of a high-quality multifont
display editor can be handled by the local processing power of a SUN, and
that 95% of the computing needs of a monofont display editor can be handled
by the SUN. With the addition of a 512KB memory expansion board, the machine
can probably be programmed to survive quite will without a local disk,
though it will be very straightforward to put a disk on it since it has
a standard Multibus interface. 

Brian
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