Editing Sun Microsystems (section)

===SPARC-based systems===
{{See also|SPARC}}
[[File:SPARCstation 1.jpg|right|thumb|SPARCstation 1+]]
In 1987, the company began using ''SPARC (Scalable Processor ARChitecture)'', a RISC processor architecture of its own design, in its computer systems, starting with the [[Sun-4]] line. SPARC was initially a [[32-bit]] architecture (SPARC V7) until the introduction of the SPARC V9 architecture in 1995, which added [[64-bit]] extensions.

Sun developed several generations of SPARC-based computer systems, including the [[SPARCstation]], [[Sun Ultra series|Ultra]], and [[Sun Blade (workstation)|Sun Blade]] series of workstations, and the SPARCserver, [[Sun Netra|Netra]], [[Sun Enterprise|Enterprise]], and [[Sun Fire]] line of servers.

In the early 1990s the company began to extend its product line to include large-scale [[symmetric multiprocessing]] servers, starting with the four-processor SPARCserver 600MP. This was followed by the 8-processor SPARCserver 1000 and 20-processor SPARCcenter 2000, which were based on work done in conjunction with [[Xerox PARC]]. In 1995 the company introduced [[Sun Ultra series]] machines that were equipped with the first 64-bit implementation of SPARC processors ([[UltraSPARC]]). In the late 1990s the transformation of product line in favor of large 64-bit SMP systems was accelerated by the acquisition of Cray Business Systems Division from Silicon Graphics.<ref name="Cray_BSD"/> Their 32-bit, 64-processor [[Cray CS6400|Cray Superserver 6400]], related to the SPARCcenter, led to the 64-bit [[Sun Enterprise 10000]] high-end server (otherwise known as ''Starfire'' or E10K).

In September 2004, Sun made available systems with [[UltraSPARC IV]]<ref>{{cite news |title= Sun plans to use UltraSparc IV chip to provide a superior server |work=TechSpot |date= September 13, 2004 | url= http://www.techspot.com/news/15374-sun-plans-to-use-ultrasparc-iv-chip-to-provide-a-superior-server.html |access-date=July 12, 2012 | first=Derek|last=Sooman }}</ref> which was the first multi-core SPARC processor. It was followed by UltraSPARC IV+ in September 2005<ref>{{cite news |title= Sun revamps Unix servers with UltraSparc IV+ |first=Stephen|last=Shankland |work=[[CNET News]] |date= September 20, 2005 | url= http://news.cnet.com/Sun-revamps-Unix-servers-with-UltraSparc-IV/2100-1010_3-5874506.html |access-date=July 12, 2012 }}</ref> and its revisions with higher clock speeds in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |title= Sun breaks omerta for UltraSPARC IV+ speed bump |website=[[The Register]] |date= April 4, 2007 | url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/04/sun_usfour_speedup/ |access-date=July 12, 2012 |first=Ashlee|last=Vance}}</ref> These CPUs were used in the most powerful, enterprise class high-end [[Non-Uniform Memory Access|CC-NUMA]] servers developed by Sun, such as the Sun Fire E15K and the [[Sun Fire E25K]].

In November 2005, Sun launched the [[UltraSPARC T1]], notable for its ability to concurrently run 32 threads of execution on 8 processor cores. Its intent was to drive more efficient use of CPU resources, which is of particular importance in [[data center]]s, where there is an increasing need to reduce power and air conditioning demands, much of which comes from the heat generated by CPUs. The T1 was followed in 2007 by the [[UltraSPARC T2]], which extended the number of threads per core from 4 to 8. Sun has open sourced the design specifications of both the T1 and T2 processors via the [[OpenSPARC]] project.

In 2006, Sun ventured into the ''[[blade server]]'' (high density rack-mounted systems) market with the [[Sun Blade]] (distinct from the Sun Blade workstation).

In April 2007, Sun released the SPARC Enterprise server products, jointly designed by Sun and Fujitsu and based on Fujitsu [[SPARC64 VI]] and later processors. The ''M-class'' SPARC Enterprise systems include high-end reliability and availability features. Later T-series servers have also been badged SPARC Enterprise rather than Sun Fire.

In April 2008, Sun released servers with UltraSPARC T2 Plus, which is an SMP capable version of UltraSPARC T2, available in 2 or 4 processor configurations. It was the first CoolThreads CPU with multi-processor capability and it made possible to build standard rack-mounted servers that could simultaneously process up to massive 256 CPU threads in hardware (Sun SPARC Enterprise T5440),<ref>{{cite web |title= Sun takes four-socket Victoria Falls Sparc plunge |website=[[The Register]] |date= October 13, 2008 | url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/13/sun_four_socket_sparc_t2/ |access-date=July 12, 2012 | first=Timothy Prickett|last=Morgan }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title= Sun T5440 Oracle BI EE World Record Performance |publisher=Oracle BestPerf blog |date= July 21, 2009 | url= https://blogs.oracle.com/BestPerf/entry/sun_t5440_oracle_bi_ee |access-date=July 12, 2012 }}</ref> which is considered a record in the industry.

Since 2010, all further development of Sun machines based on SPARC architecture (including new [[SPARC T-Series]] servers, [[SPARC T3]] and [[SPARC T4|T4]] chips) is done as a part of Oracle Corporation hardware division.