The Jazz computer architecture is a motherboard and chipset design originally developed by
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
for use in developing
Windows NT
Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems sc ...
. The design was eventually used as the basis for most MIPS-based Windows NT systems.
In part because Microsoft intended NT to be portable between various
microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...
RISC
In computer engineering, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) is a computer designed to simplify the individual instructions given to the computer to accomplish tasks. Compared to the instructions given to a complex instruction set comput ...
architecture was chosen for one of the first development platforms for the NT project in the late 1980s/early 1990s. However, around 1990, the existing MIPS-based systems (such as the
TURBOchannel
TURBOchannel is an open computer bus developed by DEC by during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although it is open for any vendor to implement in their own systems, it was mostly used in Digital's own systems such as the MIPS-based DECstation a ...
-equipped
DECstation
The DECstation was a brand of computers used by DEC, and refers to three distinct lines of computer systems—the first released in 1978 as a word processing system, and the latter (more widely known) two both released in 1989. These compri ...
or the
SGI Indigo
The Indigo, introduced as the IRIS Indigo, is a line of workstation computers developed and manufactured by Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI). SGI first announced the system in July 1991.
The Indigo is considered one of the most capable graphics wo ...
) varied drastically from standard
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
s such as the
IBM AT
The IBM Personal Computer/AT (model 5170, abbreviated as IBM AT or PC/AT) was released in 1984 as the fourth model in the IBM Personal Computer line, following the IBM PC/XT and its IBM Portable PC variant. It was designed around the Intel 8028 ...
—for example, neither used the
ISA
Isa or ISA may refer to:
Places
* Isa, Amur Oblast, Russia
* Isa, Kagoshima, Japan
* Isa, Nigeria
* Isa District, Kagoshima, former district in Japan
* Isa Town, middle class town located in Bahrain
* Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia
* Mount Is ...
bus so common in
Intel 386
The Intel 386, originally released as 80386 and later renamed i386, is a 32-bit microprocessor introduced in 1985. The first versions had 275,000 transistorsMIPS Computer Systems, Inc. where it became the
MIPS Magnum The MIPS Magnum was a line of computer workstations designed by MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. and based on the MIPS series of RISC microprocessors. The first Magnum was released in March, 1990, and production of various models continued until 1993 w ...
.
The Jazz architecture includes:
* a MIPS
R4000
The R4000 is a microprocessor developed by MIPS Computer Systems that implements the MIPS III instruction set architecture (ISA). Officially announced on 1 October 1991, it was one of the first 64-bit microprocessors and the first MIPS III impleme ...
/
R4400
The R4000 is a microprocessor developed by MIPS Computer Systems that implements the MIPS III instruction set architecture (ISA). Officially announced on 1 October 1991, it was one of the first 64-bit microprocessors and the first MIPS III impleme ...
framebuffer
A framebuffer (frame buffer, or sometimes framestore) is a portion of random-access memory (RAM) containing a bitmap that drives a video display. It is a memory buffer containing data representing all the pixels in a complete video frame. Modern ...
for video output (the
G364 framebuffer
The G364 framebuffer was a line of graphics adapters using the SGS Thomson INMOS G364 colour video controller, produced by INMOS (known for their transputer and eventually acquired by SGS Thomson and incorporated into STMicroelectronics) in the ...
)
*
PS/2 connector
The PS/2 port is a 6-pin mini-DIN connector used for connecting keyboards and mice to a PC compatible computer system. Its name comes from the IBM Personal System/2 series of personal computers, with which it was introduced in 1987. The PS/2 ...
s for mouse and keyboard
* a floppy-disk controller
* onboard 16-bit sound system
* onboard
National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer which specialized in analog devices and subsystems, formerly with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The company produced power management integrated circuits, display drive ...
SONIC
Sonic or Sonics may refer to:
Companies
*Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain
*Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities
*Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...
Ethernet
* onboard
NCR 53C9x
The NCR 53C9x is a family of application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) produced by the former NCR Corporation and others for implementing the SCSI (small computer standard interface) bus protocol in hardware and relieving the host system of t ...
SCSI chipset for
hard disk
A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...
and
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
parallel port
In computing, a parallel port is a type of interface found on early computers (personal and otherwise) for connecting peripherals. The name refers to the way the data is sent; parallel ports send multiple bits of data at once ( parallel ...
s
* IBM AT-style time-of-year clock
This design was simple enough and powerful enough that a majority of Windows NT-capable MIPS systems were based on modified versions of the Jazz architecture. A list of systems which more or less were based on Jazz includes:
*
MIPS Magnum The MIPS Magnum was a line of computer workstations designed by MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. and based on the MIPS series of RISC microprocessors. The first Magnum was released in March, 1990, and production of various models continued until 1993 w ...
(R4000 PC-50 and SC-50 versions)
*
Acer PICA The M6100 PICA is a system logic chipset designed by Acer Laboratories introduced in 1993. ''PICA'' stands for ''Performance-enhanced Input-output and CPU Architecture''. It was based on the Jazz architecture developed by Microsoft and supported th ...
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been part of ...
M700 has different video and sound system
*
NEC RISCstation
The NEC RISCstation was a line of computer workstations made by NEC in the mid-1990s, based on MIPS RISC microprocessors and designed to run Microsoft Windows NT. A series of nearly identical machines were also sold by NEC in headless (i.e., n ...
Jazz with
PCI
PCI may refer to:
Business and economics
* Payment card industry, businesses associated with debit, credit, and other payment cards
** Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of security requirements for credit card processors
* Pro ...
The Jazz systems were designed to partially comply with the
Advanced RISC Computing
Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) is a specification promulgated by a defunct consortium of computer manufacturers (the Advanced Computing Environment project), setting forth a standard MIPS RISC-based computer hardware and firmware environment. ...
(ARC) standard, and each used the ARC firmware to boot Windows NT. Other operating systems were also ported to various Jazz implementations, such as
RISC/os
RISC/os is a discontinued UNIX operating system developed by MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. from 1985 to 1992, for their computer workstations and servers, including such models as the MIPS M/120 server and MIPS Magnum workstation. It was also kno ...
to the MIPS Magnum.
There were also some MIPS systems designed to run Windows NT and comply with the ARC standard, but nevertheless were ''not'' based on the Jazz platform:
* DeskStation Tyne
* NeTpower FASTseries Falcon
* ShaBLAMM! NiTro-VLB
*
Siemens-Nixdorf
Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme, AG (SNI) was formed in 1990 by the merger of Nixdorf Computer and the Data Information Services (DIS) division of Siemens.
It functioned as a separate company within Siemens.
It was the largest information ...