The microSPARC (code-named ''Tsunami'') is a discontinued

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...

implementing the SPARC V8

instruction set architecture In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA) is an abstract model that generally defines how software controls the CPU in a computer or a family of computers. A device or program that executes instructions described by that ISA, ...

(ISA), developed by

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...

. It is a low-end microprocessor intended for low-end

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or computational science, scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating syste ...

s and

embedded system An embedded system is a specialized computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is e ...

s. The microprocessor was developed by Sun, but the

floating-point unit A floating-point unit (FPU), numeric processing unit (NPU), colloquially math coprocessor, is a part of a computer system specially designed to carry out operations on floating-point numbers. Typical operations are addition, subtraction, multip ...

(FPU) was licensed from Meiko Scientific. It contains 800,000 transistors. It was used in the SPARCclassic and

SPARCstation LX The SPARCstation LX (Sun model number 4/30) is a workstation that was designed, manufactured, and sold by Sun Microsystems. It was introduced on November 10, 1992, with an initial list price of . Volume shipments commenced in December 1992 from S ...

among others. There are two variants of the microSPARC-II (code-named ''Swift''): the microSPARC-II and microSPARC-IIep. The microSPARC-II is used in the

SPARCstation 5 SPARCstation 5 (code-named ''Aurora'') is a workstation made by Sun Microsystems as part of their SPARCstation family. Released on March 29, 1994, the SPARCstation sold for between 3,995 at the low end to US$11,395 at the high end (equivalent t ...

. The microSPARC-IIep is a 100 MHz microSPARC-II with an integrated

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 * Prov ...

controller for

s. It was developed and fabricated by

LSI Logic LSI Logic Corporation was an American company founded in Santa Clara, California, was a pioneer in the ASIC and EDA industries. It evolved over time to design and sell semiconductors and software that accelerated storage and networking in data ...

for Sun, and used in their

JavaStation The JavaStation was a variant of Sun Microsystems' Network Computer (NC) developed between 1996 and 2000, and intended to run only Java applications. The hardware is based on the design of the Sun SPARCstation series, a very successful line of ...

Network Computer In computer networking, a thin client, sometimes called slim client or lean client, is a simple (low-performance) computer that has been optimized for establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. They are som ...

. Image:TI_microSPARC_I_die.jpg, TI microSPARC I Image:Sun_microSPARC_II_die.JPG, Sun microSPARC II

References

* Sun Microsystems, Inc. (10 August 1992). "Highly Integrated SPARC Processor Implementation (Tsunami)". Hot Chips presentation.' Sun microprocessors SPARC microprocessors 32-bit microprocessors Computer-related introductions in 1992 {{Compu-hardware-stub