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FAQ
SPARC (which stands for Scalable Processor ARChitecture)
is an open set of technical specifications that any person
or company can license and use to develop microprocessors
and other semiconductor devices based on published industry
standards.
SPARC was invented in the labs of Sun Microsystems
Inc., based upon pioneering research into Reduced Instruction
Set Computing (RISC) at the University of California at Berkeley.
The first standard product based on the SPARC architecture
was produced by Sun and Fujitsu in 1986; Sun followed in 1987
with its first workstation based on a SPARC processor.
In 1989, Sun Microsystems transferred ownership of the SPARC specifications to an independent, non-profit organization, SPARC International, which administers and licenses the technology.
As an open architecture, the SPARC specifications
have been refreshed with advanced technologies, evolving to
SPARC Version 9. All versions of the architecture are available
today.
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While many proprietary architectures claim
to be open, the truth is that adopters of a proprietary chip
must accept the architecture "as is." Conversely, the SPARC
architecture fulfills essential elements of openness.
- The SPARC instruction set is published
as IEEE Standard 1754-1994.
- SPARC specifications are available
for licensing by any person or company, giving customers
flexibility and freedom to design their own solution.
- Control of the SPARC architecture
is in the hands of an independent, non-profit organization,
SPARC International, whose membership is open to everyone.
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All technical information about the
architecture is available for free and without royalties from
SPARC International's public website. Anyone is welcome to
download the SPARC specifications, which provide all of the
technical requirements needed to design processors and other
products based on the open SPARC standard.
SPARC International also
offers registry services for a one-time fee of $99, which is
particularly important to those companies that track the source
of technology in their products.
While the technical
information is free, use of the SPARC trademark requires two
things: First, membership in SPARC International; and second,
compliance testing of the device.
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Open architectures like SPARC expose
the instruction set to a large community. All classes of users
have fair and equal access to the technical underpinnings
of the architecture. As a result of this exposure to a greater
and more varied community, innovation and advancement can
occur more rapidly.
This is in marked contrast to proprietary
architectures, whose instruction sets cannot be licensed.
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The SPARC architecture has four key benefits
in addition to the overarching benefit of openness.
- The architecture is scalable, both in
price and function. It is the only open architecture that
has processors that scale in price from less than $10 to
more than $3,000. Functionally, SPARC processors power devices
as small as set-top boxes and digital cameras, and as large
as mainframe-class UNIX servers that run the world's largest
businesses.
- Devices based on the SPARC architecture
have proven performance and rank among the most powerful
in the world.
- The SPARC architecture guarantees compatibility
from generation to generation of the architecture, as well
as across the full range of products based on SPARC implementations.
For example, applications running on any previous generation
SPARC/Solaris-based server, going back to products released
in 1987, will run with enhanced performance on the newest
Sun systems.
- The SPARC developer community has more
than two million members offering over 30,000 applications,
which ranks the developer community among the largest in
the world.
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Customers who adopt proprietary architectures
can build systems around the chips, but cannot build their
own versions of the chip. This drawback prevents OEMs from
differentiating their products architecturally and precludes
them from optimizing the architecture for specific applications.
SPARC licensees, on the other hand, have
full access to the core instruction set, making it possible
for them to create their own version of the chip. They are
able to add their own features and extend the capabilities
of the architecture, while assuring compliance and compatibility
- after successfully testing - with the SPARC standard.
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The SPARC architecture powers a variety
of commercial, technical, aerospace and military applications,
and can be found in data center servers, super computers,
desktop and portable workstations, digital cameras, network
switches, set-top television cable boxes, and digital storage
devices.
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SPARC International is an independent,
non-profit organization founded in 1989 to administer SPARC
instruction set licenses and provide compliance-testing and
other services to licensees for a fee. A complete
list of members is available here.
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Members benefit in several ways including
- Your web page within SPARC International's web site which links to your home page allowing exposure of your company to more web hits per month.
- Royalty free use of the SPARC Membership and SPARC Driven logos.
- Continuous use of the on-line daily newsletter SPARC-Flash as often as you wish to submit articles.
- Exposure of your company to upwards of 1/2 million web hits per month.
- Public acknowledgement to your customers that your company believes in and supports the importance of SPARC International's Open Standard Architectures.
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SPARC International offers four types of membership:
Executive Membership
Attracts companies that have a strategic interest in the SPARC architecture.
Executive members hold seats on the Board of Directors and
the Architecture Committee, and are eligible to vote on
changes to SPARC International specifications. The annual
dues for Executive Membership are $150,000.Associate Membership
Open to original manufacturers of hardware and software
systems. Associate members elect two representatives to
the Board of Directors. The annual dues for Associate Membership
are $20,000.ISV/IHV/VAR/OEM
Membership is for companies interested in promoting the continued growth
of the architecture. The annual dues are $1,500.Academic Membership
It is for colleges and universities that do not supply products or services.
The annual dues are $100.
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