This chapter explains to the reader what the JavaStation line is, its components, NC concepts, how to get one, and why one would choose the Linux OS for it.
The JavaStation NC is a model line of network computers built and sold by Sun Microsystems between November 1996 and March 2000. The JavaStation line was Sun's low-cost terminal option during that timeframe.
The JavaStation hardware ran Sun's own JavaOS and either Sun's Hotjava web browser, Sun's HotJava Views task-manager software, or custom Java applications of the customer's choice.
The JavaStation was originally billed in November 1996 sneak previews as a low-cost desktop terminal, providing customers access to hot new Java applications, "legacy" X applications, and "legacy" MS Windows apps. During its lifetime, The JavaStation's marketed functionality was changed twice from "desktop terminal" to "single-app desktop device" to finally a "browser-based kiosk device".
At no time did Sun market the JavaStation as capable of running its flagship Solaris operating system or the Linux OS.
A network computer, or NC, was hailed as "the next big thing" in computing from late 1995 to early 1998. Conventional PC's, called "fat clients", were expected to be minimized in businesses by thin-client NC's.
Thin-clients get their OS, applications, and data files entirely through the network. They are different from dumb-terminals; they run full-scale graphical applications. Thin-clients are also different than graphical X-terminals. X-terminals typically run an X server and display the client programs of a remote server. Thin clients generally run full-scale graphical programs locally, such as a web browser, a Java application, or a "legacy-connectivity program", which enables the thin-client to display X apps or MS Windows apps which run on more powerful servers.
Advantages of NC's include:
"Zero-Administration". (Add a new NC and it will get everything it needs off the network, without an admin ever needing to visit it.)
Lower Total-Cost-of-Ownership (TCO) (No internal hard drives, floppy drives or CD players reduces form-factor, repair expenses, selling price and thus total-cost-of-ownership.)
Access to all web-based apps as well as "legacy" X and MS Windows apps.
Quick upgrades (just upgrade your server and the changes propogate throughout)
Longer lifespan (just upgrade the software, growing hard disk and memory requirements is not an issue)
Smaller OS footprint (when running brower-based apps)
Disadvantages of NC's:
No local access to data files (all your files stored on a remote server)
Requires fast, stable networks
Depending on who you talk to, the number of JavaStation models that were created is anywhere from one to six. The descriptions below will explain why.
This model is the most prevalent JavaStation model you are likely to find, although it wasn't the one and only JavaStation model Sun wished to sell to the public. The JavaStation-1 was the first generation JavaStation, released in November 1996 to pilot deployments as Sun's "proof of concept" of the Java NC design.
Hardware-wise, the JavaStation-1 is a Sun4M architecture machine. It is based on the SPARCStation-4 design, with some deletions and PC-like modifications. It is powered by a 100 Mhz MicroSPARC IIe CPU and has no SCSI, internal disks, floppy, CD or expansion slots. The Mr. Coffee motherboard is Sun Part No. 501-3141.
Instead of using the Sun-type keyboard and mice, JavaStation-1 uses PC-like PS2 parts instead. One of the original marketing highlights of the JavaStation was that it would use standard PC parts wherever possible to keep overall price down.
The "brick" has four PC-like SIMM slots. The SIMMs taken are industry-standard 60ns, 32-bit, 72-pin, 5V fast page SIMMs, installed in pairs. Each slot is capable of holding up to a 16MB SIMM, bringing the maximum total capacity of the unit to 64MB. The "xx" in the Sun Option# of the unit indicated how much memory the unit shipped with.
For video display, the JavaStation-1 utilizes the Sun TCX framebuffer, capable of 1024x768@70Hz in 8-bit color. The port connector however, is a standard VGA jack, enabling the user to use standard PC monitors if desired (again, low cost in mind). The on-board audio is a Crystal CS4231 chip, and the network interface is the Sun Lance 10Mbps interface. In addition, the "brick" also came with a 9-pin serial port and 1/8" audio out jack on its back.
The JavaStation-1 was fitted into the Sun "unidisk" form factor case, and has been seen in a number of color schemes. JavaStations have been fitted with casings in the white with light blue trim scheme used in Sun workstations, as well as the dark blue-grey "new desktop" scheme. Some say "JavaStation" and have the Java coffee cup logo written on it, others do not. Collectors may wish to collect all case variations.
The JavaStation-1 was used in early Sun demos, and sold to pilot sites. When first brought out, the cost to pilot sites was $699US. This was at a time when PC's were still higher than $1000US. By the end of the pilot run, Sun was selling any remaining or used units for $299-$399US, in anticipation for its "real" JavaStation model.
See the JavaStation-1 at: http://studsys.mscs.mu.edu/~tech/Linux_on_JS/Files/mr_coffee_front_view.jpg
This model is the second most prevalent JavaStation model you are likely to find. When you talk to industry folks about the "JavaStation", this is typically the model remembered first. Delayed numerous times, the Krups model officially went on sale to the general public Mar. 26, 1998 at the annual JavaOne conference.
Though generation two of the JavaStation line, the Krups model was the JavaStation . Sporting a completely different board design than JavaStation-1, Krups establishes what was to be the characteristic JavaStation architecture.
Krups is powered by a 110Mhz MicroSPARC IIep chip, (note the 'p'). Its mainboard had the internal addition of a PCI bus, about a year before this standard bus made its well-publicized appearance on the Sun Ultra workstation line. The Krups motherboard is Sun Part no. 501-4267.
Krups keeps the PS2 keyboard and PS2 mouse ports from JavaStation-1, keeping in mind the low-cost, interoperable goal of generation 1.
With the new board design, came new memory chip sockets. Instead of SIMMs, the "tower" moved to 168-pin DIMMs. DIMMs had begun to make their way from the workstation realm to PC's in the time between generations one and two of the JavaStation line, so it was fitting for Sun to switch to it in anticipation of their status low-cost commodity memory chips. The DIMMs accepted by the "tower" are 168pin, 3.3V unbuffered DIMMs. With two sockets capable of holding a 32MB DIMM each, the Krups has a maximum capacity of 64MB RAM. As with the JavaStation-1, the number "xx" in the Sun option number refers to the amount of memory shipped with the unit.
For video display, the JavaStation-NC utilizes the PCI-based IGS C1682 framebuffer, capable of 1280x1024@80Hz in 24-bit "true color". This is a step up from the 8-bit display on JavaStation-1. The port connector remained a standard VGA jack like JavaStation-1, enabling the user to use standard PC monitors if desired. The on-board audio remains a Crystal CS4231 chip like JavaStation-1. The network interface on Krups is the Sun HappyMeal 10/100 Mbps interface, another step up from the original offering of JavaStation-1.
The "tower" came with the 9-pin serial port and 1/8" audio out jack as JavaStation-1, but it also added a 1/8" audio-in jack, to do sound recording with.
Another addition in the JavaStation-NC is a flash memory chip. This allows one to load the current revision of the OS onboard, increasing boot-speed tremendously.
Perhaps the thing most memorable about the JavaStation-NC is its case design. The Krups comes in an aesthetically appealing casing. The mainboard is mounted vertically, and the shell entraps it, giving it the "tower" or "percolator" shape referred to. With the streamlined case, the power supply is moved outside to small transformer. The Krups unit gives off so little heat that there are no onboard cooling fans, making the Krups a dead-silent machine. Imagine the difference in noise when replacing a lab of traditional desktops with the Krups! This case design earned Krups a"1998 Industrial Design Excellence Award" from the Industrial Designers Society of America. This award announcement is archived for read at: http://www.idsa.org/whatis/seewhat/idea98/winners/javastation.htm"
The Krups had an initial base price of $599US, $100US cheaper than Mr. Coffee's rollout price. Due to it being the only model formally sold by Sun to the general public, this is how Krups is sometimes referred to as the only JavaStation, and not one model of a product line.
See the JavaStation-NC at: http://studsys.mscs.mu.edu/~tech/Linux_on_JS/Files/krups_front_view.jpg
This model is extremely rare to find. It was never available for sale in quantities to either the general public or the initial JavaStation deployments, limiting the model's production quantity. To call this "Generation Three" of the JavaStation may be improper, as Espresso is nothing like the generation three JavaStation written about in early Sun literature.
The Espresso was designed as an extension of the Krups. It was geared to sites that wanted a little bit more functionality and expansion capability from their JavaStations: a cross between an NC and a workstation.
Espresso is powered by the same 110Mhz MicroSPARC IIep chip as Krups. It's mainboard is similar to Krups, with the addition of PCI slots and an IDE channel for local hard disks. The IDE on Espresso was not enabled in the demo units. Those who have tried to make it work have concluded the wiring is incorrect, and it requires a hardware rework to get working.
Espresso continues with the PS2 keyboard and PS2 mouse ports from Mr. Coffee and Krups.
Espresso uses the same 168-pin, 3.3V unbuffered DIMMs as Krups. The maximum allowed is not known at the time of this document's writing. As with the Mr. Coffee and Krups, the number "xx" in the Sun option number refers to the amount of memory shipped with the unit.
For video display, the Espresso uses the PCI-based IGS C2000 framebuffer, along with the same standard VGA port connector as Krups and Mr. Coffee. The on-board audio remains a Crystal CS4231 chip like Krups, and the network interface remains a Sun HappyMeal 10/100 Mbps interface like Krups as well.
Espresso came with the 9-pin serial port and 1/8" audio out and 1/8" audio in jacks of Krups, and a new addition of a parallel port, and a second 9-pin serial port. Espresso also comes with the flash memory to load your OS on and bypass the network boot cycle.
One new addition to the Espresso is a smart card slot.
The Espresso comes in a "pizza box" style case like the old Sun SparcStations, only a little taller, and not quite as wide.
The Espresso was never sold to the public. There was an internal testing period at Sun, but the units never went into mass-production.
Pete Zaitcev <zaitcev@metabyte.com> currently uses his Espresso as both a server and router, with the addition of an IDE disk and 3C905 ethenet card, demonstrating the expandability of this unit.
See the JavaStation-E at: http://studsys.mscs.mu.edu/~tech/Linux_on_JS/Files/espresso_front_view.jpg
Like the Espresso, this unit is also an extremely rare find.
This unit is supposed to be of similar board design to the Krups, but in an ATX form factor, without flash memory, and with a regular SVGA video chipset.
Gleb Raiko <raiko@niisi.msk.ru)> with the help of Vladimir Roganov <roganov@niisi.msk.ru> did initial the Linux kernel support on "JE-1". Pete Zaitcev <zaitcev@metabyte.com> later obtained a "JE-1" unit and restored full support in Linux kernel 2.3.x+.
As the author of this document has never seen a "JE-1", submissions from the public are welcome.
See the JavaEngine-1 at: http://studsys.mscs.mu.edu/~tech/Linux_on_JS/Files/je1_overhead_view.jpg
This is another box which does not exist officially outside of Sun. Little is known of it.
A nice speculation would be that the next step in the JavaStation evolution was more of a low-cost NC based on PC boards. The PCI, PS2, and SVGA (as in "JE-1") was already present. The next step would have been a non-proprietary, industry-standard mainboard. Since nobody's talking, this is all speculation.
However, the document author has been informed it is fully supported by the Linux kernel, should you be lucky enough to find one.
Sun originally envisioned three generation models of the JavaStation: Mr. Coffee, the Krups, and the "Super JavaStation". Generation Three was billed in early literature as going to be the fastest JavaStation offerred, with a high-speed CPU and a JavaChip co-processor to translate Java-bytecode in hardware.
All indications are that it never got beyond the mental stage, and was more of a marketing myth than anything else.
First, consider that the cost of higher performance CPU as a factor. If Sun packaged a high-performance CPU into a JavaStation, the low-cost advantage of an NC goes away.
Next, Sun did have their PicoJava chip available to decode Java bytecode, but word is the performance was not as good as expected, and the JavaChip project was shelved in the Summer of 1998, not long after Krups was formally released. The "Dover" project was being worked on, but the "Corona" project which would go on to become the Sun Ray was the final nail in the JavaStation 's coffin.
So all indications are that this model is a piece of "vaporware". It is included here though, for the sake of completeness.
It turns out that Linux makes the JavaStations perform more than adequately on the desktop. Thanks to the kernel work of Pete Zaitcev <zaitcev@metabyte.com> with mods and documentation contributed by others, the JavaStations offer users the low-cost, zero-admin, versatile desktop NC's they were originally billed to be, but with the added freedom granted by the Linux OS.
While low-cost PC's now eclipse the JavaStation in terms of default CPU speed and RAM size, the JavaStations running Linux are still well-suited for a number of tasks:
Diskless X-Terminal. (Gives the JavaStations the capability of the Sun Xterminal 1 hardware that they replaced).
The NC solution, Linux-style: local X + a java-capable browser can make the JavaStations perform like they did with JavaOS/HotJava, only many times faster.
A beowulf node, or a dedicated RC5/SETI@HOME client. The JavaStation running Linux makes a stable, long-lasting number cruncher.
A small, standalone machine. While a task more suited on today's low-cost machines, there's not much that prevents the JavaStation from performing as a full-fleged standalone UNIX machine by itself. Just remember to set your expectations appropriately when doing so; they were "low-budget" clients when they were sold, and should not be directly compared to today's workstation offerings.
A router and server, as Pete Zaitcev <zaitcev@metabyte.com> demonstrates as possible with his Espresso model JavaStation decked out with IDE disk and ethernet card.
In all of the above scenarios, there is little to no maintenance of the machine once configured properly. Such is the advantage of the NC hardware.
JavaStations run so much better with Linux than JavaOS, one would think that even Sun should have offered it as an option. Unfortunately, Sun has killed the line in favor of the Sun Ray. While the performance of the Sun Ray is good, keep in mind it is not a dedicated computing device and is little more than a graphics display hanging off your Sun server, which can give you some unexpected features (translation: "brand-name product lock"). The performance on the JavaStations with Linux will be similar to what you can get with a Sun Ray, but if ever you want to do something different with your machines, you have the flexibility to do so with the JavaStations.
Lastly, if you're thinking of switching to diskless Xterminals on your network, you might consider the JavaStations over stripped down PC's. The hardware is standardized, smaller, and you do not need to worry about burning boot PROM's and the like.
Sun's official stance is that the JavaStation line was terminated in favor of the new Sun Ray line. A trip to the former JavaStation section of Sun's website at http://www.sun.com/javastation verifies this formal positioning.
As the Sun Ray is not an NC in the traditional sense (it is merely a framebuffer, and not a computing device itself), there is no explanation why the two do not co-exist.
In talking to the users of the JavaStations, you will find strong opinions as to why the JavaStations are no more. The common thread in almost all opinions collected is that the software provided by Sun was inadequete for a production environment. Here are collected opinions from users of the Sun-provided software, included with their permission:
I only used the Java Stations last summer while teaching 51 and 55/154. GoJoe was incredibly slow and I seem to remember having to login to several different screens and browsers just to be able to start anything. I had to apologize to my students for the slow and inconvenient machines --- I remember making some jokes about technological progress. | ||
| --Dr. Alex Ryba, Professor at Marquette University <alexr@mscs.mu.edu> | ||
Well, of course the old JavaStations were practically unusable. It's not a matter of just my opinion; we used to have CU 310 full of students using the Xterms all the time. As soon as the JavaStations appeared there were NO STUDENTS in there at all. The JavaStations killed CU 310. Now that the JavaStations are (thanks to you) back up to speed, students are beginning to come back, but they've gotten out of the habit of working in our lab, and are used to working on their own in the dorms. I think this is a big loss -- they don't learn anything from talking to each other in the labs anymore. Ghostview was slow, etc, but even vi was too slow. I am used to typing quickly, and when the cursor can't keep up with me, I can't handle it. I would also have worked at home if I didn't have to be here. And there were those annoying red squares left all over the Xterm window when you were in vi. I had to type ^L every few lines to get rid of them to see what I was typing... The pits. The whole setup made me lose a lot of respect for Sun (although I try to separate the different product lines as much as possible); I also think Sun will not get respect for hyping a product like the JavaStation so strongly, and then just dumping it. I would wonder why anyone would not just dump Sun... BTW, the JavaStations, now that they are fast, are quite fine. I really like mine, and don't see why they aren't a viable product. | ||
| --Dr. Mark Barnard, Professor at Marquette University <markb@mscs.mu.edu> | ||
I believe that it was the triple combination of Sun's JavaOS, the Hotjava software, and GraphOn's GoJoe X-connectivity software which ultimately doomed the JavaStation line. JavaOS was always sluggish in performance for us. It was rated as having one of the slowest Java VMs by a ZDNet Online Magazane review at http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/features/javaguide/hfgr10.htm . I speculate this was the the main cause of delaying the JavaStation's formal public release to April 1998. JavaOS also always lagged behind the current Java developer spec (ie running Java 1.0 when Java 1.1 was prevalent, and Java 1.1 when Java 1.2 was issued). It was tough explaining to students why the books they were buying were all using the new event-model of Java 1.1, but they could not program to it and have it run on "the Java machine". There were also some implementation problems with some of the AWT peers which sometimes made programming across platforms difficult. These performance and implementation problems were never addressed in subsequent build of JavaOS for the duration we ran it. I believe the last edition we had used a Java 1.1.4 runtime, when we had a Java 1.2 development kit on the server. The HotJava browser software suffered from not being able to handle web standards HTML4, cascading style-sheets, or the ECMA javascript. All of these standards were employed in commercial sites at the time, resulting in many sites that weren't viewable by the JavaStations. The Hotjava Browser engine also had serious printing problems with certain webpages, some of which appeared on Sun's own website! The HotJava Views task selector software also was rough. Users could have multiple apps running, but only one displayed at a time. Manipulation of multiple window panes was difficult (no minimization, no quick list to all apps, resizing not always possible). Flexibility users had grown accustomed to was tossed out in favor of this task-selector approach. On Sun's Java website there was a page boasting of a committee formed that decided this was the "right way" to make a desktop. Tell that to our users. The GraphOn Go-Joe software was by far the most damaging piece of software to the JavaStation line. This was an X-connectivity software Sun licensed from GraphOn to give users access to the Solaris servers' X apps. The connectivity worked via a daemon installed on the Solaris server, which was connected to by a Java connectivity applet on the NC side. This small applet (only about 250K) simply threw up the latest display state and sent back to the daemon the mouse and keyboard strokes of the user. Unlike Xterminals though, the actual Xserver process was spawned and communicated with on the remote server-side by the daemon. Communication between the GraphOn client applet and the server daemon was supposedly done by a patented protocol to compress communication and speed things up. However, the performance of X under Go-Joe was terribly sluggish, with horrible refresh rates (10-seconds for some page scroll refreshes). Many sites operators I spoke to elected to not run the Go-Joe software past a trial period for this reason. We had to run it though, as our users were heavily X dependant. Alternatives like Weird/X were not available at this time, and VNC proved not up to snuff given the slow JavaOS VM. This performance in Go-Joe alone was enough to give uninformed users the impression that the JavaStation was an underpowered machine, especially when placed side-by-side with the low-cost, end-of-lifed Sun Xterminal 1 hardware it was meant to replace. Our students left labs in droves, faculty were upset, and giving demos to outsiders was downright embarrassing. In reality the hardware was solid and stable, but was hampered by this new, untested OS and new, untested applications running on a new, untested hardware architecture. This triple-threat combination, and Sun's timeline for fixing the problems is what I feel truly doomed the JavaStation. I remember that in 1998, Sun publicized that it had rolled out 3000 of these machines in-house, including one on Scott McNealy's desk. One who has used the JavaStations with the Sun software would have to wonder whether he ever turned it on and used it solely for a day? Had he done so, I'm sure he'd demand things be done differently. Why Sun never ported and released its tried and tested XTerminal software to the JavaStation, or even a mini-Solaris, remained a mystery to us the whole time before we switched to Linux. It was only after we moved to Linux and the JavaStation line was formally killed by Sun when we learned from some inside Sun sources that Solaris actually was ported to Mr. Coffee, but released only internally at Sun. As a heavily invested customer site who had begged for help, this was not only disheartening, but insulting to discover. Lastly, the customer support we received at the time was horrible. We pled our case on more than a few occassions, but requests always seemed to fall on deaf ears. Calling up SunSolve for JavaStation help always resulted in a transfer to a Java Language engineer. If the Sun employees do not know their own products, that's a problem! >From our view, there no doubt was politics involved in this, and as customers, we were the ones to bear the results of this. We continue using Sun equipment when it comes to the proven models like the Enterprise-class servers and diskarrays, but on the latest low-cost desktop offerings, we will be forever cautious given the JavaStation history. Linux now proves the JavaStations are adequate machines, and Sun could take this bait and go with it. If they sell the JavaStations for $250 a piece and the JavaStation running a proven OS like Linux (or Solaris) with proven apps (X), the JavaStation makes for a great network appliance. The recent NetPliance I-Opener Linux hack and subsequent controversy proves there certainly is a market for this type of low-cost device. | ||
| --Robert Dubinski, Computer Systems Technician at Marquette University <tech@mscs.mu.edu> | ||
More comments and rebuttal statements by Sun employees are always welcome.
Since Sun has canceled production of the JavaStation line, it no longer sells them through their official channels. It should be possible to order any remaining JavaStation stock from the Sun Spares site at http://www.sunspares.com.
Your best bet to get JavaStations though is out on the open market. Educational institutions which received a handful from Sun as demo units are now trying to offload them any way they can. Search around the auction sites like Ebay and Yahoo Auctions, and you should be able to turn some up.
Lastly, a great resource for JavaStations is "Bodoman's JavaStation site" at: http://www.bodoman.com/javastation/javastation.html . Here you can find Mr. Coffee and Krups models.
The current going price as of May 2000 for a Mr. Coffee model without memory or monitor is about $70-100US, while the Krups goes for about $85-100US. Anything more is typically due to memory pre-installed. Since the Taiwanese earthquake of 1999, memory prices have fluctuated on a near daily basis, making it difficult to pin a price range down in this manner.
You might also get lucky and stumble on someone who wants to get rid of JavaStations cheap. Pete Zaitcev <zaitcev@metabyte.com> purchased a 32-MB Krups for $75US in a pristine unopened box.