HP 9000/D-Class & R-Class
Overview
The D-Class Ultralight were designed to be flexible, upgradable and scalable Enterprise servers.
Many different models were sold which could be upgraded within the series to another model with various options
for each system. They were designated to bring mid-range performance for an entry-level price.
Some are two-way SMP capable, supported CPUs range from 32-bit PA-7100LC to 64-bit
PA-8200.
The R-Class Ultralight servers (R380/R390) are the rack-mountable versions of their D-Class counterparts (D380/D390). They are technically almost identical, except some differences in the I/O and storage configuration.
The Ultralight servers used the following naming convention:
- The first number after the
D
, — 2 or 3 — indicates the general type — D-Class servers were available in two different versions: the smaller D2x0 and the bigger D3x0. - The latter numbers [00, 10, …, 90] indicate the
internal
features, like CPU and chipset. - The R-Class R380/R390 are D380/D390 in a rack-mountable (19″) case.
Model numbers and introductions dates:
| System | Model number | Introduced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| D200, D300 | HP 9000/801 | January 1996 | |
| D210, D310 | HP 9000/811 | January 1996 | $6,900, ? |
| D220, D320 | HP 9000/803, HP 9000/813 | January 1997 | $8,900, ? |
| D230, D330 | HP 9000/823, HP 9000/833 | January 1997 | ?, $16,700 |
| D250, D350 | HP 9000/821, HP 9000/831 | January 1996 | |
| D260, D360 | HP 9000/841, HP 9000/851 | May 1996 | |
| D270, D370 | HP 9000/861, HP 9000/871 | November 1996 | |
| D280, D380 | HP 9000/810, HP 9000/820 | September 1997 | |
| D390 | HP 9000/800 | July 1998 | |
| R380, R390 | HP 9000/800 | September 1998 |
Internals
CPU
- Dx00: PA-7100LC 75MHz with 1KB on-chip I L1 and 256KB off-chip unified L1 cache
- Dx10: PA-7100LC 100MHz with 1KB on-chip I L1 and 256KB off-chip unified L1 cache
- Dx20: PA-7300LC 132MHz with 64/64KB on-chip I/D L1 (and 1MB off-chip unified I/D L2) cache
- Dx30: PA-7300LC 160MHz with 64/64KB on-chip I/D L1 (and 1MB off-chip unified I/D L2) cache
- Dx50: 1-2 PA-7200 100MHz with 256/256KB off-chip I/D L1 and 2KB on-chip
assist
L1 cache each - Dx60: 1-2 PA-7200 120MHz with 1024/1024KB off-chip I/D L1 and 2KB on-chip
assist
L1 cache each - Dx70: 1-2 PA-8000 160MHz with 512/512KB off-chip I/D L1 cache each
- Dx80/R380: 1-2 PA-8000 180MHz with 1024/1024KB off-chip I/D L1 cache each
- D390/R390: 1-2 PA-8200 240MHz with 2048/2048KB off-chip I/D L1 cache each
Notes
- Systems with PA-7100LC/PA-7300LC processors are not SMP capable
- The 1KB on-chip L1 cache on systems with a PA-7100LC is not really a true cache
- The 2KB on-chip
assist
cache on systems with a PA-7200 is not really a true cache - Systems with a PA-7300LC processor feature an optional 1MB external L2 cache, provided through two SRAM modules
- Upgrading from one type of CPU to another mostly requires more than just changing the CPU board (cf. D-Class and R-Class System Upgrade Guide).
Chipset
- LASI ASIC, which features:
- NCR 53C710 8-bit single-ended SCSI-2
- Intel 82596CA 10Mb Ethernet controller
- WD 16C522 compatible parallel
- Harmony CD/DAT quality 16-bit audio
- NS 16550A compatible serial
- PA-7200 models: U2 I/O adapter Runway to GSC bridge
- PA-8000 models: UTurn I/O adapter Runway to GSC bridge
- PA-7200/PA-8000 models: MMC/SMC memory controllers
- PA-7300LC models: Phantom PseudoBC GSC+ port
- Wax chip
- EISA bus converter (GSC-to-EISA)
- Second RS232 serial
- Intel 82503 Ethernet transceiver, media auto-selection
- CS4215 or AD1849 programmable CODECs
- D3x0: NCR 53C720 16-bit Fast-Wide high-voltage differential (HVD) SCSI-2
- D390/R380/R390: DEC 21140 Fast Ethernet controller
Buses
- On SMP-capable systems: Runway CPU/memory bus
- GSC+ bus for the general system level I/O
- EISA expansion bus
- D3x0: SCSI-2 Fast-Wide high-voltage differential (HVD) bus for main storage I/O
- SCSI-2 Fast-Narrow single-ended bus for main storage I/O
Note: the Fast-Wide differential bus is optional on the D2x0 models.
Memory
- 72-pin ECC SIMMs
The required access-time of the RAM modules depends on the used CPU, systems with a PA-8x00 will need 50ns modules, those with PA-7200 and PA-7300LC can take up to 60ns and PA-7100LC-based models can take even slower modules.
Expansion
- D2x0:
- One slot for a GSC/HSC (EISA formfactor) card
- Two slots for EISA cards
- Three slots for either GSC/HSC (EISA formfactor) or EISA cards
- D3x0:
- One slot for a GSC/HSC (EISA formfactor) card
- Three slot for EISA cards
- Four slots for either GSC/HSC (EISA formfactor) or EISA cards
- R380/R390:
- One slot for a GSC/HSC (EISA formfactor) card
- Four slot for EISA cards
- Three slots for either GSC/HSC (EISA formfactor) or EISA cards
Drives
- D2x0/R3x0: Up to two Fast-Narrow 50-pin SCSI-2 single-ended hard drives
- D3x0: five hot-swap trays for a Fast-Wide 68-pin SCSI-2 high-voltage differential hard drive
- D-Class: Up to three 5.25″ 50-pin Fast-Narrow SE SCSI half-height drives, external accessible
- R3x0: On 5.25″ 50-pin Fast-Narrow SE SCSI half-height drive, external accessible
Note: If the Fast-Wide differential SCSI option exists on a D2x0, two optional trays for FWD drives are available.
External connectors
- 50-pin HD SCSI-2 single-ended
- TP/RJ45 10BaseT 10Mbit Ethernet
- Two DB9 male RS232C serial, one for console, one for USV
- DB25 female parallel
- Two PS/2 connectors for keyboard und mouse
ROM update
There is a firmware update available for the D210 and D310 which contains the latest version (38.43).
- PF_CULL3843.txt has details about the contents and installation of the patch.
- PF_CULL3843 contains the patch.
There is also a firmware update available for the D220, D230, D320 and D310 which contains the latest version (38.46).
- PF_CULD3846.txt has details about the contents and installation of the patch.
- PF_CULD3846 contains the patch.
There is also a firmware update available for the D250, D260, D350 and D360 which contains the latest version (36.34).
- PF_CULT3634.txt has details about the contents and installation of the patch.
- PF_CULT3634 contains the patch.
There is also a firmware update available for the D270, D280, D370, D380 and R380 which contains the latest version (42.11).
- PF_CULU4211.txt has details about the contents and installation of the patch.
- PF_CULU4211.frm contains the patch.
There is also a firmware update available for the D390 and R390 which contains the latest version (42.10).
- PF_CULV4210.txt has details about the contents and installation of the patch.
- PF_CULV4210.frm contains the patch.
References:
Manuals
- D-Class and R-Class Installation Guide (PDF, 0.4MB)
- D-Class and R-Class Operator’s Guide (PDF, 1.1MB)
- D-Class and R-Class System Upgrade Guide (PDF, 0.9MB)
Articles
- An Entry-Level Server with Multiple Performance Points (.pdf) Lin A. Nease et al (June 1997: Hewlett-Packard Journal)
Operating systems
- HP-UX: every 32-bit release from 10.20-11.11 works. Systems with a
64-bit PA-8x00 CPU also can use 64-bit version of HP-UX 11.x.
- 10.20 for 800s servers: runs nicely.
- 11.00 and 11i v1: run nicely.
- Linux: works.
- D220/230, D320/330: OpenBSD works.
Benchmarks
| Model | SPEC92, int | SPEC92, fp | SPEC95, int | SPEC95, fp | SPEC95 rate, int |
SPEC95 rate, fp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dx00 | 115 | 146 | 2.18 | 2.90 | 19.2 | 25.8 |
| Dx10 | 152 | 194 | 3.74 | 4.08 | 33.6 | 36.7 |
| Dx20 | 6.57 | 6.72 | 59.2 | 60.5 | ||
| Dx30 | 7.87 | 7.58 | 70.8 | 68.3 | ||
| Dx50 | 144 | 218 | 5.01 | 6.77 | 45.1 | 61.0 |
| Dx60 | ||||||
| Dx60 | 114 | 143 | ||||
| Dx70 | 10.40 | 15.00 | 93.9 | 135 | ||
| Dx70 2-CPU |
184 | 190 | ||||
| Dx80 | 12.30 | 17.40 | 111 | 157 | ||
| Dx80 2-CPU |
219 | 221 | ||||
| D390 | 15.50 | 25.50 |
Compare these with other results on the Benchmarks page.