Tadpole RDI UltraBook

RDI UltraBook
© Tadpole-RDI 2000

RDI UltraBooks were SPARC64-based RISC laptops for mobile Unix computing, introduced by RDI in 1997 to be used as a portable Solaris workstation for training, demonstrations, exhibitions and portable deployment (C&C).

UltraBooks were binary compatible with Sun workstations for standard Sun Solaris Unix. They were designed for government and security agencies, their removable drives were marketed as a plus for classified environments.

UltraBook 170 UltraBook 200
Introduced 1997 19957
Based on Sun Ultra AX reference
CPU UltraSPARC I
167 MHz		 UltraSPARC I
2000 MHz
Cache 16/16 KB L1, 512 KB L2
Design 64-bit RISC Sun SPARC64 with RDI custom chipset
RAM 64-512 MB
Video ATI RAGE LT or Sun Creator 3D
Screen 12.1″ or 14.1″ TFT
Drives 1-3 IDE drives
Expansion PCMCIA
I/O Ethernet, 13W3, SCSI, Ethernet, PS/2, floppy, audio, docking, serial, parallel
OS Solaris
Price $11,995-20,085 $14,895-25,085
RDI UltraBook Components RDI UltraBook RDI UltraBook
UltraBook Components, UltraBook Beauty© Tadpole 2000

RDI built UltraBooks in the same case as the PA-RISC PrecisionBooks, which were much less successful however. UltraBooks were reportedly used in US Navy aircraft and vessels for ISR.

Technical details

UltraBooks were 64-bit SPARC computers, based on Sun Ultra AX reference design which RDI integrated into laptops. Chipset and devices used were:

[i] - integrated into chipset
* - takes the place left of harddrive, not available with 12.1 TFT
Usage Device Type External Bus
System UPA Ultra Port Architecture crossbar
CPU and graphics to memory (144-bit)		 UPA
Chipset Sun Psycho Plus PCI bridge UPA
PCI
Chipset Sun Cheerio Bus bridge + devices?
Storage PC87415? EIDE controller for hard disk PCI
Storage 53C876? 16-bit fast-wide SCSI-2 68-pin fast-wide PCI
Network Antares? 10/100 Mbit Ethernet controller TP PCI
Video ATI RAGE LT
Sun Creator 3D
24-bit accelerated double/Z 3D		 13W3 D-Type PCI
Cards ? PCMCIA controller two slots PCI
I/O PC87303? Serial and parallel I/O 50-pin breakout cable
for two serial and one parallel		 EBus
I/O PC87303? PS/2 for keyboard/mouse one DIN-8 port EBus
Audio ? 16-bit sound four jacks, internal speaker Ebus

Some of the chipset details is conjecture.

Expansion and I/O

There were few possibilities to expand the UltraBook with devices:

Device Type Details
Memory ECC Two ECC 60ns modules for 64-512 MB RAM
Storage IDE one to three 2.5″ IDE drives ATA-3 PIO 4
second drive removes 3D graphics, third battery
Media Floppy external 3.5″ floppy, special port
Media CD-ROM external SCSI portable 6X CD-ROM
Cards PCMCIA two Type I or Type II or one Type III
Input PS/2 97/98-key Sun5 keyboard and three-button trackpad
Output TFT 12.1″ LCD or 14.1″ TFT 1024×768, 262K colors
Docking optional PEM and MAX module, unclear if available from RDI

Battery was one Li-Ion with 40Wh capacity for 0.5-1.0 of continuous use.

RDI provided an optional 56K PCMCIA fax/modem card with cellular phone support.

Operating systems

RDI UltraBooks were portable Unix workstations, shipped with Sun Solaris 2.6 (or 2.5.1 or Solaris 7). They were 100% binary compatible with Sun SPARC workstations and could run the same applications. Open source operating systems like Linux and BSD possibly also work.

Driver support for PCMCIA cards in Solaris was spotty and had to be provided by RDI.

Benchmarks

SPEC benchmark data and comparisons to contemporary laptops and workstations:

System CPU SPEC92 int SPEC92 fp SPEC95 int SPEC95 fp
UltraBook 170 Sun UltraSPARC-I 167 MHz 265.3 (?) 354.6 (?) 5.56 9.06
UltraBook 200 Sun UltraSPARC-I 200 MHz 322.0 462.0 7.44 10.4
Comparison
Siemens PCE-5S Intel Pentium 100MHz 96.2 81.2 4.04 2.35
Intel Alder Intel Pentium Pro 150MHz 276.3 220.0 6.08 5.42
RDI PrecisionBook 180 PA-7300LC 180 MHz 9.22 9.43
HP Visualize C180 PA-8000 180 MHz 11.80 18.70
Siemens SCENIC 1000 Pentium II 333MHz 13.00 9.43

Documentation

Specifications

Articles and reviews

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