HP Visualize B132L, B160L, B180L Workstations
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1996-1997 |
| Period | Maturity (III) |
| Series | Visualize |
| CPU | PA-7300LC 32-bit 132-180 MHz |
| Cache | 128 KB L1 1 MB L2 |
| RAM | 1.5 GB |
| Design | LASI |
| Drives | 2 SCSI 1 FD |
| Expansion | 1 GSC/PCI 1 GSC/PCI/EISA |
| I/O | Ethernet Fast Ethernet (+) EVC 2 SCSI 2 serial 2 PS/2 audio |
HP Visualize B-Class B132L, B160L and B180L are midrange high-performance graphics workstations introduced in 1996 and 1997. Based on 32-bit PA-RISC processors, they were the successors to the popular 715 workstations with improved performance and I/O options for HP-UX Unix applications. B180L were introduced a year after the initial B132L and B160L as more powerful alternative.
B-Class were developed together with the HP Visualize C-Class workstations C132L/C160L, having similar design but more integrated functionality on the mainboard and fewer expansion options to minimize cost. The +-models B132L+ and B180L+ had faster Ultra-Wide SE SCSI and 100 Mbit Ethernet instead of Fast-Wide HVD SCSI and 10 Mbit Ethernet onboard.
HP marketed Visualize B-Class in 1996 as having leadership integer performance and 2-D and 3-D graphics capabilities
for complex design and analysis in mechanical design automation
such as MDA, EDA, remote sensing and GIS.
HP Visualize B132L scored excellent in all categories in an evaluation of UNIX Review 1997.
On the higher-end, B-Class were flanked by 64-bit C160/C180 and J-Class workstations. Many Visualize workstations including B-Class became widely available in the 2000s when Unix-based CAD/CAE was phased out in the industry and these workstations had solid support in open source operating systems.
- HP Visualize B132L, HP 9000 778, were introduced in 1996 for $10,480
- HP Visualize B160L, HP 9000 778, were introduced in 1996 for $16,480
- HP Visualize B180L, HP 9000 778, were introduced in 1997 for $16,500
System
Processors
| System | CPU | Speed | L1 cache | L2 cache |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP Visualize B132L | PA-7300LC PA-RISC 32-bit | 132 MHz | 64/64 KB on-chip | 1 MB off-chip optional |
| HP Visualize B132L+ | PA-7300LC PA-RISC 32-bit | 132 MHz | 64/64 KB on-chip | 1 MB off-chip optional |
| HP Visualize B160L | PA-7300LC PA-RISC 32-bit | 160 MHz | 64/64 KB on-chip | 1 MB off-chip optional |
| HP Visualize B180L+ | PA-7300LC PA-RISC 32-bit | 180 MHz | 64/64 KB on-chip | 1 MB off-chip optional |
Chipset
HP Visualize B-Class still use HP LASI, a custom and highly integrated HP chipset, which combines many functions and I/O on a single chip. Together with the on-CPU memory controller (MIOC), this resulted in a very integrated system design. For PA-7300LC-systems, HP extended the LASI design by a PCI bridge for more I/O device and updated a few faster onboard devices.
- HP LASI integrated chipset
- HP Phantom PseudoBC GSC+ port
- Integrated NCR 53C710 8-bit single-ended SCSI-2
- B132L, B160L NCR 53C720 16-bit Fast-Wide high-voltage differential SCSI-2
- B132L+, B180L+ Symbios Logic 53C875 16-bit Ultra-Wide SCSI-2 controller
- B132L+, B180L+ DEC 21142/43 (Tulip) Fast-Ethernet controller
- Integrated Intel 82596CA 10 Mbit Ethernet controller
- HP Harmony CD/DAT quality 16-bit stereo audio
- HP Wax EISA bridge
- HP Dino GSC-to-PCI bridge
- HP Visualize-EG (
Graffiti
) graphics with 2MB frame buffer memory - Other I/O (serial, parallel, Floppy)
System buses
- GSC general system-level I/O bus
- B132L and B132L+: 33 MHz 132 MB/s
- B160L: 40 MHz 160 MB/s
- B180L+: 36 MHz 144 MB/s
- EISA additional expansion I/O bus
- PCI-32/33 high-performance device I/O bus
- SCSI-2 Fast-Narrow single-ended bus
- B132L, B160L SCSI-2 Fast-Wide high-voltage differential main storage I/O bus
- B132L+, B180L+ SCSI-2 Ultra-Wide single-ended main storage I/O bus
Expansion
Memory
- 72-pin ECC SIMMs, 60ns or faster
- Six slots for 16-256 MB modules
- 32 MB to 1.5 GB supported
Expansion cards
- B132L, B160L:
- One slot for GSC (EISA formfactor) or PCI 32-bit/33 MHz, 3.3 V cards
- One slot for GSC (EISA formfactor), PCI 32-bit/33 MHz, 3.3 V or EISA cards
- B132L+, B180L+:
- One slot for GSC (EISA formfactor) or PCI 32-bit/33 MHz, 5 V cards
- One slot for GSC (EISA formfactor), PCI 32-bit/33 MHz, 5 V or EISA cards
Storage
- SCSI half-height 3.5″ 68-pin hard drive, either Fast-Wide high-voltage differential (on B132L, B160L) or Ultra-Wide SE (on +-models)
- 3.5″ Floppy drive
- SCSI half-heigth 5.25″ 50-pin SE drive, Fast-Narrow SE SCSI, externally accessible
Ports
- SCSI-2 50-pin Fast-Narrow single-ended
- B132L, B160L 68-pin HD SCSI-2 Fast-Wide high-voltage differential
- B132L+, B180L+ SCSI-3 68-pin Ultra-Wide single-ended
- Two serial RS232C DB9
- Parallel DB25
- B132L, B160L Ethernet RJ45
- B132L+, B180L+ Fast Ethernet RJ45
- Ethernet AUI 15-pin
- EVC graphics port, that needs a special HP adapter cable to convert to VGA
- Two PS/2 connectors for keyboard & mouse
- Four phone jacks (microphone, headphones, line-in and line-out)
- Four LEDs on the front for errors and status messages
Operating systems
- HP-UX, the original HP Unix shipped with it
- HP-UX 11i v1 in 32-bit mode, TCOE and MTOE versions (December 2000-December 2004), B180L apparently until September 2005
- HP-UX 11.00 in 32-bit mode
- HP-UX 10.20 32-bit
- Software on HP-UX: Very often used for engineering (CAD/CAM), mathematics and signals, sometimes DTP
- PA-RISC Linux, main Linux port to PA-RISC
- OpenBSD, open-source Unix-like, ported to PA-RISC
- NetBSD, open-source Unix-like, ported to PA-RISC
- QEMU, open-source computer emulator, supports a B160L
Pictures
Dimensions
| Height | Width | Depth | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 116mm | 445mm | 452mm | 18kg |
Performance
| System | SPEC95 int |
SPEC95 fp |
SPEC95 rate int |
SPEC95 rate fp |
SPEC2000 int |
SPEC2000 fp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP Visualize B132 | 6.45 | 6.70 | 58.1 | 60.3 | ||
| HP Visualize B132+ | 6.84 | 7.17 | 61.5 | 64.6 | ||
| HP Visualize B160L | 7.75 | 7.56 | 69.7 | 68.1 | ||
| HP Visualize B180L+ | 9.22 | 9.43 | 83.0 | 84.8 | 87 | 60 |
Compared to other RISC and Unix platforms of the 1990s, PA-RISC was a fast architecture with PA-7300LC processors being solid mid-1990s low-cost RISC processors.
| System | CPU | SPEC95 int |
SPEC95 fp |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP Visualize C240 | PA-8200 236 MHz | 17.10 | 25.40 |
| HP Visualize C160 | PA-8000 160 MHz | 10.40 | 16.30 |
| SGI O2 | MIPS R10000 196MHz | 10.1 | 8.77 |
| Intel SE440BX | Intel Pentium II 233MHz | 9.38 | 7.40 |
| IBM RS/6000 F50 | PowerPC 604e 166 MHz | 7.52 | 8.52 |
| DEC Alphastation 600 | DEC Alpha 21164 300MHz | 7.33 | 12.2 |
| Intel Alder | Intel Pentium Pro 166MHz | 7.11 | 6.21 |
| Sun Ultra 2 1170 | Sun UltraSPARC 167MHz | 6.34 | 9.33 |
| HP 9000 C110 | PA-7200 120 MHz | 6.00 | 8.14 |
| DEC Alphastation 250 | DEC Alpha 21064A 266MHz | 4.18 | 6.27 |
| SGI Indy | MIPS R5000 150MHz | 3.97 | 4.20 |
| HP 9000 712/100 | PA-7100LC 100 MHz | 3.76 | 4.06 |
Documentation
Most HP documentation is only available at archive.org and other archives, with most official sources, articles and journals having disappeared in the 2010s.
- Model B132L/B132L+/B160L/B180L Owners Guide (.pdf) Hewlett Packard, A4190-90023, September 1997 parisc linux
- Service Handbook B Class Model B132L/B132L+/B160L/B180L (.pdf) Hewlett Packard, A4190-90041, October 1997 parisc linux
- A Low-Cost Workstation with Enhanced Performance and I/O Capabilities (.pdf) Scott P. Allan et al (June 1997: Hewlett-Packard Journal) archive.org
- HP VISUALIZE Workstations Desktop Models B132L and B160L, HP Technical Computing archive.org, Hewlett-Packard Company (1997)
- HP B-Class Workstations, HP 1998, 5968-2860E archive.org
Reviews
- UNIX Review Scores Model B132L ’Excellent’ in All Categories!, HP FYI, Hewlett Packard, 1997 archive.org
LED messages
- LED errors and status messages might be displayed on the HP B-Class front LEDs
ROM update
There is an firmware update available for the B-Class with the latest version 6.1:
- PF_CB1X0061.txt has details about contents and installation of the patch.
- CB1X0061.frm contains the patch.
- Both hosted at the PA-RISC Linux FTP server