HP Apollo Domain 10000
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1988 |
| Period | Prelude (I) |
| CPU | 1-4 PRISM 18 MHz |
| Caches | 192 KB L1 |
| RAM | 128 MB |
| Design | Apollo |
| Drives | up to four |
| Expansion | 8 X-bus 6 VME 4 ISA |
| Bandwidth | 160 MB |
| I/O | depends |
The Apollo Domain 10000 from Apollo Computer were marketed as personal supercomputer
geared for complex workstation applications like electronic design automation (EDA) and mechanical computer-aided design and engineering (MCAD/MCAE).
The Domain 10000 were designed and sold by Apollo Computer, a technical computing market leader in the 1980s, based on their own PRISM RISC architecture, before HP bought Apollo and integrated it into the HP 9000 lineup.
Apollo Computer was bought by HP at the end of the 1980s, taking over their product lineup with a plan on integrating technical computers (HP 9000 and Apollo) and software ecosystem. The Apollo workstation series was carried on for a few years under HP/Apollo branding; HP integrated Apollo as their workstation business unit with Apollo co-branding on the HP 9000 RISC workstations for a while but Apollo products and technology were phased out soon after and HP concentrated on its own PA-RISC computers and architecture.
| System | Model number | Introduced | Prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| DN10000 | Workstation version | 1988 | $79,900-$235,900 |
| DSP10000 | Server version | 1988 | $69,900-$225,900 |
| 10010 | 1 Processor | 1988 | $69,900-$175,900 |
| 10020 | 2 Processors | 1988 | $89,900-$195,900 |
| 10030 | 3 Processors | 1988 | $109,900-$215,900 |
| 10040 | 4 Processors | 1988 | $129,900-$235,900 |
Even though the DN10000 and PRISM were soon phased out in HP’s product lineup post-deal, HP was still officially communicating an upgraded PRISM processor and Apollo hardware in 1989.
HP envisaged double the computing power (from 22 to 44 MIPS), increased caches to 512/512 KB, increased memory to 512 MB using 4 Mb DRAMs and up to 18 GB of SCSI storage and called this the DN10000TX upgrade
in 1991 – which apparently never shipped.
System architecture
Processors
| Model | CPU | Speed | L1 Cache |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain 10000 | 1-4 PRISM | 18 MHz | 128/64 KB on-chip |
Chipset
The Domain 10000 is based on the Apollo PRISM architecture, centered around a system backplane with central and expension slots. Processors, memory and high-performance graphics are attached to the central X-bus. A central service processor (MC68020) also attaches to the X-bus and controls the VME and ISA I/O buses for devices and peripherals.
- CPUs 1-4 attach to X-bus
- Memory 1-3 attach to X-bus
- FDDI networking attaches to X-bus
- Graphics engine attaches to X-bus
- Service processor attaches to X-bus
System buses
- X-bus, processor/memory bus – system backplane with 160 MB/s data rate
- VME main bus for I/O – for disk and network controllers
- ISA (
PC/AT
) bus for I/O – graphics and peripherals - ESDI for storage I/O, SCSI was an option
Memory
- Apollo proprietary memory boards that plug into X-bus slots, each taking two slots
- Up to three memory boards with each up to four 64 MB daughter boards
- 16 MB minimum, 128 MB maximum with parity, (704/720 MB theoretically)
Expansion slots
- Eight X-bus slots (shared with processor and memory boards)
- 40-plane graphics option for 3D drawing, using one slot (1280x1024)
- 80-plane graphics option for 3D drawing, using two slots (1280x1024)
- FDDI dual attach
- 68020, 12 MHz on Utility board
- Communications controller with 2 X.25 and SNA ports
- Four ISA slots (
PC-AT
)- IBM Token Ring card
- Simple 8-plane graphics if configured as workstation (1024x800)
- QIC tape controller: Western Digital WD7000
- Six or five VME slots (depending on VME extension)
- Ethernet card (13837)
- Apollo Token Ring card
- ESDI drive controller: Interphase V/ESDI 4201
- SCSI drive controller (X-ADD-TFC)
- 80286 on ETH802.3_VME
- Up to six networking cards are supported, two of each type
Storage
- Up to four disk drives in the system, options:
- 360 MB disk drives: Micropolis 1558 and Maxtor XT-4380E
- 760 MB disk drives: Maxtor XT-8760E
- 1/4" tape drives: Archive 5945C
- Up to two disks on each ESDI controller
- SCSI drives apparently possible in Domain OS SR10.4 with WD7000-ASC
External ports
- I/O depends on installed configuration
- 3 RS-232 serial
Operating systems
The only operating system for the Apollo DN10000 servers was Domain/OS, Apollo's own operating system from the 1980s, originally called AEGIS and later rebranded. DN10000s used a special version of it, and were only supported by release SR10 which allowed users a selection of environments to run on top of Domain OS – AEGIS and Unix (BSD or System V). There were no other operating systems available to speak of.
Benchmarks
| Model | SPEC89 | MIPS |
|---|---|---|
| DN10000 1 CPU |
19 | 15-30 |
| DN10000 4 CPU |
60-100 |
Performance of a single-CPU DN10000 was roughly equivalent to a DECstation 5000/200 and slightly better than a Sun SPARCstation 1+.
References
- The DN 10000TX: a new high-performance PRISM processor, COMPCON Spring ’91 Digest of Papers, 1991
- APOLLO COMPUTER LAUNCHES ITS 64-BIT PRISM RISC MACHINE, Tech Monitor archive, February 29, 1988
- WHY APOLLO COMPUTER RECKONS IT HAS OUTDONE SUN IN THE RISC STAKES, Tech Monitor archive, March 14, 1988
- Series 10000 Personal Supercomputer Workstation Systems, Apollo Brochure, July 1988
- Apollo Quick-reference Configuration Guide, Hewlett-Packard Co., June 1990, 5952-2149
- Apollo/DOMAIN Computers, zepa.net, 2022 (mirrors: archive.org from 1999 and 2022)
- Apollo Frequently Asked Questions, Nickolai Zeldovich, Mar 29, 2012
- Apollo part list, Tame Inc., 1997 (archive.org mirror from 1998):
DN10000 SYSTEMS: 10574: PRISM CPU 10576: 10578: MAIN MEMORY PCB, REQ'S MEMORY DAUGHTERCARDS 10580: MAIN MEMORY PCB, REQ'S MEMORY DAUGHTERCARDS 10582: ISA BUS INTERFACE PCB 10597-000: 8MB MEMORY DAUGHTERCARD (USED WITH 10578 OR 10580) 10597-001: 16MB MEMORY DAUGHTERCARD (USED WITH 10580) 10640: ISA BUS MOTHERBOARD 10644: 5-SLOT 11755: 300VDC MAIN POWER SUPPLY, (7.5A/1500W) 18156: SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY (POWER COMPONENTS P/N C-942)
- HP- Apollo Products Configuration Guide, Hewlett Packard, December 12, 1989 (bitsavers.org mirror)
- Apollo Continental United States Product Price List, Apollo Computer, July 1988 (bitsavers.org mirror)
- HP unveils plan for new PRISM CPU, Hewlett Packard, Press Release October 1989 (1000bit.it archive)