Jazz (mainboard)
Jazz is the code name for a standard that specifies mainboards with MIPS processors on which Windows NT can run.
history
The Jazz mainboard was designed by Microsoft as part of the development of the first version of Windows NT, Windows NT 3.1 released in the summer of 1993 . The MIPS-based workstations available at the time (including the DECstation from Digital and the SGI Indigo ) had a design that differed significantly from the commercially available x86 computers. In order to save development costs for hardware and device drivers, the Jazz was to use standard x86 hardware. The Jazz was initially only intended for internal use at Microsoft and its architecture was not suitable for mass production.
Towards the end of development, Microsoft sold the design to MIPS Computer Systems , who made the mainboard suitable for mass production and then used it as the basis for their MIPS Magnum series workstations . Most of the other manufacturers who developed MIPS-based workstations for Windows NT also used Jazz-compatible motherboards. The last MIPS-compatible Windows version is Windows NT 4.0 , which was last updated in November 1999 .
specification
A Jazz-compatible motherboard had the following components:
- MIPS R4000 / R4400 processor
- EISA bus system
- Inmos G364 graphics card (2D framebuffer)
- PS / 2 keyboard and mouse interface
- Floppy disk controller
- 16-bit sound controller
- National Semiconductor SONIC 10BaseT Ethernet adapter
- NCR 53C9x SCSI controller
- serial and parallel interfaces
- Real time clock
Systems based on the Jazz mainboard
The Jazz mainboard served as the basis for the following systems, some of which differed in small details from the Jazz mainboard (e.g. different graphics card or PCI bus instead of EISA):
- MIPS Magnum 4000PC
- Acer PICA / Acer Formula
- NEC RISCstation
- Olivetti M700
Very few manufacturers built MIPS workstations with Windows NT that were not based on the Jazz mainboard (including Siemens-Nixdorf with the RM series). A specially adapted HAL was necessary for these computers so that Windows NT could run on them.
Others
PReP (PowerPC Reference Platform) , which is also compatible with x86 hardware and Windows NT, went through a similar development history, but for PowerPC processors .
Individual evidence
Web links
- Jazz in the Linux / MIPS documentation