Why did Sun change their voltage requirements?

July 18, 2005 1:48 PM

Sun is EOL'ing the V480 and V880, replacing them with slightly faster models (the V480 and V890). 480s and 880s run on 110-240VAC, but 490s and 890s are 200-240VAC only. Can anybody explaing the logic for this change?
posted by mosch to computers & internet (2 comments total)

The V880 I used to run required three 120V power supplies. If I remember, one of them was redundant. In any case, the V880 alone would draw enough current to "kill" a APC SU1400 (1050W of power) in about three or four minutes after a power outage. If I had to guess, I'd say the 890 probably draws even more power than the 880, requiring Sun to decide either to somehow fit in a fourth power supply, or go with fewer power supplies and a power coupling capable of handling this higher capacity safely. Indeed, looking at the specs, the V880 draws about 1480W (or VA, volt-amperes) and the V890 around 2100W.
posted by Rothko at 2:10 PM on July 18, 2005

Rothko is spot on with the wattage requirements. Also, they may have justified it because most large data centers, which are their main targets, operate on 220, and if not they can convince you to buy a Sun rack which has 220 feeds.
posted by arruns at 3:21 PM on July 18, 2005