The Sun workstation was a personal computer system that combined local data processing with unusually strong graphical and networking abilities for its time. It was grew out of work at Stanford University - Sun stands for Stanford University Network. The workstation was "developed for research in VLSI design automation, text processing, distributed operating systems and programming environments.
Clusters of SUN workstations are connected via a local network sharing a network-based file system." (see http://i.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/csl/tr/82/229/CSL-TR-82-229.pdf) The success of academic versions of the machine led to commercialization, with Sun Microsystems founded in 1982.
This is the seven-slot Workstation Model 100. It includes not only a processing unit but a keyboard and mouse. From 1990 until 2006, the object was on loan from Sun Microsystems for exhibition in the National Museum of American History's Information Age exhibit, it subsequently was donated to the standing collections.
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