Workstation
The word workstation often refers to a general-purpose computer designed to be used by one person at a time and which offers higher performance than normally found in a personal computer, especially with respect to graphics, processing power and the ability to carry out several tasks at the same time. The 3Station by 3Com was a typical early example. When comparing with some of the old definitions of computing, some people may consider a workstation to be the equivalent of a minicomputer used by one person, or possibly just a high-end microcomputer.
In the early 1980s, pioneers in this field were Apollo Computer and Sun Microsystems who created UNIX-based workstations based on the Motorola 68000 processor.
Workstations tend to be very expensive, typically several times the cost of a standard PC and sometimes costing as much as a new car. The high expense usually comes from using costlier components that (one hopes) run faster than those found at the local computer store. Manufacturers try to take a "balanced" approach to system design, making certain that data can flow unimpeded between the many different subsystems within a computer. Additionally, workstation makers tend to push to sell systems at higher prices in order to maintain somewhat larger profit margins than the commodity-driven PC manufacturers.
The systems that come out of workstation companies often feature SCSI or Fibre Channel disk storage systems, high-end 3D accelerators, single or multiple 64-bit processors, large amounts of RAM, and well-designed cooling. Additionally, the companies that make the products tend to have very good repair/replacement plans. However, the line between workstation and PC is increasingly becoming blurred as trends toward consolidation and cost-cutting have caused workstation manufacturers to use "off the shelf" PC components and graphics solutions as opposed to proprietary in-house developed technology. Some attempts have been made to produce low-cost workstations (which are still expensive by PC standards), but they have often had lackluster performance.
The fact that consumer products of PCs and game consoles are now themselves at the cutting edge of technology makes deciding whether or not to purchase a workstation very diffult for many organizations. Sometimes, these systems are still required, but many places opt for the less-expensive, if more fault-prone, PC-level hardware.
List of Workstations and Manufacturers
See also: music workstation
Based on material from FOLDOC
Referenced By
68040 | ComputinG | Motorola 68040
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