Date: Sun, 11 Jul 99 09:25:13 EST From: Dwight McKay (The Moderator) Reply-To: Suns-at-Home@net-kitchen.com Subject: Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #18 To: Suns-at-Home-List Suns-at-Home Digest Sun, 11 Jul 99 Volume 12 : Issue 18 Today's Topics: Memory for IPX Running older sun4 equipment SAH V12 #7, What can I put in a SPARC-5 Sparc Red-Hat performance question Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #17 (5 msgs) Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #17-- Trade: quad ether Weitek POWER uP? What can I put in a SPARC-5 (3 msgs) What can I put in a SPARC 5? +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Submissions: suns-at-home@net-kitchen.com | | Requests: suns-at-home-request@net-kitchen.com | | WWW Archive access: http://www.net-kitchen.com/~sah | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 13:44:48 +0200 From: Gert.Cuypers@esat.kuleuven.ac.be Subject: Memory for IPX To: suns-at-home@tigger.net-kitchen.com Sorry about reposting what is probably an old question about the memory used in a sun 4/50 (IPX), but I want to buy additional simms, and the information that I have is contradictory. I already figured out that it should be 72 pins, max 16 Megs. Does anyone know (preferably by experience) whether the memory should be 32, 33 or 36 bits ? Parity ? Can't this be adjusted in the boot-eprom ? Can it be mixed Will EDO do ? I heard that this is no good, but other sources say you can use it as well. Even partial (but correct) answers would be very welcome. Bye, Gert - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 01:54:55 -0500 From: kk@enteract.com Subject: Running older sun4 equipment To: suns-at-home@tigger.net-kitchen.com Hello, I have some older sun4's sitting around here. 4/300 4/400 cpus, CG nine graphics + GP2, ipi cards, etc. Which version of sunos/solaris would support the cg9/gp2? I understand that sun dropped support of VME after solaris 2.4. Also, I am curious about the CG9 and GP2. What are its capabilies? What accelleration can the GP2 provide? Would anyone have older versions of sunos that could run this hardware? Thanks. - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 16:11:25 +0300 (EET DST) From: Prevelakis Vassilis Subject: SAH V12 #7, What can I put in a SPARC-5 To: suns-at-home@tigger.net-kitchen.com In Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #17, Charles Lindsey writes > I have a SPARCStation 1+ with 2 internal discs (well within the power > limit that the SS1+ will tolerate). I am planning to upgrade to a > Sparc-5 (or 10, or 20, or whatever I can get). > [...] > So exactly what can I put in a SS5 box? I presume there is plenty of > power available for a reasonable amount of SCSery. Older Suns used the 50 pin IDC connector for all their SCSI peripherals, so you could easily move disks from one Sun to another. Newer Sun computers use the SCSI SCA (sp?) connector which supplies power and defines the SCSI id as well. So you do not need to play with jumpers on the disks. The disadvantage is that you cannot plug old disks to these connectors. However most Suns that I have played with also contain a 50 pin IDC connector for the CDROM drive. If the Sun you are planning to buy does not have a CDROM you can plug your disks to this connector which is standard narrow SCSI-2. However there is another catch. Most Suns are designed in such a way that you cannot just screw a disk to the chassis. In the same way that you had to get mounting brackets for your SS1+, newer Suns have a whole collection of bits and pieces that allow standard disks to be attached inside the box. For example since you mentioned the SS5, to mount even the CDROM you need a plastic bracket that is attached to the CDROM and secures it against the base of the machine. The Ultra-1 Suns have a metal bracket which is used to mount the CDROM and the floppy. Another small cage with SCSI SCA connectors is used to hold two disk drives provided you have small plastic rails that attach to the drives and secure them against guides located inside the cage. Since practically all the Suns I have seen (excluding the new PCI bus Suns) have external SCSI connectors, why don't you just buy an external SCSI shoebox and put your disks there. **vp email: vp@unipi.gr | Vasilis Prevelakis | Network Management Centre, Phone: +30 1 4142174 | University of Piraeus, Fax: +30 1 4112463 | Piraeus, Greece 185-34 - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 09:59:20 +0200 From: "Helmut A. Bender" Subject: Sparc Red-Hat performance question To: suns-at-home@tigger.net-kitchen.com Hi James, On Mon, 7 Jun 1999 you wrote: > I just installed it on a 32megram SS1 (only slightly lower power than > IPC/IPX?) and I am having problems with the speed of it. > > Not only is it sluggish, but overnight the update and syslogd processes > loose there mind and drive the system load way up. (any clues?) > > I would just like to hear your experience (hopefully good) > to see if I should keep trying or just go back to sunOS. Which kernel are you using? This effect was a bug in older kernels. It should be fixed in newer ones (at least since 2.2). I haven't tested it however. -- Bye Helmut hab@arcanum.inka.de - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 14:46:08 -0400 From: Daniel Lees Subject: Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #17 To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com I don't know about the configuration of a SPARCStation 1+, but I know that Sparc 5's use LVD SCSI drives (single connector handles interface and power) Daniel At 08:38 AM 6/19/99 -0500, you wrote: >- ------------------------------ > >Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 20:23:32 +0100 >From: Charles Lindsey >Subject: What can I put in a SPARC-5 >To: suns-at-home@tigger.net-kitchen.com > >I have a SPARCStation 1+ with 2 internal discs (well within the power >limit that the SS1+ will tolerate). I am planning to upgrade to a >Sparc-5 (or 10, or 20, or whatever I can get). > >Now I am told that I cannot just put a SS5 motherboard in the existing >pizza box, which was no great surprise, so I have to buy a new SS5 pizza >box. But it also seems that there is a problem with my existing discs. >They cannot go in the pizza box because the SCSI connections on the SS5 >are different? How come? > >Currently, the various SCSI devices in the pizza box are all connected >together with ribbon cable - I thought that was the standard connection >method for short range SCSI connections (I also have some external SCSI >devices, of course). So what is different about the SS5? I had also >hoped to put a floppy driver in at the same time. > >So exactly what can I put in a SS5 box? I presume there is plenty of >power available for a reasonable amount of SCSery. > >Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own >thing------------------------ >Email: chl@clw.cs.man.ac.uk Web: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~chl >Voice/Fax: +44 161 437 4506 Snail: 5 Clerewood Ave, CHEADLE, SK8 3JU, >U.K. >PGP: 2C15F1A9 Fingerprint: 73 6D C2 51 93 A0 01 E7 65 E8 64 7E 14 A4 >AB A5 > >- ------------------------------ - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 17:32:43 -0700 From: Bradford Castalia Subject: Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #17 To: thush@lanka.com > Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1999 11:44:02 +0600 > From: "Thushara Wickramasinghe" > Subject: automatically logout an idle user after n amount of time > To: > > Please help me. I'll summarize the results and > resend. > > how to configure solaris(2.5.1) to > automatically logout an idle user after n > amount of time ??? > > Thanks. > thushara > > - ----------------------------- The tcsh shell, a good alternative to csh, has this capability. It's widely available freeware. -- Bradford Castalia Castalia@azstarnet.com Systems Analyst 520-624-6629 idæim 520-792-4576 712 N. Seventh Avenue Tucson, AZ 85705 "Build an image in your mind, fit yourself into it." The log of Cyradis seeress of Kell. - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 20:43:08 -0400 From: Mauricio Tavares Subject: Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #17 To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com At 08:38 AM 6/19/99 EST, you wrote: > >Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1999 11:44:02 +0600 >From: "Thushara Wickramasinghe" >Subject: automatically logout an idle user after n amount of time >To: > >Please help me. I'll summarize the results and >resend. > >how to configure solaris(2.5.1) to >automatically logout an idle user after n >amount of time ??? What if you check his uptime and then use soemthign like awk to get his idle. If hisIdle > maxIdle, close his session. [...] >Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 23:51:37 -0400 >From: Howard Huntley >Subject: Subscribers and users??? >To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com > >How many are in Jacksonville FL > I happen to live in Gainesville, FL, and have a Sparc 1+ - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 09:52:38 -0400 From: danny@mtu.edu (Dan Miller) Subject: Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #17 To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com >Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1999 11:44:02 +0600 >From: "Thushara Wickramasinghe" >Subject: automatically logout an idle user after n amount of time >To: > >Please help me. I'll summarize the results and >resend. > >how to configure solaris(2.5.1) to >automatically logout an idle user after n >amount of time ??? Insert a line in the users .cshrc file as: set autologout=60 # logout after 60 min of no activity -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan Miller, Lecturer danny@mtu.edu Systems/Network Administrator School of Technology Michigan Technological University office:(906) 487-2259 Houghton, MI 49931 fax: (906) 487-2583 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 08:56:38 -0500 From: "Salmon,William E." Subject: Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #17 To: "'Suns-at-Home@net-kitchen.com'" Reply to the message below... The older Sparcs used SCSI II drives internal and external. The Sparc 5/20 uses SCA connectors internal (no cable, just a backplane that they connect to) and SCSI II external. The internal CD-ROM in the 5/20 uses the old style 50 pin SCSI cable, so you might be able to cable it up there, but much easier to just use the two internal bays, but you will need the tray to hold it. The trays go for about $20, and you can usually find SCA drives really cheap because most other machines can't use them. > Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 20:23:32 +0100 > From: Charles Lindsey > Subject: What can I put in a SPARC-5 > To: suns-at-home@tigger.net-kitchen.com > > I have a SPARCStation 1+ with 2 internal discs (well within the power > limit that the SS1+ will tolerate). I am planning to upgrade to a > Sparc-5 (or 10, or 20, or whatever I can get). > > Now I am told that I cannot just put a SS5 motherboard in the existing > pizza box, which was no great surprise, so I have to buy a new SS5 pizza > box. But it also seems that there is a problem with my existing discs. > They cannot go in the pizza box because the SCSI connections on the SS5 > are different? How come? > > Currently, the various SCSI devices in the pizza box are all connected > together with ribbon cable - I thought that was the standard connection > method for short range SCSI connections (I also have some external SCSI > devices, of course). So what is different about the SS5? I had also > hoped to put a floppy driver in at the same time. > > So exactly what can I put in a SS5 box? I presume there is plenty of > power available for a reasonable amount of SCSery. > > Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own > thing------------------------ > Email: chl@clw.cs.man.ac.uk Web: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~chl > Voice/Fax: +44 161 437 4506 Snail: 5 Clerewood Ave, CHEADLE, SK8 3JU, > U.K. > PGP: 2C15F1A9 Fingerprint: 73 6D C2 51 93 A0 01 E7 65 E8 64 7E 14 A4 > AB A5 > > - ------------------------------ > > End of Suns-at-Home Digest > ****************************** - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 01:23:26 +0900 From: "Stephen N. Carter" Subject: Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #17-- To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com Sparc5 and Sparc20 use a faster SCSI and the internal connectors are a wonderful power-and-data in one connector which the drive slips into--like hot-swap drives in raid arrays. The drive is first mounted in a plastic carrier which neatly drops into a special holder and then the whole assembly kerchinks into place. While the set-up is great engineering, and far superior to the ribbon cable, it is not so good for availability. You need special drives, and where to get them? Places like http://www.rave.net/hard-cmass.html and http://www.wdpi.com/sms.htm are somewhat useful. Check http://www.creative-s.com:8080/scsidrives.html as well. Note that the Sparc10 uses the same style of connector and disk as the ones you already have. RAM is also different--do you have 30 pin memory in the Sparc 1 and 2? That won't go in the newer machines. Sparc5 and 10 memory is often interchangeable, but the Sparc20 memory is unique. I'm always looking for memory--it seems to be worth more than the entire rest of the Sparc5 and Sparc20. Does anyone know of places to get low cost Sparc5 and Sparc20 memory? Is there a good chart of what memory goes in which machines, and which is interchangeable? Steve Carter IT Manager American Chamber of Commerce in Japan > Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 20:23:32 +0100 > From: Charles Lindsey > Subject: What can I put in a SPARC-5 > To: suns-at-home@tigger.net-kitchen.com > > I have a SPARCStation 1+ with 2 internal discs (well within the power > limit that the SS1+ will tolerate). I am planning to upgrade to a > Sparc-5 (or 10, or 20, or whatever I can get). > > Now I am told that I cannot just put a SS5 motherboard in the existing > pizza box, which was no great surprise, so I have to buy a new SS5 pizza > box. But it also seems that there is a problem with my existing discs. > They cannot go in the pizza box because the SCSI connections on the SS5 > are different? How come? > > Currently, the various SCSI devices in the pizza box are all connected > together with ribbon cable - I thought that was the standard connection > method for short range SCSI connections (I also have some external SCSI > devices, of course). So what is different about the SS5? I had also > hoped to put a floppy driver in at the same time. > > So exactly what can I put in a SS5 box? I presume there is plenty of > power available for a reasonable amount of SCSery. > - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Jul 1999 17:39:27 GMT From: S ash Subject: Trade: quad ether To: suns-at-home@tigger.net-kitchen.com I have a quad ethernet card and im wanting to trade this for a sparc 5 or 10. anyone interested please email me at. sash357@hotmail.com _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 21:39:24 -0400 From: Matthew Plante Subject: Weitek POWER uP? To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com I' heard about the Weitek POWER uP chip for SparcStation2s. Good or bad idea? I gathered it is supposed to boost performance of a ss2 to a ss10 or so. I was thinking about getting one, but I wondered if any of you had experience with this, or have atleast heard something about it. Their web page is: http://www.rave.net/hard-weitek.html thanks, Matthew Plante maplante@cisunix.unh.edu "Windows 95/98, 32 bit extensions and a graphical shell for a 16 bit patch to an 8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprocessor, written by a 2 bit company, that can"t stand 1 bit of competition." -- Pete Jordan Applied Technologies, Inc. -- www.ATIcomputers.com Kinderworks Corporation -- Network Administrator InterOperability Lab -- Gigabit Ethernet Consortium - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 17:52:15 -0400 (EDT) From: Curt Sampson Subject: What can I put in a SPARC-5 To: Charles Lindsey Charles Lindsey writes: > But it also seems that there is a problem with my existing discs. > They cannot go in the pizza box because the SCSI connections on the SS5 > are different? How come? The mounting trays for disks in an SS5 (which you probably need to purchase separately from the unit) expect a low-profile drive with an SCA connector, which is an 80-pin connector that carries wide SCSI, power, and SCSI ID information. SCA is quite handy, actually; it makes it easier and faster to insert and remove drives. However, becuase of the way it works physically, there's no way to use an adapter to turn a normal drive into an SCA drive that will fit in the mounting brackets. There is, however, a single narrow SCSI connector in the SS5 case that's used for the CD-ROM; I've plugged a drive into that and used it successfully, though there's no real way to mount it securely like that, so you'd want to take it out before moving your machine any distance, for example. A better option might just be to buy an SCA drive. Good, fast, relatively large SCA drives are dirt cheap these days. I got the 4 GB 7200 RPM Fujitsu in my SS20 from www.computersurplusoutlet.com for $139. They don't have that one any more, but they do have other stuff, and of course there are always other places you can look about on the web, too. Note that a new 7200 RPM drive will probably make a noticable difference in the speed of your system compared to your old SS1 drives, too. cjs -- Curt Sampson 604 801 5335 De gustibus, aut bene aut nihil. The most widely ported operating system in the world: http://www.netbsd.org - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 08:51:12 -0700 (PDT) From: Phil Hunter Subject: What can I put in a SPARC-5 To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com > Now I am told that I cannot just put a SS5 motherboard in the existing > pizza box, which was no great surprise, so I have to buy a new SS5 pizza > box. But it also seems that there is a problem with my existing discs. > They cannot go in the pizza box because the SCSI connections on the SS5 > are different? That is correct, they use a different, wider SCSI connection w/o a seperate power connector nor SCSI address jumpers. FYI, Tatung SS5 clones use the same style SCSI as your SS1+. > How come? Performance. You can always go w/ external enclosures. Also, memory is incompatible, you won't be able to reuse the RAM from the SS1, performance again. As I recall, the Tatungs used the 30pin SIMMs. I have a suggestion (perhaps heresy for this list). Presumably you want more performance which is why you want to upgrade. Unless you are running SunOS which requires a Sparc CPU, why not build a Solaris x86 system instead? You'll be money & mips ahead. Disk is cheap, you could multi-boot Windoze, Solaris, Linux, Free-BSD. x86 (and sparc too) Solaris is available from Sun for the media & shipping costs, roughly 20 bux US. My second suggestion is to leave the SS1 alone whether or not you go the x86 or SS5 route, just make it a server and network it. If space is an issue, use a terminal console configuration and connect to the serial port on the other system. You can also put the SS1 vertically on it's nose to minimize "floor space", since there is no air-flow thru the front. regards, phil - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 18:12:49 +0000 From: "Jan.Klingel" Subject: What can I put in a SPARC-5 To: suns-at-home@tigger.net-kitchen.com > Now I am told that I cannot just put a SS5 motherboard in the existing > pizza box, which was no great surprise, so I have to buy a new SS5 pizza > box. But it also seems that there is a problem with my existing discs. > They cannot go in the pizza box because the SCSI connections on the SS5 > are different? How come? SS1/2: SCSI HD50 with external power supply cable SS5: SCSI SCA-50 with integrated power supply cable Jan -- EDAG, Inc. Phone +1 248 588 3134 31701 Research Park Drive Fax +1 248 588 3259 Madison Heights, MI 48071, USA www.edag-us.com - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 14:16:19 -0700 (PDT) From: David Wolfskill Subject: What can I put in a SPARC 5? To: chl@clw.cs.man.ac.uk >Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 20:23:32 +0100 >From: Charles Lindsey First, in the process of checking on sources to be sure most of what I wrote below might be worthwhile, here's a URL that's likely to be of use: http://www.sun.com/spares/pricebook/TOC.html >Now I am told that I cannot just put a SS5 motherboard in the existing >pizza box, which was no great surprise, so I have to buy a new SS5 pizza >box. Note that there are two different "pizza boxes" for the SS5 (& SS20); they are distinguished in that the older one (the Aurora-1) has a greyish-purple base, and the spaces for the CD drive & floppy are about the same height. (The CD is a 1/3-height (Toshiba, I think), and I don't expect it's been in production for some time.) The newer one (Aurora-2) has a base that is more of a beige color (I think; I don't have one handy); the CD is a 1/2-height drive, and the floppy slot is smaller. Thus, which pizza box you use will affect which parts go in it. (That said, my SS5 is in an Aurora-1 chassis, and I have one of the newer CD drives in it, by warping the chassis top rather like an over-stuffed suitcase.... and setting a 20" monitor on top of it.) >But it also seems that there is a problem with my existing discs. >They cannot go in the pizza box because the SCSI connections on the SS5 >are different? How come? The SS5 & SS20 both used internal SCA connectors. These are 80-pin wide SCSI connectors that also include power and SCSI ID (which is set on the connector inside the pizza box, rather than on the drive itself). >Currently, the various SCSI devices in the pizza box are all connected >together with ribbon cable - I thought that was the standard connection >method for short range SCSI connections (I also have some external SCSI >devices, of course). So what is different about the SS5? I had also >hoped to put a floppy driver in at the same time. Please note the above. >So exactly what can I put in a SS5 box? I presume there is plenty of >power available for a reasonable amount of SCSery. Up to 2 fast/wide disk drives with SCA connectors. (Though note form factors; drives that are too high won't fit.) A CD drive. (I've heard that Plextor drives will work well with Suns, but have not experienced that first-hand.) A floppy drive. Up to 256 MB memory. Up to 3 Sbus cards, or 2 Sbus cards & an S24. Of course, you have the usual narrow SCSI external connector, as well as a Ethernet (UTP or MII), parallel port, a pair of serial ports, and audio in- and outputs. My SS5/110 is on OK home machine, though I wouldn't mind having an opportunity to compare it to an SS5/170. :-) Cheers, david -- David H. Wolfskill david@dhw.vip.best.com As a computing professional, I believe it would be unethical for me to advise, recommend, or support the use (save possibly for personal amusement) of any product that is or depends on any Microsoft product. - ------------------------------ End of Suns-at-Home Digest ******************************