[SunRescue] Q on "optimal" OS for Sun4c machines, now that Solaris 8 won't run

[P.A.OsborneP.A.Osborne at ukc.ac.uk]

Uuurk the formatting of the original mail has gone mad - ho hum.

I will add some comments to Ken's points if no-one minds.

On Wed, Jul 12, 2000 at 09:40:14AM -0400, Ken Hansen wrote:
> Just make my intention clear - Iwas/am interested in what OS folks think
> was/is
> the "sweet-spot" for Sun4c systems:

I like OpenBSD.

>     Solaris 2.5.1 is still viable, as most widely-available SOlaris
> "freeware" is built
>     for that release level.

Fair comment but I have not used it of late.

>     I have no exp. with Solaris 7, my question on this OS relates to it's
> usefulness,
>     WRT "buggy-ness" - was it a good, stable OS or did it introduce some
> bloat
>     that was later tuned in Solaris 8?


I run several (20ish) Sun boxes here at UKC from 4m to u4s (450s) we are
running solely Solaris 7 now.  I feel that 7 is better now than a year ago
if only for the multitude of patches which have been made available from 
Sun.  I wont install a 7 box without putting the latest cluster patch on
straight afterward.

>     Solaris 8 is not an option for this type of system.

Havent looked at it yet - I dont want to test a new system until its
been around a little while - conservative attitude I know but I have
neither the time or hardware to take the risk at the moment.

>     Linux works, but Sun4c is a "second tier" platform (for the commercial
> distributions

I installed redhat 6.1 for sparc on a SunStation 5 a little while ago with
the KDEworkstation and it idled with a load of 1.5 - I wasnt best impressed.

>     And finally, *BSD is reported to be a "wonder OS" for older machines,
> but my
>     experience with them is slight, at best.

Fair enough.

> So, since all the OS chices for the Sun4c platform are known, what is
> considered to
> be the most "efficient" OS to make maximum use of a SS/2 (for example)?

I havent tried NetBSD but OpenBSD on a SparcStn2 feels considerably faster
than Solaris 7 on a SparcStn2.   Yes I know that 'feels' is a matter of
opinion but I cant put it better than that.   Running X and fvwm2 on a 
SparcStn2 with a cg6 video card feels loverly - no its not lightening quick
but its a darn sight less painfull that Solaris's CDE - yes Solaris comes
with twm - but even that felt more than a tad sluggish to me.

> I'm not (in any way) mad/upset/frustrated that Sun will no longer offer the
> option of
> running the latest Solaris OS on an SS/2 - I wouldn't *want* to.

Having tried Solaris on a SparcStn2 I wouldnt want to do so again.

I dont know if the above thoughts help,  but they are mine - honest.

Cheers

Paul