[SunRescue] Q: SS/20 fan kit, other...

[Brian McCloskey]

the vsimm is the memory module that extends over the normal dimm socket and 
into one of two short sockets adjacent. if you install another, it will add 
memory for the on-board framebuffer that you are currently using. you can 
add an sbus framebuffer if you want dual-head operation, but it will only 
use memory on the card itself. when the vsimms were in production, the 
on-board framebuffer performed better than many of the sbus framebuffers. i 
don't know how they compare with the more current sbus tgx framebuffers.

the linux smp support for sparc and ultrasparc processors is very well 
implemented.

there were two types of ss20 cases, the earlier ones had the very narrow 
cdrom bay and required the proprietary cdrom drive. these drives are 
compatible with the ss5. the later ss20's had a normal 1.5" height bay for 
standard 5.25" cdrom drives. these drives are obviously not compatible with 
the ss5's.

it sounds like you have a great machine.

-wu


>From: Ken Hansen <Ken.Hansen at ICTI-USA.com>
>Reply-To: rescue at sunhelp.org
>To: "'rescue at sunhelp.org'" <rescue at sunhelp.org>
>Subject: [SunRescue] Q: SS/20 fan kit, other...
>Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 09:56:39 -0500
>
>Hello all,
>
>My SS/20 auction special arrived over the weekend, and I have a few
>additional questions:
>
>	Does Sun still supply internal fan kits for SS/20s upon request? I
>seem to recall
>	it was tied to the serial number of the unit, but I don't know if
>this is still available.
>
>	My system has a 4 Meg VSIMM, I have seen references that make me
>think
>	I can add a second VSIMM, but that makes no sense (MB only has one
>13W3
>	connector) - can I? Was there an SBUS card that carried a second
>13W3 out
>	of the box to support dual-headed operation?
>
>	This system appears to have been an embedded system - when these
>units were
>	new (1995), was a VSIMM cheaper than a 24 bit SBUS card? I am
>wondering why
>	the folks that spec'd this system decided to go for the VSIMM
>framebuffer...
>
>	Is the internal framebuffer (4 Meg VSIMM) supported by the open OSs
>(linux,
>	*BSD, etc.) at 24 bit depth, or do I have to run Solaris to take
>advantage of the
>	framebuffer?
>
>	How well do the open OSs (Linux, *BSD, etc.) support SMP on
>SuperSPARCs?
>
>	How pokey is an SM50 in relation to an SM41 or an SM51? I don't know
>what I
>	will use the system for, but I do have an SM41 on the shelf (as well
>as 2 SM30s).
>	Most likely it will be used for general interactive use and maybe as
>a file server.
>
>And on related topics:
>
>	Can an SS/20 CD-ROM be installed in an SS/5 case?
>
>	What size/type drives can be placed in a Sun 911 case? I think I can
>get one
>	with 4 drive brackets for a decent price.
>
>My SS/20 came w/2 SM50s (no cache :^p), a 4 meg VSIMM and 2x64 Meg DIMMs -
>it is home now going through a "smoke test"... It seems that this system 
>was
>part of a GE medical device, it has a GE logo on the front of the case, as
>well as a sticker over the SparcStation 20 label that reads something like
>"Advantage Workstation". I haven't had a chance to review what is on the
>"included" CDR (dated 4/99) to see what the unit was originally used for...
>
>I am quite pleased with my "win" - it looks to be a great little system
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Ken
>_______________________________________________
>Rescue maillist  -  Rescue at sunhelp.org
>http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

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