[rescue] SS1000

[Robert Novak]

I thought I'd pass along some success reportage on this particular series
of rescues.

On Sat, 9 Jun 2001, Robert Novak wrote:

> Anyway, I got a pair of SS1000E boards, one with dual SM81 and one with
> dual SM61, both with memory. Is it safe to assume that I can't run them
> side by side in the same SS1000E? I do have a matching SM81x2 board
> already, so I should be able to get the system up to 4 SM81 and 544MB of
> RAM if I get around to bringing the chassis upstairs from the car. 

Turns out that if the XDbus speeds are the same, you can mix processors.
You don't have to fill bank 0 first (which is good, since one board has a
broken simm holder in bank 0), and the boards don't have to match in
configuration.

As a result, my SS1000E (named "falcon") is currently in this
configuration:

memconf:  V1.40.1 09-May-2001 http://www.4schmidts.com/unix.html
hostname: falcon.indyramp.net
banner:   SPARCserver 1000E
model:    Sun SPARCserver-1000
Solaris 8 4/01 s28s_u4wos_08 SPARC, 32-bit kernel, SunOS 5.8
6 TI,TMS390Z55 cpus, cpu freq: 60MHz, system freq: 50MHz
       CPU Units: Frequency Cache-Size        Memory Units: Group Size
            A: MHz MB   B: MHz MB           0: MB   1: MB   2: MB   3: MB
            ---------   ---------           -----   -----   -----   -----
Board0:        85 1.0      85 1.0             128      32      32      32
Board1:        85 1.0      85 1.0             128     128       0       0
Board2:        60 1.0      60 1.0               0      32      32       0
Each memory unit group is comprised of 4 SIMMs
empty memory groups: Board 1 Group 2, Board 1 Group 3, Board 2 Group 0, Board 2 Group 3
total memory = 544MB

It's running Solaris 8 4/01 with current recommended patches. I hit a snag
installing CD 1 (the 2x CD was giving lots of fatal errors) and then
installing CD 2 (forgot to put it on the install server). I gotta say the
sound of a 'gmake -j13' is pretty cool.

> Assuming I can't mix speeds, and assuming they work, I'll probably be
> looking to get rid of the SM61s, probably with a 501-2766 board and some
> 8MB simms. 

Another item I learned is that you can apparently run SS1000 boards
without CPUs in them (well, one of them has to have a CPU, of course). The
non-CPU boards can hold memory and SBus cards and serve SCSI and ethernet. 

As a result, I am going to keep the extra board and simms, and just try to
sell off the SM61 processors. Two people have expressed an interest in the
CPUs already, so they get first option on them, but if anyone else is
looking for such modules, let me know. Nobody's expressed interest in the
board or simms, so I don't feel bad backing down on that offer. The CPUs
will go on ebay later this week if nobody grabs them.

Also, if anybody has an extra SS1000E motherboard they'd like to get rid
of, please let me know off-list. I have a line on a small pile of SS1000
memory and I'd like to put it in.

--Rob

Robert Novak, Indyramp Consulting * rnovak at indyramp.com * indyramp.com/~rnovak
        "And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe
           Maybe this year will be better than the last...." -- counting crows