[rescue] Introduction + Cray Solaris questions

Tue May 7 19:11:32 CDT 2002

Hello, I'm completely mad!  :-)

Not kidding.  Seriously deranged, I think.  But in a good way.  Until now
I've been collecting workstations - in short, non-Wintel machines of all
flavors that interest me or which I had some kind of personal attachment
to.  The pride and joy are three PERQ workstations, which were the
machines I first learned to program on when I was 12 or 13... and since
then I've amassed a pile of NeXT, Sun, HP, DEC, Tektronix, NetApp and
Apple gear, an old Auspex, some FORE ATM stuff, various other bits of
networking kit, a lovely Model 38 Teletype, etc.  So far, I think the pair
of 4/670MPs were the largest boxes (physically) that I'd collected,
although the PERQ-T2 is a pretty sizeable machine...

Now, in a fit of insanity, I've taken my collection obsession up a notch.  
I've "rescued" a Cray CS6400... and a SparcCenter 2000... uh, and _two_
2000E's.  By any measure, that's a pile of iron there, mates.  :-)

Later this summer my former employer may provide a third 2000E - a box
that I upgraded from a 2000 and lovingly managed for three years, which
really solidified my interest in Big Old Sun kit.  Yeah, at work I run the
spiffier Ultras and stuff, but I've a weakness for the old sun4m/sun4d's.  
And that weakness just left a hole in my wallet and a bunch of questions.
:-)

First up: SSP and software issues.

Even with contract access, SunSolve is woefully short on clues about
software support for the "cray4d"  (or is it officially "sun4d6"?  I've
seen both) architecture.  I'm guessing that after the "2.3+Cray mods"
release that Sun rolled support into the main Solaris distro, or at least
that's what trace evidence suggests from various searches on docs.sun.com
and the patch + bugs databases.  SSP 3.x software mentions that "E10K or
CS6400" are options in "hostview"... there are mentions that on those
platforms there *are* drivers to support DR/AP of the qe/qec/qfe drivers,
which was not yet supported on the Exx00 line - in the Solaris _7_ release
notes.  However, a quick grep or two through my Sol7 HW11/99 Jumpstart
tree reveals only a few hits for sun4d, and no specific mention of Cray
support...I should go check the 2.6 tree...

Does anyone have definitive info about the newest/latest version of
Solaris and the SSP software to support the CS6400?  I'm willfully and
ignorantly and wildly optimistically assuming the best, although deep down
I suspect the answer is "Sorry, dude, yer stuck with that funky 2.3
offshoot."  But I'd be thrilled to run at least 2.6 on it, since I have 
piles of Solaris RPMs built for 2.6/7...

In general, I try to run the "native" OS on each machine, and learn about
and preserve the original software.  I have one friend who loves NetBSD
and wants to put that on everything he owns; another is a Linux kernel
banger who works on ports and runs Linux on anything he can get his hands
on.  Having one OS to manage would have advantages, but I guess I'm a
masochist.  If a modern-ish Solaris for the 6400 just isn't available,
then reviving Sparc Linux on this box might be a fallback plan... or maybe
taking advantage of the "free source" Solaris offer and patching
sun4d6/cray4d support _back in_ might be worthwhile.  Y'know, for me and
the three other people on the planet that might still have one of these
machines. :-)

Second: Crating + shipping.

For shipping large beasties, is there a general consensus about which
companies are best?  In a former life I did a lot of shipping and
receiving (software manufacturing), but I'm wondering of common carriers
vs. padded van/movers vs. just taking a long weekend and driving down
(Portland, OR to the Bay Area) with some muscular friends to help lug
these monsters, which is the way to go?  Any horror stories?  Any high
praise for a particular carrier?  When I was shipping it was pallets and
pallets of rubber protective gear (for high-voltage utility work, not THAT
kind of rubber protective gear :-) and just about all the big carriers did
a fine job with that stuff.  But for electronics... especially old, heavy
stuff like this...

Third: Power.

My whole point in collecting is that my machines (very nearly) all _work_.  
I don't want boxes that just look nifty, I want boxes I can actually use
and play with.  Of course, my semi-arbitrary limit on power usage is "I
won't spend more an electricity than on rent..."  Suddenly I may have to
revise that policy. :-)  To assuage my guilty conscience, I've signed up
with my local power company to pay extra for "green power" - 100% wind or
geothermal - I find it highly satisfying to power my old beasts with air
and steam. :-)

But since the 2000E or the CS6400 don't offer "Energy Star" certification
(wouldn't that be a hoot?) I'm wondering what folks do to cut down their
energy bills.  Fuel cells?  Solar panels?  Stationary bikes with
generators? :-)  Or do I just sell sponsorships or banner ads (bwaaaa ha
ha ha ha ha) to help defray the costs?  Worse, do I just power them up on
weekends for 'xconq' or MazeWars fests and to inflate my Seti at home scores?  
:-)

Anyway, the first step is clearing out the as-yet-unfinished half of the
basement and dropping in a new 200A power feed so I can meter the new
"datacenter" separately.  Then I'll at least be able to accurately measure
the costs of my obsession.

Sorry for the long post - I've been reading the digest mode for a while,
and just wanted to de-lurk to say hello to the Rescue list (Did the old
"workstations" list just die?) and introduce myself, and I'd love to
correspond (offlist, if that's more appropriate) with anyone who has
experience, info, parts, stories, *documentation* or other CS6400 bits to
share.

Cheers!

-- Chris
<skeezics at boondoggle.com>