[Sunhelp] finding out serial #

[dhansen at zebra.net]

>Octane but not Indigo), the system serial number is the Ethernet MAC
>address.
>When hardware has been exchanged due to failure, the replacement system
>has had the original's MAC address/serial number.
> % nvram eaddr
> 08:00:69:uv:wx:yz
> Serial number = 080069uvwxyz
>George Munk

  I didn't check into the relationship between the system serial number and the
MAC address of a system's original/primary NIC, but I was able to verify that any
attempt to compare SGI's method with SUN's is unfair. SGI uses the serial
number for the motherboard as the serial number for the entire system and
SUN provides a means of grabbing the serial number from the mainboard. The
serial number for the motherboard is where amsysinfo and nvram are getting 
their information (not from a NIC or the MSC). This means that anytime you 
change just the motherboard and nothing else, then your system's serial number 
will be changed as well and should be noted as such in your inventory.

 -david