[SunHELP] SparcStation 5

[sunhelp at sunhelp.org]

Nice machine. The SS5 is one of my favorites.

Netbooting is the way to go for a machine without any removable media
drives. Actually, I'm not sure there is a way to install solaris from floppy
without suicidal thoughts. I have seen discussion of netbooting from Linux,
so there may be a way. The good news is that CD-ROM drives for the
Sparcstations are pretty affordable (like starting at $25.00 or less for an
original one (might be single-speed, faster ones are available)). The CD-ROM
is SCSI, and so are the fixed disks, so you already have an SCSI controller
on the motherboard, but you might need a cable. Non Sun CD's can work, but I
seem to recall that the Sun CD is not as tall as a standard drive, and the
disk must support 512 byte blocks (or something like that, check the list
archives).

The fixed disks are SCSI, but are not as  tall as a standard drive (1.5 inch
I recall?). Also, they use what is called an SCA interface, so they are less
common (probably won't find one at the local 'puter store, but there are
many around this list or ebay). They mount using a drive "sled" that locks
into the case with a handle that swings down. The sleds are a little hard to
find, but are available, and there are several styles depending on which Sun
box you have.

Solaris media is around, ask the list and I'm sure someone can help. I can
copy Solaris 7 server from work. Solaris 7 has lower memory requirements. If
you are installing Solaris 7, a few gigs of space are all you need
(depending on how much you install, 1 gig can be enough). Solaris 8
workstation wants 8 gig for a full install. If you are thinking of SOlaris 8
or Solaris 7 workstation, be aware that the SS5 is a little light for a GUI,
unless you have plenty of RAM (like 128M or better). Disks with fast spindle
speeds really help in the "useability with GUI" department too. I don't
think Solaris 8 will install with 32M of RAM (but I never tried).

For video, there are some good pointers on the sunhelp.org site (see
framebuffers). I can vouche that a TGX+ framebuffer is "fast enough" for
most work. There are some faster/deeper/higher-rez framebuffers than the
TGX, but most have limits as to what machines they will work in (the SS5 is
an Sbus machine). Check the framebuffer faq.

If you don't have a framebuffer (or lack a monitor), remove the keyboard and
attach a serial terminal (or PC with terminal emulation) to serial-A, and it
becomes the console on boot (VT100 emulation works fine). The boot prom
looks for the keyboard, so it must be removed for this  to work.

Speaking of bootprom, the SS5 uses the OpenBoot prom. Check the OpenBoot faq
on Sunhelp.org. Basically, there is a lot of hardware and boottime options
that are set in the openboot config (like CMOS configuration on a PC). This
is also where you tell the box what to boot from (CD, disk, net, etc.).

OK, I'm done writing my book now :)

~ -----Original Message-----
~ From: Chris Barnes [mailto:Chris_Barnes at rams.com.au]
~ Sent: Monday, February 18, 2002 8:28 AM
~ 
~ Hi people,
~             I'm new to the list. I recently scored my self a 
~ SparcStation 5
~ for a really good price. Only problem is that it doesn't have 
~ a floppy or
~ cd-rom and doesn't have Solaris installed on it.
~ I've been looking into ways to install Solaris onto it by a 
~ net install but
~ that seems like it might be a bit hard because by the sounds of the
~ instructions I need another Solaris machine to be the server for the
~ SparcStation to leech from...I was hoping I could just setup 
~ a web server on
~ my Linux machine or something and point the SparcStation to 
~ that...Does
~ anyone have any ideas, or know any easier ways to install 
~ Solaris on this
~ diskless machine.
~ I have Solaris 8 for Sparc, but I'm not 100% sure it will work in the
~ SparcStation 5 because the minimum memory requirements for 
~ Solaris 8 is
~ 64meg but my SparcStation only has 32. will Solaris still 
~ install? I wasn't
~ planning on running a window system, just text console. Does 
~ anyone know
~ which version of Solaris will install on my SparcStation 5?
~  
~ Thanks for your help
~  
~ P.S. sorry about the footer...stupid company policy...
~  
~ --
~  
~ 
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