Re: Sparcstation: IPX, 4, ELC and 10 Base T
On Sat, Feb 08, 2003 at 10:49:23AM -0600, Dan wrote:
> I have begun an eclectic debian GNU/Linux network.
> The IPX has no ram installed, can I use ram out of a pentium 80?
The IPX needs 60 or 70ns simms with parity. So if the simms from
your P80 have the nineth bit then yes they should work fine.
> The ELC was poorly described and purchased in haste without pictures. Imagine
> my surprise when I found a motherboard inside. Thus I have no proper monitor,
> It was damaged by the courier company so it's value is less than $0.
> It does run intermittantly. I followed the howto on Debianplanet until I
> did not understand the "Make a note of its MAC address....."
Sun machines print out their MAC address on the console (along with other
system information) as they boot. The console is on the video+keyboard
if a keyboard is plugged in, or on serial port A at 9600 8N1 if no keyboard
is present.
> Do I need a "T" or several "T" and teminator plugs (plug?) for the coax cable network?
Myself I'd drop the thin (coaxial cable) ethernet and use the 10baseT RJ45s;
they make finding bad cables and transceivers much simpler because the
hub or switch isolates the bad parts. But thin ethernet is what most networks
were back in the IPX day, so for historical value, here's what I remember:
you can terminate coax either with the terminator (75 Ohm?) or with a network
card. So if you only have 2 stations you can just run a cable between them.
If you have 3 you need one T in the middle for the middle station.
> What do you suggest I do about the monitor?
Get a sun video->vga adaptor, and use any vga multiscan monitor you have
around the place.
You might want to check out these two sites
http://www.obsolyte.com/
http://nsd.dyndns.org/about-ipx/pinouts.html (which links to 3 more)
--
-- Nicolas Dade http://nsd.dyndns.org/
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