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Re: Sun classic



Oki DZ wrote:
> 
> Andrew Hately wrote:
> > I tried both the 2.2.1 kernel rescue disc and the 2.0.36 on my
> > sparcstation2; the newer one didn't seem to be able to eject the floppy when
> > the next one was needed.
> 
> Interesting... then how did you proceed?

ctrl-alt-del is understood by linux on the sun too, amusingly
When I got back to the boot prompt (stop-A might have got me straight there)
I ejected the 2.2.1 based floppy using the boot prompt command "eject" and
tried again with the 2.0.36 floppy

> As far as I know, Suns don't
> have  eject buttons on their floppy drives.

I can confirm that.
 
> > Otherwise, its just like the i386 install, as Ben said.
> 
> It would be different with installing Slackware on x86 I suppose...
> 
> > To find out how to get the sun to boot from floppy, the debain install pages
> > guide you to sun's boot prompt web pages. Something like "setenv
> > boot_device=floppy" is needed; but check this - I did it once, months >ago...
> 
> Is it for Solaris or Debian? (or both?)

No, this is for the sun's firmware. Like an i86 box's bios setup but using a
command line. You can find an online manual on sun's site.
 
> BTW, why would anyone install the Debian on Suns if the machines come
> with
> Solaris right out the boxes? 

Well linux is said to be faster.
I did it because I got an old sparcstation2 for nothing with a partial
install of sunos 4.1.something (there had once been an external disc pack
containing the rest) and absolutely no documentation and more importantly,
no licence to run sunos. I also had a couple of i86 debian boxes and though
I had a better chance of being able to do something constructive on the
sparc machine if I knew what was installed where.


> The only reason I'm asking about Debian on
> Sun is that I think it's an interesting alternative since the Classic
> where I have an access to doesn't have Solaris on it (the CDs I mean).
> 
> Oki

Go for it.
Mine, as I may have said, is a wee bit slow - the 40MHz prcoessor gives 40
bogomips. That is probably down to the 1992 vintage hard disk and the fact
that it loads lots of quite important stuff over 10base2 ethernet from my
file server.
I had intended to use it as an xserver for the rest of the machines on my
network but the screen is so dim and unsharp I'm going off the idea. My next
plan is to install glade (as in gnat; i.e. the distributed systems annex
implementation by ACT) on it and see if I can write a distributed
application on my hetrogeneous network. But thats after I've done a hundred
other jobs.

Andrew
-- 
http://counter.li.org/cgi-bin/runscript/display-person.cgi?user=45690


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