Re: Debian on SparcStation 20
On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 23:44:34 BST, Kelly Harding writes: Should it be fairly straightforward once the tftp daemon is set up and running and the SS20 has found it/booted from it? Yes, the major difference when installing is partitioning the disk(s), Sun disklabel, but it's explained clearly in the install docs. It also helps running ethereal whilst tftp-booting so that you can see which file it's trying to pull (the filename is dependent on the MAC-address) and change the name accordingly if you got it wrong (or, like me, are too lazy to figure it out beforehand). I'm kinda assuming that once I get Debian installed on it it'll be pretty much like Debian is on my x86 boxes. Is that the case? or are there any special 'gotchas' with Sparcs? SILO (the sparc equivalent of LILO) is slightly different to configure than LILO, but that's about it. Oh, and there's no 2.4 kernel-image for sun4m in stable, if you want/need that, you'll have to grab it from unstable. cheers, rw -- -- Oh Bother, said the Borg, We've assimilated Pooh. pgpWAP8jSlasL.pgp Description: PGP signature
Debian on SparcStation 20
hi, I recently aquired a SparcStation 20 (SM50 MBus module, 64mb ram, TGX SBus graphics, 2x scsi hard drives (size unknown)). I am wanting to put Debian on this system. the box didn't come with a CD-ROM or floppy drive so I'm going to try to do a network install. It also didn't have a monitor/keyboard/mouse, so using serial console is my only option at present. I have aquired for it a SM71 module and a FastWide SCSI/Fast Ethernet SBus module also. I'm hoping to get another SM71 module for it shortly too. What I was wanting to ask was, are there any pitfalls and hardware compatibility problems I should be aware of? I've browsed the 'net for information and have read a fair deal and I think I should be able to get it going ok. The lack of keyboard/mouse/monitor isn't a problem to me as I intend to run it as a headless machine as I don't have enough room on my desk with the stereo, printer and 21 monitor I use on my Debian x86 box. Any useful pointers or help would be appreciated. Thanks, Kelly
Re: Debian on SparcStation 20
On Tuesday 13 Jul 2004 21:07, Kelly Harding wrote: hi, I recently aquired a SparcStation 20 (SM50 MBus module, 64mb ram, TGX SBus graphics, 2x scsi hard drives (size unknown)). I am wanting to put Debian on this system. the box didn't come with a CD-ROM or floppy drive so I'm going to try to do a network install. It also didn't have a monitor/keyboard/mouse, so using serial console is my only option at present. I have aquired for it a SM71 module and a FastWide SCSI/Fast Ethernet SBus module also. I'm hoping to get another SM71 module for it shortly too. What I was wanting to ask was, are there any pitfalls and hardware compatibility problems I should be aware of? I've browsed the 'net for information and have read a fair deal and I think I should be able to get it going ok. The lack of keyboard/mouse/monitor isn't a problem to me as I intend to run it as a headless machine as I don't have enough room on my desk with the stereo, printer and 21 monitor I use on my Debian x86 box. Any useful pointers or help would be appreciated. Thanks, Kelly If you're in or around North or West London, I have a spare keyboard and a vga adaptor that you can borrow. I also have spare (RAM/Disk-less) SS10 SS20 boxes which may or may not have some parts you could use. I got 3 SS20s is running from network installations both Debian and RedHat (Debian is better) - no problems once you get the tftp daemon working correctly. If you have any problems, I've probably had it before and solved it. Let me know if I can help. Everard
Re: Debian on SparcStation 20
On Tue, 13 Jul 2004, Everard Brown wrote: On Tuesday 13 Jul 2004 21:07, Kelly Harding wrote: If you're in or around North or West London, I have a spare keyboard and a vga adaptor that you can borrow. I also have spare (RAM/Disk-less) SS10 SS20 boxes which may or may not have some parts you could use. Thanks for that offer. Appreciated. Unfortuately I live up in the Midlands. I got 3 SS20s is running from network installations both Debian and RedHat (Debian is better) - no problems once you get the tftp daemon working correctly. Should it be fairly straightforward once the tftp daemon is set up and running and the SS20 has found it/booted from it? I'm kinda assuming that once I get Debian installed on it it'll be pretty much like Debian is on my x86 boxes. Is that the case? or are there any special 'gotchas' with Sparcs? If you have any problems, I've probably had it before and solved it. Let me know if I can help. Thanks :) If I run into any problems I'll drop you an email. Very much appreciated. Kelly
Re: Debian on SparcStation 20
On Tuesday 13 Jul 2004 23:44, Kelly Harding wrote: On Tue, 13 Jul 2004, Everard Brown wrote: On Tuesday 13 Jul 2004 21:07, Kelly Harding wrote: If you're in or around North or West London, I have a spare keyboard and a vga adaptor that you can borrow. I also have spare (RAM/Disk-less) SS10 SS20 boxes which may or may not have some parts you could use. Thanks for that offer. Appreciated. Unfortuately I live up in the Midlands. I got 3 SS20s is running from network installations both Debian and RedHat (Debian is better) - no problems once you get the tftp daemon working correctly. Should it be fairly straightforward once the tftp daemon is set up and running and the SS20 has found it/booted from it? Yes the tftp image boots the machine and then it looks just like a CD installation - if you've done it on x86, you'll figure it out from there ;-) One tip... If you are able to run a web server on you're x86 box, then copy the sparc installation CD to your local web server and install from there - it's much faster that an internet installation, 100Mbit compared to DSL or modem. Once complete you can then change your apt config to get the security updates from the Debian security updates server(s). I'm kinda assuming that once I get Debian installed on it it'll be pretty much like Debian is on my x86 boxes. Is that the case? or are there any special 'gotchas' with Sparcs? Not that I've noticed, except I didn't manage to upgrade to a 2.4 kernel yet - but I blame my own inexperience and lethargy for that. If you have any problems, I've probably had it before and solved it. Let me know if I can help. Thanks :) If I run into any problems I'll drop you an email. Luck ;-) Everard
Re: Debian on SparcStation 20
Everard Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED] said on Wed, 14 Jul 2004 00:58:11 +0100: On Tuesday 13 Jul 2004 23:44, Kelly Harding wrote: I'm kinda assuming that once I get Debian installed on it it'll be pretty much like Debian is on my x86 boxes. Is that the case? or are there any special 'gotchas' with Sparcs? I'm an i386 person, but it all seems pretty easy. I have a diskless machine, and had to change the order of a few things in /etc/rcS.d, and add a few things, but it is very kludgy. Sound works, and I have a working X11. Pity the card is only 8-bit :) Not that I've noticed, except I didn't manage to upgrade to a 2.4 kernel yet - but I blame my own inexperience and lethargy for that. I couldn't compile a working vanilla 2.4 (it would oops and then panic as soon as it was presented with any load), but I did install debian's, and it works. I can't compile 2.6 at all :) The elf2aout stage fails, perhaps size related, although I did try to make the vmlinux file as minimal as possible. -- TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/ Vodka, barbeque, pizza, beer - which is essential for the post-modern coder? You are forgettink caffeine, comrade. -- Pitr Dubovich/User Friendly
