Richard B. Gilbert wrote:
> Damon Getsman wrote:
>> A Sun Enterprise 3500 server has been sitting in our server room for
>> some time where I work, and I'm starting to think that it may well
>> have the best solution for a problem that we're currently having
>> employing a few Sun packages. I won't get into that here, I already
>> posted on comp.sys.sun.misc about that. I'm thinking that installing
>> them on native Solaris instead of different Linux variants might be a
>> bit easier, though, especially with a machine custom configured just
>> to run the apps that I need.
>>
>> What I need to find out is how this headless beast can be communicated
>> with. It has 4 ethernet ports and a serial port. I have no idea what
>> sort of system or configuration was previously on this machine, so I'm
>> thinking that it might be best to start with using the serial port as
>> a terminal interface, provided the machine has a working OS installed
>> on it right now.
>>
>> I'm not sure of what kinds of settings I'll need to put on the comm
>> port to attempt this from a ubuntu linux workstation. Also not sure
>> if I should try doing this with a null modem cable or if straight
>> serial will give what I need.
>>
> I'd try 9600 8/n/1 for the comm settings and a null modem cable. It
> might be something else but that's a reasonable first guess. If it
> doesn't work, try 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 19,200. . . .
>
>> Also, any information about what I can do if this machine does not
>> have a valid OS installed would be much appreciated; I'm at a loss due
>> to the headlessness of this machine. It does have a CD drive for
>> media, so it has that much at least. :P
>>
>
> It should have firmware (OBP or Open Boot PROM) that should talk to you
> through the serial port. Sun has a couple of manuals in PDF format that
> discuss the OBP, commands, etc.
>
> You can't get Solaris media on CDROM any longer. Either find whatever
> was installed on your machine if some busybody hasn't thrown it away or
> download Solaris 10 from Sun and burn your own CDs. Some CD drives
> don't like home made CDs; all you can do is to burn your CDs at the
> slowest available speed which will sometimes work. If you are very
> lucky, you might find a media kit on e-Bay. Or, you might be able to
> install a DVD drive if the existing CD drive is EIDE. If it's SCSI
> you're probably out of luck; SCSI DVD drives may be available but I
> suspect that they are both rare and expensive!
>
> You can "break in" by booting from the install CD; ISTR you want to say
> "boot -s CDROM" at the OBP prompt. Mount the root partition at "/a".
> Then vi /etc/passwd and/or /etc/shadow to clear the root password.
>
> Now you can boot from disk and log in as root with no password.
>
> You can execute /usr/sbin/sys-unconfig to wipe the current network
> config, reboot and be prompted for a new root password, networking
> configuration, time zone, etc. Note that once you do this, the old
> config is gone! You can, if you wish, use passwd to set a new root
> password without wiping the network configuration.
>
> Where you go from here depends on your intentions, knowledge, and
> abilities!
>
>

yay, sounds like the right way to go.

I think I still have some parts for that system lying around, send me an
email if you need anything.

/tony