Frank Winkler <frank-usenet@kfw-family.org> writes:

>That's the software issue. And from a hardware point of view, I don't like
>the "PC architecture". No real serial console (just funny toys like Web
>based GUIs etc.), no OBP (just a BIOS which insist on reading the MBR from
>one special disk).

True enough (apparently the Soekris boxes have a command line prompt in their
BIOS)

>The x64 CPUs are ok as an alternative (even if I like the SPARC machines
>better) but why are they only delivered with the legacy PC stuff around
>them? I'm not a hardware expert but wouldn't it be possible to just replace
>the CPU and leave the surroundings alone? Is there any dependency between
>intel/AMD processors and all the BIOS stuff around it?

Well, in an ideal world.....

The reality is that a large chunk of the PC market is systems running Windows;
and we'd rather sell OUR hardware to run Windows than not sell the
hardware. By making sure our hardware fits the "PC model" that is just
fine.

I must admit that I think the ILOM based systems are passable in that the
remote console is pretty function (BIOS over serial is always fairly crappy,
especially when they start to insist on hitting F2 for setup which often

just doesn't work)

>I don't have any deeper knowledge about how this Linux thing should/will
>work. So it's a separate zone running a Linux instance? I thought it's a
>run-time "wrapper" inside Solaris which is capable of executing the Linux
>binary.

There used to be a thing called "lxrun"; but the branded zone is actually
a zone with a Linux system call emulation layer in it.

>So in fact, it's more or less the same as the ssh tunnel to another box.

Yep, just one less box to worry about.

Casper
--
Expressed in this posting are my opinions. They are in no way related
to opinions held by my employer, Sun Microsystems.
Statements on Sun products included here are not gospel and may
be fiction rather than truth.