On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 22:34:53 +0000, Andrew wrote:

> John Cusick <john@cusick.ws> wrote:
>
> [...]
>
>> I see that this system will use up to Solaris 7 as an OS, but how good
>> is it or am I better off using the old Intel Solaris 7 version I have
>> on a faster PC, and, what model CDROM Drive should I be looking for, if
>> its worth putting Solaris 7 on this machine.
>
> yes. run Solaris 7. or, at the very least Solaris 2.5.1. don't bother
> with SunOS 4.x
>
> you cannot use the Intel Solaris distribution. you need the SPARC
> platform edition. you can pick it up on ebay for well under $40. see,
> for example:
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tegory=11 228
>
> i ran both SunOS 4 and Solaris on a SPARCstation IPX (basically just a
> SPARC 2 in a lunchbox case, instead of the flat 'pizza box' style you
> have) for years, and it worked perfectly well. the GUI will be a litle
> slow, but still useable.
>
> you will need a CDROM that supports a 2K block size in order to boot
> that system from CD. i personally use a Toshiba 3401 on which i cut the
> jumpers. see:
>
> http://www.pimpworks.org/sun/toshiba3401.html
>
> also, more generally, see the Sun CDROM FAQ at:
>
> http://www.pimpworks.org/sun/cdrom.html
>
>
> Andrew

Andrew

thanks.

One final question... :-) It looks like a Solaris upgrade is the only
sensible way to go, so is there a major difference between the SPARC
Server 7 and Workstation 7 editions? Is one recommended over the other,
and why?

OK, ... two questions.

(This will be a good opportunity to well learn another OS as I'm in
between jobs - read "down-sized" - at the moment)

Both are available on Ebay relatively cheap. (Maybe I oughts buy both?)

Regards,

John C.