From: montjoy@ececs.uc.edu (Rob Montjoy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun.admin, comp.sys.sun.misc, comp.unix.solaris
Subject: FAQ: Sun Computer Administration Frequently Asked Questions
Date: 1 Aug 1998 00:15:44 -0400
Sender: montjoy@news.ececs.uc.edu
Message-ID: <comp-sys-sun-admin_901944935@news.ececs.uc.edu>
Reply-To: Rob_Montjoy@ECECS.UC.EDU
Summary: Answers to questions which appear in comp.sys.sun.*
Keywords: Sun Computer Admin FAQ
Archive-name: comp-sys-sun-faq
Last-modified: 1998/7/6
Version: 1.9.30
Frequently Asked Questions for Comp.sys.sun.admin
Last update July 6, 1998
This is a collection of common questions posted to the comp.sys.sun.*
hierarchy.
Please send corrections or submissions to "Rob_Montjoy@ececs.uc.edu".
Mark the Subject as Sun FAQ. Remember lets make this a better FAQ and
that requires submissions and corrections so if you have
an answer to a nontrival question send it to me.
This FAQ is available from ftp.ececs.uc.edu (129.137.8.4)
in the /pub/sun-faq/FAQs. Get the file sun-faq.general.
Also, ftp.ececs.uc.edu mirrors the FSF/GNU stuff from prep.ai.mit.edu
and is available as ftp://ftp.ececs.uc.edu/pub/
Finally, ftp.ececs.uc.edu mirrors the security directory off ftp.uu.net
as ftp://ftp.ececs.uc.edu/pub/
Other FAQ's that you should check are as follows:
Sun Hardware FAQ edited by James W. Birdsall <jwbirdsa@picarefy.com>
ftp://ftp.ececs.uc.edu/pub/sun-faq/FAQs/Hardware/
Sun Managers FAQ edited by John DiMarco <jdd@cdf.toronto.edu>
ftp://ftp.cdf.toronto.edu/pub/sun-managers/faq
Sun CD-ROM FAQ edited by Mike Frisch <mfrisch@saturn.tlug.org>
http://saturn.tlug.org/suncdfaq
Solaris2.x FAQ edited by Casper Dik <Casper.Dik@Holland.Sun.COM>
An HTML version is available from
http://www.wins.uva.nl/pub/solaris/solaris2/
A mirror of Casper's directory is available from
ftp.ececs.uc.edu:/pub/sun-faq/FAQs/mirrors/Solaris2
which includes the autoinstall pieces.
Solaris2.x Porting FAQ by David Meyer <meyer@ns.uoregon.edu>
ftp://ftp.ececs.uc.edu/pub/sun-faq/FAQs/Solaris2.x-Porting-Hints
Solbourne Computer information available provided
by Stephen Dowdy dowdy@cs.colorado.edu via
http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~dowdy/Solbourne
A SunOS 4.x Modem Tutorial is available from
http://www.stokely.com/unix.serial.port.resources/tutorials.html
and a PPP/SLIP info for SunOS is available from
http://www.stokely.com/unix.serial.port.resources/ppp.slip.html
Both of these pages have been created by Celeste Stokely
celeste@stokely.com
Finally, you can check at my "alpha" version of a Sun
related Web page at http://www.ececs.uc.edu/SunInfo/sun-tips.html
I try to keep these up to date copies of all these files in
~ftp/pub/sun-faq/FAQs on ftp.ececs.uc.edu (129.137.8.4)
Notes: As of this writing almost all of these questions apply
to SunOS versions up to 4.1.4. SunOS 5.x questions
will start appearing gradually as more people start
installing SunOS 5.x (Solaris 2.x).
I am looking for suggestions on how to split this FAQ into
sections. These sections should follow the comp.sys.sun.*
newsgroups(app, hardware, admin, misc, and wanted) and
section on bettering Sun Security. Basically, what
will end up with is a FAQ on each subject. Each
FAQ will have a Solaris1.x Section, a Solaris2x section,
and a section common to both.
I will probably need some volunteers to help coordinate
this undertaking.. Send suggestion to the usual address.
Some of these questions are out of date and need updating
when I get the time (or maybe a little birdie will do it for
me) I will update them. Thanks.
This article includes answers to the following questions, which are loosely
grouped into categories. Questions marked with a '+' indicate questions
new to this issue; those with significant changes of content since the
last issue are marked by '!'.
Questions
1)! How to get DNS working when not running NIS ?
2) How to get DNS to be used when running NIS ?
3) How to properly setup NFS mounting of /var/spool/mail ?
4)! Can I use AnswerBook under X11R5?
5) What does "NFS write error X" mean?
6)! How do I find the amount of memory installed or other
system configuration information?
7) Where can I get a version of ftp that does logging?
8) Where can one get SunOS patches? Where can I get patch 10xxxx-xx?
9) How to setup Openwindows Calendar Manager in a distributed
environment?
10) Why does the talk command fail between SunOS
and any other manufacturer's equipment (like DEC)?
11) How do I setup "anonymous" ftp?
12) How come yppasswdd does not automatically update the yp maps?
13) What does NFS getattr failed/RPC: Authentication error mean?
14) Why did my Quantum 105 megabyte hard disk stop working?
15) Can I replace the 105 megabyte internal drive with a higher capacity
model?
16) How can I turn my Sun3 into an X-Terminal?
17) Why is my console login prompt garbled or in some strange
alphabet after upgrading to 4.1.3?
18) Why are the "random" missing services at boot time or any other time
(even though the services are in the /etc/services file or NIS map)?
19) Where can I get Data Certified tapes for 4-mm or 8-mm tape drives
(at reasonable price)?
20) What is "archie"?
21)! How do I synchronize time on my Network?
22) What is the phone number for Sun Express and other numbers of importance
to Sun Users?
23)! How do I join sun related mailing lists?
24) How do I use Mac floppies in a SUN drive?
25) How can I transfer floppies back and forth between MS-DOS and Sparc?
26) Why is my biff not "biffing" when using biff in a networked
environment?
27) How do I disable L1-A(STOP-A) or re-map it?
28) Why are all the local users "unknown" when using sendmail under 4.1.2?
29)! What are the dump parameters for an exabyte 8200 or 8500?
30)! What are the guidelines for setting up swap space ?
31) What are the general guidelines for maxusers to be set to on machine X?
32) What does "zsN: silo overflow" mean?
33) What does the "N" in "zsN: silo overflow", and other "zsN" messages,
signify?
34) How do I set up a Sun serial port both for dial-in and dial-out?
35) I can't get my Sun, running SunOS 4.1[.x], to establish a UUCP
connection to some non-Sun machine; it won't log in. What's wrong?
36)! Do the Sun serial ports support RTS/CTS flow control?
37) How do I specify that a serial port should, or should not, ignore the
state of the Carrier Detect line?
38) I put in a new "termcap" entry, or updated an existing "termcap" entry,
for a terminal, but "vi" doesn't seem to know about my change. Why?
39) I have a Type 5 keyboard, and find its placement of the Caps Lock,
Control, and Esc keys inconvenient. How do I remedy this?
40) How can I move keys around on a Sun keyboard, for example exchanging the
Caps Lock and Control keys on a Type 5 keyboard?
41) My Sun doesn't have an ANSI C compiler. How can I get one?
42) How do I change the time zone setting on my machine?
43) I'm getting messages that say one of the following:
proc: table is full and/or
file: table is full and/or
dquot: table is full and/or
inode: table is full
What do these errors mean, and how do I fix the problem?
44) Blank at present.
45)! How do I run X11R5 applications under Openwindows or Openwindows
applications under X11R5?
46) Where do I find a "restricted" shell for SunOS?
47)! Will SunOS 4.1.x binaries run under SunOS 5.x?
48) When I try to compile MITs X11R4 applications under Openwindows 3.0,
I get the following "undefined" symbols(_get_wmShellWidgetClass, and
_get_applicationShellWidgetClass). What is the Problem?
49)! What is Solaris?
50) What does the "nres_gethostbyaddr !=" error mean?
51)! How come my mouse only works in the vertical(or horizontal) direction,
how do I repair it?
52) After rebuilding the shared library libc it get some or all the
following undefined symbols: dlsym, dlopen, dlclose mbstowcs_xccs,
mbtowc_xccs,wcstombs_xccs, or wctomb_xccs.
53) What does "No network locking on host" mean after upgrading to
Solaris 2.0?
54) Does Password Aging work with NIS(YP) ?
55) What does "rpc.lockd: Cannot contact status monitor!" mean?
56) How do I join the Sun User Group(SUG)?
57) How do I increase the number of "pseudo" terminals(ptys) ?
58) Where are dump and restore under Solaris 2.x?
59) How do I make the numeric keypad on a type 5 keyboard work with xterm?
60) How do I swap the CAPS LOCK and CONTROL keys on a type 5 keyboard
under Openwindows 3.0?
61)! Which Sun models run which versions of SunOS?
62) My rdump is failing with a "Protocol botched" message. What do I do?
63)! Table of Solaris2.x commands and their Solaris1.x equivalents?
64) How do I setup DNS on Solaris2.x?
65) Can a SPARCclassic or LX run SunOS 4.1.3?
66) I just restored my root partation and now I can not boot. What
is wrong?
67) How do I disable/enable packet forwarding?
68) How do I disable the printing of banners pages?
69) How do I change my hostname?
70) Table of Solaris2.x files and their Solaris1.x equivalents?
71)! Where can I get the BSD print spooler for Solaris2.x?
72)! Where is the Solaris2.x screenblank?
73)! Is there a command to display the configuration of
currently attached SCSI devices?
74) My printer will not print large files(over 1-megabyte), I
keep getting "file to big" errors. What do I do?
75)! I keep getting "data corruption" when using NFS over a wan,
or slip/ppp link. What do I do?
76) Does anybody know how to enable UDP checksum on NFS?
77) Is there a mailing list for Wabi?
78) Are there any public domain Multi-Vendor backup management
systems?
79) How to determine the revision of SuperSPARC processor.
80) How do I install SunOS4.1.x by hand (off a CD)?
81) Why won't my SUN207 (Maxtor LXT213) hard drive work in
my SPARCstation 10/xx?
82)! I'm running SunOS/4.1.x and every time I try to format my
new 9GB SCSI disk I get "format failed" messages -- what's
broke, and how can I fix it?
83)! I can not get my new Exabyte 8505 (or others) working under
SunOS (or Solaris) What to do ?
84) The keyboard keeps stop working after exiting X or Openwin.
What to do?
85)! How do I re-build the kernel under SunOS4.x?
86) How do I hook up a HP(or other) Desktop SCANNER?
87)! How do I find which process has a file open?
88) How do I create a partition greater than 2-gig on SunOS4.1.x?
89) Why do I keep having to answer the question
"CLEAN FLAG IN SUPERBLOCK IS WRONG; Fix?" when running fsck on
an active filesystem?
90) Are dynamically linked setuid executables insecure?
91) How do I change the default router under Solaris1.x or Solaris2.x?
92) What is the difference between the Domestic vs International version
of SunOS 4.1.x?
93) Where can I get the latest version of TOP?
94) Can I run the SX card in a Sun running SunOS4.1.x?
95) I just changed my shell to tcsh(or pick a favorite) and
get "530 User xyzz access denied" when ftping into this
machine. What is the problem?
96) How do I put several dump images on one tape?
97) Can I "dump" the whole disk to tape in one command?
(even with several slices/partitions)
98)! Where do I get software for my HP JetDirect Ethernet Card?
99) I do not know the root password, What do I do?
100) Where do I find a POP server for Solaris or SunOS?
101) How do I clear Stale NFS Filehandles?
102)! How can I use the same ethernet interface for two different IP networks?
103)! Where do I get CAP for Solaris (or SunOS 4.1.x)?
104) Where do I get DOOM for Solaris (or SunOS 4.1.x)?
105) Why does "dump/ufsdump" tell me it is rewinding the tape even
when I specified the "no rewind" device?
106) How can you I speed up filesystem restores and/or copies?
107) I just added a new device (ie harddisk) to Solaris I have rebooted
but the system still can not find it. What do I do?
108) I need to change the broadcast address from all 0's to 1's
or where to set the broadcast address under SunOS4.x?
Answers
1) How to get DNS working when not running NIS ?
Note: Solaris2.x users should see question 64..
The "normal" behavior of a hostname lookup under NIS is to
consult the NIS hosts map and then DNS (if configured). If
you are not running NIS the system will only look in
the /etc/hosts file.
You have two options to correct this situation:
A) Re-build the shared library version of libc with replacement
resolver routines which understand DNS. Resolv+ provides one
of the best sets of replacement routines and it is easy
to install. Resolv+ can be obtained from
ftp.ececs.uc.edu:/pub/sun-faq/Source/resolv+2.1.1.tar.Z
If you install resolv+ make sure that you setup your
/etc/hosts.conf . /etc/hosts.conf should contain something
like this:
order bind hosts
multi off
nospoof on
Another option to use is bind-4.9.3 or later
which is available from
ftp://ftp.vix.com/pub/bind/release/
However, the bind shared libraries will ignore /etc/hosts
and do all lookups via DNS.
Rebuilding the shared library will not allow statically
linked binaries to do name resolving and these binaries
will only use /etc/hosts. "Dynamically linked"
replacements for mount and rcp are available from
ftp.ececs.uc.edu:/pub/sun-faq/Source/rcp-mount.dyn.tar.Z
This file only contains sun4 binaries. A Sun 3 binary
for mount can be retrieved from
ftp.ececs.uc.edu:/pub/sun-faq/Source/mount.sun3.Z
To be able to rebuild shared libraries you need to
install the "shlib custom" option which is available
with SunOS version 4.1 or greater.
You can still use NIS for other things in environment,
such as passwd, and group maps.
B) Run NIS with the "hosts" maps only. If you
only need DNS capability than change the "all"
line /var/yp/Makefile to "all: hosts".
It does not require any changes to shared libraries.
See question 2 for complete directions on how to setup
DNS with NIS.
Last Updated: July 3, 1996.
2) How to get DNS to be used when running NIS ?
First setup your /etc/resolv.conf file.
Use this file as a template.
;
; Data file for a client.
;
domain ececs.uc.edu ; local domain
nameserver 129.137.8.118 ; primary domain nameserver
nameserver 129.137.32.101 ; secondary domain nameserver
Where: "local domain" is the domain part of the hostnames.
For example, if your hostname is "ftp.ececs.uc.edu"
your "local domain" is "ececs.uc.edu" or you could use
"uc.edu".
Verify using nslookup that you are now resolving names
via DNS. Try something like "nslookup ftp.uu.net" and
see if you get back the IP address.
You will need to put a copy of this resolv.conf on
all NIS servers including slaves.
After you have the /etc/resolv.conf setup and working do
the following:
Under SunOS 4.1 and greater, at the top of the /var/yp/Makefile
uncomment the "B=-b" line and comment using the "#" sign the "B="
If you are running 4.0.x you will need to edit the
/var/yp/Makefile or apply the following "diff":
*** Makefile.orig Wed Jan 10 13:22:11 1990
--- Makefile Wed Jan 10 13:22:01 1990
***************
*** 63 ****
! | $(MAKEDBM) - $(YPDBDIR)/$(DOM)/hosts.byname; \
--- 63 ----
! | $(MAKEDBM) -b - $(YPDBDIR)/$(DOM)/hosts.byname; \
***************
*** 66 ****
! | $(MAKEDBM) - $(YPDBDIR)/$(DOM)/hosts.byaddr; \
--- 66 ----
! | $(MAKEDBM) -b - $(YPDBDIR)/$(DOM)/hosts.byaddr; \
Now setup NIS in the usual fashion (ypinit -m ) or if your "brave"
and have already setup NIS just re-make the hosts map. Something
like this should work remove /var/yp/hosts.time, cd /var/yp,
and type make (i.e. cd /var/yp; /bin/rm -f hosts.time ; make).
You will need reboot the machine or restart ypserv for these changes
to take affect.
The manpage for ypserv incorrectly states that you need to
start ypserv with the -d option to get DNS to work with NIS.
The manpage is incorrect -d option is for debugging.
If you need a copy of the NIS Makefile look in /usr/lib (NIS.Makefile).
Or grab the Makefile from ftp.ececs.uc.edu:/pub/sun-faq/Makefile.nis
Last Updated: July 20, 1995.
3) How to properly setup NFS mounting of /var/spool/mail ?
On the Client machines:
A) mount /var/spool/mail with the no attribute caching
option.
An example, fstab line would be the following:
mailhost:/var/spool/mail /var/spool/mail nfs rw,noac 0 0
B) Use a sendmail.cf that forces all mail to be delivered
by the mailhost.
One such file is available via anonymous ftp to
ftp.ececs.uc.edu. Get the file
/pub/sun-faq/sendmail.client.cf
Do not use the OR option that Sun provides. It is broken
in many ways.
On the server machine:
A) Setup DNS MX records pointing to the mailhost for
all client machines.
B) Edit the /etc/exports file to export /var/spool/mail
to the mail client machines. You may want
to use a netgroup for this purpose.
C) Setup the /etc/sendmail.cf on the server recognize
that mail to/from a client is "local".
One such file is available via anonymous ftp to
ftp.ececs.uc.edu. Get the file
/pub/sun-faq/sendmail.server.cf
Note: You may want to install Berkeley sendmail instead of Suns
stock sendmail.
4) Can I use AnswerBook under X11R5(6)?
AnswerBook in its current form requires the Openwindows
server. It uses the NeWS/Display Postscript extensions
to this server to display the Answerbook files.
To use AnswerBook under X11R5 you will need to replace the
docviewer program with program that calls Ghostscript to view
these pages. A replacement docviewer can downloaded from
ftp.ececs.uc.edu (129.137.8.99) as /pub/sun-faq/Source/docviewer.tar.gz
This kit contains more than one docviewer. Try using
the one in the toplevel docviewer directory.
This replacement docviewer does not support all the options that
the "real" docviewer supports such as "hypertext" links.
To install the replacement "docviewer" you will also need
Ghostscript 2.4 or above and Ghostview 1.3 or above both of
which are available from prep.ai.mit.edu in the /pub/gnu directory.
This replacement docviewer is reported to work with all versions
of AnswerBook but not as well as the original :).
Note: The Solaris 2.6 documentation can be accessed via the web
at: docs.sun.com
Last Updated: Apr 25, 1998.
5) What does "NFS write error X" mean?
You can lookup the error codes in /usr/include/sys/errno.h.
Two common NFS error codes are 13 - "permission denied" and 70 -
"stale file handle".
Error code 13 can occur from incorrect /etc/exports entry. Also,
it can occur because someone has changed the /etc/exports
entry to disallow the client after the client has already
been granted permission to perform this operation.
Error code 70 occurs when the file handle on the
NFS server changes for a particular filesystem.
The "file handle" can be changed under the following
circumstances:
A) Installing a new drive in place of an old.
B) Moving a filesystem from one devices to
another.
C) Performing a format, newfs, dump, and restore
cycle. Even if to the same device.
D) Unmounting a file system without remounting it.
E) Unmounting a High Sierra/ISO 9660 CD-ROM and
mounting a different CD.
You can usually get rid of the error by unmounting and
remounting the filesystem in question.
Also, error code 70 can occur when someone removes a file
that a process is actively writing from a NFS client machine.
Under SunOS 4.1, you can run "showfh" to translate the NFS
"file handle" given in the error message into a Unix pathname.
Beware that showfhd does a "find" on your server to get the
filename. "man 2 intro" will give you some more general
information on what error codes could mean.
You will need a patch to get "showfh" to work correctly. The patch
id is 100371 and this patch is required for 4.1, 4.1.1, and 4.1.2.
This patch has been integrated into 4.1.3.
6) How do I find the amount of memory installed or other
system configuration information?
You can use the "devinfo" command to find out general information
about the hardware attached to your Sun. The "devinfo" command is
only available on desktop SPARCsystems, SPARCengine 1E (although not
in the version used in Auspex systems), or 600MP series server only.
Also, most sparc clones should support devinfo. Any machine that has
an SBus will probably support "devinfo" but any machine that doesn't
have an SBus probably won't support "devinfo".
Note in Solaris "devinfo" is called "prtconf" and all options
are the same.
The "best" command for determining system information is
"sysinfo". Sysinfo is available from
ftp://usc.edu/pub/sysinfo/
Sysinfo works on all Sun architectures (including Sun-3s) and all
SunOS and Solaris releases as well as many other UNIX boxes such
as Ultrix, and Next.
Also, you can use the sundiag to find out configuration information
as follows:
/usr/diag/sundiag/sundiag -wv
/bin/cat /usr/adm/sundiaglog/sundiag.conf | /bin/sort
Finally, the "dmesg" command can be used to get memory information.
Try something like "dmesg | grep -i memory". It may not return
any memory information if the system has been up for a while.
Note: "wc -l /dev/mem" and "dd if=/dev/mem of=/dev/null" and
the like will *not* give the correct answer on machines
where physical memory is not contiguous, such as many Suns.
OpenWindows 3.3 and above also support the "wsinfo" command, which
provides some of this information, in particular memory size.
Last Updated: May 23, 1996.
7) Where can I get a version of ftp that does logging?
Get the wuarchive ftp daemon from
ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/packages/wuarchive-ftpd
A version of the wuarchive ftpd daemon that compiles right out
of the box for Solaris2.x machines can be had from
ftp.ececs.uc.edu (129.137.8.4) in the /pub/sun-faq directory.
Remember to specify your own paths in the src/pathnames.h file.
The stock Sun ftpd will log some information if you add the "-l"
flag in /etc/inetd.conf:
ftp stream tcp nowait root /usr/etc/in.ftpd in.ftpd -l
Also enable syslogd by adding:
daemon.info /var/adm/syslog
to "/etc/syslog.conf".
Last Updated: Oct 25, 1995.
8) Where can one get SunOS patches? Where can I get patch 10xxxx-xx?
Many anonymous ftp sites have partial collections of patches.
These sites include the following:
Sun sanctioned sites:
sunsolve1.sun.com:/pub/patches/
via WWW http://sunsolve1.sun.com/
sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/sun-info/sun-patches/
sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/sun-info/sun-patches/
sunsite.sut.ac.jp:/pub/sun-info/sun-us/sun-patches/
sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk:/sun/sunsite-sun-info/sun-patches/
Note: You should always attempt to find a local site before
using the above.
sunsolve1.sun.com contains a collection of recommended and
security patches. Be sure to check out the 2.x_Recommended.tar.Z
files which contain all the Recommended patches in one file.
The "Sunsites" are essentially mirrors of sunsolve.
Support Customers:
Starting with SunSolve CD 2.1.2 ALL Sun patches are shipped
on the SunSolve CD.
Support customers can get all patches via ftp from Sunsolve
or by e-mail and query one of the online sunsolve-databases
on the internet.
Some notes:
Do install the Recommended patches.
If you find a bug report it to Sun. This is the only way
it will get fixed.
Do not "blindly" install all patches. Sun does not always
have time to test for possible interactions between patches.
Do not install patches for applications that you do not use.
Do install patches for "bugs" that are actually affecting you.
Last Updated: Feb 2, 1998.
9) How to setup Openwindows Calendar Manager in a distributed
environment?
Sun's original assumption that each user has a permanent machine
allocated to them is not applicable in most environments. Just as
users send mail to 'user' rather than 'user@machine', users want
to browse others user's calendars and do not care or want to know
where the calendar is actually stored.
Here is procedure to accomplish our goal. All calendars
will be stored on a central server. The initial setup
must be done on the server.
A) Have the user login to the calendar host(calhost)
machine.
B) Change everyone's .cm.rc file so that
Calendar.DefaultCal points to user@calhost
calhost can be an hostname alias or an actual
hostname. You may want to use the alias
just in case you change the "calhost" later.
C) Change their Access List and Permissions (under
Edit/Properties) to show user@client with BID (browse,
insert, delete) permissions for any client machine the
user wanted to access their calendar from.
Notes: If you use the scheme you should not NFS mount
/var/spool/calendar on the client machines.
or
You can install the "Proxy OpenWindows Calendar Manager", which
is available via anonymous FTP from ftp.ececs.uc.edu in
/pub/sun-faq/proxy-cmsd.tar.Z.
or
You can install the "new cm daemon" which allows you to access
several Calendar hosts at once. It implements the "original"
rpc.cmsd daemon semantics(unlike proxy-cmsd) and thus all
the features(of CM) will work as documented. The latest source
for this daemon was available via anonymous FTP from
ftp.amdahl.com (129.212.11.1) in the /pub/newcm_d directory
but alas it is no longer but you can still get a copy from
from ftp.ececs.uc.edu as /pub/sun-faq/newcm_d-1.3.tar.Z
As of this writing newcm is being ported to Solaris2.x.
10) Why does the talk command fail between SunOS
and any other manufacturer's equipment(like DEC)?
SunOS and Solaris use the old BSD 4.2 version of talk.
The old talk uses "machine dependent" byte ordering. Since
DEC has different byte order the two talks can not
communicate (even if you use "otalk" on the DEC
machines).
Also, most vendors have the newer version of
talk from BSD-4.3 and this version is not compatible
with the Sun Version which is BSD-4.2.
The solution is to get and install the new version
of talk because it uses "network" byte ordering and
it is compatible with most Vendors current talk
implementations.
"New Talk" is available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.ececs.uc.edu:/pub/sun-faq/Source/ntalk.tar.gz
This contains a version of new talk that compiles on
both Solaris and SunOS. The Solaris version does not
require the Berkeley compatability libraries.
Finally, a program called Ytalk can be used with either
"New talk" or "Old talk" and compiles on all versions
of SunOS (including 5.x).
Ytalk can be obtained from
ftp.ececs.uc.edu:/pub/sun-faq/Source/ytalk-3.2.tar.gz
Last Updated: November 12, 1995
11) How do I setup "anonymous" ftp?
Read the man page ftpd(8) in the SunOS 4.x documentation, as
the procedure differs from vanilla BSD and most examples in
system administration books.
The "ls" binary is dynamically linked, requiring you to
duplicate ld.so, libc.so.* and /dev/zero in the ftp area.
The permissions and ownership of the files within the
ftp area are critical to having a secure configuration.
Note: For SunOS versions 4.1.2 and 4.1.3 you will need
to copy /usr/lib/libdl.so.* to the ftp area as well.
You can use a "statically" linked binary from the GNU
fileutils instead of the "dynamically" linked SunOS
version. You can get the GNU fileutils from prep.ai.mit.edu
in the directory /pub/gnu
There is also a statically linked version of ls for Suns
running SunOS 4.1.x, available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.ececs.uc.edu. Get the file /pub/sun-faq/ls.statically-linked
or get it from the SunOS install CD in the "tools" directory.
A complete procedure to setup anonymous under SunOS is
available via anonymous ftp to ftp.ececs.uc.edu. Get
the file /pub/sun-faq/anon-ftp.how-to.
There is an _excellent_ script written by Peter N. Lewis
(peter.lewis@info.curtin.edu.au) for setting up anonymous ftp
located on ftp.ececs.uc.edu, in the file /pub/sun-faq/anon-ftp.scrpt
12) How come yppasswdd does not automatically update the yp maps?
There is a bug in 4.1 rpc.yppasswdd that causes it misinterpret
the command line arguments. A work-around is to add the
"-nosingle" flag (which is the default), this shifts the
arguments over one, so "passwd" is read instead of "-m".
Also, you should use the complete path to rpc.yppasswdd
For example:
/usr/etc/rpc.yppasswdd /var/yp/passwd -nosingle -m passwd DIR=/var/yp
Note: Only use the DIR=/var/yp if your source files for passwd, group,
etc are in /var/yp. If they are in /etc you do not need
to and should not specify the DIR= parameter.
Also, you can modify the NIS Makefile to change to the location
of the maps (ie modify DIR= in /var/yp/Makefile). Than you
could use something like this instead of the above line:
/usr/etc/yppasswdd /var/yp/maps/passwd -noshell -m passwd
This assumes that all NIS text/source files are in
/var/yp/maps
If you are running the C2 security package, you should apply
the C2 Jumbo patch, as it fixes several problems with rpc.yppasswdd
and rpc.pwdauthd. The patch number is
100201-04 or greater for SunOS 4.1 and 4.1.1
100564-06 or greater for SunOS 4.1.2 and 4.1.3
Last Updated: April 27, 1995.
13) What does NFS getattr failed/RPC: Authentication error mean?
You are probably running a pre-SunOS 4.0 version of NFS and your
username is in more than 8 groups. There is a limit on the
number of groups that could be represented in the rpc service
(called NGRPS). On pre-4.0 systems this was 8, now it is 16.
Since many vendors other than Sun are still running old versions
of NFS, you might see this error even if your SunOS is recent.
Authentication errors are also caused by having secure RPC
enabled on the client but not on the server, or by having a
misconfigured secure RPC configuration for the user name
generating the errors. Beware of this problem when you are
using the automounter, as programs (such as Sendmail) may
silently fail when when they try to mount a directory
and get this error.
Last Updated: Feb 23, 1998.
14) Why did my Quantum 105 megabyte hard disk stop working?
This the now infamous Quantum drive "stickation" problem.
If the drive is allowed to cool down(even for a short period
of time) the drive lubricant will congeal and prevent the disks
platters from rotating.
Before you get a replacement, try lightly tapping
the drive to loosen the lubricant. If this does not work try
shaking and twisting the drive at the same time. One last
thing to try is to lift the system up a couple of inches
and drop it.
15) Can I replace the 105 megabyte internal drive with a higher capacity
model?
The newer disk drives can be used without worrying about heat
or power supply capacity problems.
However, older technology drives drives create more heat and draw
more power than the 105S. The case cooling ability and power supply
in the SS-1 and SS-1+ are not adequate for the 210 megabyte or higher
capacity drives possible in the SS-2.
As long as you make sure that the drive draws no more power
than the 105-Meg drive you should have no problems.
Only the SPARCstation 1 and 1+ have these limitations.
16) How can I turn my Sun3 into an X-Terminal?
You can use Seth Robertson's Xkernel package. It is available
via anonymous ftp from ftp.ctr.columbia.edu (128.59.64.40) in
/Xkernel. The package describes how to configure a minimal kernel
that runs the X server and offloads all the clients onto another,
hopefully more powerful host on the network.
As of this writing the current version of Xkernel is 2.0 and
it should work on both SPARC and Sun3 platforms.
Xkernel is attractive to some sites that have a large investment in
sun3 platforms, as moving most of the processing off the sun3
cpu makes it tolerable to use.
Finally, a used 3/50 is competitive with low-end X Terminal and
you get a 19" monitor with an optical mouse.
17) Why is my console login prompt garbled or in some strange
alphabet after upgrading to 4.1.3?
The problem is /etc/ttytab, with 4.1.3, the console is now
able to display 8 bits characters and getty must take this
into account.
The solution is easy, replace your console entry in /etc/ttytab
by the following, the important part is 'cons8':
console "/usr/etc/getty cons8" sun on local secure
Also, if you did an upgrade(instead of a full install) you may
need to add the following to your /etc/gettytab.
# This is a new entry to internationalize the console. It needs to be
# 8 bit clean so that ISO 8859 characters can be displayed without
# the window system.
#
cons8:\
:p8:lm=\r\n%h login\72 :sp#9600:
18) Why are the "random" missing services at boot time or any other time
(even though the services are in the /etc/services file or NIS map)?
The three primary causes for "random" missing services are
as follows:
A) "Blank" lines in /etc/services on the YP/NIS Master.
Delete the blank line and remake the services map.
B) Check the permissions on /etc/services. Non-root
processes need read permissions so /etc/services
should be mode 644.
C) NIS/YP server not responding quickly enough
to the "getservbyname" call because each getservbyname
call reads the whole map. One fix is to replace the
systems version of inetd with a version that re-tries the
"unknown" service.
I have "hacked" a version of munetd(public domain
replacement for inetd) to do this. It is available
from ftp.ececs.uc.edu. Get the file
/pub/sun-faq/Source/munetd.tar.Z
Another solution to this problem is outlined in part C below.
D) Sun's implementation of the services map is incorrect. To
correct this problem you will need to replace some library
routines in libc and rebuild the shared library.
These routines and directions on installing them are
available from ftp.ececs.uc.edu. Get the file
/pub/sun-faq/Source/getservent.tar.Z.
E) Another fix(if you do not want to modify your libc's) is
to just remove the services map from NIS. However,
you will need to update the services file by hand on
all clients. We are running all NIS hosts this way and
it seems to work quite well.
19) Where can I get Data Certified tapes for 4-mm or 8-mm tape drives
(at reasonable price)?
Here is an incomplete list of vendors how have "data certified"
tapes for the exabyte.
Misco 800-876-1726 $12 - 15 each.
TecBridge 800-972-7405 $9 - 15 each.
R-Squared 800-777-3478 Sony 112m 120@8.00 Each
K and K Systems 612-475-1527 $10 Each
SCR 314-739-0808 $10.95 for Memorex
CPI 800-522-4274 Sony 112m 120@7.00 Each
Last Updated: July 22, 1995.
20) What is "archie"?
Archie is a database of what is on several thousand anonymous
ftp sites.
To use archie get one of the three archie clients which
are as follows:
xarchie - For use under X11
c-archie - Curses version of Archie
archie - Perl Version of Archie
Theses are available from archie.ans.net in the directory
/pub/archie.
List of other publicly available archie servers:
archie.rutgers.edu 128.6.18.15 (Rutgers University)
archie.unl.edu 129.93.1.14 (University of Nebraska
in Lincoln)
archie.sura.net 128.167.254.179 (SURAnet archie server)
archie.ans.net 147.225.1.2 (ANS archie server)
archie.au 139.130.4.6 (Australian server)
archie.funet.fi 128.214.6.100 (European server in Finland)
archie.doc.ic.ac.uk 146.169.11.3 (UK/England server)
archie.cs.huji.ac.il 132.65.6.15 (Israel server)
archie.wide.ad.jp 133.4.3.6 (Japanese server)
archie.th-darmstadt.de 130.83.128.111 (German server)
21) How do I synchronize time on my Network?
You should use xntp version 3 to synchronize your time. Xntp
synchronizes to "atomic" and/or Radio Frequency clocks. Using
xntp time should always be within a few "milliseconds" of the
actual time. Xntp does not require a "atomic" clock, any
stable UNIX host clock will do.
You can get XNTP version 3 from
ftp://ftp.udel.edu/pub/ntp/
XNTP works with all versions of SunOS(4.x and 5.x).
Also, A web page for XNTP is available at
http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~ntp
Finally, Solaris 2.6 now cames with XNTP version 3.5Y.
Note: There is a Macintosh Control Panel extension available too..
Last Updated: December 1, 1997.
22) What is the phone number for Sun Express and other numbers of importance
to Sun Users?
Sun Express: 1-800-USE-SUNX (1-800-873-7869)
Main Sun Helpline: 1-800-USA-4SUN (1-800-872-4786)
Auspex Systems Inc. : 2300 Central Expressway
Santa Clara, CA 95050
(800) 735-3177 or (408) 492-0900
Fax: (408) 492-0909
E-mail: info@auspex.com
Web: http://www.auspex.com
Last Updated: June 22, 1998.
23) How do I join sun related mailing lists?
Mailing Lists:
Sun Managers: Used for "emergency" information only. The
users of this list are "very" knowledgeable.
sun-managers-request@eecs.nwu.edu add requests
sun-managers@eecs.nwu.edu submissions
Sun-386i: discussion about the Sun 386i product
sun-386i-request@ssg.com add requests
sun-386i@ssg.com submissions
Suns-at-Home is a mailing list devoted to folks who have Sun
Workstations at home. We hope to cover topics such as:
- Maintenance and parts
- Software
- dial-up access (SLIP, modems)
- Uses of Suns at Home (Home control, UUCP, BBS systems)
You can reach Suns-at-home through the following addresses:
Article submissions go to:
Suns-at-Home@net-kitchen.com
Administrative requests go to:
Suns-at-Home-Request@net-kitchen.com
Auspex: managers of Auspex NFS file servers
auspex-request@princeton.edu add requests
auspex@princeton.edu submissions
Epoch: managers of Epoch NFS file servers
EPoch Users Forum (EPUF)
epuf-request@mcs.anl.gov add requests
epuf@mcs.anl.gov submissions
Various SunFlash Mailing Lists:
SunFlash:
Articles about Sun from Sun. Includes Press Releases,
detailed intros, Sun e-newsletters, sunergy announcements
John J. McLaughlin Editor/Publisher (flash@sun.com)
Available in a variety of formats:
List name Description
sunflash daily sunflash. Many articles will have just
summaries for the articles posted.
use the autoresponder to get the full text
sunflash-f full list - all articles - no summaries
sunflash-w weekly list - one summary article per week
sunflash-m monthly list - one summary article per week
mt-sunflash summary article in the message body, and
all articles included as MailTool style
attachemensts
mime-sunflash like mt-sunflash, but with MIME attachements
mt-sunflash-w like mt-sunflash but once per week
mime-sunflash-w like mime-sunflash but once per week
Subscribe by sending email to majordomo@flashback.com
The message body should contain the word subscribe
followed by one of above lists names. E.g.
subscribe mt-sunflash
The Sun FlashBack:
Articles of interest to the Sun community from
vendors other than Sun. Includes Press Releases,
Sun User Group announcements, Product announcements,
Company newsletters, newsletter table of contents
(e.g. "HPCwire", "WEBster', "SPARCFlash"),
trade magazine table of contents (e.g. "Advanced Systems",
"Open Computing", "Sun Onserver"), Conference/Seminar/
Trade-Show announcements, Text Book announcements,
Sponsored technical articles.
John J. McLaughlin Editor/Publisher (flash@flashback.com)
Available in a variety of formats:
List name Description
flashback daily flashback. Many articles will have just
summaries for the articles posted.
use the autoresponder to get the full text
flashback-f full list - all articles - no summaries
flashback-w weekly list - one summary article per week
flashback-m monthly list - one summary article per week
mt-flashback summary article in the message body, and
all articles included as MailTool style
attachemensts
mime-flashback like mt-flashback, but with MIME attachements
mt-flashback-w like mt-flashback but once per week
mime-flashback-w like mime-flashback but once per week
Subscribe by sending email to majordomo@flashback.com
The message body should contain the word subscribe
followed by one of above lists names. E.g.
subscribe mt-flashback
Send for intro (article 9001), help, index or fullindex
to flashback@flashback.com.
ftp archives on draco.nova.edu pub/sunflash
WWW files on draco.nova.edu pub/sunflash/www
URL ftp://draco.nova.edu/pub/sunflash/www/
NOTE!!! if you wish to be added to one of the above mailing lists,
send mail to the REQUEST address! Do not send add requests
to the main address!
Last Updated: Sept 25, 1995.
24) How do I use Mac floppies in a SUN drive?
You can not use "real" Mac floppies without buying either
one of the emulator packages like Liken from Andataco(?) or
Mae from Apple (only runs on Solaris2.3 or above). They
is another product or two that just allows you to mount
Macintosh floppies onto your Sun but the vendors
and product names escape me now.
That said if all you want to do is exchange files
the easiest way is to use suntar on the Macintosh to
copy files to a "high density" floppy. Then you can use
"tar" or "bar" on the Sun to get the files off this floppy.
It is available from ftp.ececs.uc.edu (129.137.8.99)
as /pub/sun-faq/Source/suntar-203.hqx or visit
the Info Mac archives at wuarchive.wustl.edu.
or
You could use the Apple File Exchanger to translate
the files to MS-DOS format. Then use one of the many
methods for transferring MS-DOS disks to Sun. System 7.5 now
mounts dos floppies automatically no need for Apple File
Exchanger.
These methods should only be used with files like ascii files,
wordprocessor files, and spreadsheet data files. Mac
application programs should not be transfered.
Finally, low density Mac floppies are not compatable
with Sun floppy drives.
Last Updated: January 27, 1995.
25) How can I transfer floppies back and forth between MS-DOS and Sparc?
For Solaris2.2 and above you can use the Volume Manager to
control your disks and CD-ROM's. Under SunOS 4.0 there are two
packages which allow you to do mount floppies (mtools and mntdisk).
Both of these packages use the 3-1/2inch floppy drive available
on most SPARCstations. Mntdisk can be used to manage CD-ROMS
and other removable media types as well.
With the advent of the Volume manager in Solaris2.2 these programs
have been rendered somewhat obsolete. Under Solaris2.x use
volcheck -v to check in a floppy. Than you can use normal UNIX
commands on this floppy like cd, mkdir, cp, mv, and ls. It usually
gets mounted on /vol/floppy0
Mtools writes directly to the floppy device and it does not
require any special privileges. It is faster than mntdisk
but it requires the user to learn a new set of commands.
A copy of mtools can be found at
ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/
With the proper changes to the source code mtools can even
be made to work with the Solaris2.x Volume Manager. All
you need to do is make mtools look in /vol/dev/diskette/...
for the floppy devices.
mntdisk "mounts" the floppy using the "pcfs" filesystem type. Once
mounted you can use regular UNIX commands(cp,mv,and rm)
to access it. The pcfs filesystem is quite slow compared
to using mtools above. Mntdisk is available in your local
comp.sources.misc archive, Volume 22, Issues 31-33.
Mntdsk can be used to mount CD-ROMS and even UFS floppies.
You should never use "setuid" shell scripts for mounting floppies.
Also, C programs that use the system() function call should
not be used either. Both can open up huge security holes
which hackers can be used to break into your system.
Last Updated: January 27, 1995.
26) Why is my biff not "biffing" when using biff in a networked
environment?
In its current form comsat/biff are only usable on the mail
server. You need to replace them network capable programs.
A shar file containing network capable versions of comsat
and biff is available from ftp.ececs.uc.edu. Get the
file /pub/sun-faq/Source/biff-comsat.
27) How do I disable L1-A(STOP-A) or re-map it?
You need to get one of the many re-mapping programs. You
can get it from:
ftp.ececs.uc.edu:/pub/sun-faq/Source/disable-L1-A.tar.Z
Always password protect your NVRAM. Set the security
to command otherwise anyone can set this password
to anything they want. Of course you can get it back
as root by doing a strings /dev/eeprom and it should
show up in plain text. This assumes you have root
access.
28) Why are all the local users "unknown" when using sendmail under 4.1.2?
There is a known problem with sendmail and frozen config
files under 4.1.2.
The fix is to remove /etc/sendmail.fc. Also, You could
try moving it to the end of /etc/rc.local.
However, the best "fix" may be to install the new Berkeley
Sendmail it has a number of enhancements, performance
improvements, and security enhancements.
You can get Berkeley sendmail from ftp.cs.berkeley.edu(128.32.149.78).
Get the following files: /ucb/sendmail/*8*6*9*
/ucb/4bsd/db.tar.Z
Also, you will need bind 4.9 and it can be found on
gatekeeper.dec.com(16.1.0.2) in the /pub/BSD/bind/4.9
directory.
Finally, if you do not want to build the Berkeley sendmail for
yourself I will be willing to mail you a copy.
29) What are the dump parameters for an exabyte 8200 or 8500?
8200 -- dump 0budfs 126 54000 /dev/rst0 6000 /filesystem
8500 -- dump 0budfs 126 54000 /dev/rst0 13000 /filesystem
Under 4.1.2 and above you should use rst8. Previous SunOS versions
did not do anything special for the 8500.
These parameters are not needed for Solaris 2.x because it can
do the right thing if it reaches EOT (end of tape).
Sept 20, 1995
30) What are the guidelines for setting up swap space ?
In SunOS 4.x the amount of swap space and Virutal memory
are one and the same so you need at least as much swap
as real memory.
In SunOS 5.x the amount of Virutal memory is equal
swap space plus real memory. Under SunOS 5.x you
can actually get away with having no swap space at
all. We are running a SPARCserver 1000 with no swap
and 192-Meg of real memory. Of course you will
end up wasting some space because things that really
could be swapped out can not be.
The old rule of thumb is 1.5 to 2 times real memory. This
can lead to wasted disk space (by having too much swap
space) or to not having enough. What you need to do
is to estimate your swap space needs.
Of course if you under-estimate your swap needs or periodically
need additonal swap space you can use mkfile to create
a swapfile (ie mkfile 25m swapfile). Do not use the "-n"
option on local swap files. This option should be only
used for NFS mounted swap space.
To use you new swap space you can use the following
commands:
swapon /fullpath/to/file -- SunOS 4.x
or
swap -a /fullpath/to/file -- SunOS 5.x
To delete the swap space under SunOS 4.x you have
to reboot. In SunOS 5.x you can delete swap space
using swap -d .
You can also turn swap space into filesystem space by mounting a
tmpfs filesystem in swap. A tmpfs file is not completely
equivalent to a disk file, since file and record locking is not
supported. However tmpfs is nice since you now have one block of
disk being shared by the swap space and the filesystem, with the
split being dynamically changed depending on usage.
Finally, if you use X and tend to leave many applications in core
in various windows, you'll need much more swap space.
Last Updated: July 7, 1995.
31) What are the general guidelines for maxusers to be set to on machine X?
This question is being written.
32) What does "zsN: silo overflow" mean?
The CPU serial ports - both ordinary serial ports A and B, and
the port for the keyboard and mouse - use the Zilog Z8530 SCC
chip. That chip has a 3-character on-board buffer called the
"silo". If a character arrives in the silo, the chip interrupts
the CPU at a high priority, and the interrupt service routine
reads the character out of the silo.
If the interrupt isn't serviced in time, more than 3 characters
can be placed in the silo by the chip; if so, the chip notes
that the silo "overflowed", and the interrupt service routine,
when called, will note that a "silo overflow" occurred.
If the machine is printing a message from the kernel, interrupts
from the chip will be held off; if the message takes long enough
to print, and characters are coming in quickly enough on the
serial port, more than 3 can arrive, and a "silo overflow" will
occur.
It is possible that a machine that's sufficiently busy in other
code that runs with interrupts held off could get a silo
overflow as well.
33) What does the "N" in "zsN: silo overflow", and other "zsN" messages,
signify?
The name "zsN" is ambiguous.
In kernel "config" files, and in the boot-time autoconfig
messages, "zs0" is the first on-board Z8530 chip, the two
channels of which handle "ttya" and "ttyb", respectively, and
"zs1" is the second on-board Z8530 chip, the two channels of
which handle the keyboard and mouse ports, respectively.
In "zsN: silo overflow" messages and the like:
"zs0" is the A channel on the first on-board Z8530, handling
"ttya";
"zs1" is the B channel on the first on-board Z8530, handling
"ttyb";
"zs2" is the A channel on the second on-board Z8530, handling
the keyboard;
"zs3" is the B channel on the second on-board Z8530, handling
the mouse.
So a "zs0: silo overflow" error is for "ttya", and a "zs1: silo
overflow" error is for "ttyb", not for the keyboard or mouse.
Keyboard silo overflows are "zs2: silo overflow"; mouse silo
overflows are "zs3: silo overflow".
34) How do I set up a Sun serial port both for dial-in and dial-out?
You need to read Chapter 11 in the "Systems and Network
Administration" manual.
35) I can't get my Sun, running SunOS 4.1[.x], to establish a UUCP
connection to some non-Sun machine; it won't log in. What's wrong?
The 4.1[.x] UUCP normally runs in even-parity mode when logging
into another machine. If the other machine is running in 8
bits, no parity, mode, the fact that the 8th bit is set on some
of the characters the Sun is sending to it will confuse it.
The Sun can be made to turn the 8th bit off by putting
P_ZERO into the "expect / send" sequence for dialing.
Good places are /etc/uucp/Systems or /etc/uucp/Dialers.
Putting it into the Dialers file has the advantage, that
it's compatible with Taylor UUCP 1.04 and 1.05. You might
want Taylor UUCP for better UUCP throughput using Taylor
UUCP's bidirectional i-proto. Here is an example for the
/etc/uucp/Dialers file, it introduces additionally the
option of using Hardware Handshaking between modem and
computer:
zyxel =,-, "" P_ZERO "" \dA\pTM1S42.6=1\r\c OK\r
\EATDT\T\r\c CONNECT STTY=crtscts
Note: this has to be _ONE_ line !!!
Last Updated: April 27, 1995.
36) Do the Sun serial ports support RTS/CTS flow control?
The serial port hardware can do CTS-based control of the flow of
data *from* the Sun *out* the serial port automatically. The
tty driver option for that is the CRTSCTS option; it can be
specified in:
the "printcap" "ms" capability for a printer;
in the "gettytab" "ms", "m0", "m1", or "m2" capabilities
for a dial-in port;
the "STTY=" option for a dial-out line for UUCP or "cu"
[check the UUCP documentation for details];
and can be specified with the "hf" capability in "/etc/remote"
for "tip".
The hardware cannot directly do RTS-based control of the flow of
data *into* the Sun, and the software does not currently support
controlling the flow of data into the Sun with RTS.
NOTE: the EEPROM options in newer Suns do not affect the flow
control performed by the OS; in fact, the OS ignores the
"ttya-mode", "ttyb-mode", "ttya-rts-dtr-off", and
"ttyb-rts-dtr-off" EEPROM options entirely. You don't need to
set them to change the way the OS handles the tty, and even if
you do set them, it won't change the way the OS handles the tty.
Sun has released a new jumbo tty patch 100513-04 for SunOS 4.1.2
and 4.1.3 that incorporates changes to the tty driver to
support RTS/CTS handshaking. Anyone trying to get RTS/CTS
handshaking to work should get this patch.
37) How do I specify that a serial port should, or should not, ignore the
state of the Carrier Detect line?
Prior to SunOS 4.1, you do so either by:
changing the "flags" field for the serial port device in the
kernel "config" file, re-running "config", rebuilding
the kernel, and rebooting with the new kernel;
or, on the Sun-4c machines:
changing the setting of the "ttya-ignore-cd" or
"ttyb-ignore-cd" EEPROM settings if the port is one of
the CPU serial ports.
In SunOS 4.1 (and, I think, some SunOS 4.0[.x] releases for the
Sun386i), you do so by changing the "/etc/ttytab" line for the
port in question to have the "local" attribute if CD is to be
ignored, or not to have it if CD is not to be ignored, and
running the "ttysoftcar" command to tell the kernel that the
status of the "ignore CD" flag should be changed.
In 4.1, there's no need to change the EEPROM setting to change
SunOS's behavior; it may affect the PROM's behavior, but that's
the only reason why it'd be necessary.
38) I put in a new "termcap" entry, or updated an existing "termcap" entry,
for a terminal, but "vi" doesn't seem to know about my change. Why?
The "vi" in SunOS 4.1[.x] is based on the System V Release 3.1
"vi", because that version of "vi" supports 8-bit character
sets. That version of "vi" uses "terminfo", not "termcap"; you
have to change the "terminfo" entry for the terminal.
You may first have to convert the compiled "terminfo" entry to a
text entry; "/usr/5bin/infocmp -I <terminal-type>" will write
the text of the "terminfo" entry for the terminal
<terminal-type> to its standard output.
If you already have a "termcap" entry, you can convert it to a
"terminfo" entry with "/usr/5bin/captoinfo".
A text "terminfo" entry must be recompiled in order for programs
using "terminfo" to use it; "/usr/5bin/tic" will recompile it.
39) I have a Type 5 keyboard, and find its placement of the Caps Lock,
Control, and Esc keys inconvenient. How do I remedy this?
Well, one remedy may be to buy the "UNIX layout" version of the
Type 5; this option seems, unfortunately, to be little-known to
Sun customers, and Sun may not be promoting it as they should.
That keyboard has a layout much more friendly to the traditional
UNIX user than do the normal PC-style layouts for the Type 5.
If you don't have that option, you can use the appropriate
program to reprogram the keys; see the next question.
40) How can I move keys around on a Sun keyboard, for example exchanging the
Caps Lock and Control keys on a Type 5 keyboard?
It depends on which window system you're running, if any.
If you're not using any window system, or you're using a window
system such as SunView that uses the OS's keyboard event
translation mechanism, you can dump the tables used by the OS's
keyboard event translation mechanism with the "dumpkeys"
command, and load changes to that table with the "loadkeys"
command; see LOADKEYS(1).
If you're using X11 - either in its MIT incarnation, or Sun's
Open Windows incarnation - or some other window system that
shuts off the OS's keyboard event translation mechanism, you
need to use the window system's commands, if any, for that
function.
In X11, the command for that is "xmodmap"; its translation
tables can be printed with "xmodmap -pk", and changes to that
table can be loaded with "xmodmap" as well.
NOTE: in the particular case of the Control and Caps Lock keys,
while MIT X appears to handle interchanging those two keys
correctly, so that the new Caps Lock key is a toggle and the new
Control key is not, some versions of Open Windows do not - even
though the keys have had their mappings exchanged, the window
system server still thinks that the *old* Caps Lock key, which
is now the Control key, should be a toggle, and that the *old*
Control key, which is now the Caps Lock key, should not be a
toggle.
[Here is a work-around for this problem, provided by Mark Plotnick
(mp@allegra.att.COM)]:
Copy the appropriate keytable (e.g. /usr/openwin/etc/keytables/US4.kt)
to $HOME/.keytable, and change the 2nd attribute character in a key's
attributes field to N or P depending on whether the key should have
"pseudolock".
$ diff /usr/openwin/etc/keytables/US4.kt /usr/gre/.keytable
78,79c78,79
< lock 119 # CapsLock
< control 76 # Control
---
> lock 76 # CapsLock
> control 119 # Control
226c226
< 76 NN XK_Control_L
---
> 76 NP XK_Caps_Lock
278c278
< 119 NP XK_Caps_Lock
---
> 119 NN XK_Control_L
41) My Sun doesn't have an ANSI C compiler. How can I get one?
SunOS releases prior to 5.x come with a C compiler. However,
it was an old compiler, and it didn't support ANSI C syntax or
ANSI C features.
The SunSoft Catalyst CD #5 contains the binaries for the GNU C
compiler for Solaris 1.x and 2.x. You should get the latest
version of GCC and compile it using this compiler.
Many vendors offer ANSI C compilers for SunOS. Sun sells Sun C
1.1 for SPARC, which includes an ANSI C compiler (although not a
full ANSI C environment, i.e. it doesn't necessarily include all
the ANSI C include files or library routines); various other
vendors (Lucid? Others?) sell ANSI C compilers as well.
The Free Software Foundation's GCC also supports ANSI C syntax
and ANSI C features. It can be FTP'ed in source form from many
sites, and in binary form from some sites.
A compiled version of the latest GCC for SunOS 5.x is available from
prep.ai.mit.edu. The directory containing these files is
/pub/gnu/sparc-sun-solaris2
You need to get the following files:
gzip-binaries-1.x.x.tar
INSTALL.gcc
gcc-binaries-2.x.x.tar.gz
Note: You need the gzip binaries to ungzip the gcc binaries.
After obtaining GCC, you will need to run fixincludes.
The INSTALL.gcc file will tell you how.
Note: The following sites mirror the GNU software distribution
from prep.ai.mit.edu:
ASIA: ftp://utsun.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ftpsync/,
cair-archive.kaist.ac.kr:/pub/gnu/gnu.mit
AUSTRALIA: ftp://archie.oz.au/ (archie.oz or archie.oz.au for ACSnet)
AFRICA: ftp://ftp.sun.ac.za/pub/
MIDDLE-EAST: ftp://ftp.technion.ac.il/pub/unsupported/
EUROPE: irisa.irisa.fr:/pub/gnu, grasp1.univ-lyon1.fr:pub/gnu,
ftp.mcc.ac.uk, ftp://unix.hensa.ac.uk/pub/uunet/systems/,
src.doc.ic.ac.uk:/gnu, ftp.win.tue.nl, ugle.unit.no,
ftp.denet.dk, ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de:/pub/gnu,
ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de, ftp.eunet.ch,
ftp://nic.switch.ch/mirror/, nic.funet.fi:/pub/gnu,
isy.liu.se, ftp.stacken.kth.se,
ftp.luth.se:/pub/unix/gnu, archive.eu.net
CANADA: ftp.cs.ubc.ca:/mirror2/gnu
USA: ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/mirrors/, labrea.stanford.edu,
ftp://ftp.kpc.com/pub/mirror/, ftp.cs.widener.edu,
ftp://col.hp.com/mirrors/, ftp.cs.columbia.edu:/archives/gnu/prep,
gatekeeper.dec.com:/pub/GNU, ftp.uu.net:/systems/gnu
You should check the site close to you before ftping to
prep.
42) How do I change the time zone setting on my machine?
In releases prior to SunOS 4.0, you will have to reconfigure
your kernel, recompile it, install the new kernel, and reboot.
See the documentation on kernel configuration.
In SunOS 4.0 and later releases, you will need to run the "zic"
command with the "-l" flag, with the appropriate time zone
setting as the argument. For example, to set the time zone to
US Eastern Time, do:
zic -l US/Eastern
to set it to the proper setting for Great Britain and Eire, do:
zic -l GB-Eire
and so on.
You will then probably want to reboot your machine, in order to:
1) cause any daemons started before the time zone was
changed to restart, and pick up the new time zone;
2) run "tzsetup" for the benefit of old pre-SunOS 4.0
binaries, old programs not converted to use the new
routines to convert local time to UNIX time, and
Calendar Manager.
You can also manually link "/usr/share/lib/zoneinfo/localtime"
to the appropriate time zone file, but there's really no point
in doing so when "zic -l" will do that for you.
In Solaris 2.x, you do it the same way you do it on any other
SVR4 system - you put a line that says
TZ=<time zone name>
in "/etc/TIMEZONE", or change the existing line, and reboot.
SVR4 includes the "Arthur Olson" time zone code that SunOS 4.x
also uses, although not all SVR4 systems supply the time zone
files for it; Solaris 2.0 does.
43) I'm getting messages that say one of the following:
proc: table is full and/or
file: table is full and/or
dquot: table is full and/or
inode: table is full
What do these errors mean, and how do I fix the problem?
In SunOS releases prior to 5.0, many tables in the system are
allocated once at system startup time, with a fixed size, and do
not grow in size. If the system needs more entries than are
present in that table to perform some operation, it can't
perform the operation, and it will log a message and return a
failure indication.
The sizes of the tables in question are based on the "maxusers"
value in the configuration file for your kernel; to increase the
size of the table, change the configuration file for your kernel
to have a larger "maxusers" value, re-run "config" on that file,
rebuild the kernel, install the new kernel, and reboot.
SunOS 4.1 and later shouldn't get "inode: table is full", as
that table is dynamically allocated; SunOS 5.0 should
dynamically allocate entries in most if not all of those tables.
I did that, and I'm still getting that message. What do I do now?
Presumably, then, either:
1) you didn't increase "maxusers" enough
or
2) some process is consuming resources from the table in
question without bound.
Note: SunOS kernels(up to 4.1.3) by default allow the user to use
all available process slots(except for the last 5).
If you are running out of process slots you may want to
change the kernel parameter that controls the maximum number
of per user processes. You can change this in the param.c
in /sys/conf.common. You will need to change the following
define:
#define MAXUPRC (NPROC - 5)
to something more reasonable like
#define MAXUPRC (NPROC - 5)/2
After making this change you should re-config and re-build
your kernel.
The "proc" table has one entry for every process on the system;
if it's overflowing, some process on the system may be creating
new processes over and over again. If you can, do a "ps -ax" to
see what processes are on the system, and see if that gives any
clues as to what process, if any, is spawning those other
processes.
The "file" table has one entry for every "active file
descriptor" on the system; each time an "open", "dup", "socket",
etc. call is made, a new "active file descriptor" is required.
There's no way of finding out what process or processes are
consuming file descriptors that's as convenient as "ps" can be
for finding out what process or processes are spawning additional
processes; "/usr/etc/pstat -f" will print the "open file table"
of "active file descriptors", but it's tricky for the novice
user, programmer, or administrator to interpret the output of
"pstat -f", and that output doesn't indicate which processes are
using a given "active file descriptor".
44) Blank at present.
45) How do I run both OpenWindows and MIT X11R5?
OpenWindows 2.0 is compatible with X11R3 plus some extensions,
OpenWindows 3.0 is compatible with X11R4, and OpenWindows 3.3
is completely standard X11R5 with Display Postscript extensions
added and many Sun hardware-specific performance improvements.
To get X11R5(or R4) applications to run under Openwindows you will
need to set the appropriate LD_LIBRARY_PATH.
Assuming you installed the MIT libraries in
/usr/lib and the OpenWindows libraries are in
/usr/openwin/lib, set the following before you start the
windowing system:
MIT X11R4 environment
set path = (/usr/bin/X11 $path)
setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /usr/lib
OpenWindows
set path = (/usr/openwin/bin /usr/openwin/demo $path)
setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /usr/openwin/lib
You can also run clients from one environment under a different
server on a one command at a time basis. This example runs a
OpenWindows client under the MIT server:
(setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /usr/openwin/lib; x_soundtool)
A better way to handle this(in the long run) is to re-compile
the X server clients to include a "hard" coded shared library
search path. You will need to link the clients with -L
option. For example, if your X11 libraries are installed
in /usr/local/lib/X11 you will link your application by
cc -o app app.c -L/usr/local/lib/X11 -lX11 -lXext
By doing this to all applications you can eliminate the need
to set the LD_LIBRARY_PATH.
For applications that you do not have source for you should
write a shell script wrapper similar to the following:
#!/bin/sh
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib/X11; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
/usr/local/bin/X11/xterm.bin $*
Note: Source code for the Xview toolkit and MIT X11R5 are
available from prep.ai.mit.edu.
The OpenWindows server has the ability to display PostScript that
several of the OpenWindows applications require to run. Sun's
AnswerBook is an example that requires PostScript. These clients
will not run under the MIT server.
You can get a limited PostScript preview capability under
either server with GNU Ghostscript, a GNU "copyleft" package
available from various ftp sites.
Two enhanced versions of Ghostscript are also available,
CSPreview and Ghostview, they both offer fancier preview capabilities.
These programs are currently available via anonymous ftp:
Ghostscript is on prep.ai.mit.edu (18.71.0.38) in /pub/gnu
GSPreview is on ftp.x.org (18.24.0.12) in /contrib
Ghostview is on prep.ai.mit.edu (128.105.2.196) in /pub/gnu
46) Where do I find a "restricted" shell for SunOS?
/usr/lib/rsh is a "restricted" Bourne shell.
This "restricted" shell is easy to break out of; consider
that most editors have a shell escape, for example. Building
a window-dressing restricted environment is easy; building
a real restricted environment is hard.
47) Will SunOS 4.1.x binaries run under SunOS 5.x?
Yes they will, with some restrictions. The most significant is
that the binary in question must have been "dynamically linked."
Otherwise, you will get the message
Bad system call (core dumped)
immediately when starting the 4.1.x binary on SunOS5.
As of SunOS 5.3 "statically" linked binaries will now run
in binary compatabilty mode.
Finally, bear in mind that there may be a performance penalty
for using binary compatabilty mode applications.
Last Updated: August 2, 1995.
48) When I try to compile MITs X11R4 applications under Openwindows 3.0,
I get the following "undefined" symbols(_get_wmShellWidgetClass, and
_get_applicationShellWidgetClass). What is the Problem?
There are problems with the Xmu shared library as shipped from Sun.
There are two "fixes". One is to get the Openwindows patches
that apply to this problem and the other is to "statically" link
the Xmu library into the executable.
The patches you will need are as follows:
Patch i.d. Bug i.d.'s O/S Description
---------- -------------------------------------------------------
100512-04 1086793 1086912 4.1.x OpenWindows 3.0 libXt
1074766 Jumbo patch
100573-04 1087332 4.1.x OpenWindows 3.0 undefined
symbols when using shared
libXmu.
Note: Always use the latest version of the above patch that you can
find.
To "statically" link your executable with libXmu modify the
compile line as follows:
-Bstatic -lXmu -Bdynamic
49) What is Solaris?
Solaris consists of the following facilities:
1) SunOS
2) Openwindows
3) Openwindows deskset tools
4) ONC networking products and services(which includes NFS
and NIS)
Solaris is not an operating system but a "complete" user
environment.
A chart of Solaris versions, and the corresponding SunOS, Open
Windows, and DeskSet versions:
Solaris SunOS Open Windows DeskSet
1.0 4.1.1 2.0 2.0
1.0.1 4.1.2 2.0 2.0
1.1 4.1.3 3.0 3.0
1.1.1(a) 4.1.3_U1 3.0_U1* 3.0_U1*
1.1.1(b) 4.1.3_U1_B 3.0_U1* 3.0_U1*
Note: The "uname" output for 4.1.3_U1_B may only not contain
the '_B' information.
2.0 5.0 3.0.1 3.0.1
2.1 5.1 3.1 3.1
2.2 5.2 3.2 3.2
2.3 5.3 3.3 3.3
2.4 5.4 3.4 3.4
*when patched with the patches on the 4.1.3_U1 CD.
Last Updated: April 27, 1995.
50) What does the "nres_gethostbyaddr !=" error mean?
This message is generating by Sun's resolver libraries and
it is caused by incorrectly configured Domain Name
Server(the server that the resolver libraries are querying
not necessarily the local Domain Name Server).
The Domain Name Server probably lacks a reverse map entry for
that particular host.
Since this "bug" is closely associated with using ypserv,
Sun has produced a patch to "ypserv" (bug #1039839).
Sun supplied a patch 100141-01 to quiet it, but the
patched version appears to die silently at random times,
so Sun now has a new patch, 100141-02. Do not install this
patch unless you are really getting a lot of these messages.
51) How come my mouse only works in the vertical(or horizontal) direction,
how do I repair it?
Check the rotation of the PAD. Turn it 90 degrees and see if it
works any better. The mouse will only work properly
if the mouse pad is oriented properly. Make sure that the long
side of the pad along the horizontal and the short side
the vertical.
Also, check to make sure that you have the right mouse pad. The
newer the mouse the smaller the pad.
Finally, if that does not work one of the LEDs on the under
side of the mouse has probably "burnt" out. Do not fooled
by the fact that one of them is an infrared led (light that
is invisable to naked eye) and the other visible.
You can probably repair it yourself(if you can get a replacement
LED and you know how to use a Soldering Iron) by following
a set of directions available from
ftp://ftp.ececs.uc.edu/pub/sun-faq/Docs/
Note: This discussion only applys to Type 4 optical mice and not
the newer Type 5 mice.
Last Updated: June 10, 1996.
52) After rebuilding the shared library libc it get some or all the
following undefined symbols: dlsym, dlopen, dlclose, mbstowcs_xccs,
mbtowc_xccs,wcstombs_xccs, or wctomb_xccs.
If you have just installed a new shared library under 4.1.2 or
greater you need to modify the Makefile for the shared libraries
and re-install. You will need to change the following line
ld -assert pure-text `${OBJSORT} lorder-sparc tmp`
to read
ld -assert pure-text `${OBJSORT} lorder-sparc tmp` -ldl
Note: You should change both such lines.
Also, you may need to do a mv xccs.multibyte. xccs.multibyte.o
to eliminate the mbstowcs_xccs, mbtowc_xccs, wcstombs_xccs,
or wctomb_xccs symbols errors.
The above can occur under SunOS 4.1.1 if you have installed
the "Linker Jumbo Patch"(Patch id# 100257-03 or greater).
53) What does "No network locking on host" mean after upgrading to
Solaris 2.0?
Your SunOS 4.x(or above) machines are running an old version
of rpc.lockd. You need to get and install patch number
100075-11 or greater to correct this problem.
54) Does Password Aging work with NIS(YP) ?
Sun does not support password aging under NIS(OS version
to 4.1.3). The rpc.yppasswdd needs to modified to make
password aging work.
Password aging will only work under SunOS 5.3(Solaris2.3)
with NIS+.
55) What does "rpc.lockd: Cannot contact status monitor!" mean?
For some reason rpc.lockd can not talk to rpc.statd.
Check to see if rpc.statd is running. If rpc.statd
is not running re-start it. If rpc.statd is running,
kill it and restart it. You will need to kill and restart
rpc.lockd too.
Use this procedure to restart rpc.lockd and rpc.statd.
kill rpc.statd and rpc.lockd
start rpc.statd
wait a 10 seconds or so
start rpc.lockd
If this does not work kill rpc.statd and rpc.lockd
remove /etc/sm /etc/sm.bak directories and re-start the
daemons using the above procedure..
56) How do I join the Sun User Group(SUG)?
Here is the information on joining SUG.
Sun User Group, Inc.
1330 Beacon Street, Suite 315
Brookline, MA 02146
USA
voice: +1 617 232-0514 fax: +1 617 232-1347
office@sug.org
With your membership you get the following:
* Vendor Discounts
* Technical Conferences
* Software Distribution
* README Newsletter
* Annual Exhibits
* Local User Group Support
* Newsgroup comp.org.sug
57) How do I increase the number of "pseudo" terminals(ptys) ?
For SunOS4.1.x:
To add more ptys you must install a new kernel.
The default number of "ptys" is 48. To get more "ptys"
change the kernel config line "pseudo-device pty" to
"pseudo-device pty#" where '#" is the number of "ptys"
you want.
Be warned the maximum number you can have is 256.
You will need to run /dev/MAKEDEV pty[0-5] to create the
/dev/ entries.
For SunOS5.x:
In /etc/system, add the line:
set pt_cnt=nnn -- nnn can have a value up to 3000.
touch /reconfigure
and reboot using 'init 6'.
For BSD style ptys set npty in /etc/system to the desired
value(ie set npty=64). You may need to make the ptys by
hand and you will need to make likes from /dev to /devices for
these devices. Finally, you will need to edit /etc/iu.ap to
automatically push the appropriate streams compatibility modules
onto the new devices. You need to replace the line reading
"ptsl 0 15 ldterm ttcompat"
with
"ptsl 0 <NUM> ldterm ttcompat"
where <NUM> was one less than the number of compatibility ptys you
need.
58) Where are dump and restore under Solaris 2.x?
dump is now called /usr/sbin/ufsdump
restore is now called /usr/sbin/ufsrestore
59) How do I make the numeric keypad on a type 5 keyboard work with xterm?
You need to patch the /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XTerm and
$OPENWINHOME/lib/app-defaults/XTerm files as described in sun
patch 100713-01 or later.
60) How do I swap the CAPS LOCK and CONTROL keys on a type 5 keyboard
under Openwindows 3.0?
Don't do it with xmodmap, since that won't change the locking
behavior of CAPS LOCK. Edit $OPENWINHOME/etc/keytables/US5.kt.
There are two places where keys 119 (CapsLock) and 76 (Control)
should be swapped: the MODMAP section and the KEYSYMMAP section.
The latter is most important, because that's where the
"Pseudo-Lock" function (which controls the locking behaviour of
the key) is defined.
61) Which Sun models run which versions of SunOS?
Sun-supported configurations:
Sun2: SunOS 4.0.3 or earlier.
Sun386i: SunOS 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2 only.
Sun3: SunOS 4.1.1_U1 or earlier.
4/100, 4/200 series: SunOS 3.2, SunOS 4.0 or later.
4/300 series: SunOS 4.0.3 or later.
4/400 series: SunOS 4.1PSR_A or later.
600 models 120, 140: SunOS 4.1.2 or later.
600 model 41, 51: SunOS 4.1.3 or later.
600 models 412, 512: Solaris 2.2 or later.
600 model 514: Solaris 2.3 HW 8/94 or later.
SPARCstation 1, 1+, SLC, IPC: SunOS 4.0.3 or later.
SPARCstation 2, ELC, IPX: SunOS 4.1.1 or later.
SPARCstation 10 models 20, 30, 40, 41, 51: SunOS 4.1.3 or later.
SPARCstation 10 models 412, 512: Solaris 2.2 or later.
SPARCstation 10 model 402: Solaris 2.2 or later.
SPARCstation 10 model 514: Solaris 2.3 Hardware 8/94 or later.
SPARCstation 20 models 50, 51, 61: SunOS 4.1.3_U1 revision B or later.
SPARCstation 20 models 502, 514,612: Solaris 2.3 Hardware 8/94 or later.
SPARCclassic, SPARCstation LX: SunOS 4.1.3C or later.
SPARCstation Voyager: Solaris 2.3 HW 8/94 or later.
SPARCstation 5: Solaris 1.1.1 Rev B or later.
SPARCstation 20 model 71: Solaris 1.1.2 and Solaris 2.4 HW 11/94 or
later.
SPARCstation 20 model HS11: Solaris 1.1.2 and Solaris 2.4 HW 11/94 or
later
SPARCstation 20 model 712: Solaris 2.3 HW 8/94 or later.
SPARCstation 4: Solaris 1.1.2 and Solaris 2.4 HW 11/94 or later
SPARCserver 1000 and SPARCcenter 2000 : Solaris 2.2 or later and
should really use at least 2.3.
Some notes:
Sun4 machines (4/1xx, 4/2xx, 4/3xx, and 4/4xx) will not be supported
after Solaris2.4.
The audio device on the SS5/SS20 has does not work under Solaris 1.1.1b
without installing the ms2 patch found on the 1.1.1B CDROM or get
the current Audio Patch from Sun. You will need patches to get the
Audio to work properly under Solaris2.3 as well.
Also, the SX Graphics card is only supported under Solaris2.3 HW 8/94
or later. The Card will not run work under SunOS 4.1.x and unless
some one other than Sun writes a driver it will never work.
If you are running Solaris 1.x and newer versions of the SuperSPARC CPU
(rev 3.5 and higher) require Solaris 1.1.1B. See question 79 for
the procedure used for determining SuperSPARC revision.
When installing any compatable version of SunOS 4.1.x on any
of the following: SPARCstation 5, LX, Classic, or SPARC 20 you
must buy a RTU because these machines came with RTU's for
Solaris2.x only.
SunOS 4.1.3 has been reported to run on the SPARCstation 10 model
412/512 and the 600 model 412/512, but this configuration is not
supported by Sun. Anyone who tries this is on their own. The
(unofficial) word from inside Sun about whether or not it actually
works is as follows:
Little testing of the SuperSPARC MP configurations under 4.1.3
have been done by Sun. What little was done showed that under
heavy loads the system was prone to crash (What it really did
was hang, so badly that even an L1-A would not work).
...
We suspect, but do not know, that as the SuperSPARC chips get
faster that the problems will manifest themselves more quickly.
Solaris 2.0 runs only on SS1,1+,2,SLC,IPC,ELC,IPX.
Solaris 2.1 and later runs on all Sun4s and SPARCstations, but the
FPU's on the 4/100 and 4/200 series machines are disabled and will
be under all versions of Solaris2.x.
Not all peripherals supported under SunOS 4.x are supported under SunOS
5.x. Check with Sun or the peripheral manufacturer. Most of the
the non-supported cards under SunOS 5.x are VME or Multi Bus based.
Explanatory note:
In general, Solaris = SunOS + OpenWindows.
Solaris 1.0 = SunOS 4.1.1 + OpenWindows 2.0
Solaris 1.0.1 = SunOS 4.1.2 + OpenWindows 2.0
Solaris 1.1 = SunOS 4.1.3 + OpenWindows 3.0
Solaris 1.1.1 = SunOS 4.1.3_U1 + OpenWindows 3.0_U1
Solaris 1.1.2 = SunOS 4.1.4 + OpenWindows 3.414
Solaris 2.0 = SunOS 5.0 + OpenWindows 3.0.1
Solaris 2.1 = SunOS 5.1 + OpenWindows 3.1
Solaris 2.2 = SunOS 5.2 + OpenWindows 3.2
Solaris 2.3 = SunOS 5.3 + OpenWindows 3.3
Solaris 2.4 = SunOS 5.4 + OpenWindows 3.4
Open Windows versions before 3.3 used the X11/NeWS server
all versions since use a MIT style server with Display
Postscript Extensions.
Last Updated: March 3, 1995.
62) My rdump is failing with a "Protocol botched" message. What do I do?
The problem produces output like the following:
DUMP: Date of this level 0 dump: Wed Jan 6 08:50:01 1993
DUMP: Date of last level 0 dump: the epoch
DUMP: Dumping /dev/rsd0a (/) to /dev/nrst8 on host foo
DUMP: mapping (Pass I) [regular files]
DUMP: mapping (Pass II) [directories]
DUMP: estimated 8232 blocks (4.02MB) on 0.00 tape(s).
DUMP: Protocol to remote tape server botched (in rmtgets).
rdump: Lost connection to remote host.
DUMP: Bad return code from dump: 1
This occurs when something in .cshrc on the remote machine prints
something to stdout or stderr (eg. stty, echo). The rdump command
doesn't expect this, and chokes. Other commands which use the rsh
protocol (eg. rdist, rtar) may also be affected.
The way to get around this is to add the following line near the
beginning of .cshrc, before any command that might send something
to stdout or stderr:
if ( ! $?prompt ) exit
This causes .cshrc to exit when prompt isn't set, which
distinguishes between remote commands (eg. rdump, rsh) where these
variables are not set, and interactive sessions (eg. rlogin) where
they are.
63) Table of Solaris2.x commands and their Solaris1.x equivalents?
SunOS 4.x SunOS 5.x
Command Equivalent
add_services pkgadd
arch uname -m
Note: This returns the kernel architecture.
bar Not available. Use
cpio -H bar to retrieve
4.x archives.
biff -y chmod o+x /dev/tty
biff -n chmod o-x /dev/tty
cc Not available
dbxtool debugger
devinfo prtconf
df df -k
dkctl Not available
dkinfo prtvtoc
du du -k
dump /usr/sbin/ufsdump
dumpfs Not available
etherfind snoop
exportfs share
extract_files Not available
extract_patch Not available
extract_unbundled pkgadd
fastboot reboot or init 6
fasthalt init O
hostid sysdef -h
hostname uname -n
intr Not available
leave Use cron and at
lint Not available
load pkgadd
loadc pkgadd
load_package Not available
lpc lpadmin
lpd lpsched
lpq lpstat
lpr lp
lprm cancel
lptest Not available
mach uname -p
modstat modinfo
mount mount -F <fstype> [options]
mount -a mountall
mount_tfs mount -F <fstype>
pax cpio
paxcpio cpio
portmap rpcbind
printenv env
ps -a ps -e
ps -aux ps -el
Note: when ps is invoked without the "-f" flag, the SV
"ps" prints only the first N characters of the name
of the program being run. You have to pass the "-f"
flag to get the full command line. For example, try
ps -fe.
pstat sar
pstat -s swap -s
rdump /usr/sbin/ufsdump
restore /usr/sbin/ufsrestore
rm_client admintool
rm_services Not available
rpc.etherd Not available
rpc.lockd /usr/lib/nfs/lockd
rpc.mountd /usr/lib/nfs/mountd
rpc.rexd /usr/sbin/rpc.rexd
rpc.rquotad /usr/sbin/rpc.rquotad
rpc.showfhd Not available
rpc.statd /usr/lib/nfs/statd
rpc.user_agentd Not available
rpc.yppasswdd 2.6 and above. Install packages SUNWypr
and SUNWypu. For versions of Solaris before
2.6 install the NSKIT.
rpc.ypupdated ypupdated
rrestore /usr/sbin/ufsrestore
rusage Not available
trace truss
showmount dfmounts
swapon swap -a
sys-config admintool
umount -a umountall
umount_tfs umount -F <fstype>
unload pkgrm
update fsflush
uptime who -b
users who -q
vipw Not available
wall /usr/sbin/wall
whereis Not available
whoami id
ypbatchupd Not available
yppasswd Use nispasswd for NIS+. As of Solaris 2.5
yppasswd is now available
ypserv 2.6 and above. Install packages SUNWypr
and SUNWypu. For versions of Solaris before
2.6 install the NSKIT.
Notes: A NIS server is no longer available under Solaris2.x
without purchasing the NSKIT from Sun.
Under Solaris 2.x look in the /usr/sbin and /usr/lib/nfs
for useful programs and commands. Finally, some of
missing commands are in the BSD Compatibility package.
Last Updated: Feb 2, 1998.
64) How do I setup DNS on Solaris2.x?
The "Setting up DNS clients" chapter of that manual is egregiously
out of date. Yes, there's a bug filed against it.
The correct procedure is the following:
Create a /etc/resolv.conf file.
Change /etc/nsswitch.conf; it's probably easiest
to start with the sample file "/etc/nsswitch.files" and change
the entry for "hosts" to the following:
hosts: files dns
Processes that have already read /etc/nsswitch.conf won't see your
changes until they're restarted. If you care, the crude but effective
approach is to reboot.
Last Updated: July 3, 1996.
65) Can a SPARCclassic or LX run SunOS 4.1.3?
No it won't run 4.1.3. However, Sun will provide you with
a copy Solaris1.1C(4.1.3C) which will allow you to run
"4.1.3" on a LX or Classic. These machines can also run
4.1.3_U1 and 4.1.4. See Question 61 for more details.
The cost is around $125 for the media and $100 for the RTU
license.
Users of 4.1.3C should get the DBRI patch if you don't have a
speaker box!
66) I just restored my root partation and now I cannot boot.
What is wrong?
You probably need to run installboot. Under Solaris 1, boot
from cdrom, boot the miniroot, mount the root filesystem on
/mnt, and reinstall the boot block:
cd /usr/kvm/mdec # note - miniroot's usr, not sd0's
installboot -vlt /mnt/boot bootsd /dev/rsd0a
For Solaris 2, the equivalent command, which may also live
outside the miniroot, would be:
/usr/sbin/installboot /usr/lib/fs/ufs/bootblk \
/dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s0
Under Solaris 1, if only your /vmunix is bad, you may not need
to restore anything from tape. Before running installboot:
cp /mnt/usr/kvm/sys/<arch>/<kernel>/vmunix /mnt/vmunix
67) How do I disable/enable packet forwarding?
For 4.1.x:
Pick one of the following methods:
adb -k -w /vmunix /dev/mem
ip_forwarding?
_ip_forwarding:
_ip_forwarding: 0 = unimp 0x0
ip_forwarding/w -1 <- changes in running kernel only!
ip_forwarding?w -1 <- changes running kernel and disk image
or
In your kernel configuration file, insert the following line:
options "IPFORWARDING=-1"
Note: The above example disables packet forwarding.
Here is a list of IP forwarding options
(from /usr/kvm/sys/netinet/in_proto.c)
ip_forwarding = -1 -- never forward; never change this value.
ip_forwarding = 0 -- don't forward; set this value to 1
when two interfaces are up.
ip_forwarding = 1 -- always forward.
For Solaris2.3:
To disable ip_forwarding:
% ndd -set /dev/ip ip_forwarding 0
To enable ip_forwarding:
% ndd -set /dev/ip ip_forwarding 1
To reset it back to defaults:
% ndd -set /dev/ip ip_forwarding 2
Note: ndd -set /dev/ip ip_forwarding 2 only works for Solaris 2.4
and below.
Last Updated: April 24, 1998.
68) How do I disable the printing of banners pages?
Under SunOS 4.x you need to do the following:
Put :sh: in the /etc/printcap entry
for that printer.
For SPARCprinters you will need to edit the .param for that
printer. Under SunOS4.x you this file is located in the spool
directory for that particular printer. Under SunOS5.x
it is located under /etc/lp/printers/PRINTERNAME.
Change the line BANNERPS=${DEFBANNER}; export BANNERPS
to
BANNERPS=; export BANNERPS
Also, you may want to turn off Job Log printing. You can do
this by changing the line PRINTJOBLOG=yes; export PRINTJOBLOG
to
PRINTJOBLOG=no; export PRINTJOBLOG
If you want to disable the banner pages permanently you
will need to perform the following steps:
1. cd /usr/lib/lp/model
2. cp standard standard-nobanner
3. Use your favorite editor to edit standard-nobanner.
Change line 332 from:
nobanner="no"
to:
nobanner="yes"
4. lpadmin -p PRINTERNAME -m standard-nobanner
For a large network you can make this easier by copying a
custom interface script at install time and doing the appropriate
lpadmin command.
69) How do I change my hostname?
Under SunOS 4.x you need to do the following:
Edit you /etc/hosts file and change your
local hostname. To avoid problems during
the transition you may want to add this
as an hostname alias.
If you are running NIS you should change the
/etc/hosts file on the master too.
Change the hostname in /etc/hostname.xxx.
Where xxx is the interface you want to change
the address on.
Under SunOS 5.x you need to the above plus
change /etc/nodename, and the entries in /etc/net/*/hosts
Both OS's also support the sys-unconfig program which can
be used indirectly to change your hostname and any number
of other things. This program is over kill if all you want
to do is change your hostname. See the manpage for more details.
70) Table of Solaris2.x files and their Solaris1.x equivalents?
SunOS 4.x file SunOS 5.x file
/etc/fstab /etc/vfstab
/etc/exports /etc/dfs/dfstab
/etc/printcap None
/etc/fbtab /etc/logindevperm -- available in SunOS 5.3
/etc/rc.local /etc/rc3.d/S99local -- See note 1.
Note 1: Here is a template file for /etc/rc3.d/S99local.
#!/bin/sh
state=$1
case $state in
# Any applications or daemons you want to start.
'start')
echo "starting local apps"
;;
# Any applications or daemons that need to be shutdown gracefully.
'stop')
echo "Stopping local apps"
;;
esac
You may need to put the "kill" script in /etc/rc2.d/K99local but it
is not really required.
71) Where can I get the BSD print spooler for Solaris2.x?
You can try LPLITE from Sun it is available from the following
location:
http://www.sun.com/cgi-bin/show?smcc/solaris-migration/tools/lplite
You can get the 4.3BSD-reno lpr system from the following site:
ftp.nus.sg:/pub/NUS/ISCS/misc/lpr-sol2-p4.tar.gz
Or another port from
ftp.eng.auburn.edu:/pub/doug/lpr-sol2-p5.02.tar.gz
Version's of this distribution prior to 5.0.2 have a security
hole. Please upgrade to this version ASAP.
Or get LPRng from
http://www.astart.com/
LPRng has vastly enhanced features, like paths for printcaps, NIS and
Hesiod support, configurable permissons for printers, ability to
move jobs between printers and compiles out of the box on HPUX,
Solaris, and SunOS and many others. LPRng has elminated a large
number of security holes in the LPD protocol. To subscribe
to the LPRNG mailing list send mail to majordomo@iona.ie with
subscribe lprng
as the message body.
Last Updated: June 8 , 1998.
72) Where is the Solaris2.x screenblank?
You have three choices:
Run XDM on the console and use the X servers builtin screenblank.
Or you can run the 4.1.x screenblank in compatabilty mode.
Or you can compile you own screenblank from sources available from
ftp://ftp.ececs.uc.edu/pub/sun-faq/Source/screenblank_27dec94.tar.Z
You can always get the current screenblank from
ftp://ftp.ee.lbl.gov/ or ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/je/jef/
Last Updated: Sept 18, 1995.
73) Is there a command to display the configuration of
currently attached SCSI devices?
Get scsiinfo from
ftp://ftp.ececs.uc.edu/pub/sun-faq/Source/scsiinfo-4.1.shar.gz
Or
Get scsiping from
ftp://ftp.ececs.uc.edu/pub/sun-faq/Source/scsiping-2.0.shar.gz
These commands are copied periodically from
ftp://ftp.cdf.toronto.edu/pub/
These commands work under both SunOS 4.x and Solaris2.x.
Last Updated: Sept 18, 1995.
74) My printer will not print large files(over 1-megabyte), I
keep getting "file to big" errors. What do I do?
Put the following line in your /etc/printcap file
for the printer that has the problem.
:mx#0:
This basically allows for unlimited sizes of print jobs.
Of course you are still limited by your amount of
spool space.
If you do not have access to /etc/printcap you can
use the -s switch to lpr to use a "symlink" of the
file instead of copying the "real" file to the spool
directory.
75) I keep getting "data corruption" when using NFS over a wan,
or slip/ppp link. What do I do? or
Does anybody know how to enable UDP checksum on NFS?
The usually cause for this(at least for SunOS4.x) is not
having udp checksumming turned on.
You can turn it at boot and while the machine is running
by using the following adb script:
echo "udp_cksum/W1" | adb -w -k /vmunix /dev/mem
Install or call this script from rc.local.
Or you could modify the disk image and the core image
by doing udp_cksum?W1. Remember to do this everytime
a new kernel is built.
Or edit /usr/kvm/sys/netinet/in_proto.c and change the
udp_cksum line (near the end from udp_cksum = 0 to udp_cksum =1
and reconfigure your kernel and reboot)
For Solaris2.3:
udp checksumming is turned on by default under SunOS5.x.
If you want to verify the value use the following:
ndd /dev/udp udp_do_checksum
See ndd (1M) and ip (7) manual pages for more details.
Last Updated: December 18, 1996.
76) Does anybody know how to enable UDP checksum on NFS?
See the answer to question 75.
77) Is there a mailing list for Wabi?
No. Currently, Sun has the following E-mail addresses that
you can get information about Wabi and the Windows
Apps that Wabi supports. These addresses are as follows:
For Wabi version 1:
wabi1.0-questions@east.sun.com - FAQ List
wabi1.0-apps@east.sun.com - Supported Applications list
For Wabi version 2:
wabi2.0-questions@east.sun.com - FAQ List
wabi2.0-apps@East.Sun.COM - Supported Applications list
78) Are there any public domain Multi-Vendor backup management
systems?
There are at least two such programs which are as follows:
Amanda from the University of Maryland which is written in
C and built on top of standard UNIX backup software
such as dump/restore. The current source is available from
ftp.cs.umd.edu in the /pub/amanda directory.
OSU Backup from Ohio State University which is written in perl
and built on top of standard UNIX backup software such as
dump/restore, cpio, and GNU tar. It has the ability to backup
some database systems(like ORACLE). Finally, it is evolving to
support the backup of PCs via a proxy service. The current
source is available from ftp.cis.ohio-state.edu in /pub/backup.
79) How to determine the revision of SuperSPARC processor.
There are 2 methods to identify SuperSPARC revision - by physical
inspection and by using the system PROM.
To determine SuperSPARC revision by physical inspection:
- Open system chassis (as needed)
- Locate the SuperSPARC processor on the CPU module. The processor
has a heat sink mounted on its top surface. The heat sink
may be round or of "pin fin" design. On modules with
External cache, the processor is the farthest from mbus
connector.
- 4 lines of alpha-numeric text are written on the top
right corner of the processor. The second line contains the
processor revision. The format is
alpha character, 2 revision digits, 8 other alpha/digits
Examples of processor revisions are:
H283915478C H313020233C H3503027203
^^ ^^ ^^
|| || ||
Indicates a 2.8, 3.1, and 3.5 SuperSPARC revisions respectively
To determine SuperSPARC revision using the system PROM:
- On a powered on system, in single user mode, press
'L1' and 'A'
keys simultaneously. On some keyboards the keycaps will be labeled
'Stop' and 'A'
- On your monitor the following will be displayed
Type 'go' to resume
ok
- Type
.psr <Return>
Your monitor will display a line of data. Look for VER and
IMPL fields and note their values.
- Type
.mcr <Return>
Your monitor will display a line of data. Look for VER and
IMPL fields and note their values.
- Type
go <Return>
- You now may continue to use your system normally.
- Using the PSR and MCR IMPL/VER values you noted above,
match them with the values in the table below to identify
the SuperSPARC revision. Future processors will have
values different than those in the table.
| SuperSPARC (2.x) |(3.0,1,2,3) | (3.5) |
+-----------+-----------+------------+------------+
| PSR VER | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| PSR IMPL | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| MCR VER | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| MCR IMPL | 0 | 0 | 0 |
80) How do I install SunOS4.1.x by hand(off a CD)?
Installing SunOS-4.1.X from mounted cdrom:
Note, these commands are examples; filenames may need to be adjusted
for your OS version or architecture. You can perform this from a Sun3
or Sun4 running any SunOS-4.1.X, provided you take care to run the
right version of "installboot". The man page includes details about
which systems require bootblocks with a.out format executables with
headers, and which versions of installboot provide such.
You need to change all occurances of /dev/rsd?a etc with
the proper disk and partition information. For most SCSI
disk configurations this device is /dev/rsd0a but check
the boot messages to be sure.
The example below assumes a SunOS 4.1.3_U1 distribution
CD-ROM. Change sunos_4_1_3_u1 to the proper value for your
distribution.
1) Label, format, and partition your new hard disk.
be sure sd?b is bigger then your physical RAM will be
(else system dump may overwrite /usr)
Use the device name you are installing to.
You may want to also make a /dev/rsd?d /var partition
newfs /dev/rsd?a ; newfs /dev/rsd?d ; newfs /dev/rsd?f
mount /dev/rsd?a /mnt
mkdir /mnt/var ; mount /dev/sd?d /mnt/var # if you made one
mkdir /mnt/usr ; mount /dev/sd?f /mnt/usr
2) mount -t hsfs -o ro /dev/sr0 /cdrom
cd /mnt
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/proto_root_sunos_4_1_3_u1
3) Install kernel specific sys files, pick correct directory
for your 'arch -k'
mkdir /mnt/usr/kvm
cd /mnt/usr/kvm
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/kvm/sun4c_sunos_4_1_3_u1/kvm
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/kvm/sun4c_sunos_4_1_3_u1/sys
4) pick packages you want, but you must install usr
cd /mnt/usr
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/usr
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/debugging
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/demo
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/games
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/graphics
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/install
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/networking
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/openwindows_demo
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/openwindows_fonts
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/openwindows_programmers
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/openwindows_users
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/rfs
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/security
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/shlib_custom
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/sunview_demo
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/sunview_programmers
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/sunview_users
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/system_v
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/text
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/tli
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/user_diag
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/uucp
tar xpf /cdrom/export/exec/sun4_sunos_4_1_3_u1/versatec
5) Install man pages if you want
cd /mnt/usr
tar xpf /cdrom/export/share/sunos_4_1_3_u1/manual
6) set up /sbin
cp /mnt/usr/etc/hostconfig /mnt/sbin
cp /mnt/usr/etc/ifconfig /mnt/sbin
cp /mnt/usr/etc/init /mnt/sbin
cp /mnt/usr/etc/intr /mnt/sbin
cp /mnt/usr/etc/mount /mnt/sbin
cp /mnt/usr/bin/sh /mnt/sbin
cp /mnt/usr/bin/hostname /mnt/sbin
7) make new device nodes, you may do as needed
cd /mnt/dev
./MAKEDEV std pty0 pty pty2 pty3 win0 win1
8) additional root setup
cp /mnt/usr/kvm/stand/vmunix /mnt
chmod go-x /mnt/vmunix
cp /mnt/usr/kvm/stand/boot.sun4 /mnt/boot
9) run installboot
I suggest reading the man page, note paths below, take care
to run operating installboot binary, but specify device and
paths for new boot disk. You can even do this from a Sun3.
/usr/kvm/mdec/installboot -ltv /mnt/boot \
/mnt/usr/kvm/mdec/bootsd /dev/rsd?a
if you are making a sun4c boot disk and running on a 4 or 4m
machine:
/usr/kvm/mdec/installboot -ltvh /mnt/boot \
/mnt/usr/kvm/mdec/bootsd /dev/rsd?a
if you are making a sun4 boot disk on a 4c machine, you need
to use a 4c installboot, not the one on your sun4.
10) if it will have a Lance interface
echo newhostname > /mnt/etc/hostname.le0
or if will have an Intel interface
echo newhostname > /mnt/etc/hostname.ie0
11) create /mnt/etc/fstab, /mnt/etc/defaultrouter,
/mnt/etc/resolv.conf
/mnt/etc/hosts (must have own entry here)
I also create /mnt/etc/shells, /mnt/etc/ftpusers
Depending on your timezone:
don't forget to 'rm /usr/lib/zoneinfo/localtime', then
'ln /usr/lib/zoneinfo/EST5EDT /usr/lib/zoneinfo/localtime'
12) Perform sanity check
umount and fsck he newly installed filesystems
umount /mnt/usr
umount /mnt/var
umount /mnt
for the really paranoid:
fsck /dev/rsd?f
fsck /dev/rsd?d
fsck /dev/rsd?a
I suggest booting single user the first time ( from the '>'
prompt b sd() -s or from the ok prompt boot disk -s ).
Knowing the above may save you from doing total re-installs just
because of a messed up root partition or similar.
If you are copying an existing OS, instead of extracting distribution
tar files, you may use the following before running installboot etc...:
dump 0dsf 6250 200000 - <directories and files to include> |
(cd /mnt/<area> ; restore -rf - )
or
find . -depth -print | cpio -pdlm newdir
You use find command rules to limit to a device or skip/include
specific files.
You could use tar to copy these directories too but
you will have to recreate all the devices using in MAKEDEV
which can take a long time.
Last Updated: January 27, 1995.
81) There is a problem with the firmware on older SUN207 drives
that makes them incompatible with the SPARCstation 10 series.
Sun has been known to replace these at no charge, although
there may not be an "official" return policy. Your drive
must have firmware revision 19 or higher to be functional
in a SPARCstation 10.
82) I'm running SunOS/4.1.x and every time I try to format my
new 9GB SCSI disk I get "format failed" messages -- what's
broke, and how can I fix it?
The SunOS kernel has a default timeout of two hours for SCSI
formatting -- if the time required to perform the format is
longer, the format fails.
Edit /usr/sys/scsi/targets/sddef.h and apply the following "diff",
then rebuild the kernel:
*** sddef.h.orig Tue Nov 29 07:52:53 1994
--- sddef.h Tue Nov 29 07:52:53 1994
***************
*** 396 ****
! #define SD_FMT_TIME 120*60
*** 396 ****
! #define SD_FMT_TIME 240*60
Or you can use this small adb script to modify the SCSI
format timeout in the running kernel.
#!/bin/sh
adb -k -w /vmunix /dev/mem << EOF
sd_fmt_time /W 0t9600
EOF
Last Updated: April 14, 1995.
83) I can not get my new Exabyte 8505(or others) working under
SunOS(or Solaris) What to do ?
Out of the box this drive and other Exabytes are not supported
under Solaris2.3 or SunOS4.1.x.
Here is what to do under SunOS
Modify /sys/scsi/targets/st_conf.c before, after, or between the 8200
insert the following:
/* Exabyte 8mm 5GB cartridge w/compression*/
{
"Exabyte EXB8505", 16, "EXABYTE EXB-8505", ST_TYPE_EXB8500,
1024, (ST_VARIABLE | ST_BSF | ST_BSR | ST_LONG_ERASE | ST_KNOWS_EOD),
5000, 5000,
{ 0x14, 0x15, 0x90, 0x8c },
{ 0, 0, 0, 0 }
},
Once you've remade your kernel it appears as 4 different devices:
/dev/rst0 - 2.3Gb (8200 mode)
/dev/rst8 - 5Gb (8500 mode)
/dev/rst16 - 2.3Gb compressed (8200c mode)
/dev/rst24 - 5Gb compressed (8500c mode)
The above assumes tape drive is installed at the default SCSI id.
Under Solaris2.x do the following:
Edit /kernel/drv/st.conf and add
tape-config-list=
"EXABYTE EXB-8505", "Exabyte 8505 8mm Helical Scan", "Exa8500c_sol2_3";
Exa8500c_sol2_3 = 1,0x29,1024,0xCE39,4,0x14,0x15,0x90,0x8C,3;
Once the device driver is re-loaded, the following densities will be
accessible:
/dev/rmt/0l - 2.3Gb (8200 mode)
/dev/rmt/0m - 5Gb (8500 mode)
/dev/rmt/0h - 2.3Gb compressed (8200c mode)
/dev/rmt/0c - 5Gb compressed (8500c mode)
The above assumes tape drive is installed at the default SCSI id.
Since the default density specified above is 3 (last number in entry),
when /dev/rmt/0 is specified, device /dev/rmt/0c (5Gb compressed) will
be used.
For SunOS and a 10-Gigibyte Exabyte the settings are as follows:
/* Exabyte 8mm 10GB cartridge */
{
"Exabyte EXB-8500 8mm Helical Scan", 15, "EXABYTE EXB-8500",
ST_TYPE_EXB8500, 1024,
(ST_VARIABLE | ST_BSF | ST_BSR | ST_LONG_ERASE),
5000, 5000,
{ 0x14, 0x15, 0x8C, 0x8C },
{ 0, 0, 0, 0 }
The device is accessed via a +16 offset from the normal
tape devices ie /dev/rst{16,17}. Dump parameters are
dsb 54000 26000 126.
For SunOS and the new SUN 14GB 8mm Drive:
/* Exabyte 8mm 14GB TRI-DENSITY cartridge */
{
"Exabyte EXB-8505 8mm Helical Scan", 16, "EXABYTE EXB-8505",
ST_TYPE_EXB8500, 1024,
(ST_VARIABLE | ST_BSF | ST_BSR | ST_LONG_ERASE),
5000, 5000,
{ 0x14, 0x15, 0x8C, 0x8C },
{ 0, 0, 0, 0 }
}
Note: Be sure to check out Exabytes web page at http://www.exabyte.com
Last Updated: May 22, 1996.
84) The keyboard keeps stop working after exiting X or Openwin.
What to do?
For the general case all you need to do is log in remotely
and reset the keyboard using /usr/openwin/bin/kbd_mode -a
If this does not work I have modified kbd_mode to do a full keyboard
power on reset (ftp.ececs.uc.edu:/pub/sun-faq/Source/reset_keyboard.c)
If that does not seem to help you may have a white on white
screen so try to clear the colormap using clear_colormap.
Make sure that you add kbd_mode -a to all you X11 startup scripts.
Last Updated: April 14, 1995.
85) How do I re-build the kernel under SunOS4.x?
Here is the procedure.
1) cd /sys/`arch -k`/conf
2) Read the README.
3) Make a copy of the proper template file(ie cp GENERIC MYKERNEL)
4) Edit MYKERNEL - Remove any unneeded drivers. These are memory
wasters. Also, probably want to increase
MAXUSERS to at least 50.
5) config MYKERNEL
6) cd ../MYKERNEL
7) make
8) cp /vmunix /vmunix.save
9) cp vmunix /vmunix
10) Reboot machine to make the new kernel active.
Last Updated: April 14, 1995.
86) How do I hook up a HP(or other) Desktop SCANNER?
You need PINT which available from uniwa.uwa.edu.au (130.95.128.1)
in /pub/pint.
Last Updated: March 31, 1995.
87) How do I find which process has a file open?
Fuser and the the Public domain/Freeware utility lsof can be used
to find processes that have files open and much more.
Note: fuser on SunOS4.1.x is located in /usr/kvm.
lsof can be ftped from ftp://vic.cc.purdue.edu/pub/tools/unix/lsof/
lsof and fuser are available for both Solaris 2.x and SunOS 4.1.x.
Last Updated: April 14, 1995.
88) How do I create a partition greater than 2-gig on SunOS4.1.x?
The max size without any additional software is 2-gig under
SunOS. The only way to get larger partitions is to purchase
Online: Disksuite for SunOS4.1.x from Sun. Not only can you create
partitions of up to 1 TB, but you can grow partitions on the fly,
mirror, and hotswap with ODS. However, you are still limited to
2-Gig files.
Note: Solaris2.3 or higher can have 1-Terabyte partitions.
89) Why do I keep having to answer the question
"CLEAN FLAG IN SUPERBLOCK IS WRONG; Fix?" when running fsck on
an active filesystem?
You are not supposed to under any circumstances run fsck on
a mounted filesystem. Under these cirumstances Fsck can itself
cause inconsistencies to the filesystem and you should always
you umount the filesystem frist.
90) Are dynamically linked setuid executables insecure?
Not particularly.
From the "ld" man page from SunOS 4.1.3:
NOTE: when running a set-user- or set-group-ID program, ld.so
will only search for libraries in directories it "trusts",
which are /usr/lib, /usr/5lib, /usr/local/lib, and any
directories specified within the executable as a result of
-L options given when the executable was constructed.
Of course you do always want to link with absolute pathnames
when using the -L linker option and probably destroy any
LD_* variables when running(just a little paranoia).
91) How do I change the default router under Solaris1.x or Solaris2.x?
Just create or edit the file /etc/defaultrouter and put the hostname
or ip address of the router that you want to use.
If you are not running NIS(yp), then add the router entry in the
local /etc/hosts table.
If you are running NIS(yp), then add the router entry in the NIS
hosts map on the NIS master and run make which will build the NIS
maps and push them to the other slave servers.
92) What is the difference between the Domestic vs International version
of SunOS 4.1.x?
There is no "domestic" vs "international" version of SunOS 4.1.x.
There is only one version the "international".
What makes a "domestic" version of the SunOS is a the purchase
and installation of US Encryption Kit available from with the
United States and Canada(?).
If you have installed this kit you must use the libc jumbo patch
for the "domestic" version. Otherwise always install the
"international" version.
If you have the symbols des_encrypt etc in your shared library,
and vi -x works, and you the commands crypt(1) and des(1) you
have the "domestic" version of the library and associated commands.
Do an nm /lib/libc.a | grep des_encrypt | grep T
if this cames back with anything you have the "domestic"
libraries.
Last Updated: January 27, 1995.
93) Where can I get the latest version of TOP?
The latest version of "top" is always available via anonymous FTP
from the host "eecs.nwu.edu" in the directory "/pub/top". Additional
modules will be made available in the directory "/pub/top/m".
The current version supports both SunOS4.1.x and Solaris2.x
machines including full Multiprocessor support (even on machines
with CPU labeled 0 and 2 and not 0 and 1).
Last Updated: January 27, 1995.
94) Can I run the SX card in a Sun running SunOS4.1.x?
THEY DO NOT EXIST NOR WILL THEY(unless one of the Clone makers
writes one). If you want to use the SX, YOU MUST USE Solaris 2.3 or
above.
If you MUST run Solaris 1.x then get your salesperson to exchange it
for a TGX/TGX+(or other 8-bit card) or go with a 3rd party framebuffer
such as the RasterFlex-24.
95) I just changed my shell to tcsh(or pick a favorite) and
get "530 User xyzz access denied" when ftping into this
machine. What is the problem?
You need to list all "valid" shells in /etc/shells. An example
of this file might be as follows:
/bin/sh
/bin/ksh
/bin/csh
/local/bin/tcsh
/local/bin/zsh
/local/bin/bash
/local/bin/rc
This files does not normally exist and the default members are
/bin/csh and /bin/sh(and /bin/ksh on Solaris2.x).
Last Updated: January 10, 1995.
96) How do I put several dump images on one tape?
All you need to do is use the No rewind devices. For example,
to backup /, /usr, /var, and /home to one tape(assuming all
will fit) you could do something like this:
mt -f /dev/rst8 rew # Rewind the tape to the beginning
dump 0budfs 126 54000 /dev/nrst8 6000 /
dump 0budfs 126 54000 /dev/nrst8 6000 /usr
dump 0budfs 126 54000 /dev/nrst8 6000 /var
dump 0budfs 126 54000 /dev/nrst8 6000 /home
Where /dev/nrst8 is a no rewind device under SunOS. Any
of the valid tape devices in /dev that start with a 'n' are
no rewind devices.
Under Solaris change dump to ufsdump and /dev/nrst8 to /dev/rmt/0n
All devices in /dev/rmt/ ending in a 'n' are no rewind devices.
You can safely ignore any messages about dump rewinding the tape.
To restore files off the tape use the following command:
restore -ifs /dev/nrewinddevice filenumber -- SunOS
ufsrestore -ifs /dev/rmt/nrewinddevice filenumber -- Solaris
-ifs is for interactive restore or use
-rfs to restore entire dump file.
It is a good idea to try restore something off this tape
to verify that the dump worked. Of course you do not have to do
this for ever tape just the first few and maybe spot check some
after that.
Note: the above method can be adopted to other backup commands
like tar and cpio.
Last Updated: January 27, 1995.
97) Can I "dump" the whole disk to tape in one command?
(even with several slices/partitions)
No, you have to back up each slice separately because
dump does not do "image" backups. See question 96 for
the proper procedure.
You could use the command dd to make an "image" backup of the
entire disk but all you could do is restore the entire
backup and not bits and pieces.
Last Updated: January 27, 1995.
98) Where do I get software for my HP JetDirect Ethernet Card?
Software for both SunOS4.1.x and Solaris2.x is available.
You can get it via WWW using the following:
http://www.hp.com/Misc/Peripherals.html
or get CTI-ifhp from the LPRng archive
http://www.astart.com/
Last Updated: June 8, 1998.
99) I do not know the root password, What do I do?
First thing to try: (SunOS 4.x.x)
Get to the boot monitor prompt by holding down the stop and
A. Type sync to help ensure that you have no filesystem
corruption on booting. You will need to hit STOP-A again to
interrupt the boot process.
Now at the '>' prompt type
b -s
Or at the 'ok' prompt type
boot -s
This should give you a root prompt as long as the console
entry in /etc/ttytab is marked secure.
If you get the '#' you should be able to edit the
the /etc/passwd file and remove the encrypted string for
root's passwd or set it to what you want using the passwd
command.
Once you are done type reboot to bring the machine back up.
Second thing to try: (SunOS 4.1.x and Solaris2.x)
Boot off the network or CD-ROM and mount the root device
and edit the passwd file.
Note: both of these assume no eeprom password.
Last Updated: January 17, 1995.
100) Where do I find a POP server for Solaris or SunOS?
You can get qpop from the following location
ftp://ftp.qualcomm.com/quest/unix/servers/popper/
Or you can get the IMAP distribution which contains a IMAP server,
a POP 2 server, and a POP 3 server from the University of Washington
from
ftp://pine.cac.washington.edu/mail/imap.tar.Z
This site also contains a list of IMAP client software.
You should avoid the old Berkeley popper because of
its many bugs and it is no longer well supported.
Both of the above popper programs are well supported.
Last Updated: February 9, 1995.
101) How do I clear Stale NFS Filehandles?
You have to umount the offending filesystem and remount.
You may able to do something like this:
mount -o remount /offending-filesystem
If this does not work try:
umount /offending-filesystem
mount /offending-filesystem
Finally, if none of the above works reboot.
Last Updated: January 17, 1995.
102) How can I use the same ethernet interface for two different IP networks?
The Solaris kernel supports the concept of IP aliases and you
can do something like this
ifconfig le0:1 ipaddr netmask ....
Only 254 (1-255) virutal addresses per physical ethernet are supported.
If you need more you will have to get another ethernet card.
You can do the same under SunOS4.1.x if you install the VIF code.
Can be picked up via anonymous FTP from:
ftp://ftp.nethelp.no/pub/net/vif-1.11.tar.gz
or one of the mirror sites in the US:
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/he/henderso/vif-1.11.tar.gz
ftp://ftp.wimsey.com/pub/crypto/sun-stuff/vif-1.11.tar.gz
See the VIF README at
http://www.nethelp.no/net/vif/readme.html
or its FAQ at
http://www.nethelp.no/net/vif/faq.html
for more details.
Last Updated: July 8, 1996.
103) Where do I get CAP for Solaris (or SunOS 4.1.x)?
Here is a list of ftp sites for CAP.
munnari.OZ.AU /mac/{cap60.tar.Z,cap.patches/*
rutgers.EDU /src/{cap60.tar.Z,cap60.patches/*
ftp.kuis.kyoto-u.AC.JP /net/cap/{cap60.tar.Z,cap60.patches/*.Z
src.doc.ic.AC.UK /mac/multigate/{cap60.tar.Z,cap.patches/*
CAP is now at patch level 195. Note that now, the main cap file
is cap60.pl100.tar.Z, which has patches 1-100 applied. The user
should then get from cap.patches/
patches.101-126.tar.Z
patches.127-143.tar.Z
patches.144-154.tar.Z
patches.155-162.tar.Z
patches.163-182.tar.Z
patches.183-192.tar.Z
and any more recent patches (193 through 195).
Under Solaris make sure that you are using gcc or /opt/SUNWspro/bin/cc
to compile. Do not use /usr/ucb/cc.
Last Updated: July 22, 1995.
104) Where do I get DOOM for Solaris (or SunOS 4.1.x)?
Doom for SunOS 4.1.x is not available at this time and it
is unlikely that it will be.
Doom for Solaris2.4 is available and can be retrieved
from playground.sun.com:/pub/doom/sundgadoomv1.8.tar.Z
The X version of doom in this tar file works fine
under Solaris2.3. The DGA version does not.
This is the SPARC version. There are no plans for
an x86 version at this time.
Last Updated: January 25, 1995.
105) Why does "dump/ufsdump" tell me it is rewinding the tape even
when I specified the "no rewind" device?
Dump can not tell the difference between a "rewind device"
and a "non rewind device". However, "dump" does
not rewind the tape even though it says it is rewinding
the tape.
So you can safely ignore the "the tape rewinding" messages
from dump when using "no rewind devices".
Last Updated: April 14, 1995.
106) How can you I speed up filesystem restores and/or copies?
In all versions of SunOS 4.1.2 and later (including Solaris2.x)
you can use special filesystem level ioctl. A program written
by Caspar Dik that uses this ioctl can be downloaded as
ftp.ececs.uc.edu:/pub/sun-faq/Source/fastfs.c
Please remember that using this program will in many
cases cause fsck to be completely unable to fix your disk in
the case of unexpected system shutdown. Yes, it goes faster -
at a very significant risk of losing the entire filesystem.
When is using this appropriate?
When:
1) You're creating a new filesystem via a copy from somewhere else.
2) You're removing all the files from a partition.
3) You're updating a partition with files from elsewhere, and the
entire contents are restorable.
Remember, this doesn't make IO go any faster, it just allows metadata
to be written asynchronously. If you are creating a 100 M file, this
won't help much. If, on the other hand, you are writing 100000 1k
files, this will help enormously.
Remember to restore the safe mode before shutting the system down!
Think of this as a large chainsaw; it can be useful but has significant
chance of unintended side effects when used by the inexperienced.
Last Updated: April 14, 1995.
107) I just added a new device (ie harddisk) to Solaris I have rebooted
but the system still can not find it. What do I do?
You need to do a reconfigure reboot which requires
you to do the following:
Either:
touch /reconfigure
reboot
Or
reboot -- -r
Or
If you are at the prom prompt you can do:
ok boot -r
or
> b -r
Last Updated: Sept 18, 1995.
108) I need to change the broadcast address from all 0's to 1's
or where to set the broadcast address under SunOS4.x?
By default SunOS4.x uses the "ancient" style of broadcast
all 0's but all modern OS's use the standard all 1's.
SunOS 4.x will gladly use all 1's for a broadcast but
you have to tell it in /etc/rc.local.
Change the lines:
echo -n "Configuring Network"
/sbin/ifconfig -a netmask + broadcast + > /dev/null
echo " Complete."
to
echo -n "Configuring Network"
/sbin/ifconfig -a netmask + broadcast + > /dev/null
/sbin/ifconfig le0 broadcast 129.137.11.255
echo " Complete."
Change the 129.137.11.255 number to the proper broadcast address
for your site and use the proper ethernet device as well.
Here is a program
ftp://ftp.ececs.uc.edu/pub/sun-faq/Source/netmask.c
that can be used to calculate your broadcast address.
You will have to set each interface's broadcast individually.
Or if you are not afraid to use adb you can use the following
script to turn on all 1's in the kernel and fix the problem once
and for all. This method fixes ifconfig so that its 'broadcast +'
option works properly; all 1's instead of all 0's. That way you don't
have to remember to change /etc/rc.local each time you change the
machine's IP address. Also, you don't have to set each interface's
broadcast individually.
#!/bin/sh
# Make sure that we're running as root or this is not going to work.
if id | grep "^uid=0(" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
:
else
echo Error: you must be superuser to run this program. 1>&2
exit 1
fi
OS=`uname`
OSREV=`uname -r`
if [ "$OS" != SunOS ]; then
echo Invalid OS: $OS
exit 1
fi
case "$OSREV" in
4*)
;;
*)
echo Invalid OSREV: $OSREV
exit 1
;;
esac
# This fixes the kernel in memory and on the disk.
adb -k -w /vmunix /dev/mem <<EOF >/dev/null
in_ifinit+0x1f0/W 0x92103fff
in_ifinit+0x1f0?W 0x92103fff
EOF
# Now reconfigure the interface(s).
ifconfig -a broadcast +
# This keeps the fix from being backed out should the kernel ever
# be rebuilt.
FILE=/sys/`arch -k`/OBJ/in.o
if [ ! -f ${FILE}.orig ]; then
cp -p ${FILE} ${FILE}.orig
fi
adb -w $FILE <<EOF >/dev/null
in_ifinit+0x1f0?W 0x92103fff
EOF
exit
Last Updated: Feb 5, 1997.