[SunRescue] Q on "optimal" OS for Sun4c machines, now that Solaris 8 won't run

[Jonathan Katz]

On Wed, 12 Jul 2000, BSD Bob the old greybeard BSD freak wrote:

:Anyone have any thoughts on Solaris 2.4?  I have heard it is rather
:unsettled, compared to 2.5.1 or 2.6 or 7.

I guess I'll pipe up once again. You don't want to run anything branded
'Solaris' if its rev is BELOW 2.5.1. [ This blanket statement doesn't apply
to the 1.x stuff. ] 2.5 had some icky security and kernel stability issues 
(IIRC) but there were a lot of improvements between 2.5 and 2.5.1 (printing
daemons and how printing w/in Solaris actually works, for one.) I've never
worked w/ 2.4 but after hearing the horror stories (and seeing some) when
working with 2.5 *shakes head* -- the dealie with 2.4 is that was the
first release which supported the Cray 6400s IIRC.

:crate, which one would be the one of choice to look out for, and where
:the dickens can one find it these days?  All I have is Solaris 1.1.1
:and Solaris 2.4.  And, my cheapskate's beer-bellie budget won't quite
:allow me the pleasure of a late-model biggie box, yet.....so, 4c it is.

Lots of "older" higher-end boxes are becoming cheaper. The U1s and U2s are
EOL'd -- ebay and others ( http://solarsys.com/specials ) had U1s for
under $800 at various points in time. Those will run 8 just peachy-keen.

-- 
Jonathan Katz
e-mail: jon at jonworld.com 
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