[rescue] howto make multiple main boards work on a Sun Sparc 670/MP

[Rob]

In message <15145.15164.84869.202022 at phaduka.neurotica.com>, Dave McGuire write
s:
>
>  You need to be running relatively new boot ROMs, though I don't
>recall which version in particular...if you do a "printenv" at the
>"ok" prompt and you see an option called "vme-loopback?" then you ROMs
>are new enough.  Set that option to "yes"...multiple boards can now
>coexist in the same backplane.  I've seen this done with up to four or
>five 4/600 boards in a 690 chassis.

*Kick*Ass*!  Thanks! 

I got it working so far with 2 boards and a 670 chasis.  For the record, 
'skip-vme-loopback?' was the name of the option, but I was all ready to go to 
town on the chassis circuitry with a soldering iron and a chisel.. this was 
*so* much easier than I thought it would be :)  I had version 2.15 roms on 
both boards, if anyone cares.

So, the next big question is : where can I get more boards?  And potentially, 
more ram?  ebay seems like a reasonable start, but presumably the members of 
this list know where to get stuff cheap :)

Also, ideas for an os?  Last I heard, linux didn't work on these things, but 
I've never gotten a clear answer why?  I fancy myself kinda a kernel hacker, 
so I would love to get this thing penguin powered.  I guess my other choices 
are netbsd/openbsd and sunos/solaris.  For people out there who are running 
these things, what are you using?  (Not trying to start/restart an OS flame 
war :)

Thanks again!

- Rob
.