[rescue] SunOS 5.5.1 inaccessible

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

On Sun, 16 Feb 2003, Jeff Workman wrote:

> Exactly how is the Sol 9 license different than the Sol 8 license?

Solaris 8 was free for machines that had 8 or fewer CPUs, so you could
run it on an SS1000 or an E450.  Solaris 9 isn't free for any machine
that is SMP-capable, so even an SS10 with a single SM40 isn't eligible.

> Does it not even allow you to run on a machine that is *capable* of
> MP even if you only have one processor installed?

That is a correct assessment.  The software doesn't enforce this
license, and, if I were Sun, I wouldn't care if some hobbyist is running
a free Solaris binary kit on his new-to-him MP-capable Sun.  I mean,
after all, if he likes it, he might recommend Sun equipment to his boss
at work.  That said, I'd be less forgiving with violating the license in
a place of business.

Whether Sun feels the same way about it as I do, though, is something
I'm not an authority on; however, in this day of PeeCees invading the
server room, it would be a great folly for Sun to go around LARTing
people who use Sun equipment in their homes.

-- 
Jonathan Patschke  *)  "It's not about who's right and who's wrong...
Thorndale, TX      (*   it's about who works for the government and who
                   *)   doesn't."                        --Dave McGuire