[rescue] Sun T2000 information

[Stuff Received]

On 2022-09-17 14:12, I wrote:
 > On 2022-09-17 14:04, Jerry Kemp wrote:
 > > You need to jump back to Solaris.
 > >
 > > FWIW, the earliest T-series box that can run 11.4 is T4's and newer.
 > >
 > > Your T2000 (and mine) are limited to 11.3 + SRU's + LSU's.
 > >
 > > Hopefully, this comment will save you some heart-ache in 
experimenting with 11.4.
 >
 > Thank you, Jerry.  So 11.3 it is.
 >
 > What about running other OSes?  I mean, will the ALOM
 > boot/control/install other OSes -- is this even possible without using
 > a VM such as qemu?
 >
 > Sincerely,
 > N.

Thanks to all for replying.  I have further comments below.

Clarification:  I did not ask my question correclty.  I wanted to know 
whether different OSes could co-exist on the same h/w, controlled by 
ALOM or LDOM.  This question seems to have been answered below.

-----------------------------------
On 2022-09-17 15:08, Ken Link wrote:
 > Yes, you can install and run other operating systems directly on the
 > hardware. Modern Linux kernels are supported, and I'm pretty sure
 > NetBSD and OpenBSD are also supported, though I don't have personal
 > experience with those. I believe OpenBSD even natively supports LDOMs
 > (VMs) the same way Solaris does, so performance should be nearly
 > identical.
 >

Yes, (for example 
https://www.h-i-r.net/2017/05/logical-domains-on-sunfire-t2000-with.html ).

 > By the way, if you find a way to tame the fans so they aren't
 > screaming loud, please post back here with information! I know the
 > ALOM shows a min and max fan speed but I haven't yet found a way to
 > lower mine from the stock 8000 rpm speed they run at, even when
 > temperatures are well within acceptable range...

Hhhmmm.  I will if I find anything.

-----------------------------------
On 2022-09-17 14:50, Jerry Kemp also wrote:
 > My understanding is that it is possible, but its just something I've
 > never tried.
 >
 > Take this comment for what it is, I'm not here to offend anyone, but
 > early T-series boxes are probably just not the thing you want to run
 > other stuff on.  IMHO, early T-series boxes bring (2) things to the
 > table.  1st, they are very energy efficient, and 2nd, they are ideal
 > for highly threaded stuff, once you get everything loaded up and
 > running.
 >

And to that, may I add a third: (3) I have one. #6-)

 > Beyond that, and again IMHO, even in their day they were extremely
 > slow.
 >

Noted -- but I will be the only user so that should not be an issue.  
(Oddly, I found the following Technical Instruction when surfing for 
documentation: "Solution 1005490.1: Sun Fire [TM] T2000 server: How to 
Increase I/O and application performance by 100%" 
https://dogemicrosystems.ca/pub/Sun/System_Handbook/Sun_syshbk_V3.4/collections/TECHNICALINSTRUCTIONSURE/1-71-1005490.1-1.html 
)

 > At a large retailer I was working at when T-2000's were being
 > produced and supported, I fought an 18 month battle (that I ultimately
 > won), even after they paid Sun to come in and review and optimize our
 > application set up.
 >
 > Sun said the T-series stuff was great for our application (it
 > wasn't), and application weenies wanted X86/X64 boxes.  Those sucked
 > too.  Fugitsu M-series SPARC64 was what I battled for, and (again for
 > this specific application) blew everything else away.
 >
 > All that said, I've got a soft spot in my heart for T2000 boxes.
 > Not so much for T1000, although I currently own/possess the T1000
 > that Sun had gifted Mr. Bill.


-----------------------------------
On 2022-09-17 15:16, John-Paul Stewart wrote:
[...]
 > I think the question you should be asking is: "Do the other OSes
 > support the T2000 hardware?".  NetBSD, for example, does not:
 >
 > https://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/sparc64/
 >

Oh -- I was unaware of that.  (I currently run NetBSD 9.2 on my SB2000.)

 > On the other hand, OpenBSD does:
 >
 > https://www.openbsd.org/sparc64.html
 >

Yes, OBSD on Sparc has a long history (https://www.openbsd.org/sparc.html).

 > Debian Linux does, but SPARC may not be supported to the extent
 > other platforms are:
 >
 > https://wiki.debian.org/Sparc64
 >

On the other hand, there are instructions on how to install Debian in an 
LDOM 
(https://wiki.debian.org/Sparc64#Creating_an_LDOM_to_install_Debian_in), 
which may be useful in other contexts.  Thank you for the link.

 > So, as you can see, it's not about what the ALOM can do.  It's about
 > what the OS supports.  In short, you'll have to try whatever OSes
 > interest you and see how well they work.

I will install 11.3 and try others under LDOM.

Sincerely,
N.