Sun-Managers' Frequently Asked Questions
$Id: faq,v 3.186 1999/11/18 19:37:14 jdd Exp $

This is collection of common questions posted to the sun-managers mailing
list twice a month. It is intended to benefit Sun System Managers and
reduce traffic to the list by providing quick answers to common problems.

Keeping with the style of a similar FAQ for comp.windows.x, questions
marked with a '+' indicate questions new to this issue; those with
significant changes of content since the last issue are marked by '*'

The Information Files maintainer is John DiMarco <j...@cs.toronto.edu>.  All
corrections, submissions and FAQ administration-related messages should go to
"sun-managers-...@sunmanagers.ececs.uc.edu".  Do not send questions,
subscription or unsubscription requests, or sun-managers postings to this
address; they will be quietly ignored.

The List Server maintainer is Rob Montjoy <Rob_Mont...@ECECS.UC.EDU>.
Any problems with the mailing list server should be directed to him.

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                                Questions

1. The Sun-Manager's Mailing list
         1.1)    How do I read, join, post to, or remove myself from the
                  sun-managers mailing list?
         1.2)    What is the Sun-Manager's Charter?  What are the rules?
         1.3)    Are there any archives for the sun-managers list?
         1.4)    What should I keep in mind when posting to sun-managers?
         1.5)    What other forums are there for Suns?

2. Getting Help Over the Net
         2.1)    How do I find out what patches are available from Sun?
         2.2)    What is "anonymous ftp" and how do I use it?
         2.3)    How do I find anonymous ftp sites?
         2.4)    How do I get help upgrading to Solaris 2.x?
         2.5)    How do I access Sun's Answerbooks over the net?
         2.6)    To which web sites can I go for help?

3. NIS, NIS+, DNS, and NFS
         3.1)    How do I set up NIS/YP to use DNS?
         3.2)    How do I use DNS instead of NIS for hostname resolution?
         3.3)    What does the "nres_gethostbyaddr !=" error mean?
         3.4)    How come yppasswdd does not automatically update the yp maps?
         3.5)    What does "NFS write error X" mean?
         3.6)    What does NFS getattr failed/RPC: Authentication error mean?
         3.7)    How do I change NIS+ credentials for the root master server?
         3.8)    When I compile something, errors occur saying _dlopen
                  and other _dl routines can't be found. Why?

4. Window Systems
         4.1)    Can I run both OpenWindows and MIT X11?
         4.2)    How do I run X11R5 on Solaris 2.x?
         4.3)    Why does my OpenWindows File Manager abort with a
                 "mknod: permission denied"?

5. Disks, Tapes and SCSI
         5.1)    What is the format.dat entry for drive X?
         5.2)    Can I use a disk greater than 700meg on SunOS 4.x?
         5.3)    How do I move disks from xy451 to xy753/7053 disk controllers?
         5.4)    Why does my internal 105 megabyte hard disk stop working?
         5.5)    Can I replace the 105 megabyte internal drive in a SS1/1+
                  with a higher capacity model?
         5.6)    How do I enable synchronous SCSI?
         5.7)    Is it okay to disconnect or connect SCSI devices while
                  powered on?
         5.8)    How do I configure a sun to use its local disk(s) for
                  swap but not for root?
         5.9)    My HP DAT drive is running very slowly on my sun running
                  4.1.x. How do I fix this?
         5.10)   How do I configure my sun to use Exabyte 4mm DAT tape drives?
         5.11)   Why is tagged queueing a problem on my third-party
                  SCSI disk under Solaris 2.x?
         5.12)   Why don't third-party CD-ROMS work on my sun?
         5.13)   How do I support Exabyte 8505C 8mm tape drives on SunOS 4.x?
         5.14)   What size and density parameters should I use for dump with
                 a high-capacity tape drive?
         5.15)   My 8mm tape drive is reporting write errors.  What do I do?
         5.16)   My floppy/cdrom device says "device busy".  What do I do?
         5.17)   What software is available for recording CD-ROMS?

6. Resource Management and Performance Tuning
         6.1)    How do I tell what caused my machine to crash?
         6.2)    What can I do if my machine slows to a crawl or just hangs?
         6.3)    How do I find out how much physical memory a machine has?
         6.4)    How do I find out what my machine's memory is being used for?
                  How can I tell if I need more memory?
         6.5)    Why do some files take up more disk space after being copied?
                  Why are the sizes reported by ls -l and du different?
         6.6)    How do I add more PTYs?

7. Anonymous FTP Service
         7.1)    How do I set up anonymous ftp on my machine?
         7.2)    Where can I get a version of ftp that does logging?

8. Consoles, Keyboards and Key Remapping
         8.1)    How do I make the numeric keypad on a type 5 keyboard
                  work with xterm?
         8.2)    How do I swap the CAPS LOCK and CONTROL keys on a type
                  5 keyboard under Openwindows 3.x?
         8.3)    How do I use the keyboard and display when the console is
                  on ttya?

9. Sun models and OS Versions
         9.1)    Which Sun models run which version of SunOS?
         9.2)    How can my program tell what model Sun it is running on?
         9.3)    What MBUS CPU modules are available? How can I tell
                  what module(s) is/are in what model of SS10/SS20/SS600?
         9.4)    Which versions of SunOS/Solaris are Y2000 compliant?  Are
                  there patches for older versions of SunOS/Solaris?
         9.5)    What is the Y2000 compliance status of Sun hardware?
         9.6)    How do I find out a Sun's boot prom revision?

10. Miscellaneous Software
         10.1)   My rdump is failing with a "Protocol botched" message.
                  What do I do?
         10.2)   My rpc.etherd keeps reporting "bad lnth" messages. Why?
         10.3)   Various daemons report "unknown service" messages. Why?
         10.4)   Solaris 2.x does not have a C compiler.  Where can I get one?
         10.5)   How do I read Microsoft Word documents on my Sun?

11. Miscellaneous Hardware
         11.1)   How come my mouse occasionally doesn't work?
         11.2)   How can I turn my old sun into an X-Terminal?
         11.3)   How do I do hardware flow control on an ALM-2?
         11.4)   How can I use a VGA monitor on my Sun?
         11.5)   Where can I find alternate pointing devices for my Sun?
         11.6)   What should I do about my Ultra-1's CPU cooling fan?

12. Networking
         12.1)   Why do both my net interfaces have the same ethernet address?
         12.2)   How do I find out the hardware vendor from an ethernet address?
         12.3)   How do I set my hme interface to e.g. 100Mb full duplex?

13. Electronic Mail
         13.1)   Where can I get a POP or IMAP server for my sun?

14. Printing
         14.1)   Is there a third-party source for SPARCprinter consumables?
         14.2)   How do I configure a non-postscript printer for postscript?

15. Misc System Administration
         15.1)   I've forgotten the root password; how can I recover?
         15.2)   How do I disable/remap STOP-A/L1-A?

                                Answers

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1. The Sun-Manager's Mailing list
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 1.1)     How do I read, join, post to, or remove myself from the
                  sun-managers mailing list?

  To have your mailing address added to or removed from the mailing list,
  send a request to "majord...@sunmanagers.ececs.uc.edu".  The request should
  contain simply one line which says either "subscribe sun-managers" or
  "unsubscribe sun-managers". You can specify the particular e-mail address
  to be added after the word "subscribe".  Messages can be posted to the list
  by mailing them to the address "sun-manag...@sunmanagers.ececs.uc.edu".  Do
  not do this until you have read the charter (question 1.2).

  If you wish to send a message to the sun-managers list, it is strongly
  recommended that you first read the list's policy statement.  This
  statement is sent to the entire list on the first and 16th of every
  month.  It is also sent out to every new subscriber and is available via
  anonymous FTP (see question 4) from "ftp.cs.toronto.edu" in the file
  "/pub/jdd/sun-managers/policy".  The policy statement includes instructions
  for sending a message to the entire list.

  There is no digest form of sun-managers at this time.

  The latest version of the FAQ list (this file) is also available at
  ftp://ftp.cs.toronto.edu/pub/jdd/sun-managers/faq.

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Subject: 1.2)     What is the Sun-Manager's Charter?  What are the rules?

  1:  This list is NOT moderated!  Every message that is sent to the list
      will be passed on to every member of the list (with a few small
      exceptions).

  2:  Requests to have addresses added or removed from the list should NOT
      be sent to the entire list.  Instead, they should be mailed to:
      majord...@sunmanagers.ececs.uc.edu as described in the previous
      question.  Similarly, test messages of any sort should not be
      sent to the list.  

  3:  This list is intended to be a quick-turnaround trouble shooting aid
      for those who administer and manage Sun systems.  Its primary purpose
      is to provide the Sun manager with a quick source of information for
      system management problems that are of a time-critical nature.

  4:  Answers to questions are to be mailed back to the questioner and are
      NOT to be sent to the entire list.  The person who originally asked
      the question has the responsibility of summarizing the answers and
      sending the entire summary back to the list.  When a summary is sent
      back to the list, it should contain the word "SUMMARY" as the first
      word of the "Subject" line.

  5:  Discussions on ANY topic are not allowed and will not be tolerated.
      If you want to discuss something, take it to the appropriate
      Sun newsgroup.

  6:  If it is not specifically related to Sun system management, then it
      does NOT belong on this list.  Requests for vendor recommendations
      are tolerated, provided that the hardware in question is something that
      system managers normally purchase.

  7:  COMMERICAL ADVERTISING of any sort on the list IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.  
      ABUSERS of this rule MAY BE BANNED from the list without notice.

  8:  Postings about employment, either employment sought or offered, are
      not permitted on this list.  Please use a more appropriate forum,
      e.g. one of the newsgroups in the misc.jobs USENET hierarchy.

  9:  Requests for software (free or otherwise) should be limited to
      software that is directly related to Sun SYSTEM MANAGEMENT ONLY.

  10:  Read the appropriate manuals BEFORE posting, including the "Read
      This First" documents.  Often times the manuals contain answers for
      common problems.

  11: When including a traceback from a system panic, make sure that it is
      a SYMBOLIC traceback.  Numeric tracebacks (the ones included as part
      of the panic message) are totally useless.  Read eg. chapter 22 of the
      SunOS 4.1 system administration manual to learn how to produce a
      symbolic traceback.

  12: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...Think before you send a message!  Ask yourself
      "is this really appropriate?"  There are enough other newsgroups
      and mailing lists around to cover the marginal topics.  Perhaps there
      is another forum that is more appropriate.  Check the list of Sun
      specific newsgroups mentioned in answer 1.5.  Perhaps your
      message would be more appropriate there.

  If after reading all the guidelines you decide that you still want to
  send your message to the entire sun-managers readership, then see
  the previous question (1.1) for information on how to post.

  Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in severe chastisement by
  the list participants.  Not only will you succeed in looking like a
  careless fool, and in making Sun Systems Managers all over the world
  annoyed at your stupidity, you may end up damaging your professional
  reputation.

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Subject: 1.3)     Are there any archives for the sun-managers list?

  The site "www.LaTech.edu" archives every summary sent to the list.
  Questions are not archived.  This site provides access to its archives via
  the HTTP (WWW), WAIS, and gopher protocols.  It does not provide any
  anonymous FTP access.

  You can access the archives over the World Wide Web by referencing the
  URL "http://www.latech.edu/sunman.html" from any web browser.  This is
  the preferred way to access the archives.

  WAIS is the "Wide Area Information Server", an experimental system that
  provides for automatic search and retrieval of many types of electronic
  information.  Source for Unix WAIS clients can be obtained via anonymous
  FTP from think.com in the directory "/wais".  A WAIS "source" entry for
  the sun-managers WAIS information server is available via anonymous FTP
  from "ra.mcs.anl.gov" in the file "/sun-managers/sun-managers.src".

  Gopher is a distributed document delivery service which allows
  access to a wide variety of textual information.  If your system
  already has a gopher client installed, you can access the sun-managers
  gopher by simply typing "gopher info.latech.edu".  The sun-manager
  archives are accessible under the "archives" menu.  Source for Unix
  gopher clients can be obtained via anonymous FTP from
  "boombox.micro.umn.edu" in the directory "/pub/gopher/Unix".

  Dataman Benelux in the Netherlands hosts a "fuzzy" full-text index of
  the Sun-managers mailing list at: http://www.dataman.nl/cgi-bin/sunmanagers

  Sunsite hosts a WAIS searchable archive for Sun-Managers, at
  http://metalab.unc.edu/sun/inform/sun-managers-summary.html

  Manfred Liebchen <liebc...@rrz.Uni-Koeln.DE> maintains a full
  archive site in Germany for Sun-Managers.  It can be accessed at:
  http://www.uni-koeln.de/RRZK/Abt-Systeme/sun/infos/SUN-MANAGERS/sunma...

  Hank Leininger <hl...@progressive-comp.com> maintains a searchable archive
  site of recent (since Oct 1997) messages (both questions and summaries) at
  Progressive Computer Concepts in Florida, USA.  It can be accessed at:
  http://www.progressive-comp.com/Lists/?l=sun-managers&r=1&w=2#sun-man...

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Subject: 1.4)     What should I keep in mind when posting to sun-managers?

  o VERY IMPORTANT! Before you post, read the sun-manager's policy, which is
    available for anonymous ftp at
        ftp://ftp.cs.toronto.edu/pub/jdd/sun-managers/policy.

  o Sun-Managers is a huge unmoderated mailing list. Every message you send
    will be passed on to every member of the list.  This means you get access
    to a much larger audience when you need help, but it also means you can
    embarrass yourself in front of a huge number of people, most of them
    professionals in your field, including colleagues, peers, and possible
    future employers.

  o Sun-Managers is completely voluntary.  Nobody is required to help you.
    We are all cooperating by sharing our knowledge.  Accept with grace
    whatever responses you get, and don't hound people if they are helpful or
    they won't be the next time.

  o Sun-Managers is not the list to use when you run out of other places to
    post.  Job postings, PC questions, X questions all have their own lists
    and newsgroups.  Use _only_ the appropriate list or newsgroup for such
    things, not Sun-Managers.  Inappropriate postings will only make people
    annoyed at you.

  o The more information you give about a problem, the easier it is for
    others to help you.  This doesn't mean you should uuencode the kernel and
    post it, but you should include your OS version, your hardware, and all
    relevant symptoms of your problem. Unless the request is of a general
    nature, the output of "uname -a" is almost certainly helpful.

  o Be generous. If you have the information requested (especially if it is
    obscure) then please respond.  You may be the person requesting help
    next time.

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Subject: 1.5)     What other forums are there for Suns?

  Other forums that relate to Suns (please mail me corrections and
  additions):

  USENET Newsgroups (accessible via "rn", "readnews", "nn", netscape, etc.):

  There is now an entire heirarchy devoted to Sun equipment:

        comp.sys.sun.admin      Sun system administration
        comp.sys.sun.announce   Announcements pertaining to Sun equipment
        comp.sys.sun.apps       Applications that run on Suns
        comp.sys.sun.hardware   Sun hardware (and clones too, I think)
        comp.sys.sun.misc       Miscellaneous
        comp.sys.sun.wanted     Sun stuff to buy or sell

  Other newsgroups that may also be of interest:

        comp.unix.solaris       Solaris 2.x on all platforms
        alt.sys.sun             may not be available everywhere
        comp.sys.sun            newsgroup equivalent of sun-spots
        comp.sources.sun        Sun-specific sources (not very active)

  Mailing lists:

      Sun Flash (Sun Product Announcements/news releases)
        sunflash-requ...@sunvice.East.Sun.COM           add/remove requests

      Sunergy (Sun Commercial Newsletter)
        sunergy_informat...@Sun.COM                        add/remove requests

      Suns-at-home (Home use of Sun Workstations)
        Suns-at-Home-Requ...@net-kitchen.com               add/remove requests
        Suns-at-H...@net-kitchen.com                       submissions
        Suns-at-Home-Archi...@net-kitchen.com              archive requests

      ssa-managers (Sun RAID software and hardware products)
        majord...@eng.auburn.edu                   add/remove requests
        (e.g. send "subscribe ssa-managers" in message body)

      veritas-users (Veritas products)
        majord...@eng.auburn.edu                   add/remove requests
        (e.g. send "subscribe veritas-users" in message body)

      CIAC notes (US. DOE Computer Incident Advisory Capability)
        ciac-listp...@llnl.gov                          add/remove requests
        listmana...@cheetah.llnl.gov                    human list manager

      CERT Advisory mailing list (security notifications for Suns and others)
        cert-advisory-requ...@cert.org                  add/remove requests

      Solaris on Intel-based (x86) machines
        solarisonintel-subscr...@egroups.com               add/remove requests
        solarisonin...@egroups.com                 submissions
        solarisonintel-ow...@egroups.com           human list manager
        http://www.egroups.com/list/solarisonintel/

      Auspex:  managers of Auspex NFS file servers
        auspex-requ...@princeton.edu                       add/remove requests
        aus...@princeton.edu                               submissions

      Solbourne: managers of Solbourne SPARC systems
        "info-solbourne" list
        majord...@acsu.buffalo.edu                 add/remove requests
        info-solbou...@acsu.buffalo.edu                    submissions
        ftp://ftp.acsu.buffalo.edu/pub/misc/info-solbourne.tar.z archives

      disksuite-l: for users who use Sun's Solstice Disksuite software
        majord...@lists.veritel.com.br                     add/remove requests
        pinhe...@veritel.com.br                            list owner

  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!

  For Web pages, see the answer to question 2.6.

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2. Getting Help Over the Net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 2.1)     How do I find out what patches are available from Sun?

  If you have a software service agreement with Sun, you can use Sun's
  "SunSolve ONLINE" service to obtain patches. Check your service
  agreement for details.

  Sun recommended patches can be obtained from sun via anonymous ftp to
  sunsolve1.sun.com.

  Many anonymous ftp sites have partial collections of patches. The archie
  service can be consulted.

  WARNING: if you ftp patches from an ftp site, you are trusting whomever
           put them there. To be absolutely safe, get your patches from a
           trusted source.

  Sun makes available certain security patches for anonymous ftp on
  ftp.uu.net, in the directory /systems/sun/sun-dist. CERT and Sun often
  publishes the checksums of security patches. You can use the UNIX "sum"
  command to verify the identity of patches retrieved from ftp sites.

  Rik Harris <rik.har...@vifp.monash.edu.au> maintains a WAIS archive
  (sun-fixes.src) of most available patch READMEs.

  The Sun User Group (SUG) CD ROM also has a collection of Sun patches.

  There is a special patch tape (U1) available from sun for Sun3's running
  4.1.1 which fixes many of the bugs that were fixed for Sparcs in later
  releases. Note that sun3's don't run anything later than 4.1.1.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 2.2)     What is "anonymous ftp" and how do I use it?

  Anonymous ftp is a way to provide restricted file transfer access to a
  host for the Internet community at large. You typically use ftp to
  connect to a host and enter "anonymous" (possibly "ftp" or "guest") for
  the user name and your "real" user name for the password. Do not type
  your real password at any time, as it is common to log all anonymous
  transactions and your password would be visible on the remote system.

  When transferring files, make sure you have "binary" or "image" mode set
  for transferring binary (non-ascii) files. This is true in the most
  common cases, such as compressed files or tar archives. In some rare
  cases, you might need "tenex" mode.

  Read the manual page for 'ftp'.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 2.3)     How do I find anonymous ftp sites?

  There are a number of well known ftp sites, such as "ftp.uu.net"
  (137.39.1.2) and "gatekeeper.dec.com" (16.1.0.2). You usually find out
  about these from newsgroups, mailing lists or word of mouth.

  There is an internet service that allows you to search for ftp sites
  that might have some file you're looking for.  Telnet to one of the
  following machines, using the login "archie":

    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.luth.se         130.240.18.4    (Scandinavian server)
    archie.ncu.edu.tw      192.83.166.12   (Taiwan server)
    archie.nz              130.195.9.4     (New Zealand server)
    archie.th-darmstadt.de 130.83.22.1     (Germany server)
    archie.switch.ch       130.59.10.40    (Switzerland server)
    archie.unipi.it        131.114.21.10   (Italy server)
    archie.ac.il           132.65.16.8     (Israel server)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 2.4)     How do I get help upgrading to Solaris 2.x?

  Start by reading the Solaris FAQ, maintained and posted periodically to
  comp.unix.solaris by Casper Dik <cas...@fwi.uva.nl>. It can be obtained
  by anonymous ftp to ftp.fwi.uva.nl, in /pub/solaris. An HTML version
  can be obtained at ftp://ftp.fwi.uva.nl/pub/solaris/solaris2.html.
  Then go to the Solaris Security FAQ, maintained by Peter Galvin and
  hosted by SunWorld Online Magazine and Sun Microsystems at
  http://www.sun.com/sunworldonline/common/security-faq.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 2.5)     How do I access Sun's Answerbooks over the net?

  You can access Sun's complete set of Answerbooks on the World-Wide Web at
  http://docs.sun.com/ab2/

  Thanks to Tim Evans <tkev...@eplrx7.es.dupont.com> for this pointer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 2.6)     To which web sites can I go for help?

  This is not a complete list, but:

  Sun's documentation is available at http://docs.sun.com
  You can search the Sun newsgroups at http://www.dejanews.com
  Sun-Managers Archives are described in the answer to question 1.3 above.

  Some sites suggested by Jeffrey Meltzer <melt...@villagenet.com> are:

        SolarisGuide    http://www.solarisguide.com
        ISP-Solaris     http://www.isp-solaris.com
        SunHelp         http://www.sunhelp.org
        SolarisCentral  http://www.solariscentral.org
        SunGuru         http://www.sunguru.com
        SunFreeware     http://www.sunfreeware.com

  Gil Young <g...@hobbes.crc.comm> runs a Solaris Forum at Brainbuzz:

        http://networking.brainbuzz.com/boards/viewboardmessages.asp,b~S2B43

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
3. NIS, NIS+, DNS, and NFS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 3.1)     How do I set up NIS/YP to use DNS?

  Under SunOS 4.1.x, there is a "#B=" at the top of /var/yp/Makefile,
  uncomment and change this to "B=-b" and setup NIS in the usual
  fashion.   Under 4.0.x, edit the 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; \

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 3.2)     How do I use DNS instead of NIS for hostname resolution?

  In SunOS 5.x (Solaris 2.x), this is easy: simply edit /etc/nsswitch.conf
  and put "dns" before (or instead of) nis or nisplus on the line that begins
  with "hosts:".  For example, to look up hostnames first in the DNS, and
  then in the hosts file, use "hosts:  dns files".

  For SunOS 4.x, the "normal" behavior of a hostname lookup under NIS is to
  consult the NIS hosts map and then DNS (if configured). You can change this
  so all hostname lookups go directly to DNS.  While you could do this by
  creating an empty NIS host map, or even removing the host map entirely from
  your NIS Makefile, the SunOS shared library mechanism allows you change the
  behavior of any command that is dynamically linked to the shared library.
  In SunOS 4.1 and greater releases, there is an optional package called
  "shlib custom" that contains a kit for rebuilding shared libraries.  You
  can select this in suninstall or load it later. It will put the files in
  /usr/lib/shlib.etc. Note that machines that come with pre-installed SunOS
  don't include this. It contains both a "normal" and System V version of
  libc and some tools to build shared libraries. The Sun-supplied README file
  gives some help, but doesn't detail how to change the hostname lookup
  functions. The complete procedure for this is spelled out in
  "bindon41.shar", which is available for anonymous ftp from "ra.mcs.anl.gov"
  in "/pub" - it goes one step further and replaces the Sun resolver routines
  with the latest BIND versions.  Note that you can still use NIS for other
  things, such as passwd, group info, etc - the NIS hosts map is just
  ignored. There are several important statically linked binaries that will
  break if you replace the Sun routines. "/etc/mount" is probably where you
  will first notice that it doesn't know about any host that is not present
  in /etc/hosts. The same goes for "rcp". My solution was to recompile mount
  and rcp with the new resolver routines, but you need source code to do
  this. Sun apparently will give you a dynamically- linked version of mount
  if you have software maintenance. You can compile your own version of rcp
  from the Berkeley 4.3 source that is available on various ftp site.
  Otherwise, you might just have to have all hosts (and aliases) in
  /etc/hosts that you want to mount or use Internet addresses (yuck). Another
  "feature" of a DNS-only environment is that hostnames will sometimes be
  returned all in uppercase and these will not match the lower-case entries
  you typically have in /etc/exports, /etc/bootparams, etc. There are some
  patches to BIND called "resolv+" that allow you to specify hostname lookups
  to /etc/hosts only, DNS only or both.

  Resolv+ is on osl.csc.ncsu.edu (152.1.58.11) in
  pub/unix/sun/resolv+-2.1.tar.Z. A later version is available at
  ftp.cc.utexas.edu:/source/tcp-ip/resolv+2.1.1/resolv+2.1.1.tar.Z
  The latest bind can be found at "ftp://ftp.isc.org/isc/bind".  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 3.3)     What does the "nres_gethostbyaddr !=" error mean?

  This message is from "ypserv" and has been determined to be "harmless"
  (bug #1039839). Get Sun patch 100482-02 or later which fixes this and
  other bugs in NIS.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 3.4)     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".

  For example:
        rpc.yppasswdd /var/yp/passwd -nosingle -m passwd DIR=/var/yp

  If you are running the C2 security package, you should apply patch
  100201-04, as it fixes several problems with rpc.yppasswdd.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 3.5)     What does "NFS write error X" mean?

  You can lookup the error codes in /usr/include/sys/errno.h. Two common
  ones are 13, which is "permission denied" and 70 "stale file handle". 13
  is probably coming from an incorrect /etc/exports entry. 70 will occur
  when a fileserver goes down for some reason. You can usually get rid of
  the error by unmounting and remounting the filesystem in question. Under
  SunOS 4.1, you can run "showfhd" 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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 3.6)     What does NFS getattr failed/RPC: Authentication error mean?

  You are probably running a pre-4.0 version of NFS, or using another
  vendor's system, 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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 3.7)     How do I change NIS+ credentials for the root master server?

  If an NIS+ system is functioning correctly and only the root password
  and root private keys for the system need to be changed, follow
  these steps:

  1) Login as root for the system and change the root password in the
     /etc/shadow file:

        {root}3% passwd
        passwd:  Changing password for root
        New password:
        Re-enter new password:
        {root}4%

  2) Change the system's private key in the cred table:

        {root}4% chkey -p
        Updating nisplus publickey database.
        Reencrypting key for 'unix.rama...@bharat.i n'.
        Please enter the Secure-RPC password for root:  <enter old passwd>
        Please enter the login password for root:       <enter new passwd>
        {root}5%

  3) If running replica server(s) then wait until the changes to the credential
     object table has been propagated to its replicas. This could be up
     to 2 minutes.

  4) Change the system's /etc/.rootkey:

        {root}5% keylogin -r
        Password:                               <enter new passwd>
        Wrote secret key into /etc/.rootkey
        {root}6%

  The procedure above will work for any system -- root server,
  root replica, non-root servers, and all clients.  The steps above
  change only the system's root password and private keys, not the
  public keys for the system.

  Thanks to Ronald W. Henderson <r...@atmos.albany.edu>.

  However, if you want to change all the root credentials, including the
  public key, follow these steps:

  Use the passwd command on the root master server to change the root
  password. But DO NOT follow this with a chkey -p to update the credentials
  for the root master server, because this will disable the entire NIS+
  domain. The only way to recover from this is to rebuild the domain from
  scratch!

  It is possible to change the credentials of the root master server, but
  it is not easy. The procedure follows:

  To change the keys for the root master server do as follows:

  1. use these commands in this order:

         nisupdkeys -CH master.server.name. groups_dir.domain.name.
         nisupdkeys -CH master.server.name. org_dir.domain.name.
         nisupdkeys -CH master.server.name. domain.name.

         (This CLEARS the public key for the HOST "master.server.name" in this
  directory.)

  2. Kill rpc.nisd and restart it at security level O then run this command:

         nistbladm -R cname=master.server.name. cred.org_dir.domain.name.
         nisaddcred des

         <This deletes the old credential and creates a new one.>

  3. Shutdown and restart any replicas of org_dir.domain.name. at run level O

         nisping org_dir.domain.name.

  <This propogates the new key pair to the replicas.>

         nisdupdkeys domain.name.
         nisupddkeys org_dir.domain.name.
         nisupdkeys groups_dir.domain.name.

         <This puts the new credential in the effected directory objects.>

  4. Kill and restart all rpc.nisd servers at level O to security level 2.

  Note that changing a server's key affects all directory objects containing
  the key.

  Thanks to Rogerio Rocha <roge...@bvl.pt> and Sun INFODOC ID 2213 for this
  information.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 3.8)     When I compile something, errors occur saying _dlopen
                  and the other _dl routines can't be found. Why?

  If your system is running SunOS 4.x, your System Administrator has
  modified the C library (/usr/lib/libc.a), usually to add hooks for hostname
  resolution (DNS).  This modification is usually made using packages like
  "bind 4.8.3" or "resolv+ 2.1". Unfortunately there is a bug in that process
  which is documented but frequently missed by the person doing the
  installation.

  There are two ways around this:
    (i) Specify -ldl when compiling any and all package that complains.
    (ii) Get the sys-admin to reinstall the libc properly, ensuring
         that the Makefile used in that process specifies -ldl, so
         that the dl routines are included.

  Thanks to mar...@octavia.anu.edu.au (Markus Buchhorn) for this answer.

  Sometimes other routines are also noted as not being found. There are
  three .o files in the shared library (rpc_commondata.o, rpc_dtablesize.o,
  and xccs.multibyte.o) that have names longer than 14 characters. These are
  unpacked during the shared library customization procedure as files without
  the trailing 'o', and need to be renamed so that the trailing 'o' is
  present. Ask the sysadmin to fix this.

  If you are running Solaris 2.x, you are probably trying to compile
  something statically. You must either include stub routines for the _dl
  routines, or you must link the C library (or -ldl) dynamically.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
4. Window Systems
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 4.1)     Can I run both OpenWindows and MIT X11?

  In Solaris 2.x, they both work without conflict, although MIT X11 may
  not support all the available Sun devices.  See
    http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/packages/solaris/sparc/html/X11R6.4.html
  for more information.

  In SunOS 4.x, things are a bit more complicated:

  The shared libraries for OpenWindows have different version numbers than
  the MIT versions. MIT executables will try to use the OpenWindows
  libraries and OpenWindows executables will complain about version
  mismatches.  You can toggle between the two environments by setting your
  $path and LD_LIBRARY_PATH variables.  Assuming you installed the MIT
  executables in /usr/bin/X11, 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/R5 environment

        set path = (/usr/bin/X11 $path)
        setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /usr/lib

  (Actually, for libraries in /usr/lib, /usr/5lib, or /usr/local/lib, the
  LD_LIBRARY_PATH is not necessary.)

  Sun OpenWindows

        set path = (/usr/openwin/bin /usr/openwin/demo $path)
        setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /usr/openwin/lib

  (Actually, for most OpenWindows clients, it's sufficient to set OPENWINHOME
   to /usr/openwin instead of setting LD_LIBRARY_PATH. Setting LD_LIBRARY_PATH
   to /usr/openwin/lib may cause MIT clients to fail.)

  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)

  It is possible to run OpenWindows 3.0 and MIT X11 simultaneously
  without having to toggle LD_LIBRARY_PATH as above, by putting the X11
  libraries before the openwindows libraries in LD_LIBRARY_PATH, and the
  X11 binaries before the openwindows binaries in PATH, as follows:

        setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /usr/lib/X11:$OPENWINHOME/lib setenv path
        (/usr/bin/X11 $OPENWINHOME/bin $path)

  Setting LD_LIBRARY_PATH can be avoided altogether if the superuser links
  all the openwin 3.0 and X11R4 libraries into /usr/local/lib as follows:

        ln -s $OPENWINHOME/lib/lib*.s[oa]* /usr/local/lib ln -s
        /usr/lib/X11/lib*.s[oa]* /usr/local/lib /etc/ldconfig

  Unfortunately, not all OpenWindows 3.0 applications will work with X11R5
  libraries.

  To use the X11 xdm with the openwin 3.0 Xnews server, modify the
  Xservers file (eg. /usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xservers) to say something like the
  following:

    :0 local $OPENWINHOME/lib/xdm/StartOW -nosunview \ -fp
  /usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc,$OPENWINHOME/lib/fonts,/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi

  Change the options or font path if necessary. Note that sun patch
  100452-25 or later should be installed, to prevent the Xnews server from
  consuming more and more memory as time passes.

  (Thanks to Margarita Suarez <m...@manila.cc.columbia.edu> for the last
   three suggestions)

  OpenWindows 3.x includes most of the MIT X11 libraries and header files.
  Most MIT X11 Applications can be compiled and run under OpenWindows 3.0
  without change.

  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, GSPreview and Ghostview, they both offer fancier
  preview capabilities. These programs are currently available via
  anonymous ftp:

  Ghostscript and Ghostview are on prep.ai.mit.edu (18.71.0.38) in
  /pub/gnu. GSPreview is on ftp.x.org (198.112.44.100) in /R5contrib

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 4.2)     How do I run X11R5 on Solaris 2.x?

  Note: in Solaris 2.3 and later, OpenWindows is X11R5-based, so you may
  not necessarily need to run stock MIT X11R5. Note also that MIT X11R6
  supports Solaris 2.x.

  If you still wish to run MIT X11R5, start with a stock MIT X11R5
  distribution, and apply all the outstanding X11R5 fixes. Grab
  R5.SunOS5.patch.tar.Z from ftp.x.org:/R5contrib and apply it. Configure and
  compile as per the patch instructions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 4.3)    Why does my OpenWindows File Manager abort with a
                 "mknod: permission denied"?

  Under Solaris 2.3, the first time filemgr is launched, it created a
  /tmp/.removable directory owned by the user who launched it.  If a
  different user later starts up filemgr, it will try to create
  /tmp/.removable, but that directory will already exist from the last time,
  owned by the previous user, so the attempt will fail.  Fix by installing
  patch 101514-02.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
5. Disks, Tapes and SCSI
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.1)     What is the format.dat entry for drive X?

  The answer can vary according to what OS you are running, the
  architecture of your machine or the type of SCSI/SMD/IPI controller you
  are using.  Opinions also vary on how to format once you have all the
  information you need.  If you are buying a Sun supported drive, you will
  likely find an entry for it in "/etc/format.dat".  On third party
  drives, you should inquire with the vendor you bought it from.  If you
  are on your own, contact the manufacturer, or try to get hold of the
  manufacturer's OEM manual for your drive model.  You might be able to
  derive enough information from the manual to make up your own entry.
  Some drive manufacturers run "bulletin boards" with drive information on
  them:

    Fujitsu America BBS   408 944 9899
    Seagate BBS USA/Can   408 438 8771
    Seagate BBS England   44 62 847 8011
    Seagate BBS Germany   49 89 140 9331
    Seagate BBS Singapore 65 292 6973
    Seagate BBS Australia 61 2 756 2359
    Maxtor BBS            303 678 2222
    Micropolis BBS        818 709 3310
    Quantum BBS           408 894 3214
    Conner BBS            408 456 4415 / 408 456 3200

  It is also possible to contact drive manufacturers by telephone.
  Some relevant numbers:

    Fujitsu USA     800-626-4686
                    408-432-1300
    Fujitsu FAXLINE 408-428-0456
    Fujitsu Canada  416-602-5454
                    800-263-7091
    Hitachi USA     800-HIT-ACHI
    Hitachi HITFAX  800-HIT-FAX1
    Maxtor USA      800-2MA-XTOR
    Maxtor FAXBACK  303-678-2618
    Micropolis USA  800-395-3748
    Seagate USA     800-468-3472
                    405-936-1200
    Seagate FAX     408-438-8137
    Seagate FAXBACK 408-438-2620
    Quantum USA     800-826-8022
    Conner USA      408-456-3247
                    408-456-4500
    Conner Tech     800-426-6637
    Conner FAXBACK  408-456-4903

  CDC spun off their disk-drive business as Imprimis, which was later bought
  by Seagate, so direct all questions about CDC and Imprimis drives to Seagate.

  A format.dat file containing entries submitted by various people is
  available for anonymous ftp at
        ftp://ftp.cs.toronto.edu/pub/jdd/sun-managers/format.dat
  It is currently maintained by John DiMarco (j...@cs.toronto.edu). New
  entries (especially vendor-suggested ones) are welcome; mail them to
  sun-managers-for...@sunmanagers.ececs.uc.edu

  Note: do not post a format.dat request to the list or to the
  comp.sys.sun.admin newsgroup unless you have exhausted all these avenues.

  If you have a SCSI disk on a sun4c, sun4m, sun4e, or sun4d running
  SunOS 4.1.1 or later, grab John DiMarco's scsiinfo program from
  ftp://ftp.cs.toronto.edu/pub/jdd/scsiinfo/. It will query the disk directly,
  and generate an appropriate format.dat entry

  Tips for rolling your own format.dat:

  - For SCSI disks, any combination of cylinders, heads, and sectors that
  does not add up to more than the rated formatted capacity of the drive
  will normally work. A grossly different geometry may result in some
  slight performance degradation, but it should still work. The SCSI protocol
  hides most of the drive details from the host, and hence the host need not
  know much about the drive to format or use it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.2)     Can I use a disk greater than 700meg on SunOS 4.x?

  Yes, Sun sells drives significantly larger than 700MB, and you can choose
  from a variety of third party drives.

  However, the SPARCstation SCSI drivers in SunOS 4.1.1 or earlier use
  SCSI group 0 commands. This command set only has 21 bits of storage for
  the block number. This means you can have 2^21-1 or 2097151 as the
  largest block number understood by the SCSI driver. The fix is to use
  SCSI group 1 commands, where you have 31 bits for block numbers. The
  newer Sun SCSI drivers (SCSA) use group 1 commands, but require a patch
  to work properly. The patch for a Sun4c running SunOS 4.1.1 is 100343-04
  or later. This includes a new format.dat for the Sun 1.3 gig drive. The
  patch will come with the drive if you order it from Sun or you can get
  it from the Sun patch database mentioned in question 3. You can use 1.2
  gigabyte drives with the current driver, but you "waste" several
  megabytes (i.e. no big deal). The Fujitsu M2266SA, CDC/Imprimis/Seagate
  Wren 7, HP 97549T and Micropolis 1598 are known to work.

  This patch is only required for Sun4c's (Sparcstations) running SunOS
  4.1.1 or earlier. Sun3's, Sun4m's (600 series, SS10), and Sun4's
  (100,200,300,400 series) do not require it, and the patch is included in
  SunOS 4.1.2 and later.

  Note: Older Fujitsu M2266SA drives have a firmware bug in the use of the
  on-drive read-ahead cache that causes random read errors. You can
  disable the cache by removing the jumper on pins 5-6 on CN9. Fujitsu
  recently has made new PROMs available that fix the cache problem. You
  should be able to obtain these from your drive vendor at no cost. The
  PROM is marked "81202" followed by a revision letter. Revision "C" and
  earlier should be replaced by a "D" or later version.

  Note: Older Wren 7's may not boot on IPX's, ELC's and later machines,
  due to a bug in the Wren 7's firmware. Here is a patch to the NVRAM
  which must be made from the monitor.

    WARNING : It is important that you type this correctly. Check this
          several times! Remember all the question marks, dashes and spaces
          and yes, sstart should be with two "s"'s. Note: Syntax errors in
          your NVRAMRC can make your machine unbootable. In Prom version
          2.x, hitting L1-N after the selftest at bootup will reset the NVRAM.

    If you have prom revision 2.0 to 2.5, inclusive:

    (from monitor level)
    >  n
    ok nvedit
      0: true to fcode-debug?
      1: probe-all install-console banner
      2: cd /sd      [ or whatever drive you want to boot from ]
      3: patch 0 1 sstart
      4: device-end
      5: [ press <control> c to exit nvedit at this point ]
    ok nvstore
    ok setenv use-nvramrc? true
    ok reset

    For prom revision 2.6 or greater, use:

    (from monitor level)
    >  n
    ok nvedit                                              
      0: probe-all install-console banner
      1: cd /esp
      2: ' 0 ' 1 ' timed-spin >body 7 /token * + token@ (patch
      3: device-end
      4: [ press <control> c to exit nvedit at this point ]
    ok nvstore
    ok setenv use-nvramrc? true
    ok reset

    If you have a prom revision earlier than 2.0, or you don't wish
    to use the nvramrc, a Wren VII can be made to boot by making
    the "a" partition start at cylinder two, instead of cylinder zero.

    Thanks to Rick.Til...@Corp.Sun.COM (Rick Tilson) and
    k...@math.harvard.edu (Robert M. Kuhn).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.3)     How do I move disks from xy451 to xy753/7053 controllers?

  You have to reformat the drives for them to be recognized by the new
  controller.  Save the bad block list on drives while they are still on
  the old controller and load this back on the disk when you are
  formatting the disk on the new controller. The "dump" command in
  "defect" menu of "format" will write out a defect list to a file, the
  "load" command in the same menu will read the defect list from a file.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.4)     Why does my internal 105 megabyte hard disk stop working?

  There is a problem in the Quantum 105S 3.5" disk with the drive
  lubricant.  It prevents the platter from rotating if it cools down
  enough, which will happen if the drive is powered down. Before you call
  Sun in for replacement, try removing the drive, holding it around waist
  height, and give it a couple of quick twists in the plane of the disk
  surface. This should loosen the lubricant. (Thanks to Dan Razzell
  <razz...@cs.ubc.ca> for this suggestion.) Tapping the disk lightly may
  also work, but this is understandably risky.

  Stan Hoffman <hoff...@moog.attmail.com> adds:

          I also found a lot of bad connectors where the power cable
          connects to the motherboard. The connector coming from the
          drive have horseshoe-shaped clips that straddle the wire and
          cut into it to make contact. I have often had to reseat these
          clips by pressing them down a little further before the drive
          would power up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.5)     Can I replace the 105 megabyte internal drive in a SS1/1+
                  with a higher capacity model?

  The higher capacity drives sometimes create more heat and draw more
  power than the 105S. The case cooling ability and power supply in the
  SS-1 and SS-1+ is not adequate for drives significantly hotter than the
  Quantum 105S. The Quantum 105S pulls 10W, so any disk much more than
  this might be a problem.

  Since the SS1/1+ supports two drives, if only one drive is installed,
  it should be possible to relax this constraint somewhat.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.6)     How do I enable synchronous SCSI?

  It depends on the type of SCSI controller and the SunOS release.  

  The SCSI device must be able to support it.  Most modern SCSI drives
  do, check the drive manual to see if there is a jumper or switch
  to enable or disable it on the drive itself.

  If you have a VME-based system with the Sun SCSI controller on a
  separate card (a 4/470  for example), you are out of luck unless you go
  with a third-party SCSI controller.  The Sun VME SCSI "si" and "sc"
  controllers are old products that were developed for the Sun3 line and
  do not support many newer SCSI features.  VME systems with the "sm"
  controller on the cpu board, (such as the 4/370) are capable of sync
  SCSI, along with desktop systems with the "esp" controller (SS-1, SS-1+,
  SS2, etc).  You can see what type of controller you have by watching the
  boot process or running /etc/dmesg.

  There were some problems with sync SCSI on the SS-1 that prompted Sun to
  disable it by default in 4.0.3 and 4.1. You can enable it manually by
  tweaking the kernel:

  echo 'scsi_options?W 0x38' | adb -w /vmunix reboot system

  or a better method:

  uncomment the 'SCSI_OPTIONS_SYNC' line in /sys/scsi/conf/scsi_confdata.c

  rebuild kernel reboot system

  Under 4.1.x, sync SCSI is negotiated at boot time by checking each
  device to see if it supports it.   4.1.x (except for 4.1.3 and later) will
  print a message if it is successful:

  esp0:   Target 3 now Synchronous at 4.0 mb/s max transmit rate

  To turn on this message for SunOS 4.1.3 and later, you can modify the
  kernel or /sys/sun[4c|4m]/OBJ/esp.o using adb to set espdebug to 0x1 as
  above.  This can cause problems with some SCSI peripherals, however (eg.
  some 8mm drives).

  Better still, grab John DiMarco (j...@cs.toronto.edu)'s "scsiinfo"
  program which provides this information and more about SCSI peripherals
  attached to ESP SCSI host adapters. scsiinfo is available for anonymous
  ftp from ftp.cs.toronto.edu in /pub/jdd/scsiinfo.

  Note: SCSI cable length can affect drive performance, especially for
  fast synchronous SCSI devices and controllers. Cable length should be
  kept at a minimum.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.7)     Is it okay to disconnect or connect SCSI devices
                  while powered on?

  On older machines (without onboard SCSI controllers), it is never a good
  idea to do this. You risk blowing a fuse on the CPU board, or part of
  the SCSI hardware. On newer machines (sparcstations and later), many
  people have done this regularly without problems. Halt the machine
  (sync;L1-A), remove or add the device, then continue. However, it is
  possible to blow the SCSI termination power fuse on the motherboard. If
  your machine hangs immediately on powerup unless the SCSI bus is
  externally terminated, this fuse may need to be replaced.  Caveat Emptor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.8)     How do I configure a sun to use its local disk(s) for
                  swap but not for root?

  For Solaris 2.x, this is trivial. For SunOS 4.x:

  It's necessary to configure the kernel to use a designated swap
  partition.  You can do this by replacing the line in the kernel config
  file (/sys/`arch -k`/conf/KERNEL-NAME) that says

        config vmunix swap generic

  with

        config vmunix root on type nfs swap on type spec <DEVICE>

  Replace '<DEVICE>' with the name of the disk block device you want
  to use, eg. 'sd0b'.

  Thanks to Nick Sayer <mrap...@quack.kfu.com>.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.9)     My HP DAT drive is running very slowly on my sun running
                  4.1.x. How do I fix this?

  You'll need to add some configuration data for the HP DAT drive to your
  Sun 4.1.x kernel as follows:

  In /sys/scsi/targets/stdef.h, add the line:

    #define ST_TYPE_HP1             0x2a    /* HP C1533A DDS2 DAT drive  */

  In /sys/scsi/targets/st_conf.c, add the following:

    /* added DAPM 5-feb-94
     * HP C1533A DDS2 DAT tape drive */
    {
            "HP C1533A 4mm DDS DAT", 2, "HP",
            ST_TYPE_HP1, 10240,
            (ST_VARIABLE|ST_BSF|ST_BSR|ST_LONG_ERASE|ST_AUTODEN_OVERRIDE),
            6000,6000,
            {0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00},
            {0,0,0,0}
    },

  Recompile your kernel, and reboot with the new kernel.

  Thanks to Dave Mitchell <D.Mitch...@dcs.shef.ac.uk> and
            s...@mod.dsto.gov.au (Stephen Fitzgerald).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.10)    How do I configure my sun to use Exabyte 4mm DAT tape drives?

  According to Exabyte's customer service center (913-492-6002), for
  SunOS 4.1.x, for an EXB-4200 and 4200c, add the following entries to
  /sys/scsi/targets/st_conf.c:

    /* Exabyte 4mm 2GB cartridge */
    {
      "Exabyte EXB-4200 4mm Helical Scan", 16, "EXABYTE EXB-4200",
      ST_TYPE_DEFAULT, 1024,
      (ST_VARIABLE | ST_BSF | ST_BSR),
      5000, 5000,
      {  0, 0, 0, 0 },
      {  0, 0, 0, 0 }
    },
    /* Exabyte 4mm 4GB w/compression cartridge */
    {
      "Exabyte EXB4200c 4mm Helical Scan", 17, "EXABYTE EXB-4200c",
      ST_TYPE_DEFAULT, 1024,
      (ST_VARIABLE | ST_BSF | ST_BSR),
      5000, 5000,
      {  0x63, 0x43, 0x0c, 0x0c },
      {  0, 0, 0, 0 }
    },

  For Solaris 2.x, add the following to /kernel/drv/st.conf:

    tape-config-list =
      "EXABYTE EXB-4200", "Exabyte 4mm EXB-4200", "EXBT-4200",
      "EXABYTE EXB-4200c", "Exabyte 4mm EXB-4200c", "EXBT-4200c"

    EXBT-4200 = 1,0x34,1024,0x0029,4,0x63,0,0,0,3;
    EXBT-4200c = 1,0x34,1024,0x0029,4,0x63,0,0x13,0,3;

  Exabyte also recommends that their 4mm tape drives have firmware revision
  levels of at least the following when used on suns:

  EXB-4200     No restriction, but revision 148 or higher is recommended
  EXB-4200c    Level 149 minimum (mode select for compression)

  Thanks to Dave Hightower <hight...@afwc.af.mil>.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.11)   Why is tagged queueing a problem on my third-party
                 SCSI disk under Solaris 2.x?

  Tagged Command Queueing (TCQ) is an optional part of the SCSI-2
  specification.  It permits a drive to accept multiple I/O requests for
  execution later.  These requests are "tagged" by a reusable id so that the
  drive and the OS can keep track of them.  The drive can reorder these
  requests to optimize seeks.  For more details, see the SCSI-2
  specifications.  A draft version is available at
  ftp://ftp.cs.toronto.edu/pub/jdd/scsi-doc/scsi2.10b.gz

  SunOS 4.x and earlier never uses tagged queueing.  However, Solaris 2.x
  will make use of tagged queuing if the drive claims to support it.
  Unfortunately, some drive manufacturers have found it hard to design their
  drives to do tagged queueing properly, and this particular area has been a
  common source of bugs in drive firmware.

  If it is not possible to turn off tagged queueing in the drive that is
  causing the problem, Solaris 2.x can be told not to use tagged queueing
  at all, by putting the following line in /etc/system:

        set scsi_options & ~0x80

  The "scsi_options" kernel variable contains a number of bit flags which
  are defined in /usr/include/sys/scsi/conf/autoconf.h.  0x80 corresponds
  to tagged queueing.

  However, this turns off tagged queueing for the entire machine, not just
  the problematic drive.  Because tagged queueing can provide a significant
  performance enhancement for busy drives, this may not always be desirable.
  In Solaris 2.4 and later, it is possible to disable tagged queueing and set
  or clear other scsi options on a per-controller or per-drive basis.  The
  appropriate technique is described in the esp(7) and isp(7) man pages.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.12)   Why don't third-party CD-ROMS work on my sun?

  When Sun first decided to add CD-ROM support, there were already a great
  number of systems in the field, all of which contained boot proms that
  expected to boot from disks with 512 byte sectors. Sun had to decide
  between replacing a whole lot of boot proms or finding a way to make a
  CDROM act like a disk with 512 byte sectors in order to support it as a
  boot device.  They chose the latter approach.

  Many third party CD-ROM drives use 1024 or 2048-byte sectors, which causes
  the SCSI driver to see a "data overrun".  When the driver asks for N
  "blocks" (which it thinks are 512 bytes each ) it gets more data back than
  it expected.

  Some CD-ROM drives can be told to use 512 byte sectors by setting a jumper,
  cutting a trace, or using a software command (mode select).  Details vary
  widely, but if you are seeing a data overrun on a third party CD-ROM, then
  it is most likely doing 1K or 2K transfers and will need some work to be a
  boot device for a Sun.

  Thanks to Kevin Sheehan <Kevin.Shee...@uniq.com.au>

  For more information about third-party CD-ROMS on Suns, consult the
  CD-ROM FAQ, maintained by Mike Frisch <mfri...@saturn.tlug.org> and
  Martin Hargreaves <mar...@datamodl.demon.co.uk>.  It can be found on the
  World Wide Web at "http://204.92.19.89/suncdfaq/" and
  "http://www.datamodl.demon.co.uk/suncd/".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.13)   How do I support Exabyte 8505C 8mm tape drives on SunOS 4.x?

  Modify /usr/sys/scsi/targets/st_conf.c to add the following entry:

  /* Exabyte 8mm 5GB 1/2-height cartridge, with compression */
  {
          "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, 0x90, 0x15, 0x00 },
          {  0, 0, 0, 0 }
  },

  Create a new kernel and boot using it.

  The devices corresponding to the different modes supported by the
  drive are as follows:

        Device          Capacity                Emulation
        st0,st1         2.3GB                   Exabyte 8200
        st8,st9         2.3GB with compression  Exabyte 8200C
        st16,st17       5GB                     Exabyte 8500/8505
        st24,st25       5GB with compression    Exabyte 8505C

  Thanks to Paul Roland <rola...@charon.stm.com>

  Note: Exabyte 8505C 8mm support is included in SunOS 5.x a.k.a. Solaris 2.x,
  so no special modifications are required for OS versions later than 4.x.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.14)   What size and density parameters should I use for dump with
                 a high-capacity tape drive?

  The only purpose of the dump (ufsdump in Solaris 2.x) size and density
  parameters is to let dump calculate the capacity of each tape and then
  decide for itself when it needs a new tape.  If the filesystem you are
  dumping is larger than the tape, you will need to use more than one tape.
  In SunOS 4.x and earlier, dump uses the size and density parameters to
  decide when to stop writing to a particular tape and prompt for a new one.

  Since SunOS 4.x has a filesystem limit of 2GB, it is most often the case,
  for modern high-capacity tape drives, that the filesystem will fit on one
  tape.  If, as is the case with SunOS and high capacity drives, you are
  dumping multiple filesystems one after another to the non-rewinding tape
  device, each successive dump has no way of knowing how much of the tape has
  been already used, so there's no recourse but human intervention.  In other
  words, you have to figure out manually how many of your filesystems will
  fit on one tape.  All that the dump size and density parameters do is tell
  dump that it has lots of space left.

  Since it hardly matters what these parameters are, so long as they convince
  dump that the (remainder of the) tape is bigger than your filesystem so
  that it doesn't decide to ask you for a new tape part-way through, you can
  tell it the tape is big enough for a 2GB filesystem, by using 16000 for
  both the size and density parameters.  This will be large enough for all
  standard SunOS 4.x filesystems.

  If you're using Online Disk Suite or something similar to overcome the 2GB
  SunOS filesystem size limit, these parameters will need adjusting.  For
  example, if you need to dump a 4 Gbyte filesystem, simply double the tape
  size.

  In Solaris 2.x, ufsdump can detect the end of media for all modern tape
  drives, and will automatically prompt for new tapes when needed.

  Thanks to Niall O Broin <nobr...@esoc.esa.de>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.15)   My 8mm tape drive is reporting write errors.  What do I do?

  If you are not using data quality tapes (eg. Sony D8), you may need to.
  Also, 8mm drives need to be cleaned regularly.  Finally, your tape drive
  may need to be replaced.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.16)   My floppy/cdrom device says "device busy".  What do I do?

  If you are running a version of Solaris 2.x, the Volume Manager (vold)
  is probably holding the device open.  You can access a floppy through
  the volume manager by typing "volcheck" and looking in /floppy/*.  CD-ROMs
  don't require volcheck; just insert one and the volume manager should
  automatically notice, and mount it under /cdrom/*.  Unmount by typing
  "eject floppy" or "eject cdrom", respectively.  The Volume Manager can be
  configured by editing /etc/vold.conf.

  If you need to access a floppy or CD-ROM special device, however, you may
  need to turn off the volume manager.  As root, type "/etc/init.d/volmgt
  stop".  To turn it back on, type "/etc/init.d/volmgt start".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 5.17)   What software is available for recording CD-ROMS?

   Commercial Software:

   GEAR by Elektoson
        - http://www.elektroson.com/
   Young Minds
        - http://www.ymi.com/
        - High-end integrated hardware/software solution
   Creative Digital Research
        - http://www.cdr1.com/

   Free Software:

   Joerg Schilling has developed an excellent cd recording package
   called cdrecord.  This package should meet most needs.  See
        http://www.fokus.gmd.de/research/cc/glone/employees/joerg.schilling/p...
   for much more information, including supported hardware.  

   Information:

   Andy McFadden has an excellent CD-Recordable FAQ at:
           http://www.fadden.com/cdrfaq
   Joerg Schilling has a lot of information and links at:
           http://www.fokus.gmd.de/research/cc/glone/employees/joerg.schilling/p...

   Thanks to Mark Belanger <m...@ltx.com>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
6. Resource Management and Performance Tuning
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 6.1)    How do I tell what caused my machine to crash?

  The crash messages will usually be displayed on the console or kept
  around after reboot long enough for you to run /etc/dmesg.  Syslog can
  sometimes record the crash message.  If your system repeatedly crashes
  with similar looking errors, try searching through the patch list on the
  Sun patch database for a description that matches your machine.   Read
  chapter 22 of the SunOS 4.1 system administration manual on how to
  gather more information for reporting a crash and making crash dumps.

  To enable a crash dump, uncomment the "savecore" lines in /etc/rc.local.

  To report a crash dump, you need a symbolic traceback for it
  to be useful to the person looking at it. Type the following:

      cd /var/crash/`hostname`
      echo '$c' | adb -k vmunix.0 vmcore.0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 6.2)    What can I do if my machine slows to a crawl or just hangs?

  Try running "ps" to look for large numbers of the duplicate programs or
  processes with a huge size field. Some system daemons occasionally can
  get into a state where they fork repeatedly and eventually swamp the
  system. Killing off the child processes doesn't do any good, so you have
  to find the "master" process. It will usually have the lowest pid.

  Another useful approach is to run vmstat to pin down what resource(s)
  your machine is running out of. You can tell vmstat to give ongoing
  reports by specifying a report interval as its first argument.

  The programs "top" and "sps" are good for finding processes that are
  loading your system. "Top" will give you the processes that are consuming
  the most cpu time. "Sps" is a better version of "ps" that runs much faster
  and displays processes in an intuitive manner. Top is available for
  anonymous ftp at eecs.nwu.edu in /pub/top. A version of Sps that runs on
  Solaris 2.x is available at ftp.csv.warwick.ac.uk in
  /pub/solaris2/sps-sol2.tar.gz.

  For Solaris 2.x, Doug Hughes <Doug.Hug...@Eng.Auburn.EDU> has written a
  small, quick PS workalike called "qps", available from his web page at
  "http://www.eng.auburn.edu/users/doug/second.html".

  Sometimes you run out of memory and you won't be able to run enough
  commands to even find out what is wrong. You will get messages of the
  type "out of memory" or "no more processes". Note that "out of memory"
  refers to virtual memory, not physical memory. On a 4.x system (or
  earlier), the size of a machine's virtual memory is equal to the amount
  of swap space it has. On a 5.x system, it is generally equal to the sum
  of the swap space and the amount of physical memory (less a roughly
  constant amount for the kernel) on the machine. The commands "pstat -s"
  (for 4.x) or "swap -s" (for Solaris 2.x) will tell you how much virtual
  memory is available.

  You can sync the disks to minimize filesystem corruption if you have to
  crash the system:

  Use the L1-A sequence to crash the system. If you are on an older system,
  type "g0" and you will get the message "panic: ... syncing file systems".
  When you see the word "done", hit L1-A again and reboot. On systems
  with the "new" prom, type "n" to get into the new command mode and type
  "sync".

  Sometimes a system hang or similar slowdown can be caused by an OS bug.
  In particular, patch 100330-03 or later fixes some OS bugs in SunOS
  4.1.1 that can cause system hangs in certain circumstances.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 6.3)    How do I find out how much physical memory a machine has?

  For machines running SunOS 5.x, use /usr/sbin/prtconf. If the machine is
  running an earlier version of SunOS, one of the following techniques can
  be used:

  Try "/etc/dmesg | grep mem". This takes advantage of the fact that the
  kernel writes the amount of physical memory on the machine to the
  console on reboot. /etc/dmesg reports the most recent messages written
  to the console.

  If many messages have been written to the console since the machine was
  rebooted, the message reporting the amount of physical memory may no
  longer be in the buffer. If you save console messages to
  /var/adm/messages (usually true by default), you can try "grep mem
  /var/adm/messages*". If the message is no longer in the buffer, it still
  may be in the messages log file.

  "/usr/etc/devinfo -v" is informative on some machines.

  The banner message on reboot (or type "banner" in the monitor on machines
  with Openboot proms) will usually report the amount of physical memory.

  Alternatively, you can poke around in /dev/mem and /vmunix (or
  equivalent), or open up the case and count SIMMS and/or memory boards.

  To make poking around in /dev/mem and /vmunix a little easier, a little
  C program that uses /dev/mem and /vmunix to report the amount of
  physical memory is available for anonymous ftp on "ra.mcs.anl.gov" in
  the file "/sun-managers/mem.shar". Or, far better, grab Michael Cooper's
  <mcoo...@magnicomp.com> "sysinfo" program, which provides all sorts of
  information about a given system, including how much physical memory it
  has. sysinfo is available at http://www.magnicomp.com, although it
  is now a commercial product that is free only for educational and
  non-profit organizations.

  A perl script "memconf" is also available that identifies the sizes and
  locations of SIMM/DIMM memory modules installed in a Sun system. It is
  maintained by Tom Schmidt (tschm...@micron.com). Download memconf from
  http://netnow.micron.net/~tschmidt/unix.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 6.4)    How do I find out what my machine's memory is being used for?
                 How can I tell if I need more memory?

  To discover how much virtual memory (i.e. swap) is free, for SunOS 3.x
  and 4.x, run "pstat -s", and for SunOS 5.x, run "swap -s" or "vmstat".
  If you're using tmpfs for /tmp, "df /tmp" will also work.

  Discovering how physical memory is being used can be more difficult,
  however. For SunOS 3.x, vmstat will tell you how much physical memory is
  free. This doesn't work under SunOS 4.x and 5.x, since the kernel's
  memory subsystem is completely different.  Memory pages that are not
  being used by processes are used as a sort of extended cache, storing
  pages of memory-mapped files for possible later use. The kernel keeps
  only a small set of pages free for short-term use, and frees up more on
  demand. Hence the free memory reported by vmstat is not an accurate
  reflection, for example, of the amount of memory available for user
  processes.

  For SunOS 4.x, a small C program is available which indicates how the
  system has allocated memory pages. Its output looks like the following:

  vmpage: all results in decimal pages
  physmem 16298, startup 839, maxmem 15459, pageable 14853
  scanned 15469, locked 4, kept 612, cached 8124, free 6729

  vmpage is available for anonymous ftp from ra.mcs.anl.gov as
  /sun-managers/vmpage.tar.Z

  An easy way to determine whether or not your machine needs more memory
  is to run vmstat and examine the po (page out) column and the sr (scan
  rate) column. If these columns consistently show large numbers, this
  suggests that your machine does not have enough memory to support its
  current workload, and frequently needs to write pages belonging to
  active processes to disk in order to free up enough memory to run the
  current job.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 6.5)    Why do some files take up more disk space after being copied?
                  Why are the sizes reported by ls -l and du different?

  Some files -- core files being one common example -- contain "holes", areas
  which were seeked over without being written.  These files are called
  "sparse".  When read back, these areas appear to contain zeros; however
  they do not occupy disk space.  The "length" of such a file (as reported by
  "ls -l") will exceed its "size" (as reported by "ls -s" and reflected in
  the results of du or df).

  cp, cpio, and tar do not detect holes; they read and copy the zeros,
  and the resulting files will contain all-zero blocks (which occupy
  space) where the input files contained holes (which do not).

  dump will detect holes in the dumped files, and restore will reproduce
  them.

  GNU tar has an "-S" option which preserves holes.

  Thanks to Perry Hutchison <per...@pluto.rain.com>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 6.6)    How do I add more PTYs?

  In Solaris 2.x, add a line in /etc/system that says
        set pt_cnt = <num>
  where <num> is the number of PTYs you want.  Halt the system, and
  do a "boot -r".

  Solaris 2.x supports more than 3000 ptys.  The default is 48.

  In SunOS 4.x, edit /usr/sys/<kernel_arch>/conf/<kernel_name> and change
  the line that says
        pseudo-device   pty          # pseudo-tty's, also needed for SunView
  to
        pseudo-device   pty<num>     # pseudo-tty's, also needed for SunView
  where <num> is the number of ptys you want.  Then recompile and reinstall
  your kernel in the usual way.  

  For SunOS 4.x, you will have to create more pty special devices in /dev.
  These are created by /dev/MAKEDEV in sets of 16, numbered 0-15.  For
  example, to create 96 ptys (6 sets of 16), run:
        /dev/MAKEDEV pty0 pty1 pty2 pty3 pty4 pty5

  SunOS 4.x is limited to a maximum of 256 ptys. The default is 48.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
7. Anonymous FTP Service
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 7.1)    How do I set up anonymous ftp on my machine?

  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.

  For Solaris 2.x, see the ftpd(1m) man page, and follow its instructions.
  You will also need to set up nsswitch.conf in etc.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 7.2)    Where can I get a version of ftp that does logging?

  These are many versions that have enhanced logging or can be modified
  to enable logging:

  http://www.wu-ftpd.org
  isy.liu.se (130.236.1.3) /pub/ftpd.tar.Z
  ftp.adelaide.edu.au (129.127.40.3) /pub/4.3/ftpd-sirius.tar.Z
  ftp.cs.widener.edu (147.31.254.132) /pub/src/widener/ftpd-wid.tar.Z

  Solaris "pkg" versions of proftpd and wuftpd are available at:
     http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/packages/solaris/sparc/

  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

  Warning: it will log passwords of ordinary users.

  Also enable syslogd by adding:

       daemon.info      /var/adm/syslog

  to "/etc/syslog.conf".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
8. Consoles, Keyboards and Key Remapping
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 8.1)    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.

  Thanks to Margarita Suarez <m...@manila.cc.columbia.edu>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 8.2)    How do I swap the CAPS LOCK and CONTROL keys on a
                 type 5 keyboard under Openwindows 3.x?

  There are two ways to do it, one with xmodmap (for X11 only), and the
  other using keytables.

  Margarita Suarez <m...@manila.cc.columbia.edu> suggests editing
  $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.

  Doug Hughes <Doug.Hug...@Eng.Auburn.EDU> suggests using xmodmap with
  the following:

        remove Lock = Caps_Lock
        remove Control = Control_L
        keysym Control_L = Caps_Lock
        keysym Caps_Lock = Control_L
        add Lock = Caps_Lock
        add Control = Control_L

  In X11, you can change your keyboard layout as you please using the
  xkeycaps application, which allows you to edit and remap your keyboard
  on the fly, as well as save configurations to be sourced by xmodmap.  

  xkeycaps is available from http://www.jwz.org/xkeycaps/
  and in the contrib section of your friendly X11 source archive.

  Thanks to Dan Pritts <da...@ans.net> for the info on xkeycaps.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 8.3)    How do I use the keyboard and display when the console
                 is on ttya?

  This technique is usable only on SunOS 4.x:

  /dev/mouse and /dev/kbd are disabled when you use ttya or ttyb for
  a console. You need to make new ones, which you can use with xdm
  to support the keyboard and display while the console is on the
  serial port. Here's how:

  1. Make new special files corresponding to the "raw" kbd and mouse:
        mknod /dev/zs2 c 12 2    # The keyboard
        mknod /dev/zs3 c 12 3    # The mouse
     These are just serial ports and will need some "special treatment"
     in order to behave as /dev/kbd and /dev/mouse.

  2. Shutdown your machine and tell the monitor to use ttya (or ttyb)
        setenv input-device ttya
        setenv output-device ttya
     (or use the eeprom command to do this)

  3. Reset and reboot. /dev/fb, /dev/kbd and /dev/mouse are now useless.
     /dev/bwtwo0 (or whatever your framebuffer device is) works as a
     substitute for /dev/fb. Also /dev/ttya (or ttyb) is useless - if you
     have an entry in ttytab for it, comment it out.

  4. Modify the StartOW file in the xdm directory
     ($OPENWINHOME/lib/xdm) and add the following lines:
        KEYBOARD=/dev/zs2
        MOUSE=/dev/zs3
        FRAMEBUFFER=/dev/bwtwo0   # or whatever your framebuffer is
        export MOUSE KEYBOARD FRAMEBUFFER
     This file is only used by xdm to control the local display (see
     the Xservers file). So setting these variables will not affect
     xdm running on any other foreign display (i.e. xterminal).

  5. Set the OPENWINHOME environment variable, then start xdm with the
     config option, for example in /etc/rc:
         OPENWINHOME=/usr/openwin; export OPENWINHOME
         if [ -f $OPENWINHOME/lib/xdm/xdm-config ]; then
           $OPENWINHOME/bin/xdm -config $OPENWINHOME/lib/xdm/xdm-config &
           echo "Starting XDM..."
         fi

     Thanks to "John D. Barlow" <John.D.Bar...@arp.anu.edu.au> and
     David Moline <d...@gaia.gcs.oz.au> for these instructions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
9. Sun models and OS Versions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 9.1)    Which Sun models run which versions of SunOS?

  SunOS 5.x = Solaris 2.x

  Sun2: SunOS 4.0.3 or earlier.
  Sun386i: SunOS 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2 only.
  Sun3: SunOS 4.1.1 or earlier.
  4/100, 4/200 series: SunOS 3.2, SunOS 4.0 through 5.4
  4/300 series: SunOS 4.0.3 through 5.4
  4/400 series: SunOS 4.1PSR_A through 5.4
  600 models 120, 140: SunOS 4.1.2 through 5.5.1
  600 model 41, 51: SunOS 4.1.3 through 5.5.1
  SPARCstation 1, 1+, SLC, IPC: SunOS 4.0.3 or later.
  SPARCstation 2, ELC, IPX: SunOS 4.1.1 or later.
  SPARCstation 4: SunOS 4.1.4 or later.
  SPARCstation 5: SunOS 4.1.3_U1B or later.
  SPARCstation 10 models 20, 30, 40, 41, 51, 61, 71: SunOS 4.1.3 or later.
  SPARCstation 20 models 50, 51, 61, 71: SunOS 4.1.3_U1B or later.
  SPARCstation 20 model HS11, HS21, 151: SunOS 4.1.4 or later.
  SPARCclassic, SPARCstation LX: SunOS 4.1.3C or later.
  SPARCstation Voyager: Solaris 2.3 edition II or later.
  Ultra 1 model 140, 170: Solaris 2.5 or later.
  Ultra 1 model 140E, 170E, 200E:  Solaris 2.5.1 or later.
  Ultra 2: Solaris 2.5.1 or later.
  Ultra 5,10,30,60,250,450: Solaris 2.5.1HW1297 or Solaris 2.6HW0398 or later.
  Ultra Enterprise: Solaris 2.5.1 or later.

  The SX framebuffer on the SS10 and 20 is only supported under Solaris 2.x.

  SunOS 4.1.3 and later has been reported to run on multiprocessor SuperSPARC
  configurations of the SS10, SS20, and 600, 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.

  Caveat Emptor.

  However, multiprocessor HyperSPARC systems are supported by Ross under both
  SunOS 4.1.4 and Solaris 2.x.

  SunOS 5.0 runs only on SS1,1+,2,SLC,IPC,ELC,IPX.

  While SunOS 5.x does run on the 4/100 and 4/200 systems, the FPU (if
  present) is disabled, and floating point is emulated in software.  The
  latest version of SunOS 5.x (Solaris 2.x) that runs on the 4/100, 4/200,
  4/300, and 4/400 systems is 5.4 (Solaris 2.4).

  SunOS 5.3 (aka Solaris 2.3) is said to run on the SS5, but without support
  for the audio device. Solaris 2.3 Edition II, Solaris 2.3 Hardware 5/94,
  and later versions include audio support.

  Not all peripherals supported under SunOS 4.x are supported under SunOS
  5.x and vice versa. Check with Sun or the peripheral manufacturer.

  Explanatory note:

  In general, Solaris = SunOS + Open Windows.

  Solaris 1.0 = SunOS 4.1.1 + Open Windows 2.0
  Solaris 1.0.1 = SunOS 4.1.2 + Open Windows 2.0
  Solaris 1.1 = SunOS 4.1.3 + Open Windows 3.0
  Solaris 1.1C = SunOS 4.1.3C + Open Windows 3.0 (Classic/LX only)
  Solaris 1.1.1 = SunOS 4.1.3_U1 + Open Windows 3.0_U1
  Solaris 1.1.1revB = SunOS 4.1.3_U1revB + Open Windows 3.0_U1revB
  Solaris 1.1.2 = SunOS 4.1.4 + Open Windows 3.0_414
  Solaris 2.0 = SunOS 5.0 + Open Windows 3.0.1
  Solaris 2.1 = SunOS 5.1 + Open Windows 3.1
  Solaris 2.2 = SunOS 5.2 + Open Windows 3.2
  Solaris 2.3 = SunOS 5.3 + Open Windows 3.3
  Solaris 2.4 = SunOS 5.4 + Open Windows 3.4
  Solaris 2.5 = SunOS 5.5 + Open Windows 3.5
  Solaris 2.5.1 = SunOS 5.5.1 + Open Windows 3.5
  Solaris 2.6 = SunOS 5.6 + Open Windows 3.6
  Solaris 7 = SunOS 5.7 + Open Windows 3.6.1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 9.2)    How can my program tell what model Sun it is running on?

  On older suns, the model type is encoded in the hostid. For
  suns with the "Openboot" prom (All sparcstations and the 600 series),
  /usr/etc/devinfo (SunOS 4.x) or /usr/sbin/prtconf (Solaris 2.x) will
  reveal the model type.

  "Suntype", written by John DiMarco (j...@cs.toronto.edu) is a shell
  script which does the appropriate thing on all suns. It is available
  for anonymous ftp at ftp://ftp.cs.toronto.edu/pub/jdd/sun-managers/suntype

  Alternatively, grab Michael Cooper's <mcoo...@magnicomp.com> "sysinfo"
  program, which provides all sorts of information about a given system,
  including the machine type. sysinfo is available on the web at
  http://www.magnicomp.com/, although it is now a commercial product that is
  free only for educational and non-profit organizations.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 9.3)    What MBUS CPU modules are available? How can I tell
                 what module(s) is/are in what model of SS10/SS20/SS600?

  Three sun models, the SS10, SS20 and the SparcServer 600 series, support
  Sun's MBUS.  All these machines have two MBUS slots.  Both modules must be
  of the same type.  

  SuperSPARC/w cache modules of different speeds are said to work, as are
  three-processor systems (by combining a single and a dual module of the
  same type), but such configurations are not supported by Sun.

  Modules without external cache are not separately clocked, and run at the
  clock rate of the MBUS.  Modules with external cache are separately clocked,
  and must run at a clock rate higher than that of the MBUS.  

  The SS20 has a switchable 40/50MHz MBUS, the SS600 has a 40MHz mbus, and
  the SS10 has a switchable 33/36/40MHz MBUS.  Ross sells an SS20 derivitive
  called the Hyperstation 30, which has a 66Mhz MBUS.

  Warning: different module revisions may or may not work in different
  systems.  Check the Sun part number.  Further, newer modules may require
  that the machine have a sufficiently recent PROM revision to work.

  Module     #CPUS  Processor  Clck  Ex.Cache Comments
  -------    ------ ---------- ----  -------- -------------------------------
  RT601        2    RT601/CY601 40      64k   Rev 8 required for SunOS 5.x
  SM20         1    SuperSPARC  33       -    SS10 only
  SM21         1    SuperSPARC  33      1M    Not sold by Sun
  SM30         1    SuperSPARC  36       -    SS10 only
  SM40         1    SuperSPARC  40       -    SS10 or SS600 only
  SM41         1    SuperSPARC  40.3    1M    SS10 or SS600 only
  SM50         1    SuperSPARC  50       -    SS20 only
  SM51         1    SuperSPARC  50      1M
  SM51-2       1    SuperSPARC  50      2M    SC2000 only
  SM52         2    SuperSPARC  45      1M    Announced, never sold.
  SM512(?)     2    SuperSPARC  50      1M    Dbl-width: 1 SBUS + 1 MBUS slot
  SM61         1    SuperSPARC  60      1M
  SM61-2       1    SuperSPARC  60      2M    SC2000 only
  SM71         1    SuperSPARC2 75      1M      
  SM81         1    SuperSPARC2 85      1M    SS1000 only
  SM81-2       1    SuperSPARC2 85      2M    SC2000 only
  RTS55        1    HyperSPARC  55     256k   Non-Sun, SS10 or SS600 only
  RTD55        2    HyperSPARC  55     256k   Non-Sun, SS10 or SS600 only
  RTS66        1    HyperSPARC  66     256k   Non-Sun
  RTD66        2    HyperSPARC  66     256k   Non-Sun
  RTS72        1    HyperSPARC  72     256k   Non-Sun
  RTD72        2    HyperSPARC  72     256k   Non-Sun
  RTS90        1    HyperSPARC  90     256k   Non-Sun
  RTD90        1    HyperSPARC  90     256k   Non-Sun
  RTS100       1    HyperSPARC  100    256k   Non-Sun
  RTD110       1    HyperSPARC  110    256k   Non-Sun
  RTS110/1024  1    HyperSPARC  110     1M    Non-Sun
  RTD110/1024  2    HyperSPARC  110     1M    Non-Sun
  RTS125       1    HyperSPARC  125    256k   Non-Sun
  RTD125       2    HyperSPARC  125    256k   Non-Sun
  RTS125/512   1    HyperSPARC  125    512k   Non-Sun
  RTD125/512   2    HyperSPARC  125    512k   Non-Sun
  RTS125/1024  1    HyperSPARC  125     1M    Non-Sun
  RTD125/1024  2    HyperSPARC  125     1M    Non-Sun
  RTS133/512   1    HyperSPARC  133    512k   Non-Sun
  RTD133/512   2    HyperSPARC  133    512k   Non-Sun
  RTS142/1024  1    HyperSPARC  142     1M    Non-Sun
  RTD142/1024  2    HyperSPARC  142     1M    Non-Sun
  RTS150/512   1    HyperSPARC  150    512k  
  RTS166/512   1    HyperSPARC  166    512k   Non-Sun
  RTS180/512   1    HyperSPARC  180    512k   Non-Sun
  RTS200/512   1    HyperSPARC  200    512k   Non-Sun
  RTD200/512   2    HyperSPARC  200    512k   Non-Sun
  SMHS11       1    HyperSPARC  100    256k   SS20 only
  SMHS12       2    HyperSPARC  100    256k   Double-width: SS20 only
  SMHS21       1    HyperSPARC  125    256k   SS20 only
  SM151        1    HyperSPARC  150    512k   SS20 only

  Key to SS600/SS10/SS20 model numbers:

  RT601 (40Mhz SS2-class Ross) systems:  
        Model "1n0", n=number of CPUs (2 or 4)
        Examples: 120, 140
  SuperSPARC systems:
        Uniprocessor:  
        Model "sc", s=clock speed, c=MBs of external cache
        Examples: 20, 30, 40, 41, 50, 51, 61, 71
        Multiprocessor:
        Model "scn", s=clock speed, c=MBs of external cache (0 or 1),
                n=number of CPUs
        Examples: 402, 412, 502, 512, 612, 712
        Speeds: 2=33Mhz, 3=36MHz, 4=40MHz, 5=50MHz, 6=60Mhz, 7=75Mhz, 8=85Mhz
  HyperSPARC systems:
        Model "HSsn", s=clock speed, n=number of CPUs
        Speeds: 1=100Mhz, 2=125Mhz
        Examples: HS11, HS12, HS14, HS21, HS22
        Exception: SparcStation 151 is 1x150Mhz HyperSPARC, 152 is 2x150Mhz

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 9.4)    Which versions of SunOS/Solaris are Y2000 compliant?  Are
                  there patches for older versions of SunOS/Solaris?

  Sun's Y2000 efforts are documented on their web page, at
          http://www.sun.com/y2000

  Solaris 2.6 with the recommended patch cluster is Y2000 compliant (no
  separate Y2000 patch kit is required).  Solaris 2.3 through 2.5.1, SunOS
  4.1.3U1B, and SunOS 4.1.4 are all Y2000 compliant after the appropriate
  Y2000 patch kit is installed.  The Y2000 patch kit for Solaris 2.5.1 is
  available for anonymous ftp download from
          ftp://sunsolve1.sun.com/pub/patches/2.5.1_y2000.tar.Z and
          ftp://sunsolve1.sun.com/pub/patches/2.5.1_x86_y2000.tar.Z.
  Y2000 patch kits for Solaris 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5, and for SunOS 4.1.3U1B and
  4.1.4 are available to support contract customers only, from
          http://sunsolve.sun.com/sunsolve

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 9.5)    What is the Y2000 compliance status of Sun hardware?

  Sun's Y2000 efforts are documented on their web page, at
          http://www.sun.com/y2000

  For all Sun hardware that runs a Y2000-compliant version of SunOS/Solaris,
  the following also need PROM upgrades and/or special patches to be Y2000
  compliant:

        SPARCserver 1000, 1000E, SPARCcenter 2000, 2000E:  
                - requires Prom revision 2.31 or later
        All Ultra Enterprise X000 machines:
                - patch ID 103346-08 or later required for systems with
                Prom revision 3.2.9 or earlier.
        Enterprise Tape Library 4/1000,1800,3500, StorEdge L1800,L1000,L3500:
                - Requires LibMON 2.0, available September 1998.
        Newsprint Printers:
                - requires Newsprint 2.5b and patch 101941-03 or later.

  Sun does not test older hardware for Y2000 compliance if it does not run
  one of the versions of Solaris/SunOS listed in question 9.4.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 9.6)    How do I find out a Sun's boot prom revision?

  Type "banner" at the prom, or type "/usr/sbin/prtconf -V" (Solaris 2.5.1
  or later) to determine the prom revision of a particular machine.

  Alternatively, grab Michael Cooper's <mcoo...@magnicomp.com> "sysinfo"
  program, which provides all sorts of information about a given system,
  including the prom revision. sysinfo is available on the web at
  http://www.magnicomp.com, although it is now a commercial product that is
  free only for educational and non-profit organizations.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
10. Miscellaneous Software
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 10.1)   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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 10.2)   My rpc.etherd keeps reporting "bad lnth" messages. Why?

  There is a bug in the ethernet driver for SunOS 4.x which causes short
  requests (eg arp, ICMP, loopback) sent by the host to be forwarded to
  rpc.etherd with incorrect padding. The message is harmless, and can be
  safely ignored.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 10.3)   Various daemons report "unknown service" messages. Why?

  In SunOS 4.x, this is usually caused by a blank line in /etc/services or
  in the services map on the NIS server. Remove all blank lines from
  /etc/services, and the problem should be resolved.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 10.4)   Solaris 2.x does not have a C compiler.  Where can I get one?

  You can buy one from Sun and various third-party vendors.

  Recent GCC binaries (for SPARC and, in some cases, i386) can be retrieved
  from the following FTP sites:

  1) ftp://ftp.lanet.lv/pub/unix/solaris2/
  2) ftp://sunsite.cnlab-switch.ch/mirror/solaris-binaries
     This site contains various programs/libraries for Solaris2.x
     (both SPARC and x86 binaries)
  3) ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/packages/solaris/sparc/
  4) http://smc.vnet.net/solaris_2.5.html
  5) http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html
  6) http://gamma.magnet.fsu.edu/download/gnu
  7) http://sunfreeware.com
  8) http://www.freeware4sun.com

  More information on this topic is available at
        http://www.inscoe.org/compilesun

  Thanks to Kevin Inscoe <ke...@inscoe.org>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 10.5)   How do I read Microsoft Word documents on my Sun?

  It is possible to run Microsoft Word on your Sun, using WABI, SoftWindows,
  WinCenter, WinDD, or some other Windows integration product.

  You can use a word-processor that can import the various MS Word formats.
  For example, Word Perfect from Corel Corporation is capable of reading and
  saving in various MS Word formats.  Word Perfect is available for several
  versions of UNIX, including SPARC/Solaris 2.x.  Sun's StarOffice Personal
  Edition is freely available for various operating systems, including
  Solaris/SPARC, from http://www.sun.com/staroffice

  From a PC/Mac, you can print postscript output to a file, and view the
  postscript on the Sun using docviewer or ghostscript/ghostview.

  Rachel Polanskis <gr...@zeta.org.au> suggests word2x by Duncan
  Simpson <d...@io.stargate.co.uk>, which translates a Word 6.x document into
  text or LaTeX.  She ported it to Solaris; it's available at
  ftp://ftp.zeta.org.au/home/grove/stuff/word2x-sol.2.5.1.tar.gz

  Sun produces the PC File Viewer software, which is free to Solaris 2.6
  SPARC customers.  It allows MS Word files and other common PC application
  files (e.g. Word Perfect) to be viewed on the Solaris desktop.  It's at:
  http://www.sun.com/desktop/products/software/pcviewer.html

  Thomas Anders <and...@hmi.de> points out that LAOLA (a Perl4 package
  that can read Word6 and Word7 format is available on the web at
  http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~schwartz/pmh/, MSWordView (which can read
  Word 8) is available at http://www.csn.ul.ie/~caolan/docs/MSWordView.html,
  and "wordview" is available at http://www.fe.msk.ru/~vitus/catdoc/.

  Finally, Bryan Blackburn <b...@pobox.com> suggests AbiWord, an open source
  word processor which can be found at http://www.abisource.com.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
11. Miscellaneous Hardware
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
Subject: 11.1)   How come my mouse occasionally doesn't work?

  If it is a mechanical mouse, it may need cleaning.  The following assumes
  it is an optical mouse.

  Eugene Kramer <eug...@uniteq.com> points out that type 3 and type 4 optical
  mouse pads only work in one orientation (long side in the width); if the
  pad has been rotated, the mouse will only move in one axis, and will appear
  to be broken.  It may not be; just rotate the pad 90 degrees.

  You may have
...

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