DVD drive for Blade 1000?
Raymond Toy
I have to deal with one on my own.
I have a Blade 1000 without a CD or DVD and I'd like to install a new
version of Solaris. What kind of DVD drive should I get? Any
recommendations or things to watch out for?
(I thought about doing a net install, but the instructions seem more
complicated than I want to do. My serial console also seems incapable
of sending a break signal. I think I need to be able to do that to get
the box to boot from DVD, right? My serial console is a Linux box with
a USB to serial connector. Perhaps that's the problem?)
Thanks,
Ray
Michael Laajanen
You need a SCSI DVD, 512 bytes per sector.
I would get a Plextor DVD burner unless you get a Sun original.
But, I would rethink netinstall, Linux I don't know much about but if
you have Solaris on a PC it is very easy, just a few steps ask if you like!
/michael
Michael Laajanen
Michael Laajanen wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Raymond Toy wrote:
>> While I've used Sun workstations for decades now, this is the first time
>> I have to deal with one on my own.
>>
>> I have a Blade 1000 without a CD or DVD and I'd like to install a new
>> version of Solaris. What kind of DVD drive should I get? Any
>> recommendations or things to watch out for?
>>
>> (I thought about doing a net install, but the instructions seem more
>> complicated than I want to do. My serial console also seems incapable
>> of sending a break signal. I think I need to be able to do that to get
>> the box to boot from DVD, right? My serial console is a Linux box with
>> a USB to serial connector. Perhaps that's the problem?)
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Ray
> You need a SCSI DVD, 512 bytes per sector.
>
> I would get a Plextor DVD burner unless you get a Sun original.
>
> But, I would rethink netinstall, Linux I don't know much about but if
> you have Solaris on a PC it is very easy, just a few steps ask if you like!
>
> /michael
/michael
DoN. Nichols
> While I've used Sun workstations for decades now, this is the first time
> I have to deal with one on my own.
>
> I have a Blade 1000 without a CD or DVD and I'd like to install a new
> version of Solaris. What kind of DVD drive should I get? Any
> recommendations or things to watch out for?
O.K. You need a drive which is (or can be made to look like)
SCSI. The drive which is in most SB-1K and SB-2K machines is a Toshiba
SD-1401 -- and to boot from a DVD, the firmware needs to be up to the
"1009" version -- available as a patch from Sun's site -- but you need a
running Solaris sytem to install that patch. :-) Earlier versions will
boot from CD-ROMs, but not from DVD-ROMs. And by default, this will
need to be installed inside the system.
However -- you *can* boot from an external one (which would use
a different SCSI bus) by making an addition to the devalias table. To
do that, you need to find the system's name for the external drive,
using probe-scsi-all. I've got the original drive in an external
housing at SCSI-ID 6. You need to add two lines to the OBP/eeprom/NVRAM
from the command line of the system prior to boot. These two lines need
to be:
======================================================================
nvramrc=devalias cdrom1 /pc1@8,700000/scsi@2,1/disk@6,0:f
use-nvramrc?=true
======================================================================
To install these, type:
======================================================================
setenv nvramrc devalias cdrom1 /pc1@8,700000/scsi@2,1/disk@6,0:f
setenv use-nvramrc? true
======================================================================
(Yes, the '?' *is* part of the variable name.) Once this is done, you
will have an additional device alias called "cdrom1", and you can type
"boot cdrom1" and you will be fine. (You do have to reset once to get it
to exercise the nvramrc, or you can also type:
======================================================================
devalias cdrom1 /pc1@8,700000/scsi@2,1/disk@6,0:f
======================================================================
(note, these are assuming that the external DVD drive is plugged into
the built-in external SCSI, and that the drive is jumpered or switch set
to SCSI ID 6.
Or -- you can use an IDE DVD-ROM drive, with a bridge card by
ACARD to convert the IDE to 50-pin SCSI. (Don't get the 68-pin version,
especially for internal mounting, because you wind up with arguments in
which both ends say that they are 16-bit wide, but the cable between
them is 8-bits wide, so it takes forever to decide to communicate. (I
have an IDE DVD-ROM burner in my SB-2K with the 50-pin ACARD bridge
card, after having experienced the problems with the 68-pin version.
Note that the ACARD bridge card will probably cost more than the DVD-ROM
burner. :-)
But yes, I have installed a system (the most recent version of
Solaris 10) using the IDE drive in the machine. The drive which I have
shows up as:
======================================================================
'_NEC ' 'DVD_RW ND-3520A ' '1.04' Removable CD-ROM
======================================================================
using "cdrecord -scanbus" (a convenient way to list SCSI devices).
Don't expect to be able to boot from an external drive via USB.
As far as I know, the Sun has no support for that.
> (I thought about doing a net install, but the instructions seem more
> complicated than I want to do. My serial console also seems incapable
> of sending a break signal. I think I need to be able to do that to get
> the box to boot from DVD, right? My serial console is a Linux box with
> a USB to serial connector. Perhaps that's the problem?)
The USB to serial may well be the problem. Do you have a free
serial port on the machine -- or is it a recent laptop or something
similar without that.
You want the system which you are using as a terminal to be able
to emulate the DEC VT-100 terminal to make the installation relatively
painless.
Also -- do you have a framebufer (graphics card) in the system,
and the Sun USB keyboard? (You can use a Logitech USB trackball for a
mouse, which is what I am using by preference.)
Good Luck,
DoN.
--
Email: <dnic...@d-and-d.com> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---
Raymond Toy
> Hi,
> Michael Laajanen wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Raymond Toy wrote:
>>> (I thought about doing a net install, but the instructions seem more
>>> complicated than I want to do. My serial console also seems incapable
>>> of sending a break signal. I think I need to be able to do that to get
>>> the box to boot from DVD, right? My serial console is a Linux box with
>>> a USB to serial connector. Perhaps that's the problem?)
> forgot this question, what tool are youusing minicom?
I'm using kermit. I'm pretty sure kermit works, because I've sent
breaks before. What I can't remember is if that was with my old linux
box that had serial ports or my new box which doesn't.
Raymond Toy
> Hi,
>
> Raymond Toy wrote:
>> While I've used Sun workstations for decades now, this is the first time
>> I have to deal with one on my own.
>>
>> I have a Blade 1000 without a CD or DVD and I'd like to install a new
>> version of Solaris. What kind of DVD drive should I get? Any
>> recommendations or things to watch out for?
>>
>> (I thought about doing a net install, but the instructions seem more
>> complicated than I want to do. My serial console also seems incapable
>> of sending a break signal. I think I need to be able to do that to get
>> the box to boot from DVD, right? My serial console is a Linux box with
>> a USB to serial connector. Perhaps that's the problem?)
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Ray
> You need a SCSI DVD, 512 bytes per sector.
>
> I would get a Plextor DVD burner unless you get a Sun original.
My old scsi Plextor died many years ago. I'm thinking of picking up
some DVD from ebay.
>
> But, I would rethink netinstall, Linux I don't know much about but if
> you have Solaris on a PC it is very easy, just a few steps ask if you like!
Don't have Solaris on a PC, but I do have access to an Ultra 60. As
long as the install media can be placed anywhere the Ultra 60 has access
too, then I can do this. (Local disk space is limited, but I do have
NFS access to a Linux box with plenty of space.)
Ray
Raymond Toy
> On 2009-12-18, Raymond Toy <toy.r...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> While I've used Sun workstations for decades now, this is the first time
>> I have to deal with one on my own.
>>
>> I have a Blade 1000 without a CD or DVD and I'd like to install a new
>> version of Solaris. What kind of DVD drive should I get? Any
>> recommendations or things to watch out for?
>
> O.K. You need a drive which is (or can be made to look like)
> SCSI. The drive which is in most SB-1K and SB-2K machines is a Toshiba
> SD-1401 -- and to boot from a DVD, the firmware needs to be up to the
> "1009" version -- available as a patch from Sun's site -- but you need a
> running Solaris sytem to install that patch. :-) Earlier versions will
> boot from CD-ROMs, but not from DVD-ROMs. And by default, this will
> need to be installed inside the system.
Hmm. One reason I'm doing a full install is because I don't have the
root password. It's a machine I picked up from work. It has Solaris 9
on it already, but I can't login in. Unless you know some way to bypass
the root password....
I see that I can download an older version of Solaris 10 on CDs. (I
seem to have misplaced my Solaris 10 CDs.) That would be enough to get
started.
Ebay seems to have reasonably cheap Toshiba DVD drives for Sun.
>
> However -- you *can* boot from an external one (which would use
> a different SCSI bus) by making an addition to the devalias table. To
> do that, you need to find the system's name for the external drive,
> using probe-scsi-all. I've got the original drive in an external
> housing at SCSI-ID 6. You need to add two lines to the OBP/eeprom/NVRAM
> from the command line of the system prior to boot. These two lines need
> to be
Hmm. An external SCSI drive would be nice. Actually, I think I still
have my external SCSI Plextor drive (despite what I said to Michael).
Don't know if it still works or not since it hasn't been used in quite
some time. If it does work, then the issue is getting the serial line
to work. I guess I should try to set up a serial link from an Ultra 60
to the Blade.
I'll try these out and let you know.
Thanks,
Ray
Doug McIntyre
I've used kermit for years and years. It can send break just fine,
across regular serial ports, or across USB serial ports with no problems.
I've never had a problem with it.
Michael Laajanen
Hmm in kermit I think it is <ctrl>\<b> to send break.
/michael
Michael Laajanen
The U60 could maybe be a good netinstall box, how much space does it have?
The latest Solaris(Solaris Express) is about 3 GB for a netinstall
sysadm@giulia $ du -sh /install/Solaris11/ce_b104/Sparc/
3.1G /install/Solaris11/ce_b104/Sparc
Can you add disk to the U60 and maybe keep the U60 as a "base server"?
Use SCSI disks, or get a SAS/SATA controller(which is what I use
sometimes) www.lsilogic.com, then you can use any SATA disk 2T or
whatever you like!
/michael
Raymond Toy
> Raymond Toy <toy.r...@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> I'm using kermit. I'm pretty sure kermit works, because I've sent
>> breaks before. What I can't remember is if that was with my old linux
>> box that had serial ports or my new box which doesn't.
>
> I've used kermit for years and years. It can send break just fine,
> across regular serial ports, or across USB serial ports with no problems.
Hmm. Maybe my USB to serial cable is bad? It seems to work, but I just
can't get kermit to send a break, short or long.
Ray
Michael Laajanen
Can you send any character?
Removing the cable from the Sun and shorting pin 2-3 on the DSUB then
you see what you type!
Break is no special signal in the wire it is a incorrect frame sent just
so of you can see what you type break should work.
Can you connect the U60 to the Blade instead, then you can use tip and
verify that way!
/michael
Raymond Toy
> Hi,
>
> Raymond Toy wrote:
>> Doug McIntyre wrote:
>>> Raymond Toy <toy.r...@gmail.com> writes:
>>>
>>>> I'm using kermit. I'm pretty sure kermit works, because I've sent
>>>> breaks before. What I can't remember is if that was with my old linux
>>>> box that had serial ports or my new box which doesn't.
>>> I've used kermit for years and years. It can send break just fine,
>>> across regular serial ports, or across USB serial ports with no
>>> problems.
>>
>> Hmm. Maybe my USB to serial cable is bad? It seems to work, but I just
>> can't get kermit to send a break, short or long.
>>
>> Ray
> Can you send any character?
I know the cable works. When I connect the cable from the Linux box to
the Ultra 60, I can login in to the Ultra 60 just fine. I just can't
get kermit to send a break.
>
> Can you connect the U60 to the Blade instead, then you can use tip and
> verify that way!
I'm working on that now. Just not sure whether the cable I have is a
null modem cable or not. Might have to dig around for that null adapter
somewhere.
Ray
Raymond Toy
> Hi,
> The U60 could maybe be a good netinstall box, how much space does it have?
>
> The latest Solaris(Solaris Express) is about 3 GB for a netinstall
>
> sysadm@giulia $ du -sh /install/Solaris11/ce_b104/Sparc/
> 3.1G /install/Solaris11/ce_b104/Sparc
>
> Can you add disk to the U60 and maybe keep the U60 as a "base server"?
There's no more room for internal disks. But as I mentioned, the Ultra
60 has an NFS mount to my Linux box, and that has plenty of space.
Let me see if my external SCSI CD still works. If not, I'll try the
netinstall.
Once I get the serial console/break issue worked out. :-)
Ray
Michael Laajanen
Raymond Toy wrote:
> Michael Laajanen wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Raymond Toy wrote:
>>> Doug McIntyre wrote:
>>>> Raymond Toy <toy.r...@gmail.com> writes:
>>>>
>>>>> I'm using kermit. I'm pretty sure kermit works, because I've sent
>>>>> breaks before. What I can't remember is if that was with my old linux
>>>>> box that had serial ports or my new box which doesn't.
>>>> I've used kermit for years and years. It can send break just fine,
>>>> across regular serial ports, or across USB serial ports with no
>>>> problems.
>>> Hmm. Maybe my USB to serial cable is bad? It seems to work, but I just
>>> can't get kermit to send a break, short or long.
>>>
>>> Ray
>> Can you send any character?
>
> I know the cable works. When I connect the cable from the Linux box to
> the Ultra 60, I can login in to the Ultra 60 just fine. I just can't
> get kermit to send a break.
Couldm it be that kermit is setup is some way, what other tools on Linux
minicom?
>
>> Can you connect the U60 to the Blade instead, then you can use tip and
>> verify that way!
>
> I'm working on that now. Just not sure whether the cable I have is a
> null modem cable or not. Might have to dig around for that null adapter
> somewhere.
>
> Ray
Right, it should be pin 2-3 and 3-2 plus ground(5 i think) (crossed that is)
/michael
Michael Laajanen
Raymond Toy wrote:
> Michael Laajanen wrote:
>> Hi,
>> The U60 could maybe be a good netinstall box, how much space does it have?
>>
>> The latest Solaris(Solaris Express) is about 3 GB for a netinstall
>>
>> sysadm@giulia $ du -sh /install/Solaris11/ce_b104/Sparc/
>> 3.1G /install/Solaris11/ce_b104/Sparc
>>
>> Can you add disk to the U60 and maybe keep the U60 as a "base server"?
>
> There's no more room for internal disks. But as I mentioned, the Ultra
> 60 has an NFS mount to my Linux box, and that has plenty of space.
>
ok, for netinstall/tftpboot to work you need /tftpboot NFS mounted and
maybe also suid.
How much space left on the disks in the U60?
> Let me see if my external SCSI CD still works. If not, I'll try the
> netinstall.
>
> Once I get the serial console/break issue worked out. :-)
>
> Ray
Hey are you from windows, single tasking ;)
cheers
Michael
Raymond Toy
> ok, for netinstall/tftpboot to work you need /tftpboot NFS mounted and
> maybe also suid.
>
> How much space left on the disks in the U60?
My mistake. The second disk is full, but the / has 30 GB left. So no
problem with that.
>
>> Let me see if my external SCSI CD still works. If not, I'll try the
>> netinstall.
>>
>> Once I get the serial console/break issue worked out. :-)
>>
>> Ray
> Hey are you from windows, single tasking ;)
Heh. No. But without a serial console I can't prevent the Blade from
booting from the internal disk. It's currently configured to boot from
the local disk.
The good news is that my serial cable from the Ultra to the Blade works
great and kermit sends breaks just fine. Yay! I guess that means that
my USB serial cable is missing something and also means that I will need
to get some real serial ports for my Linux box. The Ultra will
eventually go away, unfortunately.
Ray
Raymond Toy
> On 2009-12-18, Raymond Toy<toy.r...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> However -- you *can* boot from an external one (which would use
> a different SCSI bus) by making an addition to the devalias table. To
> do that, you need to find the system's name for the external drive,
> using probe-scsi-all. I've got the original drive in an external
> housing at SCSI-ID 6. You need to add two lines to the OBP/eeprom/NVRAM
> from the command line of the system prior to boot. These two lines need
> to be:
>
> ======================================================================
> nvramrc=devalias cdrom1 /pc1@8,700000/scsi@2,1/disk@6,0:f
> use-nvramrc?=true
> ======================================================================
>
> To install these, type:
>
> ======================================================================
> setenv nvramrc devalias cdrom1 /pc1@8,700000/scsi@2,1/disk@6,0:f
> setenv use-nvramrc? true
> ======================================================================
The external SCSI CD uses ID6. I did a probe-scsi-all and it prints out
pci@8,700000/scsi@6,1.
Is the command above ok? (Still don't know if the drive actually works.
It's so old, that it uses a tray to hold the CD which you insert into
the drive.)
>
> Also -- do you have a framebufer (graphics card) in the system,
> and the Sun USB keyboard? (You can use a Logitech USB trackball for a
> mouse, which is what I am using by preference.)
I have a Sun USB keyboard, and there does appear to be a frame buffer,
but I don't know what it is. It's definitely not frame buffer with VGA;
it has a Sun video connector and I don't have any converters.
Ray
Michael Laajanen
Yes thats a DSUb 13W3, from the time where there IC's needed very good
cables to drive video at about 100-120MHz, todays drivers are much
better so a standard DSUB15 is ok.
You can get them from ebay.
/michael
Michael Laajanen
Okey start my grabbing the latest Solaris 10 from Sun, or try Solaris
Express from http://hub.opensolaris.org/bin/view/Main/downloads
(get SXCE single image) which is the latest.
Download using Sun Download manager search for sdm
http://www.sun.com/download/index.jsp?tab=5
Once its downloaded let us know!
/michael
Raymond Toy
>
> http://www.sun.com/download/index.jsp?tab=5
>
> Once its downloaded let us know!
I've downloaded the Solaris 10 DVD iso. From the netinstall
instructions it seems I need to mount it (directly or via DVD) so I can
copy and run the installer.
Is that right?
Ray
Michael Laajanen
Yes, first do a checksun test md5sum to verify that the iso is okay.
Then using lofiadm you creates a dev which you then mount from to a /mnt
or any directory.
lofiadm -a <path_to_iso>
lofiadm with give you something like /dev/lofi/1
Then you mount -F hsfs /dev/lofi/1 /mnt
Then it is just to go down to /mnt/Solaris/Tools and
./setup_install_server <path_to_put_the_network_install>
Then in /etc/ethers you add the macaddr and blade_hostname of you blade
and a IP and name in /etc/hosts of your install U60.
Then you
cd /mnt/Solaris/Tools/add_install_client hostname_of_blade sun4u
This is from the head, so "minor" errors could be in add_install_client,
use -h or -? for syntax
Then on the blade from openboot, boot net - install
http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/content/submitted/cd_free_install.html
Heading for TV and kids for a few hours...
/michael
Doug McIntyre
>The good news is that my serial cable from the Ultra to the Blade works
>great and kermit sends breaks just fine. Yay! I guess that means that
>my USB serial cable is missing something and also means that I will need
>to get some real serial ports for my Linux box. The Ultra will
>eventually go away, unfortunately.
It could be the driver for the USB serial dongle doing it in. There
used to be a problem with the PL-232 chipset (used quiteabit) and the
driver they shipped for the Mac long ago not being able to send the
break signal, but they fixed the driver years ago, as well as having
an open-source Mac driver for it that worked fine.
But other brands, such as Keyspan (uses the TI chipset), FTDI, Spanlink
and the newer drivers for the PL-232 chipset have all worked just fine
for me for USB Serial on many platforms. I have quite a few dongles like that.
Raymond Toy
I got that far, but the blade says it cannot find boot_archive or
miniroot. Where exactly is it looking for this?
Ray
Michael Laajanen
Raymond Toy wrote:
> On 12/19/2009 02:57 PM, Michael Laajanen wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Raymond Toy wrote:
>>> On 12/19/2009 12:16 PM, Michael Laajanen wrote:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.sun.com/download/index.jsp?tab=5
<snip>
>>
>> This is from the head, so "minor" errors could be in add_install_client,
>> use -h or -? for syntax
>>
>> Then on the blade from openboot, boot net - install
>>
>
> I got that far, but the blade says it cannot find boot_archive or
> miniroot. Where exactly is it looking for this?
>
In the path where you installed using setup install server!
/install/Solaris10/1009/Sparc/boot/
> Ray
Are you installing from the U60 now and are the install files locally on
the U60 and what Solaris version is it running?
Did the setup install server go ok and did the add install client also
go good.
Is tftpboot enabled in /etc/inetd.conf like the line below?
# TFTPD - tftp server (primarily used for booting)
tftp dgram udp6 wait root /usr/sbin/in.tftpd in.tftpd
-s /tftpboot
/michael
Raymond Toy
> Hi,
>
> Raymond Toy wrote:
>> On 12/19/2009 02:57 PM, Michael Laajanen wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Raymond Toy wrote:
>>>> On 12/19/2009 12:16 PM, Michael Laajanen wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.sun.com/download/index.jsp?tab=5
> <snip>
>
>>>
>>> This is from the head, so "minor" errors could be in add_install_client,
>>> use -h or -? for syntax
>>>
>>> Then on the blade from openboot, boot net - install
>>>
>>
>> I got that far, but the blade says it cannot find boot_archive or
>> miniroot. Where exactly is it looking for this?
>>
> In the path where you installed using setup install server!
>
> /install/Solaris10/1009/Sparc/boot/
>> Ray
> Are you installing from the U60 now and are the install files locally on
> the U60 and what Solaris version is it running?
Maybe I should recap what I did. The U60 has the solaris 10 iso image.
I used lofiadm to mount that at /mnt/Solaris.
I cd'd to /mnt/Solaris/Solaris_10/Tools and ran
setup_install_server /netinstall
add_install_client -e <blade mac addr> <blade name> sun4u
setup install_server had the following output:
Verifying target directory...
Calculating the required disk space for the Solaris_10 product
Calculating space required for the installation boot image
Copying the CD image to disk...
Copying Install Boot Image hierarchy...
Copying /boot netboot hierarchy...
Install Server setup complete
add_install_client said:
Adding "share -F nfs -o ro,anon=0 /mnt/Solaris" to /etc/dfs/dfstab
cleaning up preexisting install client "moria2"
removing moria2 from bootparams
removing /etc/bootparams, since it is empty
removing /tftpboot/inetboot.SUN4U.Solaris_10-1
removing /tftpboot
disabling tftp in /etc/inetd.conf
making /tftpboot
enabling tftp in /etc/inetd.conf
updating /etc/bootparams
copying boot file to /tftpboot/inetboot.SUN4U.Solaris_10-1
inetd.conf has the tftp line as you specify.
From the blade, I power up, send a break to stop it from booting from
disk, and then enter "boot net - install". It proceeds and then says it
can't find boot_archive or miniroot.
At this point, I'm kind of stuck since I don't know what exactly it's
looking for.
Thanks for all of your help!
Ray
Michael Laajanen
./setup_install_server /netinstall RIGHT?
This will setup the install server in /netinstall on the U60
> add_install_client -e <blade mac addr> <blade name> sun4u
cd /netinstall/Solaris/Tools
./add_install_client -e <blade mac addr> <blade name> sun4u RIGHT?
I don't use -e instread I put the macaddress in /etc/ethers together
with the hostname which is also listed in /etc/hosts BUT -e might
also work I have not used it just.
>
> setup install_server had the following output:
>
> Verifying target directory...
> Calculating the required disk space for the Solaris_10 product
> Calculating space required for the installation boot image
> Copying the CD image to disk...
> Copying Install Boot Image hierarchy...
> Copying /boot netboot hierarchy...
> Install Server setup complete
>
> add_install_client said:
>
> Adding "share -F nfs -o ro,anon=0 /mnt/Solaris" to /etc/dfs/dfstab
HERE it looks like you did run add_install_client from
/mnt/Solaris/Tools! DID you, see my comment above IT should be run
from the /netinstall/Solaris/Tools
> cleaning up preexisting install client "moria2"
> removing moria2 from bootparams
> removing /etc/bootparams, since it is empty
> removing /tftpboot/inetboot.SUN4U.Solaris_10-1
> removing /tftpboot
> disabling tftp in /etc/inetd.conf
> making /tftpboot
> enabling tftp in /etc/inetd.conf
> updating /etc/bootparams
> copying boot file to /tftpboot/inetboot.SUN4U.Solaris_10-1
>
>
> inetd.conf has the tftp line as you specify.
>
> From the blade, I power up, send a break to stop it from booting from
> disk, and then enter "boot net - install". It proceeds and then says it
> can't find boot_archive or miniroot.
>
> At this point, I'm kind of stuck since I don't know what exactly it's
> looking for.
>
> Thanks for all of your help!
>
> Ray
Check my comments and if needed rerun, the post the results
/michael
Dave
> While I've used Sun workstations for decades now, this is the first time
> I have to deal with one on my own.
>
> I have a Blade 1000 without a CD or DVD and I'd like to install a new
> version of Solaris. What kind of DVD drive should I get? Any
> recommendations or things to watch out for?
>
> (I thought about doing a net install, but the instructions seem more
> complicated than I want to do. My serial console also seems incapable
> of sending a break signal. I think I need to be able to do that to get
> the box to boot from DVD, right? My serial console is a Linux box with
> a USB to serial connector. Perhaps that's the problem?)
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ray
Personally, I'd get a SCSI to IDE converter, then use a IDE DVD writer. This is
what I bought,
http://www.span.com/product_info.php?products_id=1058
I've used that in an Ultra 80, then when I bought a Blade 2000, I moved it to
the Blade 2000.
Admittedly it is not the cheapest way to get a DVD drive in a Blade 1000 (buying
a drive from eBay probably is). But it's a lot more useful when you can write
DVDs too.
--
I respectfully request that this message is not archived by companies as
unscrupulous as 'Experts Exchange' . In case you are unaware,
'Experts Exchange' take questions posted on the web and try to find
idiots stupid enough to pay for the answers, which were posted freely
by others. They are leeches.
Raymond Toy
> Hi,
>
> Raymond Toy wrote:
>> On 12/20/2009 12:24 PM, Michael Laajanen wrote:
>> Maybe I should recap what I did. The U60 has the solaris 10 iso image.
>> I used lofiadm to mount that at /mnt/Solaris.
>>
>> I cd'd to /mnt/Solaris/Solaris_10/Tools and ran
>>
>> setup_install_server /netinstall
>
> ./setup_install_server /netinstall RIGHT?
> This will setup the install server in /netinstall on the U60
Yes, that's right.
>
>> add_install_client -e <blade mac addr> <blade name> sun4u
>
> cd /netinstall/Solaris/Tools
> ./add_install_client -e <blade mac addr> <blade name> sun4u RIGHT?
Oops. No. As you figured out, I ran it from /mnt/Solaris.
Re-running from /netinstall, I get:
./add_install_client -e macaddr name sun4u
Adding "share -F nfs -o ro,anon=0 /netinstall" to /etc/dfs/dfstab
cleaning up preexisting install client "moria2"
removing moria2 from bootparams
removing /etc/bootparams, since it is empty
removing /tftpboot/inetboot.SUN4U.Solaris_10-1
removing /tftpboot
disabling tftp in /etc/inetd.conf
making /tftpboot
enabling tftp in /etc/inetd.conf
updating /etc/bootparams
copying boot file to /tftpboot/inetboot.SUN4U.Solaris_10-1
(There's no Solaris directory, just Solaris_10.)
And from the blade, boot net - install is happily running. Yay!
Many thanks for your help in this!
Ray
Raymond Toy
> Raymond Toy wrote:
>> While I've used Sun workstations for decades now, this is the first time
>> I have to deal with one on my own.
>>
>> I have a Blade 1000 without a CD or DVD and I'd like to install a new
>> version of Solaris. What kind of DVD drive should I get? Any
>> recommendations or things to watch out for?
>>
>> (I thought about doing a net install, but the instructions seem more
>> complicated than I want to do. My serial console also seems incapable
>> of sending a break signal. I think I need to be able to do that to get
>> the box to boot from DVD, right? My serial console is a Linux box with
>> a USB to serial connector. Perhaps that's the problem?)
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Ray
>
> Personally, I'd get a SCSI to IDE converter, then use a IDE DVD writer.
> This is what I bought,
>
> http://www.span.com/product_info.php?products_id=1058
>
> I've used that in an Ultra 80, then when I bought a Blade 2000, I moved
> it to the Blade 2000.
>
> Admittedly it is not the cheapest way to get a DVD drive in a Blade 1000
> (buying a drive from eBay probably is). But it's a lot more useful when
> you can write DVDs too.
>
Can't I use some other machine to write DVDs? I've got a Linux box and
a Mac, both of which have DVD writers. I'm not expecting to need to
write DVDs from the Blade.
Ray
DoN. Nichols
[ ... ]
>> I know the cable works. When I connect the cable from the Linux box to
>> the Ultra 60, I can login in to the Ultra 60 just fine. I just can't
>> get kermit to send a break.
> Couldm it be that kermit is setup is some way, what other tools on Linux
> minicom?
>
>>
>>> Can you connect the U60 to the Blade instead, then you can use tip and
>>> verify that way!
>>
>> I'm working on that now. Just not sure whether the cable I have is a
>> null modem cable or not. Might have to dig around for that null adapter
>> somewhere.
>>
>> Ray
> Right, it should be pin 2-3 and 3-2 plus ground(5 i think) (crossed that is)
The crossover between pins 2 and 3 is correct (for a DB-25
connector at each end). However the logic ground is pin 7 (again on a
DB-25). I forget the pinout for a DE-9 RS-232 connector, but you should
be able to find it with a web search using your favorite search engine.
Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: <dnic...@d-and-d.com> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---
Michael Laajanen
:) Excellent.
Next time you prepare a /netinstall, use a PATH similar to mine so
you can have different version and platforms, I also have Linux there
/install/CentOS
Enjoy
cheers
Michael
Michael Laajanen
Don't forget lofiadm -d /dev/lofi/1 or whatevere after umount the
/mnt/Solaris!
/michael
DoN. Nichols
> On 12/18/2009 07:46 PM, DoN. Nichols wrote:
>> On 2009-12-18, Raymond Toy<toy.r...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> However -- you *can* boot from an external one (which would use
>> a different SCSI bus) by making an addition to the devalias table. To
>> do that, you need to find the system's name for the external drive,
>> using probe-scsi-all. I've got the original drive in an external
>> housing at SCSI-ID 6. You need to add two lines to the OBP/eeprom/NVRAM
>> from the command line of the system prior to boot. These two lines need
>> to be:
>>
>> ======================================================================
>> nvramrc=devalias cdrom1 /pc1@8,700000/scsi@2,1/disk@6,0:f
>> use-nvramrc?=true
>> ======================================================================
>>
>> To install these, type:
>>
>> ======================================================================
>> setenv nvramrc devalias cdrom1 /pc1@8,700000/scsi@2,1/disk@6,0:f
>> setenv use-nvramrc? true
>> ======================================================================
>
> The external SCSI CD uses ID6. I did a probe-scsi-all and it prints out
> pci@8,700000/scsi@6,1.
Hmm ... on the SB-2K? Missing the "/disk@6,0"? Hmm ... maybe
it is plugged into a separate dual SCSI card on this system.
O.K. It is plugged into a separate dual SCSI card, so your
entry from probe-scsi-all should be right -- except that you still need
to add a ":f" at the end (and leave off that period which your sentence
ends with. If I end a sentence with something like that where an extra
period would create confusion, I tend to put the critical string in
double quotes, or to put a space before the period so it does not get
taken as being a part of the string.
> Is the command above ok? (Still don't know if the drive actually works.
> It's so old, that it uses a tray to hold the CD which you insert into
> the drive.)
It should work -- it will just be *very* slow. (This is
assuming that it is a drive which was used to boot Suns in the past, and
is jumpered (or switch selected) for 512 bytes/sector instead of the
2048 bytes/sector which most drives have. I don't know for sure whether
the SB2K's OBP is smart enough to issue a SCSI command to switch the
size during booting. Older systems were not, so they *needed* the
default size of 512 bytes/sector to be able to boot. The newer OBP
versions are much larger and more complex, so they may issue the command
as needed. You will find out based on whether the boot succeeds or
fails. :-)
>> Also -- do you have a framebufer (graphics card) in the system,
>> and the Sun USB keyboard? (You can use a Logitech USB trackball for a
>> mouse, which is what I am using by preference.)
>
> I have a Sun USB keyboard, and there does appear to be a frame buffer,
> but I don't know what it is. It's definitely not frame buffer with VGA;
> it has a Sun video connector and I don't have any converters.
Those are easy to find on eBay and other places. It does not
really require any active circuitry -- just connecting pin to pin. The
Sun connector is called a "13W3". Lots show up with the eBay search:
Sun 13W3 VGA adaptor
There are a lot of rigid adaptors made by various other makers which
show up, but here is what I have been using on many systems:
eBay auction number: 290198273927
however, with that, you will need a Sun 13W3-13W3 cable, as the
connector is the wrong gender to plug into the framebuffer itself.
For connecting to a VGA from a 13W3 framebuffer, you will need a
connector which is male on the 13W3 end, and your choice of male or
female depending on what cables you may have available. The usual cable
is a male on each end, so you would want the female on the adaptor. For
that the first one in the eBay search at present is:
eBay auction number: 380187738497
Good Luck,
DoN. Nichols
> Raymond Toy wrote:
>> While I've used Sun workstations for decades now, this is the first time
>> I have to deal with one on my own.
>>
>> I have a Blade 1000 without a CD or DVD and I'd like to install a new
>> version of Solaris. What kind of DVD drive should I get? Any
>> recommendations or things to watch out for?
>>
>> (I thought about doing a net install, but the instructions seem more
>> complicated than I want to do. My serial console also seems incapable
>> of sending a break signal. I think I need to be able to do that to get
>> the box to boot from DVD, right? My serial console is a Linux box with
>> a USB to serial connector. Perhaps that's the problem?)
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Ray
>
> Personally, I'd get a SCSI to IDE converter, then use a IDE DVD writer. This is
> what I bought,
>
> http://www.span.com/product_info.php?products_id=1058
Yes -- that is the right one (made by ACARD), with the 50-pin
SCSI and the 4-pin IDE. This allows you to mount an IDE drive in the
SB-2K -- assuming that your machine has the SCSI cable from the system
board to the drive. It should have a terminator at the end of the
cable, too.
> I've used that in an Ultra 80, then when I bought a Blade 2000, I moved it to
> the Blade 2000.
I've used mine in an Ultra-60 before the SB-2K.
> Admittedly it is not the cheapest way to get a DVD drive in a Blade 1000 (buying
> a drive from eBay probably is). But it's a lot more useful when you can write
> DVDs too.
Amen!
Enjoy,
Michael Laajanen
DoN. Nichols wrote:
> On 2009-12-19, Michael Laajanen <michael_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Raymond Toy wrote:
>
> [ ... ]
>
>>> I know the cable works. When I connect the cable from the Linux box to
>>> the Ultra 60, I can login in to the Ultra 60 just fine. I just can't
>>> get kermit to send a break.
>> Couldm it be that kermit is setup is some way, what other tools on Linux
>> minicom?
>>
>>>> Can you connect the U60 to the Blade instead, then you can use tip and
>>>> verify that way!
>>> I'm working on that now. Just not sure whether the cable I have is a
>>> null modem cable or not. Might have to dig around for that null adapter
>>> somewhere.
>>>
>>> Ray
>> Right, it should be pin 2-3 and 3-2 plus ground(5 i think) (crossed that is)
>
> The crossover between pins 2 and 3 is correct (for a DB-25
> connector at each end). However the logic ground is pin 7 (again on a
> DB-25). I forget the pinout for a DE-9 RS-232 connector, but you should
> be able to find it with a web search using your favorite search engine.
>
> Enjoy,
> DoN.
>
Pin 5 is ground on a DSUB9 which I assumed the Blade hade, but that was
maybe on the later Blade1500/2500 serie
/michael
DoN. Nichols
> Hi,
>
> DoN. Nichols wrote:
>> On 2009-12-19, Michael Laajanen <michael_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
[ ... ]
>>> Right, it should be pin 2-3 and 3-2 plus ground(5 i think) (crossed that is)
>>
>> The crossover between pins 2 and 3 is correct (for a DB-25
>> connector at each end). However the logic ground is pin 7 (again on a
>> DB-25). I forget the pinout for a DE-9 RS-232 connector, but you should
>> be able to find it with a web search using your favorite search engine.
[ ... ]
> Pin 5 is ground on a DSUB9 which I assumed the Blade hade, but that was
> maybe on the later Blade1500/2500 serie
O.K. The Ultra-60 and the SB-2000 (and 1000) all use DB-25
connectors for the serial ports. The Ultra-5 and Ultra-10 have one
25-pin and one 9-pin serial IIRC (similar to a PC).
O.K. Looking at the FEH, I see that not only is the serial port
on the SB-2500 a DE-9, but also there is only one serial port, not the
common two from earlier system. (Hmm ... no, it looks as though there is
a second one on the audio module. It appears to have the same icon as
the one which is explicitly labeled "serial port" on the rear view
photo.)
Dave
>> Personally, I'd get a SCSI to IDE converter, then use a IDE DVD writer.
>> This is what I bought,
>>
>> http://www.span.com/product_info.php?products_id=1058
>>
>> I've used that in an Ultra 80, then when I bought a Blade 2000, I moved
>> it to the Blade 2000.
>>
>> Admittedly it is not the cheapest way to get a DVD drive in a Blade 1000
>> (buying a drive from eBay probably is). But it's a lot more useful when
>> you can write DVDs too.
>>
>
> Can't I use some other machine to write DVDs? I've got a Linux box and
> a Mac, both of which have DVD writers. I'm not expecting to need to
> write DVDs from the Blade.
>
> Ray
>
Yes you can use other machines if you have them.
I personally used to use my Blade 2000 for 99% of the things I did, so the
thought of having to go to my laptop to write a DVD was not one I would relish.
That little adapter from Acard solves that, but it is not cheap (you might see
if you can get one from eBay).
My Blade 2000 recently got hit by lightning and was the subject of an insurance
claim. I removed that little Acard board and stuck a SCSI DVD-ROM drive in the
machine, assuming the insurers would want the Blade 2000 back. In fact, due to
the total incompetence of the computer company iVal the insurers appointed to
deal with my claim, I got left with the Blade 2000. They would have collected
it, but I would have needed to pay them.
I deliberated for about 1 femto second before deciding it was in my interest to
hang on to the Blade 2000, rather than pay them to collect it!
I've now semi-repaired it (the ethernet connector on the motherboard is blown).
Back that little board has gone to the Blade 2000.
You can install Solaris without a DVD drive. (Google 'solaris jumpstart'). It
takes quite a bit of work to get it set up, but once you have done it, you can
install the system quite quickly. But if its your first SPARC system, I would
not do it that way, unless you particularly fancy a challenge, or would rather
save a bit of money.
PS, I was once on a London underground tube train and we got held up because a
train in front of us had broken down. A lady opposite said to her friend next to
her "I don't know why they just don't jumpstart it, and get it moving"
Dave
Dave
> The good news is that my serial cable from the Ultra to the Blade works
> great and kermit sends breaks just fine. Yay! I guess that means that
> my USB serial cable is missing something and also means that I will need
> to get some real serial ports for my Linux box. The Ultra will
> eventually go away, unfortunately.
>
> Ray
I recall when looking for a USB->serial adapter, reading that some of the
cheaper ones are find for syning PDAs and 'consumer' devices but are not
suitable for more 'industrial' uses. I bought a couple which were supported
directly in Solaris, as I needed one to work, and I needed a spare.