Blade 1000 motherboard in Blade 2000.
Dave
answer.
I have a Sun Blade 2000 (2 x 1200 MHz, 8 GB RAM), which got hit by
lightning. The Ethernet connector on the motherboard has blown up. I've
got an Ultra 27 on order to replace this, but I'd like to keep a SPARC
machine, so want to repair this. (As all the slots were used, and I had
to pull out a PCI card so I could fit a quad fast ethernet card, I
decided to try to repair this, rather than leave a QFE board in it.
I bought a used Blade *1000* on eBay, with no disks and 1 GB of RAM. It
cost me �43 which was less than I could buy a motherboard for!
The part number on the motherboard is 501 4143. According to the 'Sun
Blade 2000 - Full Components List'
there are 4 different part numbers for the Blade 2000's motherboard.
Option # ManufacturingPart# Description
n/a 501-4143 0MB FRU (SCHIZO <=2.1)
n/a 501-5938 0MB FRU (SCHIZO 2.2)
n/a 501-6230 0MB FRU (SCHIZO >=2.2)
n/a 501-6560 0MB FRU (SCHIZO 2.5)
I assume the 'SCHIZO <=2.1' means this is an older design (not
surprising, as I bought a Blade 1000, not a 2000).
Should this support the 1200 MHz CPUs from my Blade 2000?
Does anyone know what the differences between these 4 part numbers is?
Were there any issues with the earlier boards for the Blade 2000?
Dave
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DoN. Nichols
> I know this issue has come up before, but I've never seen a definitive
> answer.
>
> I have a Sun Blade 2000 (2 x 1200 MHz, 8 GB RAM), which got hit by
> lightning. The Ethernet connector on the motherboard has blown up.
Ouch!
> I've
> got an Ultra 27 on order to replace this, but I'd like to keep a SPARC
> machine,
Understandable.
> so want to repair this. (As all the slots were used, and I had
> to pull out a PCI card so I could fit a quad fast ethernet card, I
> decided to try to repair this, rather than leave a QFE board in it.
O.K. Did it work with the QFE? It should, unless some other
part of the system board was also damaged.
> I bought a used Blade *1000* on eBay, with no disks and 1 GB of RAM. It
> cost me �43 which was less than I could buy a motherboard for!
O.K.
> The part number on the motherboard is 501 4143.
The oldest of the system boards.
> According to the 'Sun
> Blade 2000 - Full Components List'
>
> http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/validateUser.do?target=Systems/SunBlade2000/components#SystemBoard
>
> there are 4 different part numbers for the Blade 2000's motherboard.
>
>
> Option # ManufacturingPart# Description
> n/a 501-4143 0MB FRU (SCHIZO <=2.1)
> n/a 501-5938 0MB FRU (SCHIZO 2.2)
> n/a 501-6230 0MB FRU (SCHIZO >=2.2)
> n/a 501-6560 0MB FRU (SCHIZO 2.5)
>
> I assume the 'SCHIZO <=2.1' means this is an older design (not
> surprising, as I bought a Blade 1000, not a 2000).
>
> Should this support the 1200 MHz CPUs from my Blade 2000?
If it is listed as one of the possible ones for the Sun Blade
2000, then yes, it should work.
> Does anyone know what the differences between these 4 part numbers is?
Other than the different SCHIZO numbers -- no. I know that the
SCHIZO is a chip on the board -- but I have no idea what it does, or
what effect the older versions have.
> Were there any issues with the earlier boards for the Blade 2000?
The board you have is the only one listed in my dead-tree
edition of the FEH (Field Engineer's Handbook). The on-line one from
SunShack in OZ lists five system boards, the four you have listed, and
501-6768.
The board you have is not compatible with the Sun Fire 280R,
presumably because it lacks the connector for the RSC/LOM card. This is
no problem for the Sun Blade 1000 or 2000.
But the most important ones are these from the UltraSPARC III Cu
notes:
3) The 900 MHz "UltraSPARC III Cu" requires OPB >= 4.4 Version 6
4) Support for 1 GHz processors is in OPB 4.5 Version 16
5) The minimum recommended OBP for 1015/1050 MHz is 4.5 Version 16
which suggests to me that the 1.2 GHz CPUs (which are also "Cu" type)
need the same versions as the 1015/1050 MHz ones.
I'm running the 501-6230 system board in all of my compatible
systems (SF-280R, SB-1000, and SB-2000). All have been upgraded to
OBP 4.16.4,POST 4.16.3,OBDIAG 4.16.4 using the following downloaded file
from Sun: 118323-01.zip
Does your used system come with CPUs? If so, I strongly suggest
that you upgrade the firmware (flash it) using the old CPUs before
moving the board to the SB-2000, as I get the impression that you can't
run well enough with the old OBP firmware and the new CPUs to install
the firmware patch.
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 ---
Dave
> On 2009-10-14, Dave <f...@coo.com> wrote:
>> I know this issue has come up before, but I've never seen a definitive
>> answer.
>>
>> I have a Sun Blade 2000 (2 x 1200 MHz, 8 GB RAM), which got hit by
>> lightning. The Ethernet connector on the motherboard has blown up.
>
> Ouch!
Yes. The Blade 2000 was not the only item destroyed either - 5 bits of
computer hardware all got hit.
>> I've
>> got an Ultra 27 on order to replace this, but I'd like to keep a SPARC
>> machine,
>
> Understandable.
With a quad core 3.33 GHz processor the Ultra 27 should be a bit quicker
than my Blade 2000. I just wish I knew when I was going to get the U27.
I've not even got a delivery date yet. It is assembled to order, so I
gather can take 4-6 weeks. The order was placed a couple of weeks ago.
>
>> so want to repair this. (As all the slots were used, and I had
>> to pull out a PCI card so I could fit a quad fast ethernet card, I
>> decided to try to repair this, rather than leave a QFE board in it.
>
> O.K. Did it work with the QFE? It should, unless some other
> part of the system board was also damaged.
It had a SunPCi card too, which suffered the same fate - blown Ethernet
port.
But otherwise it works fine with the QFE card. I'm well aware lightning
can cause latent damage that does not show immediately, but so far
nothing has gone wrong.
>> I bought a used Blade *1000* on eBay, with no disks and 1 GB of RAM. It
>> cost me �43 which was less than I could buy a motherboard for!
>
> O.K.
>
>> The part number on the motherboard is 501 4143.
>
> The oldest of the system boards
Yes, I thought that.
>> Does anyone know what the differences between these 4 part numbers is?
>
> Other than the different SCHIZO numbers -- no. I know that the
> SCHIZO is a chip on the board -- but I have no idea what it does, or
> what effect the older versions have.
A Google did not help me find what this SCHIZO thing is
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-66-200502-1&searchclause=101458
is a patch needed for specific SCHIZO's, and the link above even shows
how to get the version of the SCHIZO from prtdiag -v, for some systems.
But it does not work on my Blade 2000, so I don't know what I have in
here. I will at some point open the case, but I obviously need to shut
the machine down for that.
>> Were there any issues with the earlier boards for the Blade 2000?
>
> The board you have is the only one listed in my dead-tree
> edition of the FEH (Field Engineer's Handbook). The on-line one from
> SunShack in OZ lists five system boards, the four you have listed, and
> 501-6768.
> The board you have is not compatible with the Sun Fire 280R,
> presumably because it lacks the connector for the RSC/LOM card. This is
> no problem for the Sun Blade 1000 or 2000.
Good.
> But the most important ones are these from the UltraSPARC III Cu
> notes:
>
> 3) The 900 MHz "UltraSPARC III Cu" requires OPB >= 4.4 Version 6
> 4) Support for 1 GHz processors is in OPB 4.5 Version 16
> 5) The minimum recommended OBP for 1015/1050 MHz is 4.5 Version 16
>
> which suggests to me that the 1.2 GHz CPUs (which are also "Cu" type)
> need the same versions as the 1015/1050 MHz ones.
The type of CPUs in the Blade 2000 is 'Cu' too - it says that on them.
I'm told they are 900 MHz, but I have not verified that yet. It appears
to have OpenBoot 4.5 installed. I'm a bit puzzled by the 'zPU seeprom
format: 0000.0000.0000.0002' A google shows references to 'CPU seeprom
format: 0000.0000.0000.0002' which tend to appear when people have
problems with booting. This hoots ok from CD-ROM, so it will boot.
drkirkby@swan:[~] $ tip hardwire
connected
CPU seeprom format: 0000.0000.0000.0002
SUNW,Sun-Blade-1000 (2 X UltraSPARC-III+) , No Keyboard
Copyright 1998-2002 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
OpenBoot 4.5, 2048 MB memory installed, Serial #16457033.
Ethernet address 8:0:20:fb:1d:49, Host ID: 80fb1d49.
after typing reset-all, there is no such message.
> I'm running the 501-6230 system board in all of my compatible
> systems (SF-280R, SB-1000, and SB-2000). All have been upgraded to
> OBP 4.16.4,POST 4.16.3,OBDIAG 4.16.4 using the following downloaded file
> from Sun: 118323-01.zip
I'll do likewise before trying this with the 1200 MHz CPUs.
> Does your used system come with CPUs? If so, I strongly suggest
> that you upgrade the firmware (flash it) using the old CPUs before
> moving the board to the SB-2000, as I get the impression that you can't
> run well enough with the old OBP firmware and the new CPUs to install
> the firmware patch.
Yes, it has a pair of 900 MHz CPUs. I've got some other FCAL disks
around, so will install the latest firmware before trying it with the
newer CPUs.
I had to decide which Blade 1000 to buy. There was this one with a pair
of CPUs but no disks for �43
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400077588472
and this one, with a 36 GB disk, but only one CPU for �603.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310120972774
Perhaps the seller of the latter auction is hoping to find a Sun fan
that has escaped from a lunatic asylum. Who else would pay around $1000
for a used Blade 1000?
It's strange this system. Its either not been used, or been used in a
very clean environment, as there is no dust inside it at all. Also, the
number of power cycles is only 25, and I reckon 5 of them must have been
me. So for a used machine to have only been power cycled 20 times seems
quite low. (Most I have bought have been in the hundreds).
Benjamin Gawert
>> I assume the 'SCHIZO <=2.1' means this is an older design (not
>> surprising, as I bought a Blade 1000, not a 2000).
SCHIZO is the "Northbridge" that connects the expansion slots and the
other I/O ports (i.e. USB) to the CPUs. Older revisions had some strange
bugs which could drive you crazy if you fell into them (which however
was quite rare).
Benjamin
Benjamin Gawert
> A Google did not help me find what this SCHIZO thing is
It is the Northbridge (connects the I/O ports to the CPUs).
> Perhaps the seller of the latter auction is hoping to find a Sun fan
> that has escaped from a lunatic asylum. Who else would pay around $1000
> for a used Blade 1000?
Considering that there often still are offers for Sun Ultra 250 and 450
in the high hundreds or even over 1k I think this offer is a real
bargain ;-)
Benjamin
Dave
OK, thank you for that. I think I'll check the version of the board in
my Blade 2000 and if it is newer, I might decide not to replace the
board for a working, but older one, and put up with the non-functional
Ethernet port. I do not wish to swap one problem for another.
However, I think my Blade 2000 was made in 2002, and I believe the Blade
1000 I bought was also made in 2002, so its possible they have the same
board anyway. I'll check my board version first.
I quite like my Blade 2000, and want to keep it working, despite the
fact I should soon have a quad 3.333 GHz Xeon Sun. I spend some of my
spare time helping on the Sage open-source project, and particularly on
Solaris support, so I must have a SPARC box. The Blade 2000 is the best
SPARC I have.
DoN. Nichols
> DoN. Nichols wrote:
>> On 2009-10-14, Dave <f...@coo.com> wrote:
>>> I know this issue has come up before, but I've never seen a definitive
>>> answer.
>>>
>>> I have a Sun Blade 2000 (2 x 1200 MHz, 8 GB RAM), which got hit by
>>> lightning. The Ethernet connector on the motherboard has blown up.
[ ... ]
>>> so want to repair this. (As all the slots were used, and I had
>>> to pull out a PCI card so I could fit a quad fast ethernet card, I
>>> decided to try to repair this, rather than leave a QFE board in it.
>>
>> O.K. Did it work with the QFE? It should, unless some other
>> part of the system board was also damaged.
>
> It had a SunPCi card too, which suffered the same fate - blown Ethernet
> port.
Which suggests that the phone line (if your net connection comes
in via phone) or cable (if that is the path for the net connection) is
what really got hit, instead of the power line -- though a power line
hit still is most likely to take out the items connected between the
phone line and the power line).
> But otherwise it works fine with the QFE card. I'm well aware lightning
> can cause latent damage that does not show immediately, but so far
> nothing has gone wrong.
Only things close to the ethernet are very likely to have been
damaged.
>>> I bought a used Blade *1000* on eBay, with no disks and 1 GB of RAM. It
>>> cost me �43 which was less than I could buy a motherboard for!
>>
>> O.K.
>>
>>> The part number on the motherboard is 501 4143.
>>
>> The oldest of the system boards
>
> Yes, I thought that.
>
>>> Does anyone know what the differences between these 4 part numbers is?
>>
>> Other than the different SCHIZO numbers -- no. I know that the
>> SCHIZO is a chip on the board -- but I have no idea what it does, or
>> what effect the older versions have.
>
> A Google did not help me find what this SCHIZO thing is
>
> http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-66-200502-1&searchclause=101458
>
> is a patch needed for specific SCHIZO's, and the link above even shows
> how to get the version of the SCHIZO from prtdiag -v, for some systems.
> But it does not work on my Blade 2000, so I don't know what I have in
> here.
Hmm ... was that "prtdiag -v | grep -i 'schizo'" ? In my
Sun Fire 280R system, I get:
Schizo 8 ok 5
While the Sun Blade 2000 gives nothing.
However -- to find your current system board, try this:
prtfru | grep "Sun_Part_No: "
and the first number returned will be the system board. Other part
numbers include each DIMM. and I forget the rest.
> I will at some point open the case, but I obviously need to shut
> the machine down for that.
But just to find the part number for the system board, the above
will work.
>>> Were there any issues with the earlier boards for the Blade 2000?
>>
>> The board you have is the only one listed in my dead-tree
>> edition of the FEH (Field Engineer's Handbook). The on-line one from
>> SunShack in OZ lists five system boards, the four you have listed, and
>> 501-6768.
>
>> The board you have is not compatible with the Sun Fire 280R,
>> presumably because it lacks the connector for the RSC/LOM card. This is
>> no problem for the Sun Blade 1000 or 2000.
>
> Good.
>
>> But the most important ones are these from the UltraSPARC III Cu
>> notes:
>>
>> 3) The 900 MHz "UltraSPARC III Cu" requires OPB >= 4.4 Version 6
>> 4) Support for 1 GHz processors is in OPB 4.5 Version 16
>> 5) The minimum recommended OBP for 1015/1050 MHz is 4.5 Version 16
>>
>> which suggests to me that the 1.2 GHz CPUs (which are also "Cu" type)
>> need the same versions as the 1015/1050 MHz ones.
>
> The type of CPUs in the Blade 2000 is 'Cu' too - it says that on them.
O.K. Though the auction which you show has some interesting
things based on the photos:
1) Only one of the two CPUs is a "Cu" type -- the second one is
missing the green sticker. (Though it could still be "Cu", and
examination of the orange barcode on the CPU module will be
needed to be sure -- and that requires a shutdown and removal of
the CPU modules to be able to see that.
2) The color of the case is that of a SB-2000. The SB-1000 has a
gray front panel, and a lighter size color. But the Bezel
around the DVD-ROM drive is SB-1000, both by marking and color.
3) The Torque screwdriver supplied is that for the SB-1000 (second
photo -- the green thing between the two FC-AL disk slots is the
carrier for the formed loop torque driver supplied with the
SB-1000. The SB-2000 usually comes with the later
torque-limiting screwdriver style which lives in a bright green
clip in the compartment were the DVD-ROM drive is mounted.
4) The screen shot says "Sun-Blade-1000", but it does so even on
SB-2000 systems, so that is no true indicator.
5) The screen shot does say OBP 4.5.
> I'm told they are 900 MHz, but I have not verified that yet.
If you can simply swap the disks into it from your current one,
you can boot that and use the prtdiag to get the list of CPU numbers,
and look them up by that. 5016002 are the 900 MHz ones which I am
running in my SF-280R. 5016485 are the 1200 MHz ones which I am running
in my SB-2000.
> It appears
> to have OpenBoot 4.5 installed. I'm a bit puzzled by the 'zPU seeprom
> format: 0000.0000.0000.0002' A google shows references to 'CPU seeprom
> format: 0000.0000.0000.0002' which tend to appear when people have
> problems with booting. This hoots ok from CD-ROM, so it will boot.
Probably it was moved into that system board from another. You
found the cure with your reset-all.
> drkirkby@swan:[~] $ tip hardwire
> connected
>
> CPU seeprom format: 0000.0000.0000.0002
> SUNW,Sun-Blade-1000 (2 X UltraSPARC-III+) , No Keyboard
> Copyright 1998-2002 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
> OpenBoot 4.5, 2048 MB memory installed, Serial #16457033.
> Ethernet address 8:0:20:fb:1d:49, Host ID: 80fb1d49.
>
>
> after typing reset-all, there is no such message.
>
>> I'm running the 501-6230 system board in all of my compatible
>> systems (SF-280R, SB-1000, and SB-2000). All have been upgraded to
>> OBP 4.16.4,POST 4.16.3,OBDIAG 4.16.4 using the following downloaded file
>> from Sun: 118323-01.zip
>
> I'll do likewise before trying this with the 1200 MHz CPUs.
Though your 4.5 will probably work, since it does with the 900
MHz CPUs. (If only one is a "Cu" 900 MHz, then you are using a mix of
Cu and non-Cu types, which the FEH says is not supported. (But I do know
that a mix of 900 MHz Cu and 1200 MHz Cu works for me, even though it is
listed as not supported. :-)
>> Does your used system come with CPUs? If so, I strongly suggest
>> that you upgrade the firmware (flash it) using the old CPUs before
>> moving the board to the SB-2000, as I get the impression that you can't
>> run well enough with the old OBP firmware and the new CPUs to install
>> the firmware patch.
>
> Yes, it has a pair of 900 MHz CPUs. I've got some other FCAL disks
> around, so will install the latest firmware before trying it with the
> newer CPUs.
Good practice, even if not needed.
> I had to decide which Blade 1000 to buy. There was this one with a pair
> of CPUs but no disks for �43
>
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400077588472
Comments above about that after examining the auction.
> and this one, with a 36 GB disk, but only one CPU for �603.
>
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310120972774
And -- he does not say whether it is a "Cu" or non-Cu type. The
900 MHz speed is the only one made in both styles.
> Perhaps the seller of the latter auction is hoping to find a Sun fan
> that has escaped from a lunatic asylum. Who else would pay around $1000
> for a used Blade 1000?
:-)
I presume that you were limiting your searches to those auctions
local to the UK?
> It's strange this system. Its either not been used, or been used in a
> very clean environment, as there is no dust inside it at all.
Or -- it has been built up using components from multiple boxen,
and each has been blown free of dust before re-assembly. The very old
system board, the SB-1000 bezel, and the front panel and side panel
colors matching the SB-2000 suggest this. Hmm ... while the colors are
for the SB-2000, the logo is for the SB-1000. I wonder what may have
been done in PhotoShop with those images.
It also looks as though it has two framebuffers -- likely the
Creator-3D ones, leaving all four PCI slots free.
> Also, the
> number of power cycles is only 25, and I reckon 5 of them must have been
> me.
From the OBP prompt, type:
setenv #power-cycles 0
and see what that does. If not that, you can reset it from the eeprom
command from a booted Solaris. (I forget which actually works, or
whether both work.)
> So for a used machine to have only been power cycled 20 times seems
> quite low. (Most I have bought have been in the hundreds).
Most have not had the count reset as part of the testing. (And
perhaps the "reset-all" reset it too.
Enjoy,
DoN. Nichols
Aha! Thanks much. And the name actually makes sense that way,
being the joining of the PC world (PCI) and the SPARC world.
Again, thanks,
David Lesher
>>>> I have a Sun Blade 2000 (2 x 1200 MHz, 8 GB RAM), which got hit by
>>>> lightning. The Ethernet connector on the motherboard has blown up.
> [ ... ]
>> It had a SunPCi card too, which suffered the same fate - blown Ethernet
>> port.
> Which suggests that the phone line (if your net connection comes
>in via phone) or cable (if that is the path for the net connection) is
>what really got hit, instead of the power line -- though a power line
>hit still is most likely to take out the items connected between the
>phone line and the power line).
I always put a switch between the modem, be it the DSL or Cable ilk,
and the rest of the LAN. It's a good sacrifice to Murphy.
--
A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
Dave
>>>> so want to repair this. (As all the slots were used, and I had
>>>> to pull out a PCI card so I could fit a quad fast ethernet card, I
>>>> decided to try to repair this, rather than leave a QFE board in it.
>>> O.K. Did it work with the QFE? It should, unless some other
>>> part of the system board was also damaged.
>> It had a SunPCi card too, which suffered the same fate - blown Ethernet
>> port.
>
> Which suggests that the phone line (if your net connection comes
> in via phone) or cable (if that is the path for the net connection) is
> what really got hit, instead of the power line -- though a power line
> hit still is most likely to take out the items connected between the
> phone line and the power line).
I'm 99% sure in my own mind the phone line was hit. I do not think it was power
lines, though they are overhead.
>> But otherwise it works fine with the QFE card. I'm well aware lightning
>> can cause latent damage that does not show immediately, but so far
>> nothing has gone wrong.
>
> Only things close to the ethernet are very likely to have been
> damaged.
That is what I thought. It seems ok.
> Though your 4.5 will probably work, since it does with the 900
> MHz CPUs. (If only one is a "Cu" 900 MHz, then you are using a mix of
> Cu and non-Cu types, which the FEH says is not supported. (But I do know
> that a mix of 900 MHz Cu and 1200 MHz Cu works for me, even though it is
> listed as not supported. :-)
It certainly looks a 1000 to me. The colour is very different to my 2000.
>>> Does your used system come with CPUs? If so, I strongly suggest
>>> that you upgrade the firmware (flash it) using the old CPUs before
>>> moving the board to the SB-2000, as I get the impression that you can't
>>> run well enough with the old OBP firmware and the new CPUs to install
>>> the firmware patch.
>> Yes, it has a pair of 900 MHz CPUs. I've got some other FCAL disks
>> around, so will install the latest firmware before trying it with the
>> newer CPUs.
>
> Good practice, even if not needed.
>
>> I had to decide which Blade 1000 to buy. There was this one with a pair
>> of CPUs but no disks for �43
>>
>> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400077588472
>
> Comments above about that after examining the auction.
>
>> and this one, with a 36 GB disk, but only one CPU for �603.
>>
>> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310120972774
>
> And -- he does not say whether it is a "Cu" or non-Cu type. The
> 900 MHz speed is the only one made in both styles.
They are both Cu, but I've decided not to swap the motherboards. The fact these
have much older motherboards is a bit worrrying. Also, since the Ultra 27 has
Gigabit ethernet, it would be nice to connect it to the Blade 2000 via Gigabit
ethernet. Hence I have since bought a quad gigabit card. I'll take the QFE card
out I put in it, and put a quad Gigabit card.
>> Perhaps the seller of the latter auction is hoping to find a Sun fan
>> that has escaped from a lunatic asylum. Who else would pay around $1000
>> for a used Blade 1000?
>
> :-)
>
> I presume that you were limiting your searches to those auctions
> local to the UK?
Carriage costs on complete systems are very high. Too high to make it economical
on a Blade 2000 now. I originally bought the Blade 2000 from the USA, but that
was when they were a lot more expensive than they are now, so carriage was a
reasonably small fraction of the overall cost. In 2009, the carriage costs would
exceed the cost of buying the machine.
I'm a bit worried about buying just a motherboard - you never know how carefully
it has been removed - anti static precautions etc. Static (and lightning) can
cause latent damage, which does not appear immediately.
I recall about 25 years ago making a small radio frequency pre-amp for amateur
radio use. I had a Saturday job, but the GaAS FET cost about a months working in
the Saturday job. I sure made damm sure I took all the anti-static precausions I
could with that. Given it worked to 40 GHz or so, the capacitance on the gate is
very small, and so a small charge can produce a large potential.
I doubt most dealers removing motherboards take too much care. Hence is some
ways, advantage in buying a complete working machine.
>> It's strange this system. Its either not been used, or been used in a
>> very clean environment, as there is no dust inside it at all.
>
> Or -- it has been built up using components from multiple boxen,
> and each has been blown free of dust before re-assembly. The very old
> system board, the SB-1000 bezel, and the front panel and side panel
> colors matching the SB-2000 suggest this. Hmm ... while the colors are
> for the SB-2000, the logo is for the SB-1000. I wonder what may have
> been done in PhotoShop with those images.
>
> It also looks as though it has two framebuffers -- likely the
> Creator-3D ones, leaving all four PCI slots free.
>
>> Also, the
>> number of power cycles is only 25, and I reckon 5 of them must have been
>> me.
>
> From the OBP prompt, type:
>
> setenv #power-cycles 0
>
> and see what that does. If not that, you can reset it from the eeprom
> command from a booted Solaris. (I forget which actually works, or
> whether both work.)
>
>> So for a used machine to have only been power cycled 20 times seems
>> quite low. (Most I have bought have been in the hundreds).
>
> Most have not had the count reset as part of the testing. (And
> perhaps the "reset-all" reset it too.
>
> Enjoy,
> DoN.
>
Having got the machines, I am pretty convinced they have not been used. For
example, the power cables which go to the DVD etc were tied proporly behind the
panel. It is clear they have never been connected to a DVD drive, as they would
not reach.
The panels are all Blade 1000. They are not 2000. I suspect the seller got one
of the photos from elsewhere, as it shows the front panel, which he states is
missing. You can see that in the more detailed photographs.
Anyway, I'm not quite sure what I will do with these. I suspect they are worth
more in parts than as complete systems actually, and they are a damm lot easier
to shop as parts.
Dave
DoN. Nichols
> DoN. Nichols wrote:
[ ... ]
[ ... ]
>> 4) The screen shot says "Sun-Blade-1000", but it does so even on
>> SB-2000 systems, so that is no true indicator.
>>
>> 5) The screen shot does say OBP 4.5.
>> Though your 4.5 will probably work, since it does with the 900
>> MHz CPUs. (If only one is a "Cu" 900 MHz, then you are using a mix of
>> Cu and non-Cu types, which the FEH says is not supported. (But I do know
>> that a mix of 900 MHz Cu and 1200 MHz Cu works for me, even though it is
>> listed as not supported. :-)
>
> It certainly looks a 1000 to me. The colour is very different to my 2000.
O.K. You mean what you received, not the auction photos I
presume?
The SB-2000 systems come out with two appearances in eBay
auctions. One if photographed by ambient light, and the other if
photographed by electronic flash, which almost causes the blue/purple
front panel to *glow*. :-)
[ ... ]
>>> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310120972774
>>
>> And -- he does not say whether it is a "Cu" or non-Cu type. The
>> 900 MHz speed is the only one made in both styles.
>
> They are both Cu, but I've decided not to swap the motherboards. The fact these
> have much older motherboards is a bit worrrying. Also, since the Ultra 27 has
> Gigabit ethernet, it would be nice to connect it to the Blade 2000 via Gigabit
> ethernet. Hence I have since bought a quad gigabit card. I'll take the QFE card
> out I put in it, and put a quad Gigabit card.
O.K. But you still have the spare system board just in case.
it should work with no problems -- especially if you have updated the
OBP firmware.
[ ... ]
>> I presume that you were limiting your searches to those auctions
>> local to the UK?
>
> Carriage costs on complete systems are very high. Too high to make it economical
> on a Blade 2000 now. I originally bought the Blade 2000 from the USA, but that
> was when they were a lot more expensive than they are now, so carriage was a
> reasonably small fraction of the overall cost. In 2009, the carriage costs would
> exceed the cost of buying the machine.
Yes -- they are extremely heavy machines for their size. Same
for the Sun Fire 280R, which I tend to lighten for moving by first
unplugging the drives, the CPUs, the two hot-swap power supplies and the
top cover. Maybe even the system board, with its mounting bracket.
> I'm a bit worried about buying just a motherboard - you never know how carefully
> it has been removed - anti static precautions etc. Static (and lightning) can
> cause latent damage, which does not appear immediately.
Yes -- though a reasonable vendor of used equipment should know
how to prevent static damage.
One thing which I have been displeased with when buying
replacement system boards via eBay is that while my first one (for the
280R) came still screwed to the metal reinforcing frame and even with
the CPU cage, the later ones had been unscrewed from the metal
reinforcing frame -- making them cost less to ship, but to be a bit more
vulnerable to damage from flexing.
The number of screws needed to be removed and replaced
(exclusive of the CPU cage screws) if shipped with the metal frame is
three. It is closer to ten or so if the board has been removed from the
frame -- with a greater chance of dropping screws into the chips and
perhaps leading to static damage.
But all things considered, I have had good luck with purchased
system boards, even when shipped separate from the metal frame.
> I recall about 25 years ago making a small radio frequency pre-amp for amateur
> radio use. I had a Saturday job, but the GaAS FET cost about a months working in
> the Saturday job. I sure made damm sure I took all the anti-static precausions I
> could with that. Given it worked to 40 GHz or so, the capacitance on the gate is
> very small, and so a small charge can produce a large potential.
:-)
> I doubt most dealers removing motherboards take too much care. Hence is some
> ways, advantage in buying a complete working machine.
There is that -- but most of the dealers stand behind DOA boards
(at least for a month or so), so I suspect that at least minimal care is
observed. One thing which helps a lot is if the room where they are
removed and bagged has high humidity, which tends to minimize static
buildup.
>>> It's strange this system. Its either not been used, or been used in a
>>> very clean environment, as there is no dust inside it at all.
It may have been a spare -- waiting for another machine to fail,
and before enough machines failed, the company had moved to SB-2000 or
something later.
[ ... ]
> Having got the machines, I am pretty convinced they have not been used. For
> example, the power cables which go to the DVD etc were tied proporly behind the
> panel. It is clear they have never been connected to a DVD drive, as they would
> not reach.
O.K. It sounds as though you got some good buys.
> The panels are all Blade 1000. They are not 2000. I suspect the seller got one
> of the photos from elsewhere, as it shows the front panel, which he states is
> missing. You can see that in the more detailed photographs.
:-)
> Anyway, I'm not quite sure what I will do with these. I suspect they are worth
> more in parts than as complete systems actually, and they are a damm lot easier
> to shop as parts.
There is that. It also might be a good idea to keep the parts
in anti-static bags against future needs. That is what I tend to do.
Good Luck,