Hacking on a Sun 4/6xx (was Re: New to list...)

From: Ethan Dicks <erd_6502_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Wed Jun 4 16:50:00 2003

--- Jochen Kunz <jkunz_at_unixag-kl.fh-kl.de> wrote:
> > (as an aside, I've been attempting to surf lately on a Classic
> > with Netscape 4.7... one word comes to mind... Ow!)
> Ewwww. A Clasic might be the slowest sun4m machine ever build.

It is. OTOH, I paid $5 for it several years ago (diskless with 24MB
of RAM and a password-protected NVRAM ;-) At the same time, a SS5
was running around $150-$300, depending on what add-ons were under
the hood. By comparison, SS5s were $35-$50 at Dayton last year, as
were SS10s and SS20s this year.

> AFAIK it is comparable in "slowness" to a IPX.

Double the raw MIPS, but not really any faster in practice. The
advantage is a) memory size (128MB max vs 64MB) and compatibility
with later versions of Solaris (because it's a sun4m, not a sun4c).
The OpenBoot PROM is newer, but that matters little when running.

No speed daemon, but the Classic has a little more longevity than
an IPX.

> > I looked at putting a large VME CPU in a 3/60 case... isn't there an
> > issue with power distribution -
> Yes. The 3/60 case doesn't deliver -12 V. The 4/6xx CPU needs -12 V at a
> few mA only for the serial lines. It will run with a framebuffer, but
> you can't use the serial lines.

*That* was it. Thanks. I had wanted to test the 4/6xx, but for reasons
I don't recall, I wasn't able to use a framebuffer (I know I had plenty
of CG3 and CG6 cards lying around). In the end, I gave up and swapped
that 4/6xx board for a couple of IPXs and some assorted accessories. I
did later sell the IPXs for a fair sheckel, so I think I came out on top
of the deal. The 4/6xx board had 0MB of RAM and an old Ross CPU, so it
wasn't exactly the most valuable thing at the time, but I'm not sure I
would trade it now if I had it to do all over again.

> Well, as long as you don't need 30 A (smal config, peak 130 A at power
> on) three phase 400 V power for a single computer... (I know someone
> with a machine like that.)

Nope... my max power requirements at home are satisfied by a 30A 110V
single-phase receptacle (installed) and a 20A 110V outlet (for the
DEC 4000-710 - not yet installed). Everything else just plugs into
ordinary wall sockets.

-ethan
Received on Wed Jun 04 2003 - 16:50:00 BST