Subject: Re: 1.5-Beta sparc64 snapshot available
To: None <port-sparc@netbsd.org>
From: None <eeh@netbsd.org>
List: port-sparc
Date: 10/28/2000 00:31:59
> According to the release notes (INSTALL.txt:453-455), this snapshot
> does not support the serial port, keyboard, or mouse of PCI based
> systems. If this is correct? Is this port still unusable on Ultra
> 5/10/etc class PCI workstations?
>
> None of those devices are supported in 1.5. 1.5 uses the PROM
> console on PCI machines. The keyboard/mouse on a 16550 is supported
> in -current but that code is not very stable right now and won't
> be in 1.5.
Pardon mon stupidity, but ...
How do you use an Ultra 5+ or Ultra 10 if there is no keyboard, mouse or
serial port support? If it's headless you need the serial port support to
run a serial console, oui? If it's not headless, you need keyboard and
mouse support to use the monitor and X11, oui?
What am I missing here?
(I suspect it's in the "1.5 uses the PROM console on PCI machines" comment,
but I don't know exactly what that entails.)
Look at src/sys/arch/sparc64/dev/pcons.c. It attaches if no other device
claims to be the console. That way we can have the console run
on unsupported hardware.
I'm curious because at work I use NetBSD/SPARC on a Sun SPARCstation 20/71,
and there's pressure on me to replenish the machine with an Ultra 5+ (an
umbrella organization is giving us money to replenish systems with, and
just about everyone else in my organization has an Ultra 5+ on their desktop).
So I'm keen to know when the Ultra 5+/10 will be as reasonably well supported
as the SS20's - at least, in a headless mode (I run my 20 headless nowadays).
Well, a U5 will give you better cpu performance but probably can't
keep up with a 20 if you need i/o throughput.
Eduardo