Actually, on my 13W3 convter, it not only supports 13W3 to VGA, but it
also will do PS/2 -> Sun mouse, and same for serial keyboard.  If you want
to know the brand and model, let me know, I can get it for you when I get
home after work.  I just figured I'd get my two cents in while the post is
recent...
-Andy

On Thu, 12 Jun 2003, Chris Wareham wrote:

> Anthony Watters wrote:
> > newbie questions
> >
> > I recently picked up a Sparc Station 5-170 (turbo sparc). currently it has a
> > Plextor CDROM, 256 MB of ram, and a additional 10/100 Ethernet card.
> >
> > I am interested in running linux and setting it up as a firewall.
> >
>
> IMHO running NetBSD on a 32bit Sparc is going to result in less grief
> than trying to run Linux on it. The SparcLinux port was unmaintained
> last time I checked, with former maintainer David Miller concentrating
> on the 64bit stuff. Unless you like Debian (I don't), then there's a
> limited choice on the distribution front. The Aurora project is aiming
> to produce a more user-friendly SparcLinux distro based on RedHat, but
> version 1.0 wouldn't install on my Sparc5 despite several attempts.
>
> > With that in mind, could someone recommend a specific linux distribution
> > that works on a SS5-170? Maybe something with a friendly user interface
> > perhaps?
> >
>
> The Turbo Sparc has always been a bit problematic on Linux - some people
> seem to get by OK, others have no end of trouble. On NetBSD I believe
> that the problems have been solved. As for "user-friendly", it depends
> on your definition of that term. I find NetBSD's installer and package
> tools to be *very* user friendly. Debian Linux is supposed to be user
> friendly if you can get it to install, and there are a number of GUI
> frontends available for the package tools.
>
> > I was thinking of possibly debian or openBSD or something else along those
> > lines. Any installation advice would also be appreciated.
> >
>
> OpenBSD and NetBSD on Sparc have little to choose between them. Security
> fixes in one soon percolates into the other, likewise for hardware
> support. The NetBSD mailing lists seem to be a little more active
> though, and don't suffer from the lack of manners that seem to afflict
> OpenBSD officionados at times. As for installation, with NetBSD it's as
> simple as downloading the ISO image from an official mirror site,
> burning to a disc and booting with it.
>
> > In addition, since I have multiple sparcs here,  I would also be interested
> > in recommendations for an adapter that I can use to convert my moniter ,
> > mouse/keyboard for use with a VGA moniter, ps2 mouse & standard 101
> > keyboard?
> >
>
> There are adapters to allow you to connect a typical PC monitor to a
> Sun, look for 13W3 adapters at a decent computer parts website. As for
> using PS/2 keyboards and mice, I think you could be out of luck.
> However, if you can get a real Sun keyboard then I'd recommend using
> that. I still use my elderly Sparc5 as a glorified terminal because I
> love the feel of the keyboard. Otherwise you could run the machines
> headless, and simply ssh or (if you are in suitably safe environment)
> telnet to them.
>
> Chris
> --
> chris.wareham@iosystems.co.uk (work)
> chris.wareham@btopenworld.com (home)
>