doc/en/gentoo-sparc-faq.xml

<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-sparc-faq.xml,v 1.10 2006/05/26 20:01:55 nightmorph Exp $ -->

<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
<guide link="/doc/en/gentoo-sparc-faq.xml">
<title>Gentoo Linux/SPARC Frequently Asked Questions</title>

<author title="SPARC Developer">
  <mail link="weeve@gentoo.org">Jason Wever</mail>
</author>

<abstract>
This FAQ is designed to help answer the most commonly asked questions about
Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Linux on SPARC architecture.  Feel free to send
revisions and corrections to the sparc team or the doc team.
</abstract>

<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
<license/>

<version>1.7</version>
<date>2006-05-26</date>

<chapter>
<title>Documentation Notes</title>
<section>
<body>

<p>
These are some notes to elaborate on acronyms and terms used in this document.
</p>

<p>
When mentioning <c>SPARC</c> and <c>SPARC64</c>, this refers to the type of
<c>sun4x</c> system.  SPARC represents the 32 bit systems using the
<c>sun4c</c>, <c>sun4d</c> and <c>sun4m</c> architectures (i.e. SPARCstations).
SPARC64 represents the <c>sun4u</c> architecture seen in the UltraSPARC series
of systems (Ultras, Blades, SunFires, etc).
</p>

<p>
Acronyms: <c>OBP</c> = OpenBoot PROM, <c>SS</c> = SPARCstation.
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

<chapter>
<title>Installation</title>
<section>
<title>How do I install/use my SPARC over a serial console?</title>
<body>

<p>
First, make sure you do not have a keyboard and monitor plugged in. OBP will
use the monitor for output by default if either are plugged in. You will need a
null modem cable or a regular serial cable with a null modem adapter to be able
to view output.
</p>

<p>
Standard serial port settings:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>9600 baud</li>
  <li>8 data bits</li>
  <li>None for parity</li>
  <li>1 stop bits</li>
</ul>

<p>
Below is a list of commonly used programs for viewing a serial console. Check
to see if your serial console application has the ability to send a break, as
it can be very useful on a SPARC. The break signal on a serial console is the
equivalent to issuing the Stop+A command on the keyboard.
</p>

<table>
<tr>
  <th>Linux</th>
  <th>Windows</th>
</tr>
<tr>
  <ti>Minicom</ti>
  <ti>Hyperterm</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <ti>Kermit</ti>
  <ti>TeraTerm Pro</ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <ti>Console</ti>
  <ti></ti>
</tr>
<tr>
  <ti>Seyon</ti>
  <ti></ti>
</tr>
</table>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>How do I network boot my SPARC system for installation?</title>
<body>

<p>
Currently, Gentoo has experimental network boot/tftpboot images available on a
local Gentoo mirror in experimental/sparc/tftpboot. Get the appropriate image
for your SPARC computer and then proceed to the Netboot HOWTO for further
instructions.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>I have a CRT/LCD monitor attached to my SPARC that selects a resolution 
my monitor can't handle when the kernel boots. How do I get a visible and/or
non-distorted display on my monitor?</title>
<body>

<p>
This problem is a result of the framebuffer support the Linux kernel loads at
boot time, and the modelines available on SPARC systems.  Here we will assume
your monitor and video card will agree on a resolution of 1024 by 768 at a
refresh rate of 60 Hz.  In OBP, you can set the resolution by adjusting the
setting for <c>output-device</c>.  To view the current setting, use the
command:
</p>

<pre caption="View current settings">
ok <i>printenv output-device</i>

<comment>&lt;output-device&gt;        &lt;screen&gt;          &lt;screen&gt;</comment>
</pre>

<p>
Now, to set this so it will start the display using the above mentioned
resolution, we will use the <c>setenv</c> command as follows:
</p>

<pre caption="Setting display">
ok <i>setenv output-device screen:r1024x768x60</i>

output-device =       screen:r1024x768x60
</pre>

<p>
In order for this to take effect, you will need to reset the machine:
</p>

<pre caption="Resetting the machine">
ok <i>reset</i>
</pre>

<p>
Additionally, for users using the onboard video card based on the ATI Mach64
chipset (Ultra 5/10 and Blade 100/150), you will want to append the following
to your kernel boot options:
</p>

<pre caption="Appending a kernel boot option">
video=atyfb:1024x768@60
</pre>

<p>
If you are booting from SILO, you can append the above string onto the end of a
given boot image. The following example would be if you were booting from the
LiveCD.
</p>

<pre caption="Booting a Gentoo LiveCD">
boot: <i>gentoo video=atyfb:1024x768@60</i>
</pre>

<p>
If you were booting from the network, you would append the string onto the end
of the boot net command in OBP as illustrated below:
</p>

<pre caption="Booting from the net">
ok <i>boot net video=atyfb:1024x768@60</i>
</pre>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>I'm new to SPARC and am not sure what kernel options to use, 
HELP!</title>
<body>

<p>
Most of the time, the default kernel options will be acceptable for hardware
support. You will need to make sure that <c>devfs</c> (in case you don't use
<c>udev</c>) and <c>virtual memory filesystem support</c> is enabled in the
kernel as instructed in the <uri
link="/doc/en/handbook/handbook-sparc.xml">Installation Handbook</uri>.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>How do I dual boot Gentoo Linux/SPARC with Solaris?</title>
<body>

<p>
Dual booting Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Solaris can be done one of two ways. The
two ways are: having both Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Solaris on the same drive, or
having them on separate drives. Below are example SILO configurations for each
scenario. In the example configs, the following things are assumed:
</p>

<p>
Single Drive Setup:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>Boot drive is SCSI ID 0</li>
  <li>Gentoo boots from partition 1</li>
  <li>Solaris boots from partition 5</li>
</ul>

<p>
Separate Drive Setup:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>Second drive is SCSI ID 1</li>
  <li>Gentoo is on SCSI ID 0</li>
  <li>Solaris is on SCSI ID 1</li>
  <li>boot-device in OBP is SCSI ID 0</li>
</ul>


<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for a single drive installation">
<comment># Generic config options</comment>
partition = 1
timeout = 50

<comment># Gentoo Linux/SPARC options</comment>
image = /boot/vmlinux
    label = linux
    root=/dev/sda4

<comment># Solaris options</comment>
other=5
    label = Solaris
</pre>

<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for separate disk installation">
<comment># Generic config options</comment>
parition = 1
timeout = 50

<comment># Gentoo Linux/SPARC options</comment>
image = /boot/vmlinux
    label = linux
    root=/dev/sda4

<comment># Solaris options</comment>
other = /sbus/espdma/esp/sd@1,0;1
    label = solaris
</pre>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>I just booted my SPARCstation after installing Gentoo but it won't boot.
Why isn't it booting?</title>
<body>

<p>
One possibility has to do with the way the that the SCSI IDs are assigned.
Gentoo/SPARC developer Keith Wesolowski provides us with the following:
</p>

<p>
Linux, normally, orders devices by SCSI ID. The lowest-numbered disk is
<c>sda</c>, the next-lowest is <c>sdb</c>, and so on. Note that <c>devfs</c>
allows you to specify devices by SCSI ID, so that adding a new device doesn't
cause your existing devices to be renamed, unless of course you use the
compatibility names. There are additional ways to solve this.
</p>

<p>
The OBP in most or all sun4c and sun4m systems aliases "disk" to the device
with SCSI ID 3, and "disk0" through "disk3" to the device with = the
corresponding SCSI ID, if it happens to be a disk rather than a tape, CDROM,
etc.
</p>

<p>
In the desktop systems of this era that support two SCA disks (the Aurora
chassis systems), the lower slot is assigned SCSI ID 3, and the upper slot is
assigned SCSI ID 1.
</p>

<p>
If you like, you can change the PROM alias "disk" to match that of "disk1" so
that the <c>boot disk</c> command causes the system to boot from the same
device Linux calls <c>sda</c>. This feels more consistent and normal,
especially for users with a PC background. Alternatively, you can simply place
the filesystem containing <path>/boot</path> (which could be the root
filesystem or a separate boot filesystem) on device ID 3 (Linux <c>sdb</c>) and
boot from it, using a root filesystem on either <c>sda</c> or <c>sdb</c>, or in
fact any other disk attached to the system.
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

<chapter>
<title>Hardware</title>
<section>
<title>Will Gentoo run on my SPARC?</title>
<body>

<p>
It depends on the type of SPARC, but chances are yes. One exception seems to be
the SPARC based laptops from Tadpole, particularly the newer models. If you
have a working Tadpole on Gentoo/SPARC, please contact us and let us know the
details on the model and anything special needed to get it to work.
</p>

<p>
The Gentoo/SPARC team maintains a <uri
link="/proj/en/base/sparc/sunhw.xml">hardware compatibility list</uri> for
SPARC64 systems. In general, support for SPARC64 systems is good enough to
allow some users to run it successfully in production environments.
</p>

<p>
32-bit SPARC systems vary. Systems with the sun4m architecture have been
reported to work fine (SS4-SS20) including SMP configurations with the later
2.4 series kernels. sun4m systems using HyperSPARC or Ross processors in a SMP
configuration will have a lot of kernel related trouble. Additionally the
author hasn't heard of any user reports in regards to the JavaStations so its
status is unknown. sun4d based systems currently do not work in the 2.4 kernel
series, and sun4c has been unstable as well.
</p>

<p>
Often, the problems encountered in trying to run Gentoo on a 32-bit SPARC
system stem from the kernel. Rob Radez (not related to Gentoo) maintains a
webpage <uri>http://osinvestor.com/sparc/</uri> with the status of SPARC system
support for various versions of the Linux kernel. This can help indicate how
usable your SPARC system would be under SPARC/Linux.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>What additional hardware is supported under Gentoo/SPARC?</title>
<body>

<p>
For a list of additionally supported Sun hardware, consult the following list
from the UltraLinux homepage -
<uri>http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_2.</uri>
</p>

<p>
A partial list of Sun devices which do NOT currently have support under
Gentoo/SPARC or SPARC/Linux in general are:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>SunPCI cards</li>
  <li>SBUS or PCI PCMCIA controllers</li>
  <li>Smart card readers on some Sun Blade workstations</li>
  <li>Floppy drive on some Sun Blade workstations</li>
</ul>

<p>
Also, Gentoo/SPARC developer Sven Blumenstein keeps a list of PC hardware that
has been tested with the PCI based SPARC64 systems at
<uri>http://dev.gentoo.org/~bazik/hw.php</uri>. Feel free to add your results
at testing PC or non-Sun hardware to the list by emailing <mail
link="bazik@gentoo.org">bazik@gentoo.org</mail> with the information on the
hardware as displayed in the existing hardware list.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>So you keep talking about sun4c/sun4d/sun4m/sun4u. How do I
know which one I have?</title>
<body>

<p>
The UltraLinux FAQ has the answer at
<uri>http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_1</uri>.
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

<chapter>
<title>Applications</title>
<section>
<title>
How do I get XFree86 to find a usable modeline on my Ultra 5/10 or Blade
100/150?
</title>
<body>

<p>
The ATI Framebuffer normally expects a PC's BIOS to set the Reference Clock
speed for the video card. However, on non-x86 architectures, this doesn't
happen. So what needs to be done is to set the Reference Clock speed in the
XF86Config file.
</p>

<p>
In the "Device" section of your XF86Config file, you will want to add a line
similar to the following:
</p>

<pre caption="Add to XF86Config">
Option      "reference_clock"   "28.636 MHz"
</pre>

<p>
The following URLs contain more information on how to set the reference clock:
<uri>http://www.xfree86.org/~dawes/4.3.0/ati5.html#26</uri>. If you have issues
you might want to try without a similar setting first.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>How come package foo is masked on Sparc?</title>
<body>

<p>
Chances are this is due to the fact that none of the Gentoo/SPARC developers
have gotten around to testing this yet, and/or the package is currently marked
with the <c>~sparc</c> keyword (meaning it's in a testing phase).
</p>

<p>
If you still want to install the package, you can follow the instructions from
the at <uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?t=33534">Portage
Masked Package FAQ</uri>.
</p>

<note>
The FAQ mentions the sparc64 keyword, which is invalid.
</note>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>How can I help get package foo marked stable?</title>
<body>

<p>
If you want to help ensure a package gets marked stable in a timely fashion,
particularly if it's an application with a small userbase (i.e.
net-im/bitlbee), install the package and test to make sure it works. If it
appears to be working well, feel free to file a bug at
<uri>http://bugs.gentoo.org</uri> and assign it to the Gentoo/SPARC team.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>I tried to emerge a package, but emerge failed complaining that a
dependency is masked. How can I fix this?</title>
<body>

<p>
This is a bug. Please file a bug report at <uri>http://bugs.gentoo.org</uri>
for the Gentoo/SPARC team indicating what package you tried to emerge, the
error message emerge gave you, and the output of <c>emerge --info</c>.
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

<chapter>
<title>Miscellaneous</title>
<section>
<title>I'm interested in becoming more involved with Gentoo/SPARC. How do I go about
doing that?</title>
<body>

<p>
The best way is to join the <c>#gentoo-sparc</c> IRC channel on Freenode IRC
network <c>irc.freenode.net</c>. This is where all of the developers hang out
and talk SPARC (amongst other things). Short of email, this is the best way to
get our attention, and blame seemant! :)
</p>

<p>
Also, many users and developers make use of the <uri
link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC forum</uri>.
This is a good place to ask questions and see what problems have come up
before, as well as talk shop about Gentoo/SPARC.
</p>

<p>
Additionally, you can view the bugs for Gentoo/SPARC via the <uri
link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri>. The bugs will be assigned
or CC'd to sparc@gentoo.org.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>Are there any currently known bugs/issues with software packages on
Gentoo/SPARC?</title>
<body>

<p>
A list of problematic packages can be found at
<uri>http://dev.gentoo.org/~weeve/problems.html</uri>
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

<chapter>
<title>Additional Resources</title>
<section>
<body>

<p>
Here is some info on the Gentoo/SPARC project itself:
</p>

<ul>
  <li><uri link="http://sparc.gentoo.org">Gentoo/SPARC Project Page</uri></li>
  <li>#gentoo-sparc - Official IRC channel on irc.freenode.net</li>
  <li>
    <uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC
    Forum</uri>
  </li>
  <li><mail>sparc@gentoo.org</mail> - Gentoo/SPARC team email address
  </li>
</ul>

<p>
Here are links to additional information about SPARC/Linux or SPARCs in general:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    <uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org">UltraLinux Homepage</uri> - Homepage
    of the SPARC/Linux port
  </li>
  <li>
    <uri link="http://sunsolve.sun.com">Sunsolve</uri> - Great resource for Sun
    hardware documentation
  </li>
  <li>
    <uri>http://docs.sun.com</uri> - Additional hardware and software
    information for SPARC systems, including instructions for flashing OBP
  </li>
  <li>
    <uri link="http://www.obsolyte.com">Obsolyte</uri> - Information on older
    SPARC systems and links to a lot of other great SPARC related sites.
  </li>
  <li>
    <uri
    link="http://040.digital-bless.com/texts/Unofficial_Sun_Blade_100_FAQ.htm">Unofficial
    Sun Blade 100 FAQ</uri> - Answers a lot of hardware related questions on
    the Blade 100
  </li>
  <li>
    <uri link="http://docs.sun.com/db/coll/216.2">OBP Reference Guide</uri> -
    Sun's guide to the OpenBoot PROM.
  </li>
</ul>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>
</guide>
1	swift	1.1	<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
2	nightmorph	1.11	<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-sparc-faq.xml,v 1.10 2006/05/26 20:01:55 nightmorph Exp $ -->
3	neysx	1.2
4	swift	1.1	<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
5	neysx	1.2	<guide link="/doc/en/gentoo-sparc-faq.xml">
6	swift	1.1	<title>Gentoo Linux/SPARC Frequently Asked Questions</title>
7
8			<author title="SPARC Developer">
9	neysx	1.2	<mail link="weeve@gentoo.org">Jason Wever</mail>
10	swift	1.1	</author>
11
12			<abstract>
13	neysx	1.2	This FAQ is designed to help answer the most commonly asked questions about
14			Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Linux on SPARC architecture. Feel free to send
15			revisions and corrections to the sparc team or the doc team.
16	swift	1.1	</abstract>
17	neysx	1.2
18	swift	1.1	<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
19	fox2mike	1.5	<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
20	swift	1.1	<license/>
21	jkt	1.9
22	nightmorph	1.11	<version>1.7</version>
23	nightmorph	1.10	<date>2006-05-26</date>
24	swift	1.1
25			<chapter>
26			<title>Documentation Notes</title>
27			<section>
28			<body>
29
30			<p>
31			These are some notes to elaborate on acronyms and terms used in this document.
32			</p>
33
34			<p>
35	neysx	1.2	When mentioning <c>SPARC</c> and <c>SPARC64</c>, this refers to the type of
36			<c>sun4x</c> system. SPARC represents the 32 bit systems using the
37			<c>sun4c</c>, <c>sun4d</c> and <c>sun4m</c> architectures (i.e. SPARCstations).
38			SPARC64 represents the <c>sun4u</c> architecture seen in the UltraSPARC series
39			of systems (Ultras, Blades, SunFires, etc).
40	swift	1.1	</p>
41
42			<p>
43	neysx	1.2	Acronyms: <c>OBP</c> = OpenBoot PROM, <c>SS</c> = SPARCstation.
44	swift	1.1	</p>
45
46			</body>
47			</section>
48			</chapter>
49
50			<chapter>
51			<title>Installation</title>
52			<section>
53			<title>How do I install/use my SPARC over a serial console?</title>
54			<body>
55
56			<p>
57	neysx	1.2	First, make sure you do not have a keyboard and monitor plugged in. OBP will
58			use the monitor for output by default if either are plugged in. You will need a
59			null modem cable or a regular serial cable with a null modem adapter to be able
60			to view output.
61	swift	1.1	</p>
62
63			<p>
64	neysx	1.2	Standard serial port settings:
65	swift	1.1	</p>
66
67			<ul>
68	neysx	1.2	<li>9600 baud</li>
69			<li>8 data bits</li>
70			<li>None for parity</li>
71			<li>1 stop bits</li>
72	swift	1.1	</ul>
73
74			<p>
75	neysx	1.2	Below is a list of commonly used programs for viewing a serial console. Check
76	swift	1.1	to see if your serial console application has the ability to send a break, as
77	neysx	1.2	it can be very useful on a SPARC. The break signal on a serial console is the
78			equivalent to issuing the Stop+A command on the keyboard.
79	swift	1.1	</p>
80
81			<table>
82	swift	1.6	<tr>
83			<th>Linux</th>
84			<th>Windows</th>
85			</tr>
86			<tr>
87			<ti>Minicom</ti>
88			<ti>Hyperterm</ti>
89			</tr>
90			<tr>
91			<ti>Kermit</ti>
92			<ti>TeraTerm Pro</ti>
93			</tr>
94			<tr>
95			<ti>Console</ti>
96			<ti></ti>
97			</tr>
98			<tr>
99			<ti>Seyon</ti>
100			<ti></ti>
101			</tr>
102	swift	1.1	</table>
103
104			</body>
105			</section>
106			<section>
107			<title>How do I network boot my SPARC system for installation?</title>
108			<body>
109
110			<p>
111	neysx	1.2	Currently, Gentoo has experimental network boot/tftpboot images available on a
112			local Gentoo mirror in experimental/sparc/tftpboot. Get the appropriate image
113			for your SPARC computer and then proceed to the Netboot HOWTO for further
114			instructions.
115	swift	1.1	</p>
116	neysx	1.2
117	swift	1.1	</body>
118			</section>
119			<section>
120			<title>I have a CRT/LCD monitor attached to my SPARC that selects a resolution
121	neysx	1.2	my monitor can't handle when the kernel boots. How do I get a visible and/or
122	swift	1.1	non-distorted display on my monitor?</title>
123			<body>
124
125			<p>
126	neysx	1.2	This problem is a result of the framebuffer support the Linux kernel loads at
127			boot time, and the modelines available on SPARC systems. Here we will assume
128			your monitor and video card will agree on a resolution of 1024 by 768 at a
129			refresh rate of 60 Hz. In OBP, you can set the resolution by adjusting the
130			setting for <c>output-device</c>. To view the current setting, use the
131			command:
132	swift	1.1	</p>
133
134			<pre caption="View current settings">
135			ok <i>printenv output-device</i>
136
137			<comment><output-device> <screen> <screen></comment>
138			</pre>
139
140			<p>
141			Now, to set this so it will start the display using the above mentioned
142	neysx	1.2	resolution, we will use the <c>setenv</c> command as follows:
143	swift	1.1	</p>
144
145			<pre caption="Setting display">
146			ok <i>setenv output-device screen:r1024x768x60</i>
147
148			output-device = screen:r1024x768x60
149			</pre>
150
151			<p>
152	neysx	1.2	In order for this to take effect, you will need to reset the machine:
153	swift	1.1	</p>
154
155			<pre caption="Resetting the machine">
156			ok <i>reset</i>
157			</pre>
158
159			<p>
160			Additionally, for users using the onboard video card based on the ATI Mach64
161	neysx	1.2	chipset (Ultra 5/10 and Blade 100/150), you will want to append the following
162			to your kernel boot options:
163	swift	1.1	</p>
164
165	neysx	1.2	<pre caption="Appending a kernel boot option">
166	swift	1.1	video=atyfb:1024x768@60
167			</pre>
168
169			<p>
170	neysx	1.2	If you are booting from SILO, you can append the above string onto the end of a
171			given boot image. The following example would be if you were booting from the
172			LiveCD.
173	swift	1.1	</p>
174
175			<pre caption="Booting a Gentoo LiveCD">
176			boot: <i>gentoo video=atyfb:1024x768@60</i>
177			</pre>
178
179			<p>
180	neysx	1.2	If you were booting from the network, you would append the string onto the end
181			of the boot net command in OBP as illustrated below:
182	swift	1.1	</p>
183
184			<pre caption="Booting from the net">
185			ok <i>boot net video=atyfb:1024x768@60</i>
186			</pre>
187
188			</body>
189			</section>
190			<section>
191			<title>I'm new to SPARC and am not sure what kernel options to use,
192			HELP!</title>
193			<body>
194
195			<p>
196			Most of the time, the default kernel options will be acceptable for hardware
197	jkt	1.9	support. You will need to make sure that <c>devfs</c> (in case you don't use
198			<c>udev</c>) and <c>virtual memory filesystem support</c> is enabled in the
199			kernel as instructed in the <uri
200			link="/doc/en/handbook/handbook-sparc.xml">Installation Handbook</uri>.
201	swift	1.1	</p>
202
203			</body>
204			</section>
205			<section>
206			<title>How do I dual boot Gentoo Linux/SPARC with Solaris?</title>
207			<body>
208
209			<p>
210	neysx	1.2	Dual booting Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Solaris can be done one of two ways. The
211			two ways are: having both Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Solaris on the same drive, or
212			having them on separate drives. Below are example SILO configurations for each
213			scenario. In the example configs, the following things are assumed:
214	swift	1.1	</p>
215
216			<p>
217	neysx	1.2	Single Drive Setup:
218	swift	1.1	</p>
219
220			<ul>
221	neysx	1.2	<li>Boot drive is SCSI ID 0</li>
222			<li>Gentoo boots from partition 1</li>
223	fox2mike	1.5	<li>Solaris boots from partition 5</li>
224	swift	1.1	</ul>
225
226			<p>
227	neysx	1.2	Separate Drive Setup:
228	swift	1.1	</p>
229
230			<ul>
231	neysx	1.2	<li>Second drive is SCSI ID 1</li>
232			<li>Gentoo is on SCSI ID 0</li>
233			<li>Solaris is on SCSI ID 1</li>
234			<li>boot-device in OBP is SCSI ID 0</li>
235	swift	1.1	</ul>
236
237
238			<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for a single drive installation">
239			<comment># Generic config options</comment>
240			partition = 1
241			timeout = 50
242
243			<comment># Gentoo Linux/SPARC options</comment>
244			image = /boot/vmlinux
245	neysx	1.2	label = linux
246			root=/dev/sda4
247	swift	1.1
248			<comment># Solaris options</comment>
249			other=5
250			label = Solaris
251			</pre>
252
253			<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for separate disk installation">
254			<comment># Generic config options</comment>
255			parition = 1
256			timeout = 50
257
258			<comment># Gentoo Linux/SPARC options</comment>
259			image = /boot/vmlinux
260	neysx	1.2	label = linux
261			root=/dev/sda4
262	swift	1.1
263			<comment># Solaris options</comment>
264			other = /sbus/espdma/esp/sd@1,0;1
265	neysx	1.8	label = solaris
266	swift	1.1	</pre>
267
268			</body>
269			</section>
270			<section>
271			<title>I just booted my SPARCstation after installing Gentoo but it won't boot.
272			Why isn't it booting?</title>
273			<body>
274
275			<p>
276			One possibility has to do with the way the that the SCSI IDs are assigned.
277	neysx	1.2	Gentoo/SPARC developer Keith Wesolowski provides us with the following:
278	swift	1.1	</p>
279
280			<p>
281	neysx	1.2	Linux, normally, orders devices by SCSI ID. The lowest-numbered disk is
282			<c>sda</c>, the next-lowest is <c>sdb</c>, and so on. Note that <c>devfs</c>
283			allows you to specify devices by SCSI ID, so that adding a new device doesn't
284			cause your existing devices to be renamed, unless of course you use the
285			compatibility names. There are additional ways to solve this.
286	swift	1.1	</p>
287
288			<p>
289	neysx	1.2	The OBP in most or all sun4c and sun4m systems aliases "disk" to the device
290			with SCSI ID 3, and "disk0" through "disk3" to the device with = the
291			corresponding SCSI ID, if it happens to be a disk rather than a tape, CDROM,
292			etc.
293	swift	1.1	</p>
294
295			<p>
296	neysx	1.2	In the desktop systems of this era that support two SCA disks (the Aurora
297			chassis systems), the lower slot is assigned SCSI ID 3, and the upper slot is
298			assigned SCSI ID 1.
299	swift	1.1	</p>
300
301			<p>
302	neysx	1.2	If you like, you can change the PROM alias "disk" to match that of "disk1" so
303			that the <c>boot disk</c> command causes the system to boot from the same
304			device Linux calls <c>sda</c>. This feels more consistent and normal,
305			especially for users with a PC background. Alternatively, you can simply place
306			the filesystem containing <path>/boot</path> (which could be the root
307			filesystem or a separate boot filesystem) on device ID 3 (Linux <c>sdb</c>) and
308			boot from it, using a root filesystem on either <c>sda</c> or <c>sdb</c>, or in
309			fact any other disk attached to the system.
310	swift	1.1	</p>
311
312			</body>
313			</section>
314			</chapter>
315
316			<chapter>
317			<title>Hardware</title>
318			<section>
319			<title>Will Gentoo run on my SPARC?</title>
320	neysx	1.2	<body>
321	swift	1.1
322			<p>
323	neysx	1.2	It depends on the type of SPARC, but chances are yes. One exception seems to be
324			the SPARC based laptops from Tadpole, particularly the newer models. If you
325			have a working Tadpole on Gentoo/SPARC, please contact us and let us know the
326			details on the model and anything special needed to get it to work.
327	swift	1.1	</p>
328	neysx	1.2
329	swift	1.1	<p>
330	nightmorph	1.11	The Gentoo/SPARC team maintains a <uri
331			link="/proj/en/base/sparc/sunhw.xml">hardware compatibility list</uri> for
332			SPARC64 systems. In general, support for SPARC64 systems is good enough to
333			allow some users to run it successfully in production environments.
334	swift	1.1	</p>
335
336			<p>
337	neysx	1.2	32-bit SPARC systems vary. Systems with the sun4m architecture have been
338			reported to work fine (SS4-SS20) including SMP configurations with the later
339			2.4 series kernels. sun4m systems using HyperSPARC or Ross processors in a SMP
340			configuration will have a lot of kernel related trouble. Additionally the
341			author hasn't heard of any user reports in regards to the JavaStations so its
342			status is unknown. sun4d based systems currently do not work in the 2.4 kernel
343			series, and sun4c has been unstable as well.
344	swift	1.1	</p>
345
346			<p>
347			Often, the problems encountered in trying to run Gentoo on a 32-bit SPARC
348	neysx	1.2	system stem from the kernel. Rob Radez (not related to Gentoo) maintains a
349			webpage <uri>http://osinvestor.com/sparc/</uri> with the status of SPARC system
350			support for various versions of the Linux kernel. This can help indicate how
351			usable your SPARC system would be under SPARC/Linux.
352	swift	1.1	</p>
353	neysx	1.2
354	swift	1.1	</body>
355			</section>
356			<section>
357			<title>What additional hardware is supported under Gentoo/SPARC?</title>
358	neysx	1.2	<body>
359	swift	1.1
360			<p>
361			For a list of additionally supported Sun hardware, consult the following list
362	neysx	1.2	from the UltraLinux homepage -
363			<uri>http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_2.</uri>
364	swift	1.1	</p>
365
366			<p>
367			A partial list of Sun devices which do NOT currently have support under
368			Gentoo/SPARC or SPARC/Linux in general are:
369			</p>
370
371			<ul>
372			<li>SunPCI cards</li>
373			<li>SBUS or PCI PCMCIA controllers</li>
374			<li>Smart card readers on some Sun Blade workstations</li>
375			<li>Floppy drive on some Sun Blade workstations</li>
376			</ul>
377
378			<p>
379	neysx	1.2	Also, Gentoo/SPARC developer Sven Blumenstein keeps a list of PC hardware that
380			has been tested with the PCI based SPARC64 systems at
381			<uri>http://dev.gentoo.org/~bazik/hw.php</uri>. Feel free to add your results
382			at testing PC or non-Sun hardware to the list by emailing <mail
383			link="bazik@gentoo.org">bazik@gentoo.org</mail> with the information on the
384			hardware as displayed in the existing hardware list.
385	swift	1.1	</p>
386
387			</body>
388			</section>
389			<section>
390	neysx	1.2	<title>So you keep talking about sun4c/sun4d/sun4m/sun4u. How do I
391			know which one I have?</title>
392	swift	1.1	<body>
393
394	neysx	1.2	<p>
395			The UltraLinux FAQ has the answer at
396			<uri>http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_1</uri>.
397	swift	1.1	</p>
398
399			</body>
400			</section>
401			</chapter>
402
403			<chapter>
404			<title>Applications</title>
405			<section>
406			<title>
407			How do I get XFree86 to find a usable modeline on my Ultra 5/10 or Blade
408			100/150?
409			</title>
410			<body>
411	neysx	1.2
412	swift	1.1	<p>
413			The ATI Framebuffer normally expects a PC's BIOS to set the Reference Clock
414	neysx	1.2	speed for the video card. However, on non-x86 architectures, this doesn't
415			happen. So what needs to be done is to set the Reference Clock speed in the
416			XF86Config file.
417	swift	1.1	</p>
418
419			<p>
420			In the "Device" section of your XF86Config file, you will want to add a line
421	neysx	1.2	similar to the following:
422	swift	1.1	</p>
423
424			<pre caption="Add to XF86Config">
425			Option "reference_clock" "28.636 MHz"
426			</pre>
427
428			<p>
429	neysx	1.2	The following URLs contain more information on how to set the reference clock:
430	swift	1.3	<uri>http://www.xfree86.org/~dawes/4.3.0/ati5.html#26</uri>. If you have issues
431			you might want to try without a similar setting first.
432	swift	1.1	</p>
433
434			</body>
435			</section>
436			<section>
437			<title>How come package foo is masked on Sparc?</title>
438	neysx	1.2	<body>
439	swift	1.1
440	neysx	1.2	<p>
441			Chances are this is due to the fact that none of the Gentoo/SPARC developers
442			have gotten around to testing this yet, and/or the package is currently marked
443			with the <c>~sparc</c> keyword (meaning it's in a testing phase).
444	swift	1.1	</p>
445
446			<p>
447			If you still want to install the package, you can follow the instructions from
448	neysx	1.2	the at <uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?t=33534">Portage
449			Masked Package FAQ</uri>.
450	swift	1.1	</p>
451
452			<note>
453			The FAQ mentions the sparc64 keyword, which is invalid.
454			</note>
455
456			</body>
457			</section>
458			<section>
459			<title>How can I help get package foo marked stable?</title>
460			<body>
461	neysx	1.2
462	swift	1.1	<p>
463			If you want to help ensure a package gets marked stable in a timely fashion,
464			particularly if it's an application with a small userbase (i.e.
465	neysx	1.2	net-im/bitlbee), install the package and test to make sure it works. If it
466			appears to be working well, feel free to file a bug at
467			<uri>http://bugs.gentoo.org</uri> and assign it to the Gentoo/SPARC team.
468			</p>
469
470	swift	1.1	</body>
471			</section>
472			<section>
473	cam	1.4	<title>I tried to emerge a package, but emerge failed complaining that a
474			dependency is masked. How can I fix this?</title>
475	swift	1.1	<body>
476	neysx	1.2
477	swift	1.1	<p>
478	neysx	1.2	This is a bug. Please file a bug report at <uri>http://bugs.gentoo.org</uri>
479			for the Gentoo/SPARC team indicating what package you tried to emerge, the
480	cam	1.4	error message emerge gave you, and the output of <c>emerge --info</c>.
481	neysx	1.2	</p>
482
483	swift	1.1	</body>
484			</section>
485			</chapter>
486
487			<chapter>
488	neysx	1.2	<title>Miscellaneous</title>
489	swift	1.1	<section>
490			<title>I'm interested in becoming more involved with Gentoo/SPARC. How do I go about
491			doing that?</title>
492			<body>
493
494			<p>
495	neysx	1.2	The best way is to join the <c>#gentoo-sparc</c> IRC channel on Freenode IRC
496			network <c>irc.freenode.net</c>. This is where all of the developers hang out
497			and talk SPARC (amongst other things). Short of email, this is the best way to
498			get our attention, and blame seemant! :)
499	swift	1.1	</p>
500	neysx	1.2
501	swift	1.1	<p>
502	neysx	1.2	Also, many users and developers make use of the <uri
503			link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC forum</uri>.
504			This is a good place to ask questions and see what problems have come up
505			before, as well as talk shop about Gentoo/SPARC.
506	swift	1.1	</p>
507	neysx	1.2
508	swift	1.1	<p>
509	neysx	1.2	Additionally, you can view the bugs for Gentoo/SPARC via the <uri
510			link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri>. The bugs will be assigned
511			or CC'd to sparc@gentoo.org.
512	swift	1.1	</p>
513	neysx	1.2
514	swift	1.1	</body>
515			</section>
516			<section>
517			<title>Are there any currently known bugs/issues with software packages on
518			Gentoo/SPARC?</title>
519			<body>
520	neysx	1.2
521	swift	1.1	<p>
522			A list of problematic packages can be found at
523			<uri>http://dev.gentoo.org/~weeve/problems.html</uri>
524			</p>
525	neysx	1.2
526	swift	1.1	</body>
527			</section>
528			</chapter>
529
530			<chapter>
531	neysx	1.2	<title>Additional Resources</title>
532			<section>
533			<body>
534	swift	1.1
535			<p>
536	neysx	1.2	Here is some info on the Gentoo/SPARC project itself:
537	swift	1.1	</p>
538	neysx	1.2
539			<ul>
540	swift	1.6	<li><uri link="http://sparc.gentoo.org">Gentoo/SPARC Project Page</uri></li>
541			<li>#gentoo-sparc - Official IRC channel on irc.freenode.net</li>
542	neysx	1.2	<li>
543	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC
544			Forum</uri>
545	fox2mike	1.5	</li>
546	swift	1.6	<li><mail>sparc@gentoo.org</mail> - Gentoo/SPARC team email address
547	neysx	1.2	</li>
548			</ul>
549
550	swift	1.1	<p>
551	neysx	1.2	Here are links to additional information about SPARC/Linux or SPARCs in general:
552	swift	1.1	</p>
553	neysx	1.2
554			<ul>
555			<li>
556	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org">UltraLinux Homepage</uri> - Homepage
557			of the SPARC/Linux port
558	neysx	1.2	</li>
559			<li>
560	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://sunsolve.sun.com">Sunsolve</uri> - Great resource for Sun
561			hardware documentation
562	neysx	1.2	</li>
563			<li>
564	swift	1.6	<uri>http://docs.sun.com</uri> - Additional hardware and software
565			information for SPARC systems, including instructions for flashing OBP
566	neysx	1.2	</li>
567			<li>
568	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://www.obsolyte.com">Obsolyte</uri> - Information on older
569			SPARC systems and links to a lot of other great SPARC related sites.
570	neysx	1.2	</li>
571			<li>
572	swift	1.6	<uri
573			link="http://040.digital-bless.com/texts/Unofficial_Sun_Blade_100_FAQ.htm">Unofficial
574			Sun Blade 100 FAQ</uri> - Answers a lot of hardware related questions on
575			the Blade 100
576	neysx	1.2	</li>
577			<li>
578	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://docs.sun.com/db/coll/216.2">OBP Reference Guide</uri> -
579			Sun's guide to the OpenBoot PROM.
580	neysx	1.2	</li>
581			</ul>
582	swift	1.1
583			</body>
584			</section>
585			</chapter>
586			</guide>