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 1.7 2005/10/27 19:41:57 rane 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>1.4</version>
<date>2005-10-28</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> and <c>virtual memory
filesystem support</c> is enabled in the kernel as instructed in the <uri
link="http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/">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>
Gentoo/SPARC Developer Todd Sunderlin keeps a partial list of the status of
SPARC64 systems under Gentoo at
<uri>http://dev.gentoo.org/~todd/sparc64.html</uri>. Email him with any
additions or possible changes to <mail
link="todd@gentoo.org">todd@gentoo.org</mail>. 
</p>

<p>
To add details on your model SPARC64 to the list, email <mail
link="todd@gentoo.org">todd@gentoo.org</mail> with the pertinent information.
In general, support for the 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	neysx	1.8	<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-sparc-faq.xml,v 1.7 2005/10/27 19:41:57 rane 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	rane	1.7	<version>1.4</version>
22			<date>2005-10-28</date>
23	swift	1.1
24			<chapter>
25			<title>Documentation Notes</title>
26			<section>
27			<body>
28
29			<p>
30			These are some notes to elaborate on acronyms and terms used in this document.
31			</p>
32
33			<p>
34	neysx	1.2	When mentioning <c>SPARC</c> and <c>SPARC64</c>, this refers to the type of
35			<c>sun4x</c> system. SPARC represents the 32 bit systems using the
36			<c>sun4c</c>, <c>sun4d</c> and <c>sun4m</c> architectures (i.e. SPARCstations).
37			SPARC64 represents the <c>sun4u</c> architecture seen in the UltraSPARC series
38			of systems (Ultras, Blades, SunFires, etc).
39	swift	1.1	</p>
40
41			<p>
42	neysx	1.2	Acronyms: <c>OBP</c> = OpenBoot PROM, <c>SS</c> = SPARCstation.
43	swift	1.1	</p>
44
45			</body>
46			</section>
47			</chapter>
48
49			<chapter>
50			<title>Installation</title>
51			<section>
52			<title>How do I install/use my SPARC over a serial console?</title>
53			<body>
54
55			<p>
56	neysx	1.2	First, make sure you do not have a keyboard and monitor plugged in. OBP will
57			use the monitor for output by default if either are plugged in. You will need a
58			null modem cable or a regular serial cable with a null modem adapter to be able
59			to view output.
60	swift	1.1	</p>
61
62			<p>
63	neysx	1.2	Standard serial port settings:
64	swift	1.1	</p>
65
66			<ul>
67	neysx	1.2	<li>9600 baud</li>
68			<li>8 data bits</li>
69			<li>None for parity</li>
70			<li>1 stop bits</li>
71	swift	1.1	</ul>
72
73			<p>
74	neysx	1.2	Below is a list of commonly used programs for viewing a serial console. Check
75	swift	1.1	to see if your serial console application has the ability to send a break, as
76	neysx	1.2	it can be very useful on a SPARC. The break signal on a serial console is the
77			equivalent to issuing the Stop+A command on the keyboard.
78	swift	1.1	</p>
79
80			<table>
81	swift	1.6	<tr>
82			<th>Linux</th>
83			<th>Windows</th>
84			</tr>
85			<tr>
86			<ti>Minicom</ti>
87			<ti>Hyperterm</ti>
88			</tr>
89			<tr>
90			<ti>Kermit</ti>
91			<ti>TeraTerm Pro</ti>
92			</tr>
93			<tr>
94			<ti>Console</ti>
95			<ti></ti>
96			</tr>
97			<tr>
98			<ti>Seyon</ti>
99			<ti></ti>
100			</tr>
101	swift	1.1	</table>
102
103			</body>
104			</section>
105			<section>
106			<title>How do I network boot my SPARC system for installation?</title>
107			<body>
108
109			<p>
110	neysx	1.2	Currently, Gentoo has experimental network boot/tftpboot images available on a
111			local Gentoo mirror in experimental/sparc/tftpboot. Get the appropriate image
112			for your SPARC computer and then proceed to the Netboot HOWTO for further
113			instructions.
114	swift	1.1	</p>
115	neysx	1.2
116	swift	1.1	</body>
117			</section>
118			<section>
119			<title>I have a CRT/LCD monitor attached to my SPARC that selects a resolution
120	neysx	1.2	my monitor can't handle when the kernel boots. How do I get a visible and/or
121	swift	1.1	non-distorted display on my monitor?</title>
122			<body>
123
124			<p>
125	neysx	1.2	This problem is a result of the framebuffer support the Linux kernel loads at
126			boot time, and the modelines available on SPARC systems. Here we will assume
127			your monitor and video card will agree on a resolution of 1024 by 768 at a
128			refresh rate of 60 Hz. In OBP, you can set the resolution by adjusting the
129			setting for <c>output-device</c>. To view the current setting, use the
130			command:
131	swift	1.1	</p>
132
133			<pre caption="View current settings">
134			ok <i>printenv output-device</i>
135
136			<comment><output-device> <screen> <screen></comment>
137			</pre>
138
139			<p>
140			Now, to set this so it will start the display using the above mentioned
141	neysx	1.2	resolution, we will use the <c>setenv</c> command as follows:
142	swift	1.1	</p>
143
144			<pre caption="Setting display">
145			ok <i>setenv output-device screen:r1024x768x60</i>
146
147			output-device = screen:r1024x768x60
148			</pre>
149
150			<p>
151	neysx	1.2	In order for this to take effect, you will need to reset the machine:
152	swift	1.1	</p>
153
154			<pre caption="Resetting the machine">
155			ok <i>reset</i>
156			</pre>
157
158			<p>
159			Additionally, for users using the onboard video card based on the ATI Mach64
160	neysx	1.2	chipset (Ultra 5/10 and Blade 100/150), you will want to append the following
161			to your kernel boot options:
162	swift	1.1	</p>
163
164	neysx	1.2	<pre caption="Appending a kernel boot option">
165	swift	1.1	video=atyfb:1024x768@60
166			</pre>
167
168			<p>
169	neysx	1.2	If you are booting from SILO, you can append the above string onto the end of a
170			given boot image. The following example would be if you were booting from the
171			LiveCD.
172	swift	1.1	</p>
173
174			<pre caption="Booting a Gentoo LiveCD">
175			boot: <i>gentoo video=atyfb:1024x768@60</i>
176			</pre>
177
178			<p>
179	neysx	1.2	If you were booting from the network, you would append the string onto the end
180			of the boot net command in OBP as illustrated below:
181	swift	1.1	</p>
182
183			<pre caption="Booting from the net">
184			ok <i>boot net video=atyfb:1024x768@60</i>
185			</pre>
186
187			</body>
188			</section>
189			<section>
190			<title>I'm new to SPARC and am not sure what kernel options to use,
191			HELP!</title>
192			<body>
193
194			<p>
195			Most of the time, the default kernel options will be acceptable for hardware
196	neysx	1.2	support. You will need to make sure that <c>devfs</c> and <c>virtual memory
197			filesystem support</c> is enabled in the kernel as instructed in the <uri
198			link="http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/">Installation Handbook</uri>.
199	swift	1.1	</p>
200
201			</body>
202			</section>
203			<section>
204			<title>How do I dual boot Gentoo Linux/SPARC with Solaris?</title>
205			<body>
206
207			<p>
208	neysx	1.2	Dual booting Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Solaris can be done one of two ways. The
209			two ways are: having both Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Solaris on the same drive, or
210			having them on separate drives. Below are example SILO configurations for each
211			scenario. In the example configs, the following things are assumed:
212	swift	1.1	</p>
213
214			<p>
215	neysx	1.2	Single Drive Setup:
216	swift	1.1	</p>
217
218			<ul>
219	neysx	1.2	<li>Boot drive is SCSI ID 0</li>
220			<li>Gentoo boots from partition 1</li>
221	fox2mike	1.5	<li>Solaris boots from partition 5</li>
222	swift	1.1	</ul>
223
224			<p>
225	neysx	1.2	Separate Drive Setup:
226	swift	1.1	</p>
227
228			<ul>
229	neysx	1.2	<li>Second drive is SCSI ID 1</li>
230			<li>Gentoo is on SCSI ID 0</li>
231			<li>Solaris is on SCSI ID 1</li>
232			<li>boot-device in OBP is SCSI ID 0</li>
233	swift	1.1	</ul>
234
235
236			<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for a single drive installation">
237			<comment># Generic config options</comment>
238			partition = 1
239			timeout = 50
240
241			<comment># Gentoo Linux/SPARC options</comment>
242			image = /boot/vmlinux
243	neysx	1.2	label = linux
244			root=/dev/sda4
245	swift	1.1
246			<comment># Solaris options</comment>
247			other=5
248			label = Solaris
249			</pre>
250
251			<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for separate disk installation">
252			<comment># Generic config options</comment>
253			parition = 1
254			timeout = 50
255
256			<comment># Gentoo Linux/SPARC options</comment>
257			image = /boot/vmlinux
258	neysx	1.2	label = linux
259			root=/dev/sda4
260	swift	1.1
261			<comment># Solaris options</comment>
262			other = /sbus/espdma/esp/sd@1,0;1
263	neysx	1.8	label = solaris
264	swift	1.1	</pre>
265
266			</body>
267			</section>
268			<section>
269			<title>I just booted my SPARCstation after installing Gentoo but it won't boot.
270			Why isn't it booting?</title>
271			<body>
272
273			<p>
274			One possibility has to do with the way the that the SCSI IDs are assigned.
275	neysx	1.2	Gentoo/SPARC developer Keith Wesolowski provides us with the following:
276	swift	1.1	</p>
277
278			<p>
279	neysx	1.2	Linux, normally, orders devices by SCSI ID. The lowest-numbered disk is
280			<c>sda</c>, the next-lowest is <c>sdb</c>, and so on. Note that <c>devfs</c>
281			allows you to specify devices by SCSI ID, so that adding a new device doesn't
282			cause your existing devices to be renamed, unless of course you use the
283			compatibility names. There are additional ways to solve this.
284	swift	1.1	</p>
285
286			<p>
287	neysx	1.2	The OBP in most or all sun4c and sun4m systems aliases "disk" to the device
288			with SCSI ID 3, and "disk0" through "disk3" to the device with = the
289			corresponding SCSI ID, if it happens to be a disk rather than a tape, CDROM,
290			etc.
291	swift	1.1	</p>
292
293			<p>
294	neysx	1.2	In the desktop systems of this era that support two SCA disks (the Aurora
295			chassis systems), the lower slot is assigned SCSI ID 3, and the upper slot is
296			assigned SCSI ID 1.
297	swift	1.1	</p>
298
299			<p>
300	neysx	1.2	If you like, you can change the PROM alias "disk" to match that of "disk1" so
301			that the <c>boot disk</c> command causes the system to boot from the same
302			device Linux calls <c>sda</c>. This feels more consistent and normal,
303			especially for users with a PC background. Alternatively, you can simply place
304			the filesystem containing <path>/boot</path> (which could be the root
305			filesystem or a separate boot filesystem) on device ID 3 (Linux <c>sdb</c>) and
306			boot from it, using a root filesystem on either <c>sda</c> or <c>sdb</c>, or in
307			fact any other disk attached to the system.
308	swift	1.1	</p>
309
310			</body>
311			</section>
312			</chapter>
313
314			<chapter>
315			<title>Hardware</title>
316			<section>
317			<title>Will Gentoo run on my SPARC?</title>
318	neysx	1.2	<body>
319	swift	1.1
320			<p>
321	neysx	1.2	It depends on the type of SPARC, but chances are yes. One exception seems to be
322			the SPARC based laptops from Tadpole, particularly the newer models. If you
323			have a working Tadpole on Gentoo/SPARC, please contact us and let us know the
324			details on the model and anything special needed to get it to work.
325	swift	1.1	</p>
326	neysx	1.2
327	swift	1.1	<p>
328			Gentoo/SPARC Developer Todd Sunderlin keeps a partial list of the status of
329	neysx	1.2	SPARC64 systems under Gentoo at
330			<uri>http://dev.gentoo.org/~todd/sparc64.html</uri>. Email him with any
331			additions or possible changes to <mail
332			link="todd@gentoo.org">todd@gentoo.org</mail>.
333	swift	1.1	</p>
334
335			<p>
336	neysx	1.2	To add details on your model SPARC64 to the list, email <mail
337			link="todd@gentoo.org">todd@gentoo.org</mail> with the pertinent information.
338			In general, support for the SPARC64 systems is good enough to allow some users
339			to run it successfully in production environments.
340	swift	1.1	</p>
341
342			<p>
343	neysx	1.2	32-bit SPARC systems vary. Systems with the sun4m architecture have been
344			reported to work fine (SS4-SS20) including SMP configurations with the later
345			2.4 series kernels. sun4m systems using HyperSPARC or Ross processors in a SMP
346			configuration will have a lot of kernel related trouble. Additionally the
347			author hasn't heard of any user reports in regards to the JavaStations so its
348			status is unknown. sun4d based systems currently do not work in the 2.4 kernel
349			series, and sun4c has been unstable as well.
350	swift	1.1	</p>
351
352			<p>
353			Often, the problems encountered in trying to run Gentoo on a 32-bit SPARC
354	neysx	1.2	system stem from the kernel. Rob Radez (not related to Gentoo) maintains a
355			webpage <uri>http://osinvestor.com/sparc/</uri> with the status of SPARC system
356			support for various versions of the Linux kernel. This can help indicate how
357			usable your SPARC system would be under SPARC/Linux.
358	swift	1.1	</p>
359	neysx	1.2
360	swift	1.1	</body>
361			</section>
362			<section>
363			<title>What additional hardware is supported under Gentoo/SPARC?</title>
364	neysx	1.2	<body>
365	swift	1.1
366			<p>
367			For a list of additionally supported Sun hardware, consult the following list
368	neysx	1.2	from the UltraLinux homepage -
369			<uri>http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_2.</uri>
370	swift	1.1	</p>
371
372			<p>
373			A partial list of Sun devices which do NOT currently have support under
374			Gentoo/SPARC or SPARC/Linux in general are:
375			</p>
376
377			<ul>
378			<li>SunPCI cards</li>
379			<li>SBUS or PCI PCMCIA controllers</li>
380			<li>Smart card readers on some Sun Blade workstations</li>
381			<li>Floppy drive on some Sun Blade workstations</li>
382			</ul>
383
384			<p>
385	neysx	1.2	Also, Gentoo/SPARC developer Sven Blumenstein keeps a list of PC hardware that
386			has been tested with the PCI based SPARC64 systems at
387			<uri>http://dev.gentoo.org/~bazik/hw.php</uri>. Feel free to add your results
388			at testing PC or non-Sun hardware to the list by emailing <mail
389			link="bazik@gentoo.org">bazik@gentoo.org</mail> with the information on the
390			hardware as displayed in the existing hardware list.
391	swift	1.1	</p>
392
393			</body>
394			</section>
395			<section>
396	neysx	1.2	<title>So you keep talking about sun4c/sun4d/sun4m/sun4u. How do I
397			know which one I have?</title>
398	swift	1.1	<body>
399
400	neysx	1.2	<p>
401			The UltraLinux FAQ has the answer at
402			<uri>http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_1</uri>.
403	swift	1.1	</p>
404
405			</body>
406			</section>
407			</chapter>
408
409			<chapter>
410			<title>Applications</title>
411			<section>
412			<title>
413			How do I get XFree86 to find a usable modeline on my Ultra 5/10 or Blade
414			100/150?
415			</title>
416			<body>
417	neysx	1.2
418	swift	1.1	<p>
419			The ATI Framebuffer normally expects a PC's BIOS to set the Reference Clock
420	neysx	1.2	speed for the video card. However, on non-x86 architectures, this doesn't
421			happen. So what needs to be done is to set the Reference Clock speed in the
422			XF86Config file.
423	swift	1.1	</p>
424
425			<p>
426			In the "Device" section of your XF86Config file, you will want to add a line
427	neysx	1.2	similar to the following:
428	swift	1.1	</p>
429
430			<pre caption="Add to XF86Config">
431			Option "reference_clock" "28.636 MHz"
432			</pre>
433
434			<p>
435	neysx	1.2	The following URLs contain more information on how to set the reference clock:
436	swift	1.3	<uri>http://www.xfree86.org/~dawes/4.3.0/ati5.html#26</uri>. If you have issues
437			you might want to try without a similar setting first.
438	swift	1.1	</p>
439
440			</body>
441			</section>
442			<section>
443			<title>How come package foo is masked on Sparc?</title>
444	neysx	1.2	<body>
445	swift	1.1
446	neysx	1.2	<p>
447			Chances are this is due to the fact that none of the Gentoo/SPARC developers
448			have gotten around to testing this yet, and/or the package is currently marked
449			with the <c>~sparc</c> keyword (meaning it's in a testing phase).
450	swift	1.1	</p>
451
452			<p>
453			If you still want to install the package, you can follow the instructions from
454	neysx	1.2	the at <uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?t=33534">Portage
455			Masked Package FAQ</uri>.
456	swift	1.1	</p>
457
458			<note>
459			The FAQ mentions the sparc64 keyword, which is invalid.
460			</note>
461
462			</body>
463			</section>
464			<section>
465			<title>How can I help get package foo marked stable?</title>
466			<body>
467	neysx	1.2
468	swift	1.1	<p>
469			If you want to help ensure a package gets marked stable in a timely fashion,
470			particularly if it's an application with a small userbase (i.e.
471	neysx	1.2	net-im/bitlbee), install the package and test to make sure it works. If it
472			appears to be working well, feel free to file a bug at
473			<uri>http://bugs.gentoo.org</uri> and assign it to the Gentoo/SPARC team.
474			</p>
475
476	swift	1.1	</body>
477			</section>
478			<section>
479	cam	1.4	<title>I tried to emerge a package, but emerge failed complaining that a
480			dependency is masked. How can I fix this?</title>
481	swift	1.1	<body>
482	neysx	1.2
483	swift	1.1	<p>
484	neysx	1.2	This is a bug. Please file a bug report at <uri>http://bugs.gentoo.org</uri>
485			for the Gentoo/SPARC team indicating what package you tried to emerge, the
486	cam	1.4	error message emerge gave you, and the output of <c>emerge --info</c>.
487	neysx	1.2	</p>
488
489	swift	1.1	</body>
490			</section>
491			</chapter>
492
493			<chapter>
494	neysx	1.2	<title>Miscellaneous</title>
495	swift	1.1	<section>
496			<title>I'm interested in becoming more involved with Gentoo/SPARC. How do I go about
497			doing that?</title>
498			<body>
499
500			<p>
501	neysx	1.2	The best way is to join the <c>#gentoo-sparc</c> IRC channel on Freenode IRC
502			network <c>irc.freenode.net</c>. This is where all of the developers hang out
503			and talk SPARC (amongst other things). Short of email, this is the best way to
504			get our attention, and blame seemant! :)
505	swift	1.1	</p>
506	neysx	1.2
507	swift	1.1	<p>
508	neysx	1.2	Also, many users and developers make use of the <uri
509			link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC forum</uri>.
510			This is a good place to ask questions and see what problems have come up
511			before, as well as talk shop about Gentoo/SPARC.
512	swift	1.1	</p>
513	neysx	1.2
514	swift	1.1	<p>
515	neysx	1.2	Additionally, you can view the bugs for Gentoo/SPARC via the <uri
516			link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri>. The bugs will be assigned
517			or CC'd to sparc@gentoo.org.
518	swift	1.1	</p>
519	neysx	1.2
520	swift	1.1	</body>
521			</section>
522			<section>
523			<title>Are there any currently known bugs/issues with software packages on
524			Gentoo/SPARC?</title>
525			<body>
526	neysx	1.2
527	swift	1.1	<p>
528			A list of problematic packages can be found at
529			<uri>http://dev.gentoo.org/~weeve/problems.html</uri>
530			</p>
531	neysx	1.2
532	swift	1.1	</body>
533			</section>
534			</chapter>
535
536			<chapter>
537	neysx	1.2	<title>Additional Resources</title>
538			<section>
539			<body>
540	swift	1.1
541			<p>
542	neysx	1.2	Here is some info on the Gentoo/SPARC project itself:
543	swift	1.1	</p>
544	neysx	1.2
545			<ul>
546	swift	1.6	<li><uri link="http://sparc.gentoo.org">Gentoo/SPARC Project Page</uri></li>
547			<li>#gentoo-sparc - Official IRC channel on irc.freenode.net</li>
548	neysx	1.2	<li>
549	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC
550			Forum</uri>
551	fox2mike	1.5	</li>
552	swift	1.6	<li><mail>sparc@gentoo.org</mail> - Gentoo/SPARC team email address
553	neysx	1.2	</li>
554			</ul>
555
556	swift	1.1	<p>
557	neysx	1.2	Here are links to additional information about SPARC/Linux or SPARCs in general:
558	swift	1.1	</p>
559	neysx	1.2
560			<ul>
561			<li>
562	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org">UltraLinux Homepage</uri> - Homepage
563			of the SPARC/Linux port
564	neysx	1.2	</li>
565			<li>
566	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://sunsolve.sun.com">Sunsolve</uri> - Great resource for Sun
567			hardware documentation
568	neysx	1.2	</li>
569			<li>
570	swift	1.6	<uri>http://docs.sun.com</uri> - Additional hardware and software
571			information for SPARC systems, including instructions for flashing OBP
572	neysx	1.2	</li>
573			<li>
574	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://www.obsolyte.com">Obsolyte</uri> - Information on older
575			SPARC systems and links to a lot of other great SPARC related sites.
576	neysx	1.2	</li>
577			<li>
578	swift	1.6	<uri
579			link="http://040.digital-bless.com/texts/Unofficial_Sun_Blade_100_FAQ.htm">Unofficial
580			Sun Blade 100 FAQ</uri> - Answers a lot of hardware related questions on
581			the Blade 100
582	neysx	1.2	</li>
583			<li>
584	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://docs.sun.com/db/coll/216.2">OBP Reference Guide</uri> -
585			Sun's guide to the OpenBoot PROM.
586	neysx	1.2	</li>
587			</ul>
588	swift	1.1
589			</body>
590			</section>
591			</chapter>
592			</guide>