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 1.18 2009/12/29 18:56:21 nightmorph Exp $ -->

<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
<guide>
<title>Gentoo Linux/SPARC Frequently Asked Questions</title>

<author title="SPARC Developer">
  <mail link="weeve"/>
</author>
<author title="Editor">
  <mail link="nightmorph"/>
</author>

<abstract>
This FAQ is designed to help answer the most commonly asked questions about
Gentoo/SPARC and Linux on SPARC architecture.  Feel free to send revisions and
corrections to the Gentoo/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>1.12</version>
<date>2010-03-02</date>

<faqindex>
<title>Questions</title>
<section>
<title>Documentation Notes</title>
<body>

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

<p>
When mentioning <c>SPARC</c>, this refers to the type of <c>sun4x</c> system.
SPARC represents the <c>sun4u</c> architecture seen in the UltraSPARC series of
systems (Ultras, Blades, SunFires, etc). Older 32-bit systems are no longer
supported by the Gentoo/SPARC team.
</p>

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

</body>
</section>
</faqindex>

<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>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>virtual memory</c> and <c>/proc
filesystem</c> support 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/SPARC and Solaris can be done one of two ways. The two ways
are: having both Gentoo/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/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/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>
</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>

</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 <uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_2.">UltraLinux
homepage</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, the Gentoo/SPARC team maintains a <uri
link="/proj/en/base/sparc/hwlist.xml">list of non-Sun PCI hardware that has
been tested on Gentoo/SPARC</uri>. To submit additions to the list, email
<mail>sparc@gentoo.org</mail> with the information on the hardware as displayed
in the existing hardware list.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>How do I know which SPARC I have?</title>
<body>

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

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>My box has more than one Sun Ethernet device. Why do they all have the
same MAC address and how do I fix it?</title>
<body>

<p>
First, the reason they all they all have the same setting is due to a value in
OpenBoot PROM (OBP). The story goes that in times past, it was assumed that if a
host had multiple interfaces, the interfaces would not reside on the same
Ethernet and therefore having the MAC address unique to a machine rather than to
a NIC wouldn't be a problem. As time went on and different technologies
developed, the opposite was proven.
</p>

<p>
As for fixing the issue, there are two ways to it; from OBP and from Linux. The
OBP variable <c>local-mac-address?</c> controls this behavior. The following
commands will help you to determine what <c>local-mac-address?</c> is set to:
</p>

<pre caption="View local-mac-address? setting from OBP">
ok <i>printenv local-mac-address?</i>
local-mac-address? =  false
</pre>

<pre caption="View local-mac-address? setting from Linux">
# <i>eeprom local-mac-address?</i>
local-mac-address?=false
</pre>

<p>
As you'll notice from the samples above, <c>local-mac-address?</c> is set to
<b>false</b>. This will cause all interfaces on a SPARC to use the same MAC
address. To change this behavior, use either of the commands below (depending
on whether you do it from OBP or Linux):
</p>

<pre caption="Set local-mac-address? from OBP">
ok <i>setenv local-mac-address?=true</i>
local-mac-address? =  true
</pre>

<pre caption="Set local-mac-address? from Linux">
# <i>eeprom local-mac-address?=true</i>
</pre>

<p>
Note that you may need to reboot to see the changes take affect.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>Is SPARC big-endian or little-endian?</title>
<body>

<p>
The version supported by Gentoo/SPARC (v9) is bi-endian. It uses big-endian
instructions, but can access data in little-endian byte-order, such as PCI
devices, which are little-endian by nature.
</p>

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

<chapter>
<title>Applications</title>
<section>
<title>
How do I get Xorg 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
<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path>.
</p>

<p>
In the "Device" section of your <path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path>, you will
want to add a line similar to the following:
</p>

<pre caption="Add to xorg.conf">
Option      "reference_clock"   "28.636 MHz"
</pre>

<p>
Other common speeds are 14.318 MHz and 29.5 MHz. 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 <uri link="/doc/en/handbook/handbook-sparc.xml?part=3&amp;chap=3">Portage
Handbook</uri>.
</p>

</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 via the
<uri link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</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 via the <uri
link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</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>
<section>
<title>Why am I getting an error related to 32/64-bit when compiling a
kernel?</title>
<body>

<p>
The way SPARC/Linux handles the cross-compiler has changed with 2.6.25 (<uri
link="http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commitdiff;h=54cd6ddec77b75e6926d73d263aec72255b24030">commit</uri>),
thus when building a recent kernel you'd get the following error message:
</p>

<pre caption="SPARC/Linux compile error message">
CHK     include/linux/version.h 
CHK     include/linux/utsrelease.h 
CC      arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.s 
arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.c:1: error: -m64 is not supported by this configuration 
arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.c:1: error: -mlong-double-64 not allowed with -m64 
arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.c:1: error: -mcmodel= is not supported on 32 bit systems 
make[1]: *** [arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.s] Error 1 
make: *** [prepare0] Error 2
</pre>

<p>
Because, for the moment (there's an <b>experimental</b> <uri
link="/proj/en/base/sparc/multilib.xml">multilib</uri> profile),
Gentoo/SPARC native compiler can't generate 64-bit code (that's what
sys-devel/kgcc64 is for).
</p>

<p>
What you need to do is to tell the SPARC/Linux Makefile what is your
cross-compiler's binary, by issuing the following commands:
</p>

<pre caption="Gentoo/SPARC kernel >=2.6.25 kernel compilation">
# <i>cd /usr/src/linux</i>
# <i>make CROSS_COMPILE=sparc64-unknown-linux-gnu-</i>
# <i>make CROSS_COMPILE=sparc64-unknown-linux-gnu- image modules_install</i>
</pre>

</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>
There are various ways to improve the project:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>The best way is to become an <uri
    link="/proj/en/base/sparc/at/index.xml">Arch Tester</uri>, and aid the
    developers with package testing.
  </li>
  <li>File bug reports such as <uri
    link="http://dev.gentoo.org/~tcunha/reports/imlate-sparc.txt">stable, and
    keyword</uri> requests.
  </li>
  <li>Join the <uri
    link="irc://irc.gentoo.org/gentoo-sparc">#gentoo-sparc</uri> IRC channel
    on the FreeNode IRC network.
  </li>
  <li>Make use of the <uri
    link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC forum</uri>.
  </li>
  <li>Propose solutions for Gentoo/SPARC related bugs via the <uri
    link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri>. The bugs will be
    assigned, or CCed to sparc@gentoo.org.
  </li>
</ul>

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

<chapter>
<title>Additional Resources</title>
<section>
<title>Where can I get more help or information about SPARC/Linux?</title>
<body>

<ul>
  <li>
    <uri link="http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/216.2">OBP Reference
    Guide</uri> - Sun's guide to the OpenBoot PROM
  </li>
  <li>
    <uri link="http://www.sunstuff.org">OSIAH</uri> - Online Sun Information
    Archive
  </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://docs.sun.com">Sun Microsystems Documentation</uri> -
    Additional hardware and software information for SPARC systems, including
    instructions for flashing OBP
  </li>
  <li>
    <uri link="http://sunsolve.sun.com">Sunsolve</uri> - Great resource for Sun
    hardware documentation
  </li>
  <li>
    <uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org">UltraLinux Homepage</uri> - Homepage
    of the SPARC/Linux port
  </li>
</ul>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>
</guide>
1	swift	1.1	<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
2	nightmorph	1.19	<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-sparc-faq.xml,v 1.18 2009/12/29 18:56:21 nightmorph Exp $ -->
3	neysx	1.2
4	swift	1.1	<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
5	nightmorph	1.17	<guide>
6	swift	1.1	<title>Gentoo Linux/SPARC Frequently Asked Questions</title>
7
8			<author title="SPARC Developer">
9	nightmorph	1.17	<mail link="weeve"/>
10	swift	1.1	</author>
11	nightmorph	1.19	<author title="Editor">
12			<mail link="nightmorph"/>
13			</author>
14	swift	1.1
15			<abstract>
16	neysx	1.2	This FAQ is designed to help answer the most commonly asked questions about
17	nightmorph	1.17	Gentoo/SPARC and Linux on SPARC architecture. Feel free to send revisions and
18			corrections to the Gentoo/SPARC team or the doc team.
19	swift	1.1	</abstract>
20	neysx	1.2
21	swift	1.1	<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
22	fox2mike	1.5	<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
23	swift	1.1	<license/>
24	jkt	1.9
25	nightmorph	1.19	<version>1.12</version>
26			<date>2010-03-02</date>
27	swift	1.1
28	neysx	1.15	<faqindex>
29			<title>Questions</title>
30			<section>
31	swift	1.1	<title>Documentation Notes</title>
32			<body>
33
34			<p>
35			These are some notes to elaborate on acronyms and terms used in this document.
36			</p>
37
38			<p>
39	nightmorph	1.14	When mentioning <c>SPARC</c>, this refers to the type of <c>sun4x</c> system.
40			SPARC represents the <c>sun4u</c> architecture seen in the UltraSPARC series of
41			systems (Ultras, Blades, SunFires, etc). Older 32-bit systems are no longer
42			supported by the Gentoo/SPARC team.
43	swift	1.1	</p>
44
45			<p>
46	neysx	1.2	Acronyms: <c>OBP</c> = OpenBoot PROM, <c>SS</c> = SPARCstation.
47	swift	1.1	</p>
48
49			</body>
50			</section>
51	neysx	1.15	</faqindex>
52	swift	1.1
53			<chapter>
54			<title>Installation</title>
55			<section>
56			<title>How do I install/use my SPARC over a serial console?</title>
57			<body>
58
59			<p>
60	neysx	1.2	First, make sure you do not have a keyboard and monitor plugged in. OBP will
61			use the monitor for output by default if either are plugged in. You will need a
62			null modem cable or a regular serial cable with a null modem adapter to be able
63			to view output.
64	swift	1.1	</p>
65
66			<p>
67	neysx	1.2	Standard serial port settings:
68	swift	1.1	</p>
69
70			<ul>
71	neysx	1.2	<li>9600 baud</li>
72			<li>8 data bits</li>
73			<li>None for parity</li>
74			<li>1 stop bits</li>
75	swift	1.1	</ul>
76
77			<p>
78	neysx	1.2	Below is a list of commonly used programs for viewing a serial console. Check
79	swift	1.1	to see if your serial console application has the ability to send a break, as
80	neysx	1.2	it can be very useful on a SPARC. The break signal on a serial console is the
81			equivalent to issuing the Stop+A command on the keyboard.
82	swift	1.1	</p>
83
84			<table>
85	swift	1.6	<tr>
86			<th>Linux</th>
87			<th>Windows</th>
88			</tr>
89			<tr>
90			<ti>Minicom</ti>
91			<ti>Hyperterm</ti>
92			</tr>
93			<tr>
94			<ti>Kermit</ti>
95			<ti>TeraTerm Pro</ti>
96			</tr>
97			<tr>
98			<ti>Console</ti>
99			<ti></ti>
100			</tr>
101			<tr>
102			<ti>Seyon</ti>
103			<ti></ti>
104			</tr>
105	swift	1.1	</table>
106
107			</body>
108			</section>
109	neysx	1.2
110	swift	1.1	<section>
111	swift	1.16	<title>I have a CRT/LCD monitor attached to my SPARC that selects a resolution
112	neysx	1.2	my monitor can't handle when the kernel boots. How do I get a visible and/or
113	swift	1.1	non-distorted display on my monitor?</title>
114			<body>
115
116			<p>
117	neysx	1.2	This problem is a result of the framebuffer support the Linux kernel loads at
118			boot time, and the modelines available on SPARC systems. Here we will assume
119			your monitor and video card will agree on a resolution of 1024 by 768 at a
120	nightmorph	1.14	refresh rate of 60 Hz. In OBP, you can set the resolution by adjusting the
121			setting for <c>output-device</c>. To view the current setting, use the command:
122	swift	1.1	</p>
123
124			<pre caption="View current settings">
125			ok <i>printenv output-device</i>
126
127			<comment><output-device> <screen> <screen></comment>
128			</pre>
129
130			<p>
131			Now, to set this so it will start the display using the above mentioned
132	neysx	1.2	resolution, we will use the <c>setenv</c> command as follows:
133	swift	1.1	</p>
134
135			<pre caption="Setting display">
136			ok <i>setenv output-device screen:r1024x768x60</i>
137
138			output-device = screen:r1024x768x60
139			</pre>
140
141			<p>
142	neysx	1.2	In order for this to take effect, you will need to reset the machine:
143	swift	1.1	</p>
144
145			<pre caption="Resetting the machine">
146			ok <i>reset</i>
147			</pre>
148
149			<p>
150			Additionally, for users using the onboard video card based on the ATI Mach64
151	neysx	1.2	chipset (Ultra 5/10 and Blade 100/150), you will want to append the following
152			to your kernel boot options:
153	swift	1.1	</p>
154
155	neysx	1.2	<pre caption="Appending a kernel boot option">
156	swift	1.1	video=atyfb:1024x768@60
157			</pre>
158
159			<p>
160	neysx	1.2	If you are booting from SILO, you can append the above string onto the end of a
161			given boot image. The following example would be if you were booting from the
162			LiveCD.
163	swift	1.1	</p>
164
165			<pre caption="Booting a Gentoo LiveCD">
166			boot: <i>gentoo video=atyfb:1024x768@60</i>
167			</pre>
168
169			<p>
170	neysx	1.2	If you were booting from the network, you would append the string onto the end
171			of the boot net command in OBP as illustrated below:
172	swift	1.1	</p>
173
174			<pre caption="Booting from the net">
175			ok <i>boot net video=atyfb:1024x768@60</i>
176			</pre>
177
178			</body>
179			</section>
180			<section>
181	swift	1.16	<title>I'm new to SPARC and am not sure what kernel options to use,
182	swift	1.1	HELP!</title>
183			<body>
184
185			<p>
186			Most of the time, the default kernel options will be acceptable for hardware
187	nightmorph	1.14	support. You will need to make sure that <c>virtual memory</c> and <c>/proc
188			filesystem</c> support is enabled in the kernel as instructed in the <uri
189	jkt	1.9	link="/doc/en/handbook/handbook-sparc.xml">Installation Handbook</uri>.
190	swift	1.1	</p>
191
192			</body>
193			</section>
194			<section>
195			<title>How do I dual boot Gentoo Linux/SPARC with Solaris?</title>
196			<body>
197
198			<p>
199	nightmorph	1.17	Dual booting Gentoo/SPARC and Solaris can be done one of two ways. The two ways
200			are: having both Gentoo/SPARC and Solaris on the same drive, or having them on
201			separate drives. Below are example SILO configurations for each scenario. In the
202			example configs, the following things are assumed:
203	swift	1.1	</p>
204
205			<p>
206	neysx	1.2	Single Drive Setup:
207	swift	1.1	</p>
208
209			<ul>
210	neysx	1.2	<li>Boot drive is SCSI ID 0</li>
211			<li>Gentoo boots from partition 1</li>
212	fox2mike	1.5	<li>Solaris boots from partition 5</li>
213	swift	1.1	</ul>
214
215			<p>
216	neysx	1.2	Separate Drive Setup:
217	swift	1.1	</p>
218
219			<ul>
220	neysx	1.2	<li>Second drive is SCSI ID 1</li>
221			<li>Gentoo is on SCSI ID 0</li>
222			<li>Solaris is on SCSI ID 1</li>
223			<li>boot-device in OBP is SCSI ID 0</li>
224	swift	1.1	</ul>
225
226
227			<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for a single drive installation">
228			<comment># Generic config options</comment>
229			partition = 1
230			timeout = 50
231
232	nightmorph	1.17	<comment># Gentoo/SPARC options</comment>
233	swift	1.1	image = /boot/vmlinux
234	neysx	1.2	label = linux
235			root=/dev/sda4
236	swift	1.1
237			<comment># Solaris options</comment>
238			other=5
239			label = Solaris
240			</pre>
241
242			<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for separate disk installation">
243			<comment># Generic config options</comment>
244			parition = 1
245			timeout = 50
246
247	nightmorph	1.17	<comment># Gentoo/SPARC options</comment>
248	swift	1.1	image = /boot/vmlinux
249	neysx	1.2	label = linux
250			root=/dev/sda4
251	swift	1.1
252			<comment># Solaris options</comment>
253			other = /sbus/espdma/esp/sd@1,0;1
254	neysx	1.8	label = solaris
255	swift	1.1	</pre>
256
257			</body>
258			</section>
259			</chapter>
260
261			<chapter>
262			<title>Hardware</title>
263			<section>
264			<title>Will Gentoo run on my SPARC?</title>
265	neysx	1.2	<body>
266	swift	1.1
267			<p>
268	neysx	1.2	It depends on the type of SPARC, but chances are yes. One exception seems to be
269			the SPARC based laptops from Tadpole, particularly the newer models. If you
270			have a working Tadpole on Gentoo/SPARC, please contact us and let us know the
271			details on the model and anything special needed to get it to work.
272	swift	1.1	</p>
273	neysx	1.2
274	swift	1.1	<p>
275	nightmorph	1.11	The Gentoo/SPARC team maintains a <uri
276			link="/proj/en/base/sparc/sunhw.xml">hardware compatibility list</uri> for
277			SPARC64 systems. In general, support for SPARC64 systems is good enough to
278			allow some users to run it successfully in production environments.
279	swift	1.1	</p>
280
281			</body>
282			</section>
283			<section>
284			<title>What additional hardware is supported under Gentoo/SPARC?</title>
285	neysx	1.2	<body>
286	swift	1.1
287			<p>
288			For a list of additionally supported Sun hardware, consult the following list
289	nightmorph	1.17	from the <uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_2.">UltraLinux
290			homepage</uri>.
291	swift	1.1	</p>
292
293			<p>
294			A partial list of Sun devices which do NOT currently have support under
295			Gentoo/SPARC or SPARC/Linux in general are:
296			</p>
297
298			<ul>
299			<li>SunPCI cards</li>
300			<li>SBUS or PCI PCMCIA controllers</li>
301			<li>Smart card readers on some Sun Blade workstations</li>
302			<li>Floppy drive on some Sun Blade workstations</li>
303			</ul>
304
305			<p>
306	nightmorph	1.12	Also, the Gentoo/SPARC team maintains a <uri
307			link="/proj/en/base/sparc/hwlist.xml">list of non-Sun PCI hardware that has
308			been tested on Gentoo/SPARC</uri>. To submit additions to the list, email
309			<mail>sparc@gentoo.org</mail> with the information on the hardware as displayed
310			in the existing hardware list.
311	swift	1.1	</p>
312
313			</body>
314			</section>
315			<section>
316	nightmorph	1.17	<title>How do I know which SPARC I have?</title>
317	swift	1.1	<body>
318
319	neysx	1.2	<p>
320	nightmorph	1.12	The <uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_1">UltraLinux FAQ</uri>
321			has the answer.
322			</p>
323
324			</body>
325			</section>
326			<section>
327			<title>My box has more than one Sun Ethernet device. Why do they all have the
328			same MAC address and how do I fix it?</title>
329			<body>
330
331			<p>
332			First, the reason they all they all have the same setting is due to a value in
333	nightmorph	1.14	OpenBoot PROM (OBP). The story goes that in times past, it was assumed that if a
334			host had multiple interfaces, the interfaces would not reside on the same
335			Ethernet and therefore having the MAC address unique to a machine rather than to
336			a NIC wouldn't be a problem. As time went on and different technologies
337	nightmorph	1.12	developed, the opposite was proven.
338			</p>
339
340			<p>
341			As for fixing the issue, there are two ways to it; from OBP and from Linux. The
342			OBP variable <c>local-mac-address?</c> controls this behavior. The following
343			commands will help you to determine what <c>local-mac-address?</c> is set to:
344			</p>
345
346			<pre caption="View local-mac-address? setting from OBP">
347			ok <i>printenv local-mac-address?</i>
348			local-mac-address? = false
349			</pre>
350
351			<pre caption="View local-mac-address? setting from Linux">
352			# <i>eeprom local-mac-address?</i>
353			local-mac-address?=false
354			</pre>
355
356			<p>
357			As you'll notice from the samples above, <c>local-mac-address?</c> is set to
358			<b>false</b>. This will cause all interfaces on a SPARC to use the same MAC
359			address. To change this behavior, use either of the commands below (depending
360			on whether you do it from OBP or Linux):
361			</p>
362
363			<pre caption="Set local-mac-address? from OBP">
364			ok <i>setenv local-mac-address?=true</i>
365			local-mac-address? = true
366			</pre>
367
368			<pre caption="Set local-mac-address? from Linux">
369			# <i>eeprom local-mac-address?=true</i>
370			</pre>
371
372			<p>
373			Note that you may need to reboot to see the changes take affect.
374	swift	1.1	</p>
375
376			</body>
377			</section>
378	nightmorph	1.17	<section>
379			<title>Is SPARC big-endian or little-endian?</title>
380			<body>
381
382			<p>
383			The version supported by Gentoo/SPARC (v9) is bi-endian. It uses big-endian
384	nightmorph	1.19	instructions, but can access data in little-endian byte-order, such as PCI
385	nightmorph	1.17	devices, which are little-endian by nature.
386			</p>
387
388			</body>
389			</section>
390	swift	1.1	</chapter>
391
392			<chapter>
393			<title>Applications</title>
394			<section>
395			<title>
396	nightmorph	1.14	How do I get Xorg to find a usable modeline on my Ultra 5/10 or Blade 100/150?
397	swift	1.1	</title>
398			<body>
399	neysx	1.2
400	swift	1.1	<p>
401			The ATI Framebuffer normally expects a PC's BIOS to set the Reference Clock
402	neysx	1.2	speed for the video card. However, on non-x86 architectures, this doesn't
403			happen. So what needs to be done is to set the Reference Clock speed in the
404	nightmorph	1.14	<path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path>.
405	swift	1.1	</p>
406
407			<p>
408	nightmorph	1.14	In the "Device" section of your <path>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</path>, you will
409			want to add a line similar to the following:
410	swift	1.1	</p>
411
412	nightmorph	1.14	<pre caption="Add to xorg.conf">
413	swift	1.1	Option "reference_clock" "28.636 MHz"
414			</pre>
415
416			<p>
417	nightmorph	1.14	Other common speeds are 14.318 MHz and 29.5 MHz. If you have issues you might
418			want to try without a similar setting first.
419	swift	1.1	</p>
420
421			</body>
422			</section>
423			<section>
424	nightmorph	1.17	<title>How come package foo is masked on SPARC?</title>
425	neysx	1.2	<body>
426	swift	1.1
427	neysx	1.2	<p>
428			Chances are this is due to the fact that none of the Gentoo/SPARC developers
429			have gotten around to testing this yet, and/or the package is currently marked
430			with the <c>~sparc</c> keyword (meaning it's in a testing phase).
431	swift	1.1	</p>
432
433			<p>
434			If you still want to install the package, you can follow the instructions from
435	nightmorph	1.14	the <uri link="/doc/en/handbook/handbook-sparc.xml?part=3&chap=3">Portage
436			Handbook</uri>.
437	swift	1.1	</p>
438
439			</body>
440			</section>
441			<section>
442			<title>How can I help get package foo marked stable?</title>
443			<body>
444	neysx	1.2
445	swift	1.1	<p>
446			If you want to help ensure a package gets marked stable in a timely fashion,
447			particularly if it's an application with a small userbase (i.e.
448	neysx	1.2	net-im/bitlbee), install the package and test to make sure it works. If it
449	nightmorph	1.17	appears to be working well, feel free to file a bug via the
450			<uri link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri> and assign it to the
451			Gentoo/SPARC team.
452	neysx	1.2	</p>
453
454	swift	1.1	</body>
455			</section>
456			<section>
457	cam	1.4	<title>I tried to emerge a package, but emerge failed complaining that a
458			dependency is masked. How can I fix this?</title>
459	swift	1.1	<body>
460	neysx	1.2
461	swift	1.1	<p>
462	nightmorph	1.17	This is a bug. Please file a bug report via the <uri
463			link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri> for the Gentoo/SPARC team
464			indicating what package you tried to emerge, the error message emerge gave you,
465			and the output of <c>emerge --info</c>.
466	neysx	1.2	</p>
467
468	swift	1.1	</body>
469			</section>
470			<section>
471	nightmorph	1.17	<title>Why am I getting an error related to 32/64-bit when compiling a
472			kernel?</title>
473	swift	1.1	<body>
474
475			<p>
476	nightmorph	1.17	The way SPARC/Linux handles the cross-compiler has changed with 2.6.25 (<uri
477			link="http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commitdiff;h=54cd6ddec77b75e6926d73d263aec72255b24030">commit</uri>),
478			thus when building a recent kernel you'd get the following error message:
479	swift	1.1	</p>
480	neysx	1.2
481	nightmorph	1.17	<pre caption="SPARC/Linux compile error message">
482			CHK include/linux/version.h
483			CHK include/linux/utsrelease.h
484			CC arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.s
485			arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.c:1: error: -m64 is not supported by this configuration
486			arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.c:1: error: -mlong-double-64 not allowed with -m64
487			arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.c:1: error: -mcmodel= is not supported on 32 bit systems
488			make[1]: *** [arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.s] Error 1
489			make: *** [prepare0] Error 2
490			</pre>
491
492	swift	1.1	<p>
493	nightmorph	1.17	Because, for the moment (there's an <b>experimental</b> <uri
494			link="/proj/en/base/sparc/multilib.xml">multilib</uri> profile),
495			Gentoo/SPARC native compiler can't generate 64-bit code (that's what
496			sys-devel/kgcc64 is for).
497	swift	1.1	</p>
498	neysx	1.2
499	swift	1.1	<p>
500	nightmorph	1.17	What you need to do is to tell the SPARC/Linux Makefile what is your
501			cross-compiler's binary, by issuing the following commands:
502	swift	1.1	</p>
503	neysx	1.2
504	nightmorph	1.17	<pre caption="Gentoo/SPARC kernel >=2.6.25 kernel compilation">
505	nightmorph	1.18	# <i>cd /usr/src/linux</i>
506			# <i>make CROSS_COMPILE=sparc64-unknown-linux-gnu-</i>
507			# <i>make CROSS_COMPILE=sparc64-unknown-linux-gnu- image modules_install</i>
508	nightmorph	1.17	</pre>
509
510	swift	1.1	</body>
511			</section>
512	nightmorph	1.17	</chapter>
513
514			<chapter>
515			<title>Miscellaneous</title>
516	swift	1.1	<section>
517	nightmorph	1.17	<title>I'm interested in becoming more involved with Gentoo/SPARC. How do I go
518			about doing that?</title>
519	swift	1.1	<body>
520	neysx	1.2
521	swift	1.1	<p>
522	nightmorph	1.17	There are various ways to improve the project:
523	swift	1.1	</p>
524	neysx	1.2
525	nightmorph	1.17	<ul>
526			<li>The best way is to become an <uri
527			link="/proj/en/base/sparc/at/index.xml">Arch Tester</uri>, and aid the
528			developers with package testing.
529			</li>
530			<li>File bug reports such as <uri
531			link="http://dev.gentoo.org/~tcunha/reports/imlate-sparc.txt">stable, and
532			keyword</uri> requests.
533			</li>
534			<li>Join the <uri
535			link="irc://irc.gentoo.org/gentoo-sparc">#gentoo-sparc</uri> IRC channel
536			on the FreeNode IRC network.
537			</li>
538			<li>Make use of the <uri
539			link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC forum</uri>.
540			</li>
541			<li>Propose solutions for Gentoo/SPARC related bugs via the <uri
542			link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri>. The bugs will be
543			assigned, or CCed to sparc@gentoo.org.
544			</li>
545			</ul>
546
547	swift	1.1	</body>
548			</section>
549			</chapter>
550
551			<chapter>
552	neysx	1.2	<title>Additional Resources</title>
553			<section>
554	nightmorph	1.17	<title>Where can I get more help or information about SPARC/Linux?</title>
555	neysx	1.2	<body>
556	swift	1.1
557	neysx	1.2	<ul>
558			<li>
559	nightmorph	1.17	<uri link="http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/216.2">OBP Reference
560			Guide</uri> - Sun's guide to the OpenBoot PROM
561			</li>
562			<li>
563	nightmorph	1.19	<uri link="http://www.sunstuff.org">OSIAH</uri> - Online Sun Information
564			Archive
565			</li>
566			<li>
567	nightmorph	1.17	<uri link="http://www.obsolyte.com">Obsolyte</uri> - Information on older
568			SPARC systems and links to a lot of other great SPARC related sites
569	fox2mike	1.5	</li>
570	neysx	1.2	<li>
571	nightmorph	1.17	<uri link="http://docs.sun.com">Sun Microsystems Documentation</uri> -
572			Additional hardware and software information for SPARC systems, including
573			instructions for flashing OBP
574	neysx	1.2	</li>
575			<li>
576	swift	1.6	<uri link="http://sunsolve.sun.com">Sunsolve</uri> - Great resource for Sun
577			hardware documentation
578	neysx	1.2	</li>
579			<li>
580	nightmorph	1.17	<uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org">UltraLinux Homepage</uri> - Homepage
581			of the SPARC/Linux port
582	neysx	1.2	</li>
583			</ul>
584	swift	1.1
585			</body>
586			</section>
587			</chapter>
588			</guide>