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1<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?> 1<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
2<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-sparc-faq.xml,v 1.16 2008/05/21 19:41:05 swift Exp $ --> 2<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-sparc-faq.xml,v 1.17 2009/12/14 21:33:15 nightmorph Exp $ -->
3 3
4<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd"> 4<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
5<guide link="/doc/en/gentoo-sparc-faq.xml"> 5<guide>
6<title>Gentoo Linux/SPARC Frequently Asked Questions</title> 6<title>Gentoo Linux/SPARC Frequently Asked Questions</title>
7 7
8<author title="SPARC Developer"> 8<author title="SPARC Developer">
9 <mail link="weeve@gentoo.org">Jason Wever</mail> 9 <mail link="weeve"/>
10</author> 10</author>
11 11
12<abstract> 12<abstract>
13This FAQ is designed to help answer the most commonly asked questions about 13This FAQ is designed to help answer the most commonly asked questions about
14Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Linux on SPARC architecture. Feel free to send 14Gentoo/SPARC and Linux on SPARC architecture. Feel free to send revisions and
15revisions and corrections to the sparc team or the doc team. 15corrections to the Gentoo/SPARC team or the doc team.
16</abstract> 16</abstract>
17 17
18<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license --> 18<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
19<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 --> 19<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
20<license/> 20<license/>
21 21
22<version>1.9</version> 22<version>1.10</version>
23<date>2007-06-30</date> 23<date>2009-12-14</date>
24 24
25<faqindex> 25<faqindex>
26<title>Questions</title> 26<title>Questions</title>
27<section> 27<section>
28<title>Documentation Notes</title> 28<title>Documentation Notes</title>
… …
101</tr> 101</tr>
102</table> 102</table>
103 103
104</body> 104</body>
105</section> 105</section>
106<!-- sparc32 is no longer supported
107<section>
108<title>How do I network boot my SPARC system for installation?</title>
109<body>
110 106
111<p>
112Currently, Gentoo has experimental network boot/tftpboot images available on a
113local Gentoo mirror in experimental/sparc/tftpboot. Get the appropriate image
114for your SPARC computer and then proceed to the Netboot HOWTO for further
115instructions.
116</p>
117
118</body>
119</section>
120-->
121<section> 107<section>
122<title>I have a CRT/LCD monitor attached to my SPARC that selects a resolution 108<title>I have a CRT/LCD monitor attached to my SPARC that selects a resolution
123my monitor can't handle when the kernel boots. How do I get a visible and/or 109my monitor can't handle when the kernel boots. How do I get a visible and/or
124non-distorted display on my monitor?</title> 110non-distorted display on my monitor?</title>
125<body> 111<body>
… …
205<section> 191<section>
206<title>How do I dual boot Gentoo Linux/SPARC with Solaris?</title> 192<title>How do I dual boot Gentoo Linux/SPARC with Solaris?</title>
207<body> 193<body>
208 194
209<p> 195<p>
210Dual booting Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Solaris can be done one of two ways. The 196Dual booting Gentoo/SPARC and Solaris can be done one of two ways. The two ways
211two ways are: having both Gentoo Linux/SPARC and Solaris on the same drive, or 197are: having both Gentoo/SPARC and Solaris on the same drive, or having them on
212having them on separate drives. Below are example SILO configurations for each 198separate drives. Below are example SILO configurations for each scenario. In the
213scenario. In the example configs, the following things are assumed: 199example configs, the following things are assumed:
214</p> 200</p>
215 201
216<p> 202<p>
217Single Drive Setup: 203Single Drive Setup:
218</p> 204</p>
… …
238<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for a single drive installation"> 224<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for a single drive installation">
239<comment># Generic config options</comment> 225<comment># Generic config options</comment>
240partition = 1 226partition = 1
241timeout = 50 227timeout = 50
242 228
243<comment># Gentoo Linux/SPARC options</comment> 229<comment># Gentoo/SPARC options</comment>
244image = /boot/vmlinux 230image = /boot/vmlinux
245 label = linux 231 label = linux
246 root=/dev/sda4 232 root=/dev/sda4
247 233
248<comment># Solaris options</comment> 234<comment># Solaris options</comment>
… …
253<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for separate disk installation"> 239<pre caption="Sample silo.conf for separate disk installation">
254<comment># Generic config options</comment> 240<comment># Generic config options</comment>
255parition = 1 241parition = 1
256timeout = 50 242timeout = 50
257 243
258<comment># Gentoo Linux/SPARC options</comment> 244<comment># Gentoo/SPARC options</comment>
259image = /boot/vmlinux 245image = /boot/vmlinux
260 label = linux 246 label = linux
261 root=/dev/sda4 247 root=/dev/sda4
262 248
263<comment># Solaris options</comment> 249<comment># Solaris options</comment>
… …
265 label = solaris 251 label = solaris
266</pre> 252</pre>
267 253
268</body> 254</body>
269</section> 255</section>
270<!-- sparc32 is no longer supported
271<section>
272<title>I just booted my SPARCstation after installing Gentoo but it won't boot.
273Why isn't it booting?</title>
274<body>
275
276<p>
277One possibility has to do with the way the that the SCSI IDs are assigned.
278Gentoo/SPARC developer Keith Wesolowski provides us with the following:
279</p>
280
281<p>
282Linux, normally, orders devices by SCSI ID. The lowest-numbered disk is
283<c>sda</c>, the next-lowest is <c>sdb</c>, and so on. Note that <c>devfs</c>
284allows you to specify devices by SCSI ID, so that adding a new device doesn't
285cause your existing devices to be renamed, unless of course you use the
286compatibility names. There are additional ways to solve this.
287</p>
288
289<p>
290The OBP in most or all sun4c and sun4m systems aliases "disk" to the device with
291SCSI ID 3, and "disk0" through "disk3" to the device with the corresponding SCSI
292ID, if it happens to be a disk rather than a tape, CDROM, etc.
293</p>
294
295<p>
296In the desktop systems of this era that support two SCA disks (the Aurora
297chassis systems), the lower slot is assigned SCSI ID 3, and the upper slot is
298assigned SCSI ID 1.
299</p>
300
301<p>
302If you like, you can change the PROM alias "disk" to match that of "disk1" so
303that the <c>boot disk</c> command causes the system to boot from the same
304device Linux calls <c>sda</c>. This feels more consistent and normal,
305especially for users with a PC background. Alternatively, you can simply place
306the filesystem containing <path>/boot</path> (which could be the root
307filesystem or a separate boot filesystem) on device ID 3 (Linux <c>sdb</c>) and
308boot from it, using a root filesystem on either <c>sda</c> or <c>sdb</c>, or in
309fact any other disk attached to the system.
310</p>
311
312</body>
313</section>
314-->
315</chapter> 256</chapter>
316 257
317<chapter> 258<chapter>
318<title>Hardware</title> 259<title>Hardware</title>
319<section> 260<section>
… …
332link="/proj/en/base/sparc/sunhw.xml">hardware compatibility list</uri> for 273link="/proj/en/base/sparc/sunhw.xml">hardware compatibility list</uri> for
333SPARC64 systems. In general, support for SPARC64 systems is good enough to 274SPARC64 systems. In general, support for SPARC64 systems is good enough to
334allow some users to run it successfully in production environments. 275allow some users to run it successfully in production environments.
335</p> 276</p>
336 277
337<p>
33832-bit SPARC systems are no longer supported by the Gentoo/SPARC team.
339</p>
340
341<!-- 32bit is no longer supported
342<p>
34332-bit SPARC systems vary. Systems with the sun4m architecture have been
344reported to work fine (SS4-SS20) including SMP configurations with the later
3452.4 series kernels. sun4m systems using HyperSPARC or Ross processors in a SMP
346configuration will have a lot of kernel related trouble. Additionally the
347author hasn't heard of any user reports in regards to the JavaStations so its
348status is unknown. sun4d based systems currently do not work in the 2.4 kernel
349series, and sun4c has been unstable as well.
350</p>
351
352<p>
353Often, the problems encountered in trying to run Gentoo on a 32-bit SPARC
354system stem from the kernel. Rob Radez (not related to Gentoo) maintains a
355webpage <uri>http://osinvestor.com/sparc/</uri> with the status of SPARC system
356support for various versions of the Linux kernel. This can help indicate how
357usable your SPARC system would be under SPARC/Linux.
358</p>
359-->
360
361</body> 278</body>
362</section> 279</section>
363<section> 280<section>
364<title>What additional hardware is supported under Gentoo/SPARC?</title> 281<title>What additional hardware is supported under Gentoo/SPARC?</title>
365<body> 282<body>
366 283
367<p> 284<p>
368For a list of additionally supported Sun hardware, consult the following list 285For a list of additionally supported Sun hardware, consult the following list
369from the UltraLinux homepage - 286from the <uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_2.">UltraLinux
370<uri>http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_2.</uri> 287homepage</uri>.
371</p> 288</p>
372 289
373<p> 290<p>
374A partial list of Sun devices which do NOT currently have support under 291A partial list of Sun devices which do NOT currently have support under
375Gentoo/SPARC or SPARC/Linux in general are: 292Gentoo/SPARC or SPARC/Linux in general are:
… …
391</p> 308</p>
392 309
393</body> 310</body>
394</section> 311</section>
395<section> 312<section>
396<title>How do I know which Sparc I have?</title> 313<title>How do I know which SPARC I have?</title>
397<body> 314<body>
398 315
399<p> 316<p>
400The <uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_1">UltraLinux FAQ</uri> 317The <uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org/faq.html#q_2_1">UltraLinux FAQ</uri>
401has the answer. 318has the answer.
… …
453Note that you may need to reboot to see the changes take affect. 370Note that you may need to reboot to see the changes take affect.
454</p> 371</p>
455 372
456</body> 373</body>
457</section> 374</section>
375<section>
376<title>Is SPARC big-endian or little-endian?</title>
377<body>
378
379<p>
380The version supported by Gentoo/SPARC (v9) is bi-endian. It uses big-endian
381intructions, but can access data in little-endian byte-order, such as PCI
382devices, which are little-endian by nature.
383</p>
384
385</body>
386</section>
458</chapter> 387</chapter>
459 388
460<chapter> 389<chapter>
461<title>Applications</title> 390<title>Applications</title>
462<section> 391<section>
… …
487</p> 416</p>
488 417
489</body> 418</body>
490</section> 419</section>
491<section> 420<section>
492<title>How come package foo is masked on Sparc?</title> 421<title>How come package foo is masked on SPARC?</title>
493<body> 422<body>
494 423
495<p> 424<p>
496Chances are this is due to the fact that none of the Gentoo/SPARC developers 425Chances are this is due to the fact that none of the Gentoo/SPARC developers
497have gotten around to testing this yet, and/or the package is currently marked 426have gotten around to testing this yet, and/or the package is currently marked
… …
512 441
513<p> 442<p>
514If you want to help ensure a package gets marked stable in a timely fashion, 443If you want to help ensure a package gets marked stable in a timely fashion,
515particularly if it's an application with a small userbase (i.e. 444particularly if it's an application with a small userbase (i.e.
516net-im/bitlbee), install the package and test to make sure it works. If it 445net-im/bitlbee), install the package and test to make sure it works. If it
517appears to be working well, feel free to file a bug at 446appears to be working well, feel free to file a bug via the
518<uri>http://bugs.gentoo.org</uri> and assign it to the Gentoo/SPARC team. 447<uri link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri> and assign it to the
448Gentoo/SPARC team.
519</p> 449</p>
520 450
521</body> 451</body>
522</section> 452</section>
523<section> 453<section>
524<title>I tried to emerge a package, but emerge failed complaining that a 454<title>I tried to emerge a package, but emerge failed complaining that a
525dependency is masked. How can I fix this?</title> 455dependency is masked. How can I fix this?</title>
526<body> 456<body>
527 457
528<p> 458<p>
529This is a bug. Please file a bug report at <uri>http://bugs.gentoo.org</uri> 459This is a bug. Please file a bug report via the <uri
530for the Gentoo/SPARC team indicating what package you tried to emerge, the 460link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri> for the Gentoo/SPARC team
531error message emerge gave you, and the output of <c>emerge --info</c>. 461indicating what package you tried to emerge, the error message emerge gave you,
462and the output of <c>emerge --info</c>.
463</p>
464
465</body>
466</section>
467<section>
468<title>Why am I getting an error related to 32/64-bit when compiling a
469kernel?</title>
470<body>
471
532</p> 472<p>
473The way SPARC/Linux handles the cross-compiler has changed with 2.6.25 (<uri
474link="http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commitdiff;h=54cd6ddec77b75e6926d73d263aec72255b24030">commit</uri>),
475thus when building a recent kernel you'd get the following error message:
476</p>
477
478<pre caption="SPARC/Linux compile error message">
479CHK include/linux/version.h
480CHK include/linux/utsrelease.h
481CC arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.s
482arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.c:1: error: -m64 is not supported by this configuration
483arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.c:1: error: -mlong-double-64 not allowed with -m64
484arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.c:1: error: -mcmodel= is not supported on 32 bit systems
485make[1]: *** [arch/sparc64/kernel/asm-offsets.s] Error 1
486make: *** [prepare0] Error 2
487</pre>
488
489<p>
490Because, for the moment (there's an <b>experimental</b> <uri
491link="/proj/en/base/sparc/multilib.xml">multilib</uri> profile),
492Gentoo/SPARC native compiler can't generate 64-bit code (that's what
493sys-devel/kgcc64 is for).
494</p>
495
496<p>
497What you need to do is to tell the SPARC/Linux Makefile what is your
498cross-compiler's binary, by issuing the following commands:
499</p>
500
501<pre caption="Gentoo/SPARC kernel >=2.6.25 kernel compilation">
502make CROSS_COMPILE=sparc64-unknown-linux-gnu-
503make CROSS_COMPILE=sparc64-unknown-linux-gnu- image modules_install
504</pre>
533 505
534</body> 506</body>
535</section> 507</section>
536</chapter> 508</chapter>
537 509
538<chapter> 510<chapter>
539<title>Miscellaneous</title> 511<title>Miscellaneous</title>
540<section> 512<section>
541<title>I'm interested in becoming more involved with Gentoo/SPARC. How do I go about 513<title>I'm interested in becoming more involved with Gentoo/SPARC. How do I go
542doing that?</title> 514about doing that?</title>
543<body> 515<body>
544 516
545<p>
546The best way is to join the <c>#gentoo-sparc</c> IRC channel on Freenode IRC
547network <c>irc.freenode.net</c>. This is where all of the developers hang out
548and talk SPARC (amongst other things). Short of email, this is the best way to
549get our attention.
550</p> 517<p>
551 518There are various ways to improve the project:
552<p> 519</p>
553Also, many users and developers make use of the <uri 520
521<ul>
522 <li>The best way is to become an <uri
523 link="/proj/en/base/sparc/at/index.xml">Arch Tester</uri>, and aid the
524 developers with package testing.
525 </li>
526 <li>File bug reports such as <uri
527 link="http://dev.gentoo.org/~tcunha/reports/imlate-sparc.txt">stable, and
528 keyword</uri> requests.
529 </li>
530 <li>Join the <uri
531 link="irc://irc.gentoo.org/gentoo-sparc">#gentoo-sparc</uri> IRC channel
532 on the FreeNode IRC network.
533 </li>
534 <li>Make use of the <uri
554link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC forum</uri>. 535 link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC forum</uri>.
555This is a good place to ask questions and see what problems have come up 536 </li>
556before, as well as talk shop about Gentoo/SPARC. 537 <li>Propose solutions for Gentoo/SPARC related bugs via the <uri
557</p>
558
559<p>
560Additionally, you can view the bugs for Gentoo/SPARC via the <uri
561link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri>. The bugs will be assigned 538 link="http://bugs.gentoo.org">Gentoo Bugzilla</uri>. The bugs will be
562or CCed to sparc@gentoo.org. 539 assigned, or CCed to sparc@gentoo.org.
563</p> 540 </li>
564 541</ul>
565</body>
566</section>
567<section>
568<title>Are there any currently known bugs/issues with software packages on
569Gentoo/SPARC?</title>
570<body>
571
572<p>
573A list of problematic packages can be found at
574<uri>http://dev.gentoo.org/~weeve/problems.html</uri>.
575</p>
576 542
577</body> 543</body>
578</section> 544</section>
579</chapter> 545</chapter>
580 546
581<chapter> 547<chapter>
582<title>Additional Resources</title> 548<title>Additional Resources</title>
583<section> 549<section>
550<title>Where can I get more help or information about SPARC/Linux?</title>
584<body> 551<body>
585
586<p>
587Here is some info on the Gentoo/SPARC project itself:
588</p>
589 552
590<ul> 553<ul>
591 <li><uri link="http://sparc.gentoo.org">Gentoo/SPARC Project Page</uri></li>
592 <li>#gentoo-sparc - Official IRC channel on irc.freenode.net</li>
593 <li> 554 <li>
594 <uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewforum.php?f=27">Gentoo/SPARC 555 <uri link="http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/216.2">OBP Reference
595 Forum</uri> 556 Guide</uri> - Sun's guide to the OpenBoot PROM
557 </li>
596 </li> 558 <li>
597 <li><mail>sparc@gentoo.org</mail> - Gentoo/SPARC team email address</li> 559 <uri link="http://www.obsolyte.com">Obsolyte</uri> - Information on older
598</ul> 560 SPARC systems and links to a lot of other great SPARC related sites
599 561 </li>
600<p> 562 <li>
601Here are links to additional information about SPARC/Linux or SPARCs in general: 563 <uri link="http://docs.sun.com">Sun Microsystems Documentation</uri> -
602</p> 564 Additional hardware and software information for SPARC systems, including
603 565 instructions for flashing OBP
604<ul> 566 </li>
567 <li>
568 <uri link="http://sunsolve.sun.com">Sunsolve</uri> - Great resource for Sun
569 hardware documentation
570 </li>
571 <li>
572 <uri link="http://www.sunstuff.org">Online Sun Information Archive</uri>
573 </li>
605 <li> 574 <li>
606 <uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org">UltraLinux Homepage</uri> - Homepage 575 <uri link="http://www.ultralinux.org">UltraLinux Homepage</uri> - Homepage
607 of the SPARC/Linux port 576 of the SPARC/Linux port
608 </li> 577 </li>
609 <li>
610 <uri link="http://sunsolve.sun.com">Sunsolve</uri> - Great resource for Sun
611 hardware documentation
612 </li>
613 <li>
614 <uri>http://docs.sun.com</uri> - Additional hardware and software
615 information for SPARC systems, including instructions for flashing OBP
616 </li>
617 <li>
618 <uri link="http://www.obsolyte.com">Obsolyte</uri> - Information on older
619 SPARC systems and links to a lot of other great SPARC related sites
620 </li>
621 <li>
622 <uri
623 link="http://040.digital-bless.com/texts/Unofficial_Sun_Blade_100_FAQ.htm">Unofficial
624 Sun Blade 100 FAQ</uri> - Answers a lot of hardware related questions on
625 the Blade 100
626 </li>
627 <li>
628 <uri link="http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/216.2">OBP Reference
629 Guide</uri> - Sun's guide to the OpenBoot PROM
630 </li>
631</ul> 578</ul>
632 579
633</body> 580</body>
634</section> 581</section>
635</chapter> 582</chapter>
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