Re: Linux on Sparcstation4?

From: Casper H.S. Dik (Casper.Dik_at_Sun.COM)
Date: 05/28/04 

Date: 28 May 2004 09:21:34 GMT

"Paul S. Brown" <usenet060103@geekstuff.co.uk> writes:

>1) Some SPARC systems run linux better than newer versions of Solaris - if
>you have an IPC or an SLC then Solaris of any recent form is too slow to
>use. Linux is bearable. For the newer Ultra systems then yes, Solaris is a
>better OS with a few exceptions.

Well, Solaris of any recent for (later than 7) won't run on the IPC/SLC
and the like; but Linux is painfully slow on the sun4c hardware because
it doesn't deal with pmegs very efficiently (NetBSD is a better choice).

But the amount of memory available might offset that.

>2) We know the SPARC64 issue. Fujitsu don't appear to care to push the point
>one way or another and it's merely used as a method to differentiate 64bit
>architecture from 32 bit architecture in this usage. Besides, SPARC64 was a
>latecomer from Fujitsu on the SPARC-v9 side of things - their original (as
>Ross) attempt at this that I once played with in very early trial had a
>much cooler name. Viper.

I don't think it was a late comer; I seem to remember HAL (the original
SPARC64 trademark owner) where the SPARC64 line originated did a
Solaris 2.4 based SPARC64/OS which was announced/released before Sun
shipped Solaris 2.5 on the UltraSPARC hardware which was still a 32 bit
OS.

>I have just given up trying to figure out what the heck Sun are smoking as
>regards their OS strategy as they seem to be on their third or fourth
>roadmap in the last few years, having gone as far as getting their IA64
>servers WHQL certified which would have been unthinkable just a year ago.

Sun doesn't sell/manufacture IA64 servers. I think the windows certification
is a no-brainer and a sales enabler. Sun is not EOMing MS Windows so it's
not on our OS strategy roadmap.

Casper 

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