>> Couldn't find the x86 FAQ anywhere (even rtfm)...
>
> Located on sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/sun-info/solaris-x86 .
And watch ftp.uu.net:/vendor/sun/sun-doc/x-86-driver for monthly
driver additions. (Also Compuserve - See below)
>
>> Anyway, will an Adaptec 1522A work to boot Solaris x86 2.1 ?
>
> Nope. Tech support indicates Solaris will never support a card
>as cheap as this ($80). Have to go with the $200 1542C .
Beg to differ. The driver is in development at this moment along with
a pile of others.
>
>> (and would any of them support the "native" Sun CD-ROM drive ?)
Absolutely. So far, all of them.
>
>> Would 2.4 ? And is it really coming out by Spring 1994 ?
Actually something like 2.3.x by late, late spring...SPARC/X86 source
tree merge.
>
> Not bloody likely. I am very curious how SunSoft expects a migration
>to their product if they refuse to support common (and cheap) products.
>If Linux supports Mitsumi drives, why not a large company ?
>
You may or may not have noticed that we are trying to simplify things by probing
out devices from the boot diskette (MDB = Multiple Device Boot) instead of
expecting the user to know exactly what they have installed where. Not a trivial
task in the x86 world and it has caused some hiccups. It also means we need two
drivers for boot devices, the 2nd being the traditional Unix driver, safed for
potential use in an MP environment. They don't get whipped up in two weeks.
Add BIOS indignities to the mix and it can be quite a chore. One that has been
invested heavily in...
You'll soon find a series of FAQs publicly available from a variety of sources
detailed below. Hopefully, the FAQs will even contain answers. New drivers,
even early access unsupported ones for the adventurous. PMI files to extend
video support. We are going to make the Solaris x86 option very interesting
and very, very real.
Some info/driver sites:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Solaris 2.1 for x86 January Driver Release is now available. The
Driver Release is the mechanism by which new device drivers and video
support (PMI) files are distributed to the field.
The January release includes support for the following devices:
Adaptec AHA-2740/2742, AIC-7770 DEVICE DRIVER
Adaptec AHA-1540/1542CF DEVICE DRIVER
Intel EtherExpress 16, 16C, 16TP DEVICE DRIVER
Intel EtherExpress FlashC DEVICE DRIVER
Dell SCSI Array (DSA) DEVICE DRIVER
SMC EtherCard Plus Elite32 (8033W) DEVICE DRIVER
SMC EtherCard Plus Elite32T (8033EP) DEVICE DRIVER
SMC EtherCard Elite 16 Ultra (8216) DEVICE DRIVER
SMC EtherCard Elite 16T Ultra (8216T) DEVICE DRIVER
SMC ETherCard Elite 16C Ultra (8216C) DEVICE DRIVER
3Com EtherLink 16 (3C507) DEVICE DRIVER
3Com EtherLink 16TP (3C507-TP) DEVICE DRIVER
Madge Smart 16/4 MC Ringnode DEVICE DRIVER
Madge Smart 16/4 MC32 Ringnode DEVICE DRIVER
Madge Smart 16/4 AT Ringnode DEVICE DRIVER
Madge Smart 16/4 EISA Ringnode DEVICE DRIVER
Xircom PE2, PE3 Pocket Ethernet DEVICE DRIVER
Dell L Series/OptiPlex ET4000/W32 PMI FILE
Dell L Series/OptiPlex ET4000/W32i PMI FILE
SPEA V7-Mercury PMI FILE
Trident 8900C PMI FILE
Compaq LTE (640x480, 256 colors) PMI FILE
NEC Ultralite Versa (640x480, 256 colors) PMI FILE
ATI Mach32 (1280x1024, 256 colors) PMI FILE
The Driver Release consists of the following components:
- Updated Solaris MDB BOOT DISKETTE (both 3.5 and 5.25 format)
- DRIVER UPDATE DISKETTE (both 3.5 and 5.25 format)
- PMI FILE UPDATE (patch format)
- Late Breaking News (text and postscript formats)
To:
- install Solaris on a system requiring a DEVICE DRIVER on the January
Driver Update, you need: MDB BOOT DISKETTE, DRIVER UPDATE DISKETTE,
and Late Breaking News.
- install a DEVICE DRIVER on a system that already has Solaris x86
installed, you need: DRIVER UPDATE DISKETTE and Late Breaking News.
- install a PMI FILE (OpenWindows video support), you need the PMI FILE
UPDATE and PMI.README.
The January Driver Release is available on diskette or electronically via
CompuServe, and the Internet. The PMI FILE UPDATE is only available electronically.
(They are simple ascii)
DISKETTE
To obtain the January Driver Release diskette, contact SunSoft Inside Sales at
(310) 348-6090 and request the January Driver Release, Part No ISOS-210-FP-JA4.
COMPUSERVE
To obtain files from CompuServe, establish a CompuServe session and
at the prompt type "g sunsoft". Proceed to the Solaris x86 Library
("lib 9"). You can then download the boot32.zip or boot52.zip archive
files which contain the files listed above. Note that the files upda32,
upda52, boot32, and boot52 are diskette images and must be transferred
to a diskette using the UNIX "dd" command (as described in the README
file) or an equivalent DOS utility (we are looking into a couple of
shareware utilities that we can recommend).
INTERNET
To obtain files from the Internet, establish an ftp session to
ftp.uu.net, login as anonymous and use your email address as the password.
Change to directory /vendor/sun/sun-doc/x-86-driver and "get" the desired
files. The README file includes instructions on copying the
diskette images to a diskette. The following files are available:
README.JAN Text file instructions
JAN3.TAR.Z Compressed archive containing the 3.5" boot floppy
diskette image, the 3.5" driver update floppy
diskette image, and the Late Breaking News
JAN5.TAR.Z Compressed archive containing the 5.25" boot floppy
diskette image, the 5.25" driver update floppy
diskette image, and the Late Breaking News
PMI003 Compressed tar archive patch
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Outside the US, you have my apologies, but we haven't forgotten you. It's
just a little more difficult to work out the details.
-sal-
=========================================================================
Steven A. Lipetz SunSoft, Sun Microsystems Inc.
OEM Systems Engineering Manager 115 Perimeter Center Place, N.E.
steve.lipetz@East.Sun.COM Suite 850
(404) 901-6915 FAX:(404)512-0566 Atlanta, GA 30346
=========================================================================
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