[SUMMARY]4.1.3 and 9GB/4GB

From: Paramasivam, Meenakshisundaram (mparamas@iupui.edu)
Date: Mon Apr 05 1999 - 17:08:15 CDT


There were many replies, and thanks to all those who replied (I am sorry if
I missed any):

Richard Smith [rc.smith@ibm.net]
Raymond Wong [negativl@netcom.com]
Matt Reynolds [Matt.Reynolds@aztek-eng.com]
plaws@enterprise.nssl.noaa.gov
Phil Ritzenthaler [phil@minnie.cgrg.ohio-state.edu]
Al Hopper [al@logical-approach.com]
Bill Hebert [bhebert@nuc.berkeley.edu]
David H. Brierley [dhb@ssd.ray.com]
jrg@blodwen.demon.co.uk
Navi Sirisena [navi@swaps.ml.com]
Howard Boggs [hboggs@bridgept.com]

I apologize for not checking the Summary Archive first. THERE WERE answers.
The replies I got now are very useful as well.

SUMMARY:

It is possible to install 4.1.3 on a 9GB/4GB disk (though Sun does not
recommend/sell a 9GB internal disk for Sparc20), with partitions not
exceeding 2GB. Or install Online DiskSuite v1.0 to avoid this 2GB
limitation.

According to Raymond Wong [negativl@netcom.com] resolving timeout problems
in format command can be done as follows;
        edit /sys/scsi/targets/sddef.h
                SD_FMT_TIME
        change the value from 120*60 to be 240*60
        build a new kernel, install and reboot.

        OR
        1) attach the new disk[ and reboot].
        2) type the following at the command line
                adb -k -w /vmunix /dev/mem
                sd_fmt_time /W 0t9600
                $q
        adb will start debugging the active kernel, the second and third
lines are
        commands to adb. These are temporary changes, and will be gone when
you
        next reboot. That way no permanent changes are made.
        3) Format the disk as you were trying to do.
        4) As noted in 2), the changes to the kernel will be gone on next
reboot.

Recommendation from Al Hopper [al@logical-approach.com]:
        Don't mount disks internally in a Sparc-20. There is just
        not enough cooling capacity *and* you are hurting the reliability of
the
        other electronics by introducing more heat from the disk drive(s).

        Also don't forget that a Power Supply (PSU) is not 100% efficient.
Lets
        assume that your Sparc-20 PSU is 80% efficient: So if you ask the
PSU to
        supply another 10 Watts (to a disk drive), it must dissipate another
2
        Watts of heat. This puts even more heat inside the box!

        Get an external enclosure with good cooling and mount your new disks
in it.

According to Howard Boggs [hboggs@bridgept.com]:
        I have installed 4.1.4 on 4GB drives. The biggest problem you run
        into is defining the disk geometry. I think the rpm speed on format
        only goes to 6000, some of the newer drives are 7200.

Many recommended Solaris and mentioned that 4.1.3 is not Y2KC. Yes, I am
aware of these facts but the non-commercial 3rd party medical application
s/w will not run on any higher versions. I am stuck with 4.1.3.

-Sundar

-----Original Message-----

Can I install 4.1.3 on 9GB, 4GB disks? Can 4.1.3 handle 9GB and 4GB disks?

I am planning to get preferably 9GB disk internal disk for a Sparc-20
machine and plan to install 4.1.3 (I need this O/S for an application s/w).
I don't plan to export the disk.

Anything I must be aware of (patches, cautions, etc) regarding this issue.
Thanks in advance.



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