Appendix F. Installing Linux
on Sun SPARC Systems
By David S.Miller
The SPARC port of Linux supports a wide range of systems, from the
very low end to the extremely high end. Most people who have a Sun
workstation or server around and would like to try Linux on it are
likely to find that it is fully supported and works rather well. There are
some small gaps here and there, but development is closing them as
time goes on.
F.1. Supported Hardware
Support for Linux varies not only by series but by subseries.
All series except the Enterprise 10000 and ancient sun4
systems are now fully supported. Work is under way to
bring the others into line. Symmetric multiprocessing
(SMP) kernels run on all series except sun4c.
In addition to the systems listed in this section,
several clone vendors exist. If their clones are truly
compatible with the equivalent Sun systems, Linux will work on them.
F.1.1. Sun4c Systems
These systems are supported by both the 2.0.x and 2.2.x series Linux
kernels:
- SPARCStation SLC
- SPARCStation ELC
These two sun4c systems have the motherboard right behind the monitor
tube in the same encasement. I like to jokingly refer to
them as "SPARCintosh" systems due to this layout. The SLC systems
were the first Sun hardware ever to successfully run Linux.
- SPARCStation IPX
- SPARCStation IPC
These machines are enclosed in a small shoebox-like case and use an
external monitor.
- SPARCStation 1
- SPARCStation 1+
- SPARCStation 2
These were the first "pizza box"-style Sun workstations. They also
introduced SBUS slots to allow for the addition of expansion cards.
F.1.2. Sun4m Systems
These systems are supported by both the 2.0.x and 2.2.x series Linux
kernels. Multi-processor configurations are also supported:
- SPARCServer 6xxMP
These systems have a mainboard with two sun4m CPU module slots and
SBUS slots as well. A VME bus is present but Linux does not provide
any support for VME devices at this time.
- SPARCStation LX
- SPARCClassic
- SPARCClassic X
These enclosures are much like the IPC/IPX sun4c systems, but inside,
they have the sun4m architecture. The CPUs are on the motherboard and
graphics cards are also integrated in this way.
- SPARCStation 4
- SPARCStation 5
- SPARCStation 10
- SPARCStation 20
The sun4m pizza-box workstations. The first two have the CPU on the
motherboard, while the latter two systems have two sun4m CPU module
slots. SBUS expansion slots are present in all four. The SS5 possesses
a special expansion slot for graphics cards, such as the 24-bit TCX.
F.1.3. Sun4d Systems
These systems are supported only by the 2.2.x Linux kernels. As with
the sun4m, multiprocessor configurations are supported:
- SPARCServer 1000
- SPARCCenter 2000
The only difference between these two is that the latter has more
expansion slots than the former.
F.1.4. UltraSPARC 64-bit Systems
All the UltraSPARC-based systems mentioned here (with one disclaimer
about the Enterprise 10000) are supported by the 2.2.x Linux kernel
only. Multiprocessor configurations are fully supported.
The systems include two classes of I/O architectures, SBUS and PCI. The
older systems use SBUS while the newer ones are all PCI based:
- Ultra 1
- Ultra 2
- Enterprise 2
These are the desktop SBUS systems. The first two are uniprocessor
only, whereas the Enterprise 2 can host two processors. All of them
have SBUS expansion slots. The Ultra 2 and Enterprise 2 have a UPA
slot for high-end Creator/Creator3d graphics cards.
- Enterprise 3000, 3500, 4000, 4500, 6000, 6500, and 10000
These are SBUS servers. The Enterprise x000 family have a high-speed packet
switched bus, into which I/O or CPU/MEMORY expansion boards can be
plugged. The I/O boards each have three SBUS slots and some standard
onboard devices (Ethernet, SCSI, and fibrechannel). CPU boards have two
cpus and SIMM slots for memory.
The Enterprise 10000 is slightly different, in that each system
board holds up to four processors, SBUS I/O systems, and memory SIMMS. Although support for this system has been written for the Linux
kernel, it is untested, so I cannot claim that it is supported at
this time. Systems with a base price of U.S. $1 million are
hard to come by for testing.
- Ultra 30
- Ultra 60
These are PCI-based UltraSPARC workstations made by Sun. Both come in
a tower case, have four or so PCI expansion slots, and have standard
devices onboard, such as Ethernet and SCSI. Both also have a UPA slot
for Creator graphics cards. The Ultra 30 is a uniprocessor, whereas the
Ultra 60 can have up to two processors.
When Sun produced these workstations, it also produced a reference PCI UltraSPARC
motherboard that OEMs could buy and resell with their own cases,
disks, power supplies, and so on. This motherboard had an onboard IDE
controller for disk storage instead of a SCSI.
- Enterprise 250
- Enterprise 450
These are Sun's PCI servers. They have more PCI slots than the UltraSPARC
workstations and boast the addition of various environmental control
(fans and temperature monitors) and the ability to diagnose remotely. The
Enterprise 450 can also support up to four processors. Both
systems use onboard NCR SCSI controllers for storage.
- Ultra 5
- Ultra 10
These are the PCI desktop UltraSPARCs. The Ultra 5 is in a more pizza-box-like
enclosure, whereas the Ultra 10 uses a tower case. The Ultra 5 has
one PCI expansion slot, the Ultra 10 has four. The Ultra 10 also
provides a UPA slot for Creator graphics. The onboard storage I/O
provided by both is IDE.
- Ultra AXi
- Ultra AXmp
Sun has also made two more PCI reference motherboards suitable for OEMs.
The first is for workstations, the latter for rack-mount SMP
systems. IDE is the onboard storage I/O for the AXi, while SCSI is
on the AXmp. The AXmp has various environment control, fans, the ability to diagnose remotely, and support for up to four processors.
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