I could be wrong, but I think RedHat dropped support for SPARC. You can still run an older version of RedHat, but if you want a newer version of Linux you have to go elsewhere. Of course, you can run Solaris on it as well. The machine most likely has a 110 MHz processor. There is really no difference between a SPARCStation and a SPARCserver (although the default graphics/etc. may be different). The SPARC 4 is a nice little machine as long as you don't want to run any heavy graphics on it - that is where you'll really find it to be slow. However, if you just use it for xterms or run some server functions (such as e-mail) it will work great. Do you have a hard drive? If you need to get one, be careful that you don't buy one that produces a lot of heat because the Sun pizza-box cases don't have good ventilation. How much memory do you have?
Ed C. - typing this message on a SPARC 4 On 5 Jul 2002, PinkFreud wrote: > Yes, you should be able to run Linux on it - it seems similar enough to > the sparcstations. Your choices of Linux distributions for Sparc include > Red Hat, Debian and SuSE. > > Keep in mind that these older systems aren't all that fast. > > One can use floppies for the install, though I'd recommend cdrom (if > you have it) or network boot the install (if you have another linux or > unix system handy). > > See how that works for you. :) > > > On Fri, Jul 05, 2002 at 10:06:15PM +0000, Tao Tan babbled thus: > > From: "Tao Tan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: SPARCServer 4 > > Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 22:06:15 +0000 > > > > Hello- > > > > The 4th of July at my dad's company has traditionally been the "come and > > root through the company dumpster" day, and my dad, being THE genius > > scavenger produced a Sun SPARCServer 4 and an accompanying monitor. > > > > Does anyone have any bright ideas on what to do with the SPARCServer 4? It > > hangs when it boots because its searching in vain for its poor disconnected > > brethren, and being bereft of any I/O devices (not even a floppy), I can't > > figure out what to do with it. > > > > I know I can probably put Linux on, but does anyone know how to get the > > thing to actually proceed to a condition where it becomes usable? > > > > Thanks. > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com > > > > -- > > Mike Edwards > > Brainbench certified Master Linux Administrator > http://www.brainbench.com/transcript.jsp?pid=158188 > ----------------------------------- > Unsolicited advertisments to this address are not welcome. > >
