Anyone know anything about Sun systems?

[Zlash]

Looking at getting one to mess around with and learn solaris but I don't really know anything about the hardware hehe.

Was looking at getting one of these 3. . But don't know exactly what else i'd need to run it. From what i gathered i need a video converter to run it off a regular monitor or buy a sun monitor. And what about the keyboard and mouse? Can i use a regular one or do i need to pick up a sun kb and mouse.

I can't tell but those workstations have video cards(or frame buffers?)right? Since it doesn't mention one in the description.

 

[epsilon]

Wow, those prices are pretty low, even without a monitor. Assuming that it isnt damaged in some way I would definitely go for the Ultra1. The hard drive space alone is worth the money. You will not be able to use a standard PC keyboard and mouse I believe, but these should be cheap anyway.

Make sure that have video cards. They use s-bus cards (and not PCI cards line in the Ultra-5's) so finding one at your local store would be tougher.

If these don't work out you can always get a copy of Solaris for X86 and run in on some cheap hardware you might have lying around. Solaris is a great OS, I use it every day. Good luck with it.

 

[Pheran]

These machines do not have onboard framebuffers, so there's no video. You can access them with a null modem cable through the serial console (Suns have much better serial console support than PCs) or over the network. If you just want to use it as a server, there's really no reason to have video.

 

[bwass24]

Those Sun workstations are great for leraning Solaris, but you'll probably find that you need more disk space in order to load some of the desirable packages. You can pick up 2gb 50pin scsi drives VERY cheap on ebay, and they will work fine with any of the older Sun machines. Also, make sure the workstation you buy has an internal scsi CDROM or CDRW drive because they can be a little pricey by themselves. Don't bother buying a floppy--I've never used one with any of my Sun machines.

Also, as was asid above, there's not really any need for a frame buffer or a monitor unless you want to run the Solaris or Gnome desktops directly from the workstation. You can run a shell session with any PC telnet client, or you can install an X host on the Sun machine and run the Solaris desktop on your local PC.

One more thing...you'll need to use a Sun keyboard. The type 4 keyboards and mice are LOUSY. DON'T buy one! The mouse requires a special metalic mouse pad (really a plate) or it won't work. You really want the type 5 keyboard and mouse.

 

[Pheran]

Just to clarify what bwass said, you don't need the Sun keyboard unless you're going to get a framebuffer and use video right on the Sun.