Solaris 8

[VAadmin]

Can a SPARCServer 20 run Solaris 8?

 

[tuka]

YES. In the solaris 8 media kit box one of the book will show hardware compatibility.

 

[SamBones]

Yes it can. I have two old horses, er, SPARC 20's running Solaris 8 with no problems at all.

 

[VAadmin]

Thanks.
I just recently ordered both on line, for a class and wasn't sure if I had just made a mistake.

 

[SamBones]

Just make sure you have enough disk, memory, and a CDROM. A SPARCserver or SPARCstation will take two internal SCSI drives, and 512MB of memory (8x64MB).

If it has just a single 1GB to 4GB drive, which a lot of older machines seem to have, I would recommend adding or upgrading to at least a 9GB drive. More the better. You can find these on eBay for pretty good prices. Look for a SCSI drive with an SCA connector. If you're adding a second drive to a single drive system, you might need to buy the bracket too (also on eBay).

I would recommend at least 256MB memory, and again, more the better.

As far as Solaris 8 goes, I would recommend going to

http://www.sun.com

and ordering the full distribution. It's only about $100 and includes all kinds of goodies like the GNU C/C++ compiler, EMACS, StarOffice, and even Oracle! Some great stuff for a great price and a good reason to get more disk space and memory!

Sun still has documentation for the machine online. Check out the following link for more info...

http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Systems/4m-System/4mSYSTEM_Sstation_20.html

Hope this helps!

 

[VAadmin]

Thanks again SamBones