Sun Microsystem sunfire v120

[josemariagarsiagener]

hello
I have a Sun System sun fire v120 server and I don't know how to connect it to my desktop so that I can use it to it's fullest capcity. What cabels do I need it has no video card so I can't use a monitor on it?. I want to change the operating system on it to something I am familiar with.???,Please help me

 

[AIXSolarisAdmin]

You do realize this is a SPARC machine, so the operating system you can install is rather limited? What is your choice of OS?

 

[josemariagarsiagener]

I don't know how to connect Sun Microsystems sunfire v 120

How do I access the OpenBoot prompt on my SPARC system ?
How do I access the system console on my SPARC system ?

 

[BIS]

Eh - with a console cable?

 

[josemariagarsiagener]

hi
thanks for your help but I know I need to cut myself on console cable via COM1.What I do not know how to access my server through a console cable I raise my system,
and what commands to use to make the bot system.How to openBoot PROM Variables for POST Configuration ?.

I am enclosing a picture to look at the pictures ,and everything will become clear to you what I did.
how to executing ethernet address 0:3:ba:19:18:b7, all I got is this ethernet address 0:3:ba:19:18:b7 how to ?,This is not useful 0:3:ba:19:18:b7 .....what can be 0:3:ba:19:18:b7
done with this in order to access the services ?



thenks

 

[SamBones]

The SunFire V120 has two serial ports on the back. There's an A and B stacked right in the center.

You'll be plugging a cable into one of those. Probably the top one, but some Sun models like the bottom one (I'm not familiar with the V120). This is just an Ethernet cable, but it's being used as a serial cable from this port, so don't plug the other end into an Ethernet port anywhere.

At the other end of the cable, you'll need something to get it plugged into a serial port on your PC. This is where you may have a lot of options. I haven't done it in a while. You're PC or laptop may not have a serial port. You might need to find some kind of USB thing, or dig up an old laptop that has a serial port. Try Googling "usb serial port". You may have to do some experimentation to get this part working.

If you can locate an old character terminal (VT100, VT220, VT400, etc), just plug it in and go. These are pretty old school, but I've seen them on eBay for real cheap. The risk is finding one that actually works.

If you're going to a PC or laptop, you'll need a terminal program to talk to the serial port. Putty is perfect for this. It's configurable, it's free, and it works. That's all you need.

Once you have it properly connected, you will see some boot messages when you power it up. At some point after the basic hardware tests, it will (hopefully) stop at an "ok" prompt. This is the OpenBoot PROM prompt. From here you can try some commands...

[tt]probe-scsi [/tt] = Show what SCSI devices it sees.
[tt]probe-ide [/tt] = Show what IDE devices it sees.
[tt]devalias [/tt] = Show device aliases.
[tt]printenv [/tt] = Show environment variable that control how, when, and where it boots.
[tt]banner [/tt] = Displays the basic system boot banner information.
[tt]boot cdrom [/tt] = Boot from the CD drive. This would be for an OS install.
[tt]boot [/tt] = Boot to whatever default device has been configured.

Just Google "open boot prom commands" for more detail. This site has some basics...

https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E26502_01/html/E28983/gkkvs.html

Also, ignore the Ethernet address. You really don't need it. At some point during the OS install (or reconfigure if one is already installed), you will be giving the machine an IP and subnet mask that works on your local network. At this point you can go to the machine via the network by going to that IP address.

Hope this helps.

 

[SamBones]

More...

If an Ethernet cable doesn't work, you might need what's called a "Patch Cable". Serial connections are directional, so the different cable swaps a couple lines to make it work. This can also be achieved with what's called a "null modem". It's purpose is to just swap the necessary lines for a direct connection. Again, you may or may not need it (welcome to the world of serial communications ).

If you have another Sun system near by, you can run a cable directly from serial port to serial port. You would then use a "tip" command to open up the port and talk to it. "man tip" or Google for more info.

Once you do have the Sun booting to an OS, you should work on getting an X-Windows server running on your PC (yes, it's called a server even though it's really a client. X-Windows terminology here is bass ackwards). This will let you display all of the Sun's GUI glory on your PC desktop.

Whatever you do, don't get discouraged. These are fun to play with and even just messing with it develops marketable skills.