Sparcstation LX
From Grahams Wiki
The SPARCstation LX, or Sun 4/30, is a SPARC-based computer workstation sold by Sun Microsystems as part of the SPARCstation series.
The machine has a 50Mhz microSPARC processor with sun4M processor.
Contents |
[edit] Ports
- 2x SBUS slots (Internal)
- 1x TPE ethernet connection.
- 1x ISDN connection.
- 1x SUN keyboard connection.
- 1x DSUB25 RS232 connections.
- 1x Parallel port connections.
- 1x fast-narrow HD SCSI connector.
- 1x 13w3 video socket.
- 1x Extra port for network
- 1x mono audio
- 1x mono microphone
[edit] Memory
The SPARCstation LX takes parity 72 pin SIMMs in groups of two. There are three pairs of sockets. The computer takes 16Mb simms, although two of the sockets will take a pair of 32Mb for a maximum of 128Mb of ram.
[edit] Disk drives
The SPARCstation LX has space for one hard drive and one floppy drive internally. The machine will take any 50 pin SCSI-2 hard drive, but the OpenBoot BIOS will not boot from any partition which starts or ends after 1024 MB. The floppy drive, like the Macintosh's, is unusual in that it has an electromechanical eject mechanism rather than the conventional eject button, and therefore must be ejected by the operating system or OpenBoot. The machine can connect to any SCSI CD drive, via either the SCSI connector on the back or by connecting it to any spare internal SCSI connector via a 50 pin cable.
I have managed to fit two hard drives in this computer, one stacked on top of the other, although it was a squeeze, and if the hard drives get warm, there is no ventilation.
[edit] My one
My Sparcstation I has 96Mb of ram, A 4Gb hard drive, and a pair of tape drives. It has Debian Sarge installed on it. The machine is not yet old enough for its battery to have failed.
[edit] NVRAM
The SPARCstation LX uses a M48T02 Battery backed up RTC with RAM chip, which handles the real time clock and the OpenBoot BIOS parameter storage. The only problem with this chip is that the battery is internal, which means you have to replace the whole chip when the battery runs out. As Sparcstation 1's are now older than the battery lives of the chip, a substantial number of these boxes will now refuse to boot.
[edit] Resolutions
- 1024 x 768 @ 77
- 1152 x 900 @ 66 1152 x 900 @ 76 -- default.
- 1280 x 1024 @ 67 1280 x 1024 @ 76 -- LX with 1Mb VSIMM only
- 1600 x 1280 @ 76
- 1600 x 1280 @ 76 -- LX with 1Mb VSIMM only
[edit] Operating systems
The SPARCstation LX can run the following operating systems:
Solaris 5.2 through 5.7 (Solaris 7)
Linux These machines have a much better time with more modern versions. I use Debian Testing.
NetBSD 1.0 onwards
OpenBSD - All versions.
