A guy I know is cleaning out his house, and he gave me a Sun Enterprise 420r server (he has a few more, too). Its a beast of a system, weighs about 70lbs. It has 4 450MHz UltraSPARC II, unknown amount of RAM, 2 9.1GB SCSI HHDs, and no video card. I have no idea what to use it for. Any ideas?
Also, there is a lock by the power switch. It appears to be pointed towards the power icon, but it won't turn on. Should I shove a screwdriver in the lock and try turning it, or try to "hotwire" it? The lights on the PSUs and a couple LEDs on the motherboard turn on when I plug it in, but nothing happens when I push the power button.
Got a Sun Enterprise 420r, need helps
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Re: Got a Sun Enterprise 420r, need helps
Ok, so I read the manual and found out the lock wasn't turned the right way. 
So, I found a flat head screwdriver, shoved it in the lock, jiggled it around, and turned it the right way. Now it turns on and sounds like a jet. Now I'll see if it likes the PCI video card I have. If not, I'll buy one on ebay.
So, I found a flat head screwdriver, shoved it in the lock, jiggled it around, and turned it the right way. Now it turns on and sounds like a jet. Now I'll see if it likes the PCI video card I have. If not, I'll buy one on ebay.
Re: Got a Sun Enterprise 420r, need helps
It's a server, meaning that it doesn't need a graphics card for regular use. The most common way to access the server like that one is usually over the nriwork (when the server is running) or over a serial console. (At any time, including pr-boot time) I've used a Sun computer before for a long time, and PCI cards can be a little problematic. You probably won't be able to access the OBP (OpenBoot, equivalent of a BIOS) with a stock graphics card. If you're lucky, you can use the graphics card with the operating system of your choice.
My advice is that you get a serial null modem cable and connect another computer as a terminal. If your other computer doesn't have a serial port, buy a USB->serial port adapter. IIRC the settings you're supposed to use are: 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no flow control. If in Windows, you can use HyperTerminal (Included in Windows) or PuTTY (freely available).
You obviously won't be able to run Windows on it since the UltraSPARC CPU is completely different from the x86 architecture used in PC's. Your choice will be either Solaris (Sun's own OS), some distribution of Linux that supports Sparc or some of the BSD operating systems (OpenBSD, FreeBSD or NetBSD).
Also keep in mind that this thing will likely use a lot of electricity and produce a lot of heat.
My advice is that you get a serial null modem cable and connect another computer as a terminal. If your other computer doesn't have a serial port, buy a USB->serial port adapter. IIRC the settings you're supposed to use are: 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no flow control. If in Windows, you can use HyperTerminal (Included in Windows) or PuTTY (freely available).
You obviously won't be able to run Windows on it since the UltraSPARC CPU is completely different from the x86 architecture used in PC's. Your choice will be either Solaris (Sun's own OS), some distribution of Linux that supports Sparc or some of the BSD operating systems (OpenBSD, FreeBSD or NetBSD).
Also keep in mind that this thing will likely use a lot of electricity and produce a lot of heat.
Re: Got a Sun Enterprise 420r, need helps
I just ordered a USB to serial adapter that includes a DB9 to DB25 adapter. I burned a Solaris 10 DVD last night, so I just have to wait for the serial adapters.
I don't think it uses much more power than a desktop. It has 2 380w PSUs, but it only needs 1 (just has 2 for redundancy). The heat shouldn't be a problem during the winter.
I don't think it uses much more power than a desktop. It has 2 380w PSUs, but it only needs 1 (just has 2 for redundancy). The heat shouldn't be a problem during the winter.