From: hedrick@geneva.rutgers.edu (Charles Hedrick)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Subject: Re: Anyone used SparcClassic and/or the Solaris 2.1 included with it?
Date: 3 Jan 93 19:33:23 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

btaplin@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu (bradley richard taplin) writes:

>	Hello. I recently read the "real low-end" article in a late-fall
>	issue of SunExpert and am curious about the new SparcClassic. Is
>	16 mb RAM, a 207 mb hard drive, and Solaris 2.1 a good standalone
>	package? Would it be possible to develop using GNU C or Sun's C?
>	C++ as well? Scheme? Could this become a "home server" providing
>	terminal access from a Macintosh and/or DOS box in other rooms?

I haven't seen a Sparcclassic yet, though I am using Solaris 2.1.  The
minimum classic configuration should work, but 207 MB is going to be a
bit tight.  I'm also dubious about the VGA monitor they supply with
the cheapest configuration.  I recommend the 425MB disk and the
"mid-level color monitor" as a minimum configuration.  I assume you
have in mind setting up a home Ethernet, with TCP/IP.  Then you'd use
something like NCSA telnet (which is available for both Mac and DOS).
For support of the Mac, it should also be possible to use CAP (an
implementation of Appletalk for Unix) on your Unix machine.  It works
fine on older Suns, but I don't think it's ported to Solaris yet.  A
Solaris port should be fairly straightforward, and no doubt some
university will do it (out of necessity).  I haven't heard of it being
ported to 386BSD or Linux either.  (A port to 386BSD would be
straightforward, though there's not the same guarantee that it is
going to be done.  Linux has a completely new network implementation,
so getting the Berkeley packet filter to work would be more
difficult.)

>	Finally, has anyone used Coherent 4.x? I intend to learn UNIX
>	but finances are very tight right now, so I figure a 386 with
>	Coherent (total system+OS under $1000) might be a good start.
>	I mean to become a competent UNIX sysadmin, in practice and I
>	hope by profession, so might a 386 be inadequate for my needs?

I've never used Coherent, but from talking with people who have looked
at it, I think you might prefer Linux or 386BSD.  The package of
software that comes with the standard distribution of Linux includes
things like X, Interviews, ghostscript, c, c++, Common Lisp, etc.
This is pretty much the full set of software that people using Suns or
other Unix systems expect to find.  I assume the same is true for
386BSD.  I believe Coherent is somewhat more limited.  If you want a
commercial alternative, I'd probably look at BSDI instead.

If you're looking at a 486 as an alternative to a Sparcclassic, you'll
want to look carefully at the display subsystem.  X running on the
typical ET4000-based VGA boards is slow compared to a Sun or other
workstation.  I find scrolling annoyingly slow.  However if you can
find a controller based on the S3 controller (preferably the new
32-bit version), that will get you into the workstation range.  You'll
need an X server that supports the S3.  There are combinations of S3
boards and software that work under Linux (and presumably 386BSD), but
I don't know any details.

Obviously it depends upon what you want, but for a hacker's home
machine I prefer a system for which I have source.  I do most of my
work on Suns at Rutgers, but I never seriously considered a Sun for
home.  However if I wanted to run big Lisp or Fortran jobs as fast as
possible (our typical jobs at Rutgers), I think I'd still use a Sun or
HP workstation.  (If you're considering a Sparcclassic, you might also
look at the low-end HP's -- assuming you can get an HP salesperson to
talk to you.)