Hi,

does anyone here have experience with OpenBSD on a Sun Netra X1 server?

I read somewhere that it does only support hard drives up to 137GB of size.

Is there any way to avoid this restriction?

I read somewhere (else) that using a PCI-IDE controller could do the trick.

However could not find any information if I could boot from discs connected

via a PCI-IDE controller.

Any hints?

Thanks,

 Chris

Hi,
This explains why my 500GB disk did not work. Thanks
-- 
Best Regards
Edd Barrett

(Freelance software developer / technical writer / open-source developer)
http://students.dec.bmth.ac.uk/ebarrett

Read up on these EEPROM commands:
probe-ide-all

show-disks
They should help.
-- 
Best Regards
Edd Barrett

(Freelance software developer / technical writer / open-source developer)
http://students.dec.bmth.ac.uk/ebarrett

However, as it comes without hard-drives, I was wondering if i would have to

buy a drive <137GB or if I could give a 500Gig drive and a PCI-IDE Card a

try.

It has 1Gig of Ram, should be enough for file serving and routing, I guess.

By the way, what is that configuration-card(-slot) good for? Looks like an

ordinary PC/SC slot? Can I do anything with it (like access control or

something?)

Thanks,

 Chris

Can you use and install a drive smaller or bigger then 137GB in that

box, yes you can.
Can you USE all the >137GB in the box, NO you CAN'T.
Can you use a different controller to get > 137GB in that box. I can't

answer that knowingly, but my got feeling tells me no. However the

appeal of this box is it's low power and low foot print, etc. Little

noisy if you don't replace the FAN, but that's no big deal. I dont think

I would put a different controller there, and that's because I really

don't think it would work anyway, but I sure could be wrong and if 
That's really what identify the box MAC address and all.
The idea behind it is that if you have software for example that needs

to check the hardware, MAC, etc. By moving that card to a different box,

then it become and assume the identity of the old one.
If you have any issue installing or configuring your box when it comes

in, just holler and I would be more then happy to give you a hand on it.

That part I sure can help you lots on it. (;>
Kind of old fashion if oyu want, but that box, with it's low profile,

low power and plenty of power for what it's use for, really become my

favorite box for PF, and even routers at time!
Just great box for this and cheap as well!
Best,
Daniel

On Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 8:59 AM, Christopher Intemann
The Netra X1 has no PCI slots.
http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/validateUser.do?target=Systems/Netr...
The Netra X1 is a fun little box to play with, and as you already

know, available quite cheaply, but it's also very limited.
For a huge step up in capability, while staying in the same price

range, I'd suggest any of the Netra T1 boxes (model 105, AC200, etc).
Paul.
--

------------------------------

Paul D. Ouderkirk

Senior UNIX System Administrator

paul@ouderkirk.ca

------------------------------

laughing,

in the mechanism

-- William Gibson

Not bad box and I have a few of these as well, but the SCSI drives on

them are still pretty expensive I must admit and the box is, well, twice

the size and a few times it's weight. Just the shipping of one of these

box cost you the same as the price of one X1 alone. Don't get me wrong,

it's not bad at all, but but as friendly as th X1 and power wise, it's

not as low for sure.
Unless you absolutely needs that box, then I wouldn't use it, plus it is

limited to 73 Gb SCSI in them, so if you are after hard drive space,

then you get less in this box.
Again, not a bad box, so don't take it as such, not my first choice

however for many reasons.
Best,
Daniel

OK,
Here I put a little bit of details on how to setup that box from

scratch. I guess I spend a little bit of time putting it together

because I also I remember my first one, years ago, where I did plenty of

Google before I could set one up.
It wasn't a 5 minutes process then, but it is sure not hard either. So,

to save you time and may be for the next guys as well to make life

easier for them here it is.
First question you may have is.. Where do I plug my keyboard, or

monitor. Or if you are an MCSE, where do I plug my mouse. (;> OK, just a

joke, but surprisingly many can't do much without GUI.
Anyway, joke aside.
You do everything from a console access on these boxes. T1-105, AC200,

X1, V100, V120, etc, etc. There isn't monitor port, or keyboard, or

mouse ports there. (;> Nor there is a need for it either.
On the back you have the serial A that is also use for LOM. That's what

you need to use to have console access to that box. Use any software you

want, doesn't matter as long as you set it up VT100 emulation and use

9600-8-N-1 for the setting communications. Plain old serial cable, like

any Cisco console cable do just fine, or what ever you have available as

long as the connector is RJ-45 to go to the Sun box.
Now, one command that is very useful and that I had to dig on Google is

how to switch to LOM and the console from that terminal. Well, it's very

simple, but I had to dig it up.
To access the LOM:

<enter>#.
To go back to the console:

console<enter>
To get of of the console:

~.<enter>
Simple command, but when you don't know them, well, you can search a

long time. (;>
Next, to stop the booting process as who know the stage in witch you

will get the box.
It may try to boot from the network all the time, or what not.
So, when the box is plug in the AC, but actually off. The console will

give you the LOM access by default.
The following steps may or may not be needed, depending on what stage

the bo...
[ message continues ]

Thank you very much, your guide will be very helpful to me.

Maybe you should blog it somewhere?

I'm just only getting a bit confused about the serial ports of the Netra

box.

Where do i get the appropriat cables to either connect this port to an

ordinary RS/232 port, or to another netra x1?

By the way, I just learned from the OBSD 4.5 changelog that the 4.5 release

will be able to scale down the CPU frequency of UltraSPARC IIe CPUs to save

power, thats great!

Regards,

 Chris

Archive is there for that, plus to be decently blog, I believe it should

be written in better English! (;>
So, I think it will stay where it is.
Unless you make it nicer, update it better when you do the final setup, 
Get a plug converter form 9 pins to RJ-45. If you don't have one, you

must have a friend that may well have plenty of Cisco adapter, or cable

laying around not use. Or just make one.
Example for one:
http://www.diablocable.com/cisco-compatible-console-cable-db9-female-to-...
But really, don't even buy one. I am sure you can make one or that you

already have all you need around and you may not know it.
As for connecting two Sun together, it's called a roll over cable, also

very simple.
See here for an example of what it looks like:
http://www.alliancedatacom.com/manufacturers/cisco-systems/connector_cab...
Look for "Figure C-1: Identifying a Roll-Over Cable". Couldn't be

simpler could it? (;>
Really, cables are the lease of your problems. (;>
Best,
Daniel

Many (probably 50%) of RJ11 4-wire telephone cables were crimped wrong

by the factory and are in fact  roll over cables (RJ11 fits in RJ45,

but you need 4 wires, 2 won't work).
Saved me some from hair loss one sunday far away from everything.
--

Jussi Peltola

Hi,

thanks for the hint, however, I'm in fact a bit more confused now:-)

Couldn't I use such a thing:

http://cgi.ebay.de/SERIAL-RS232-DB9-9-PIN-FEMALE-TO-RJ45-FEMALE-ADAPTOR_...
In addition, I would then only need a RJ45 serial cable. Or an ordinary

telephone cable with 4 wires, right?

Thanks,

 Chris

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Hash: SHA1
In case you're curious, a telco guy would often call such a cable "quad", it

usually had pair colors red/green and yellow/black, with yellow/black being used

for receive, versus red/green for send, black and green were the tip conductors,

 red/yellow were the ring conductors.  This wasn't really specified as far as I

know, it was just common convention.
RJ45 is far from being the only Registered Jack that could terminate a quad

circuit (using 4 out or 8 total conductors.  There was even a way to wire the

ordinarily 2 wire RJ11, called RJ14, so that 4 out of the 6 conductors were used

(center 2 for circuit 1, outer 2 for circuit 2).  RJ45 is a pretty popular way

to refer to that 8 place connector, though.
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org
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Yes
Let me put it this way.
din 9 pin to your laptop, or what ever.
RJ45 plug at the other end.
Plus what ever you want in between to plug the two together. (;>

Depends on the db9-rj45 adaptor, some need a rollover cable, some a

straight one. Try it.

http://www.ossmann.com/5-in-1.html

<snipped>
That's what mailing list archives are for:
http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&w=2&r=1&s=Netra+X1&q=b
hth
Fred

Uh, thanks for the hints. I guess I somehow mixed the specs of T1 and X1.

Strange, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that it HAS a pci/e slot.

Well, anyways, I will know it for sure once the box arrives.

I guess I will go for 120gig drives then...

Thx&regards,

  Chris

Yes the limit is 137 GB and I said that and it's tested as well. I

posted that long ago, but again I guess two or three weeks ago on a

bridge question. No there isn't.
 > Is there any way to avoid this restriction?
Well, not sure about that. Why you say it would do the trick?  Unless

that PCI have it's own logic and all, witch I would not think it would

anyway. That box only support IDE, so you have no choice here.
But even a nice new IDE works very well there.
I used: ST3160815A from Seagate, a very nice drive, pretty darn fast and

nice cache as well on the drive. Or an 80GB ST380215A.
Yes you can, but obviously use an external one. Pretty easy to do, then 
If you have any issue, I would be more then happy to help you get it

going, but do your homework firs,t it couldn't be simpler to do really.
Best,
Daniel