[ILUG] SPARC Linux

[Matthew French]

To summarise my responses to the responses I had about running Linux on a
SPARC:

RikD suggested:
> You could just download the SuSE ISO images and make up the CD set...
> http://www.mirror.ac.uk/sites/ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/sparc/7.3/iso/

Well, I do not fancy downloading ISO's via modem. But I might just BB|S
(beg, borrow or steal) some bandwidth from somewhere. I feel a late night
download coming on...

It seems as if SuSe provide the latest Sparc version for free, you just have
to pay if you want the "Enterprise" version.

Paul Kelly mentioned:
> Best bet is probably RedHat 6.2 with a boatload of updates and a 2.4
> kernel compiled up yourself. Debian stable would also be a decent base
> for such a plan.

Nah. That would mean a lot more downloading, which I am trying to avoid. And
most probably a lot of Googling to fix things when they break. IIRC the
kernel change would require a new version of glibc, and a new version of
modutils, and... It would most probably be easier to go with the SuSe
version.

Declan Moriarity suggested:
> I would at least query Mandrake. I know they do ppc releases, and they may
> have a sparc product. They have been on the 2.4 kernel since 8.0.

Unfortunately they no longer seem to support SPARC. I have found a lot of
press releases about version 7.0-beta for Sparc, but nothing about a version
8.0. :(

Declan also suggested:
> Another option seeing as you know what you want is
www.linuxfromscratch.org .
> The idea is that you build it as it says, from scratch. This includes init
> scripts, etc. I trust you can cross compile for it initially. You only d/l
> what you want, and end up learning a lot as you go along. I have decided
my
> next distro is coming from there - if only for the learning experience

People who know me say this is the distro I should be using. Unfortunately I
do not have the time, otherwise I would gladly engage in such
sado-masochism. Again, downloads present a problem.

Then Paul Kelly and Kevin Lyda (treacherous scum[1]) suggested OpenBSD:

I am not sure I see the point in using OpenBSD as my reason for using Linux
is so that it is the same OS I am using on my other machines. A visit to the
NetBSD site reveals that the BSD firewall of choice (IPFilter) runs just
fine on Solaris. Bang goes my biggest reason for wanting Linux - that I
can't find a decent open source NAT/firewall product for Solaris[2].

Sticking with Solaris also has many other advantages. I am not worried about
having a super-secure firewall, anything that tracks connection state will
be fine. But I may well want to run Java development servers in the near
future, I would rather not have to "learn" another Unix flavour right now
and thanks to open source I can run most of the applications I need on any
Unix I feel like.

Therefore, my present state of mind is:

1) Use Solaris/IPFilter/pppd for the HAN and compile squid/postfix/etc from
source (Note to self: delete Solaris sendmail before plugging in the modem).

2) Download SuSe ISO's when visiting a client with lots of bandwidth. Must
remember to write an article for ILUG when I get SPARC/Linux working.

Thanks again to all those who provided opinions.

- Matthew

[1] Actually I have nothing against BSD, that would be a bit like hating
one's father. But when in Rome...

[2] It is an indication of how far Linux has come that I can be _surprised_
when a widely supported commercial OS has the same functionality that Linux
has had for years.



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