[SUMMARY] Sun system for home use

From: John Maguire <john_maguire_at_e-merge.ie>
Date: Fri Jun 22 2001 - 06:36:09 EDT
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Hi all,

I got over 30 replies to this message. Many thanks to all who replied. =
I'm afraid there are too many to list individually.

About 70% suggested I go with a Sun Blade 100, an inexpensive UltraSPARC =
IIe based system. The basic model has 500 MHz processor, 128MB RAM, 15BG =
7200rpm IDE disk, CDROM, comes pre-installed with Solaris 8 and costs =
less than $1000. The systems can easily be expanded to 2GB mem (standard =
PC133 memory will work, although its not qualified/supported by Sun), =
There is room for an additional internal disk. The consensus amongst =
those who added more storage was to use an IBM or WD disk as the disk =
supplied is slowish and noisier than normal. A standard PC monitor can =
be connected. A SunPCi card can be added to run Windows apps and the =
system is 64bit which may be important later. An added advantage is that =
there is a one year on-site warranty (in Ireland) to give added peace of =
mind.=20

On the downside, they will ony run Solaris 8 and they are considered =
slow due to the IDE disks. There's not much room for expansion and =
there's no SCSI.

Of those who didnt have a Sun Blade 100, home systems ranged from an SS4 =
to an Ultra 30 with various add-ons procured along the way, like SCSI =
controllers, additional CPU's and external disk packs. In general most =
people seemed happy enough in terms of reliability and performance of =
these systems, but it has to be remembered that as the older systems =
approach their end-of-life cycle, replacements and spares will be harder =
to come by. Additionally, the older architectures will not run Solaris 8 =
and later.=20

A few also suggested the Netra X1.

Some of the links provided were:

http://www.sun.com/desktop/sunblade100/
http://sunblade100.wells.org.uk
http://www.usedsun.com
http://www.ebay.com
http://auctions.sun.com
http://www.net-kitchen.com/~sah/
http://www.sun.com/netra/netrax/X1/
http://faqaboss.sunhelp.org
http://sunhelp.org
http://www.obsolyte.com/sunFAQ/faq_hardware/hwref0.html
http://faqaboss.sunhelp.org/
http://www.obsolyte.com/sunFAQ/sparc_compare.txt
ftp://www.cs.toronto.edu/pub/jdd/spectable
http://www.crucial.com/uk/index.asp

In summary, the Sun Blade 100 looks like a good buy, considering you can =
expand it with PC ram, IDE disks and a standard pc monitor, resulting in =
an impressive desktop unix system for less than $2000.

Thanks again,
John

  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: John Maguire=20
  To: sunmanagers@sunmanagers.org=20
  Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2001 10:29 AM
  Subject: Sun system for home use


  Hi Managers,

  Can someone point me to resources on the web, or share your =
experiences, on low end Sun systems - comparison of hardware specs, =
capabilities, pitfalls, etc.

  The idea here is to get an inexpensive system for home use.=20

  I've found a local reseller (Ireland) of refurbished systems and I =
wonder is it worth buying a refurbished SS10 or SS20 for example.
  Would an Ultra1 or similar be a better buy. I want to do some =
experimenting with Disksuite so I need capacity for more than 1 disk.

  Note: I've considered but I'd rather not to go along the x86 route.

  Any thoughts appreciated. Will simmarise.

  Thanks,
  John

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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Hi all,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>I got over 30 replies to this message. =
Many thanks=20
to all who replied. I'm afraid there are too many to list=20
individually.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>About&nbsp;70%&nbsp;suggested I go with =
a Sun Blade=20
100, an inexpensive UltraSPARC IIe based system. The basic model has 500 =
MHz=20
processor, 128MB RAM, 15BG 7200rpm IDE disk, CDROM, comes pre-installed =
with=20
Solaris 8 and costs less than $1000. The systems can easily be expanded =
to 2GB=20
mem (standard PC133 memory will work, although its not =
qualified/supported by=20
Sun), There is room for an additional internal disk. The consensus =
amongst those=20
who added more storage was to use an IBM or WD disk as the disk supplied =
is=20
slowish and noisier than normal. A standard PC monitor can be connected. =
A=20
SunPCi card can be added to run Windows apps and the system is 64bit =
which may=20
be important later. An added advantage is that there is a one year =
on-site=20
warranty&nbsp;(in Ireland) to give added peace of mind. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>On the downside, they will ony run =
Solaris 8 and=20
they are considered slow due to the IDE disks. There's not much room for =

expansion and there's no SCSI.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Of those who didnt have a Sun Blade =
100, home=20
systems ranged from an SS4 to an Ultra 30 with various add-ons procured =
along=20
the way, like SCSI controllers, additional CPU's and external disk =
packs. In=20
general most people seemed happy enough in terms of reliability and =
performance=20
of these systems, but it has to be remembered that as the older systems =
approach=20
their end-of-life cycle, replacements and spares will be harder to come =
by.=20
Additionally, the older architectures will not run Solaris 8 and later.=20
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>A few also suggested the Netra =
X1.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Some of the links provided =
were:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><A=20
href=3D"http://www.sun.com/desktop/sunblade100/">http://www.sun.com/deskt=
op/sunblade100/</A></DIV>
<DIV><A=20
href=3D"http://sunblade100.wells.org.uk">http://sunblade100.wells.org.uk<=
/A></DIV>
<DIV><A href=3D"http://www.usedsun.com"><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2>http://www.usedsun.com</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://www.ebay.com">http://www.ebay.com</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://auctions.sun.com">http://auctions.sun.com</A></FONT></DIV>=

<DIV><A=20
href=3D"http://www.net-kitchen.com/~sah/">http://www.net-kitchen.com/~sah=
/</A></DIV>
<DIV><A=20
href=3D"http://www.sun.com/netra/netrax/X1/">http://www.sun.com/netra/net=
rax/X1/</A></DIV>
<DIV><A =
href=3D"http://faqaboss.sunhelp.org">http://faqaboss.sunhelp.org</A></DIV=
>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://sunhelp.org">http://sunhelp.org</A></FONT><FONT =
face=3DVerdana=20
color=3D#0000ff size=3D2><SPAN =
class=3D463321917-21062001></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana color=3D#0000ff size=3D2><SPAN =
class=3D463321917-21062001><A=20
href=3D"http://www.obsolyte.com/sunFAQ/faq_hardware/hwref0.html">http://w=
ww.obsolyte.com/sunFAQ/faq_hardware/hwref0.html</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana color=3D#0000ff size=3D2><SPAN =
class=3D463321917-21062001><A=20
href=3D"http://faqaboss.sunhelp.org/">http://faqaboss.sunhelp.org/</A></S=
PAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana color=3D#0000ff size=3D2><SPAN =
class=3D463321917-21062001><A=20
href=3D"http://www.obsolyte.com/sunFAQ/sparc_compare.txt">http://www.obso=
lyte.com/sunFAQ/sparc_compare.txt</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff><SPAN class=3D463321917-21062001><A=20
href=3D"ftp://www.cs.toronto.edu/pub/jdd/spectable">ftp://www.cs.toronto.=
edu/pub/jdd/spectable</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff><SPAN class=3D463321917-21062001><A=20
href=3D"http://www.crucial.com/uk/index.asp">http://www.crucial.com/uk/in=
dex.asp</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#000000 size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D463321917-21062001></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#000000 size=3D2><SPAN =
class=3D463321917-21062001>In=20
summary, the Sun Blade 100 looks like a good buy, considering you can =
expand it=20
with PC ram, IDE disks and a standard pc monitor, resulting in an =
impressive=20
desktop unix system for less than $2000.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#000000 size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D463321917-21062001></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#000000 size=3D2><SPAN =
class=3D463321917-21062001>Thanks=20
again,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#000000 size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D463321917-21062001>John</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#000000 size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D463321917-21062001></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV=20
  style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
  <A title=3Djohn_maguire@e-merge.ie =
href=3D"mailto:john_maguire@e-merge.ie">John=20
  Maguire</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3Dsunmanagers@sunmanagers.org=20
  =
href=3D"mailto:sunmanagers@sunmanagers.org">sunmanagers@sunmanagers.org</=
A>=20
  </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 21, 2001 =
10:29=20
  AM</DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Sun system for home =
use</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Hi Managers,</FONT></DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Can someone point me =
to&nbsp;resources on the=20
  web, or share your experiences,&nbsp;on low end Sun systems - =
comparison of=20
  hardware specs, capabilities, pitfalls,&nbsp;etc.</FONT></DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>The idea here is to get an=20
  inexpensive&nbsp;system for home use. </FONT></DIV>
  <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>I've found a local reseller (Ireland) =
of=20
  refurbished systems and&nbsp;I wonder&nbsp;i</FONT><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>s=20
  it worth buying a refurbished SS10 or SS20 for example.</FONT></DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Would an Ultra1 or similar be a =
better buy. I=20
  want to do some experimenting with Disksuite so I need capacity for =
more than=20
  1 disk.</FONT></DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Note: I've considered but =
I'd&nbsp;rather not to=20
  go along the x86 route.</FONT></DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Any thoughts appreciated. Will=20
  simmarise.</FONT></DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Thanks,</FONT></DIV>
  <DIV><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>John</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>

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Received on Fri Jun 22 11:36:09 2001

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