NetBSD on SGI Indigo w/R3000

[Frank Scheiner <frank.scheiner%web.de@localhost>]

Dear all,

I today tried to netboot my SGI Indigo w/R3000 with various NetBSD IP12 
ECOFF kernels. Unfortunately it looks like none of the tested official 
NetBSD kernels does start/work after it was downloaded via TFTP - at 
least that is my impression.

I tested the gunzipped versions of 
`binary/kernel/netbsd.ecoff-GENERIC32_IP12.gz` from NetBSD 7.1, 6.0, 4.0 
and 3.0 in this order but I never got any further output after the 
kernel was loaded, neither on serial console nor on glass console. 
Except for the size information this always looks like this:
```
                             Starting the system...

               To perform system maintenance instead, press <Esc>


System Maintenance Menu

1) Start System

3) Run Diagnostics

5) Enter Command Monitor

Option? 5
Command Monitor.  Type "exit" to return to the menu.
>> version
PROM Monitor SGI Version 4.0 Rev A HP1,  Jul 18, 1991

>> printenv
dbaud=9600
rbaud=9600
bootfile=bootp():/AC100267
bootmode=c
console=d
diskless=1
volume=10
path=bootp()
cpufreq=33

>> boot
Setting $netaddr to 172.16.2.103 (from server )
Obtaining /AC100267 from server
2963408+337668+209216 entry: 0x80002000
```
...which is the output for the kernel of NetBSD 3.0. There's no further 
output after "entry: 0x80002000" was printed.

This is my configuration:
```
>> hinv -v
              Memory size: 24 Mbytes
   Instruction cache size: 32 Kbytes
  Instruction refill size: 8 words
          Data cache size: 32 Kbytes
         Data refill size: 8 words
      Partial word stores: Enabled
            System option: Audio processor, revision 3
                 Graphics: LG1
                SCSI Disk: dksc(0,1)
                CPU board: IP12 33 MHz, revision 1, with FPU
```

Is this really supposed to work on an Indigo w/R3000 (IP12)? Maybe I'm 
just doing something the wrong way. As I couldn't find a specific boot 
loader I assume the machine can start the kernel directly.

UPDATE: I stumbled upon [1], looking at it it seems I'm correct in 
booting the machine the way described above.

[1]: https://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-sgimips/2003/04/27/0001.html

And the corresponding kernel (available via the Internet Archive from 
[2]) also works on my machine as I just found out:
```
>> boot
Setting $netaddr to 172.16.2.103 (from server )
Obtaining /AC100267 from server
1403008+0+144220 entry: 0x80002000
zs channel 0 had address 0xbfb80d10
machine HP1 (Hollywood), board rev 1
[ Kernel symbol table missing! ]
argv[0]: bootp():/AC100267
Mem block 0: base 0x0, size: 0x1000000
Mem block 0 contains kernel
Loading chunk after kernel: 0x17c / 0x1000
Mem block 1: base 0x1000000, size: 0x800000
Loading cluster 1: 0x1000 / 0x1800
Copyright (c) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
    The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.  All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993
    The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.

NetBSD 1.6T (IP12) #6: Thu May 22 10:17:29 EST 2003
        rumble@T23:/home/rumble/src/sys/arch/sgimips/compile/IP12
24576 KB memory, 20956 KB free, 1328 KB in 332 buffers
mainbus0 (root): SGI-IP12, 1 processor
cpu0 at mainbus0: MIPS R3000A CPU (0x230) Rev. 3.0 with MIPS R3010 FPC 
Rev. 4.0
cpu0: 32KB/4B direct-mapped Instruction cache, 64 TLB entries
cpu0: 32KB/4B direct-mapped write-through Data cache
pic0 at mainbus0 addr 0x1fa00000
pic0: Revision C: dblk (0x2), iblk (0x8)
pic0: cache disabled, store partial, bus drive
gio0 at pic0
hpc0 at gio0 addr 0x1fb80000: SGI HPC1.5
zsc0 at hpc0 offset 0xd10
zstty0 at zsc0 channel 1 (console i/o)
zstty1 at zsc0 channel 0
sq0 at hpc0 offset 0x100: SGI Seeq 8003
sq0: Ethernet address 08:00:69:12:34:56
wdsc0 at hpc0 offset 0x11f: WD33C93A SCSI, rev=0, target 0
scsibus0 at wdsc0: 8 targets, 8 luns per target
dpclock0 at hpc0 offset 0xe00
biomask 0b netmask 0b ttymask 1b clockmask 7f
scsibus0: waiting 2 seconds for devices to settle...
sd0 at scsibus0 target 1 lun 0: <SEAGATE, ST1280, 1234> disk fixed
sd0: 228 MB, 1476 cyl, 5 head, 63 sec, 512 bytes/sect x 468655 sectors
sd0: sync (200.00ns offset 12), 8-bit (5.000MB/s) transfers, tagged queueing
boot device: sq0
[...]
```
The matching userland sadly is not available from the Internet Archive, 
so I tried with various sgimips userlands from NetBSD 1.6, 1.6.2 and 3.0 
(the first official NetBSD IP12 kernel arrived with NetBSD 3.0), but 
none works.

[2]: 
https://web.archive.org/web/20040607112731/http://www.cataclysmic.org:80/sgimips/netbsd.ip12.20030523

Can someone confirm that such a machine or a similar IP12 machine works 
or worked with an official NetBSD kernel from a specific NetBSD version?

Cheers,
Frank