> -----Original Message-----
> From: port-sparc-owner@NetBSD.org 
> [mailto:port-sparc-owner@NetBSD.org] On Behalf Of Sean Hafeez
> Sent: 01 August 2004 18:00
> To: NetBSD port-sparc mailing list
> Subject: Re: MP unstable on 2.0?
> 
> How about on ROSS HyperSparcs?
> 
> Linux locks up good on them!

Yes, hopefully SMP on HyperSPARCs will be ok, as this is the main reason for
me migating from Linux.

I've been running Debian with a 2.4 kernel on an SS5 70MHz for a few months
now as my home firewall/mail/web server and although a little slow it's been
*way* more stable than any Intel kit I'd used before. I'm totally sold on
Sun hardware now so decided to pick up an SS20 with 2x Ross HyperSPARC
150MHz in it off eBay (a bargain at 50UKP, I thought). All the 'official'
Linux SMP Howtos and the Linux SPARC port website suggested there was no
trouble with HyperSPARCs but it turned out that 2.4 was extremely unstable.
Keith Weslowksi, the chap who'd been doing the majority of the Sparc32 port
work on Linux has recently stepped away from the project for some reason and
there simply doesn't appear to be anyone in the SPARC/Linux world with
enough time or experience to get Sparc32 working again (2.6 is buggy as hell
on Sparc64, from what I can tell and doesn't run Sparc32 or any form of SMP
on Sparc at all at the moment).

NetBSD 2.0 seems to be the only OS out there at the moment (other than
Slowlaris) that will use both the CPUs on the White Elephant sat in my spare
room at the moment so I've spent the last 2 weeks now getting my head around
1.6.2 and finding out all the little differences that make NetBSD what it is
before I bite the bullet and go for a 2.0 install. Hopefully I'll have a new
firewall up an running on this box before the end of summer.

Gary