11 Jun
2025
11 Jun
'25
2:22 p.m.
On Wed, Jun 11, 2025 at 9:56 AM Dan Cross <crossd(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On Wed, Jun 11, 2025 at 8:50 AM Warner Losh <imp(a)bsdimp.com> wrote:
There's #ifdef MUlTIPROCESSOR in the 4.1.3 and 4.1.4 trees that
leaked. But it looks like they only work for sun4m machines have real
defines...
I'd been told at the time, over lunch, that even those code bases
didn't have MP support, but it may have been SMP support was
lacking...
Warner
On Wed, Jun 11, 2025 at 8:14 AM Henry Bent
<henry.r.bent(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I don't know when exactly it came around. It was definitely in 4.1.4,
and I'm also certain it was in 4.1.3/4.1.3_U1.
If Wikipedia can be trusted, it says that MP support came in 4.1.2,
for the SPARCserver 600MP systems. It looks like it only supported up
to 4 CPUs. Sorry, I sent a response only to Warner by
accident. SunOS 4 runs just fine on MP machines, I have a dual processor HyperSPARC SS10
running right now. The MP support isn't ideal by modern standards but for the time
period it's fine, and it definitely works well.
Hmmm, I thought OS/MP was the only SunOS 4 that ran on MP machines. I
worked at Solbourne at the time. It went through the normal
progression: ASMP in OS/MP 4.0C with SMP in OS/MP 4.1A (corresponding
to 4.0.3 and 4.1.1 respectively). When I left, the only Sun OS that
ran on MP was Solaris 2.x. SunOS 4.0 and 4.1 definitely needed a lot
of love to get up and running on Solbourne's machines. We were happy
when we had 16 CPU systems that scaled to about 12x the single CPU
performance. At the time, all our contacts at Sun said that Solaris
was the only MP OS they'd ever produce. There were like 3-5 man years
of effort in the project by the time it was fully SMP. I did leave the
Solbourne sphere in 1994 though.
When / how did it happen? Or is it another third party port? - Dan C.
> > On Wed, 11 Jun 2025 at 08:09, Dan Cross <crossd(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> On Tue, Jun 10, 2025 at 11:41 PM Warner Losh <imp(a)bsdimp.com> wrote:
> >> > They are also UP, so SunOS 4 will run on them...
> >>
> >> As I recall, SunOS 4 would run on MP machines, though with some
> >> restrictions. Perhaps only one CPU could be in the kernel at any
> >> given time?
> >>
> >> - Dan C.
> >>
> >> > On Tue, Jun 10, 2025 at 11:37 PM Henry Bent
<henry.r.bent(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> >> > >
> >> > > Yet another reason why I suggested a SPARCstation 2 or 5; of all
of the machines from that time period those are ones that will at least be reasonable with
power consumption.
> >> > >
> >> > > -Henry
> >> > >
> >> > > On Tue, 10 Jun 2025 at 23:20, Dan Cross <crossd(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
> >> > >>
> >> > >> On Tue, Jun 10, 2025 at 1:44 PM Clem Cole
<clemc(a)ccc.com> wrote:
> >> > >> > Can I suggest you start with OpenSIMH -
https://OpenSimH.org and try running any a simulated system. It's a lot cheaper and
while quite the same has having the the actual hardware, a lot easier to manage and most
everything you could do from the old days can be done on you personal computer. If you
want BlinkenLights, get one on of Occar's wonderful PiDP11 kits -
https://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/pidp-11 (which run OpenSIMH behind his
lights and switches). Again a lot small and will meet you budget constraints.
> >> > >>
> >> > >> Another side of that is power consumption. The older machines
will
> >> > >> absolutely drink energy; OpenSIMH on a modern SBC is so much
more
> >> > >> efficient in that regard.
> >> > >>
> >> > >> - Dan C.
> >> > >>
> >> > >> > On Mon, Jun 9, 2025 at 2:08 PM Vicente Collares via TUHS
<tuhs(a)tuhs.org> wrote:
> >> > >> >>
> >> > >> >> Hello Milo,
> >> > >> >>
> >> > >> >> On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 13:38:54 -0400
> >> > >> >> Milo Velimirović <milovelimirovic(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
> >> > >> >>
> >> > >> >> > What’s your budget and what’s your level of
hardware technical skill? If budget is no concern, there are occasional complete pdp11 or
vaxen on eBay. Or, you could get CPU cards and interfaces to piece together a system. If
you go that route a Unibone or Qbone is highly recommended for both debugging and filling
in hardwar gaps via emulation. Alternatively, there are several FPGA projects to emulate
-11s.
> >> > >> >>
> >> > >> >> Buying a complete PDP-11 or VAX is the dream, but
it's not what I'm
> >> > >> >> aiming for to start. I was thinking of something
like a UNIX
> >> > >> >> workstation. I haven't thought about the
possibility of piecing together
> >> > >> >> a system using various cards. Thanks for pointing
that out, I'll have to
> >> > >> >> look into it.
> >> > >> >>
> >> > >> >> Budget is a concern for me. So ideally I would like
to spend around $500
> >> > >> >> USD on the actual computer. Is that realistic for
the type of computer I
> >> > >> >> mentioned above?
> >> > >> >>
> >> > >> >> I'm not hardware savvy, so I would have a
limited ability to do repairs
> >> > >> >> on the electronics. I do know someone who is though,
so I might be able
> >> > >> >> to get some help on this project.
> >> > >> >>
> >> > >> >> I wish you an excellent week,
> >> > >> >>
> >> > >> >> Vicente
> >> > >> >> vicente(a)collares.ca