In article <123qbbcgbqssqec@corp.supernews.com>,
Jim Seymour wrote:

>I'm thinking of upgrading the processor in my venerable old
>Rave-built Sparc box from the 360MHz processor it has to a 440MHz
>processor.

Great fun!

>I'm a bit confused regarding OBP version requirement.
>The docs for the CPU module, Sun p/n 501-5149, say "requires OBP >=
>3.19v4." But the highest revision I can find for my AXi board is
>3.10.13. (I currently have 3.10.8.) I've found tantalizing

Dont worry, OBP versions are totally different for Ultra5/10 and
Axi. I think 440MHz works even running on 3.10.8.

>references to 3.19v4 by searching Sun's site, but the links lead to
>places I may not go, as I don't have a Sun support contract.

Never try to force a U5/U10 OBP on an Axi.

/wfr
Fredrik
--
Fredrik Lundholm
dol @ ce.chalmers.se

In article ,
dol@ce.chalmers.se (Fredrik Lundholm) writes:
> In article <123qbbcgbqssqec@corp.supernews.com>,
> Jim Seymour wrote:
>
>>I'm thinking of upgrading the processor in my venerable old
>>Rave-built Sparc box from the 360MHz processor it has to a 440MHz
>>processor.
>
> Great fun!

Well, I'm *hoping* so . I already upgraded it from the original
300MHz processor to the 360MHz one a couple years ago. I know that,
by today's standards, a 440MHz Ultra IIi ain't great shakes, but
hey, every little bit counts. And I'm relatively easy to please.

>
>>I'm a bit confused regarding OBP version requirement.
>>The docs for the CPU module, Sun p/n 501-5149, say "requires OBP >=
>>3.19v4." But the highest revision I can find for my AXi board is
>>3.10.13. (I currently have 3.10.8.) I've found tantalizing
>
> Dont worry, OBP versions are totally different for Ultra5/10 and
> Axi. I think 440MHz works even running on 3.10.8.

That's what I suspected. Thanks for confirming it.

In the mean-time, I just received email from a colleague who has an
AXi-based box with a 440MHz processor. He checked his OBP version
and it's the same as mine.

>
>>references to 3.19v4 by searching Sun's site, but the links lead to
>>places I may not go, as I don't have a Sun support contract.
>
> Never try to force a U5/U10 OBP on an Axi.

Okay, I won't .

This:

,

however, *is* an AXi OBP upgrade. But it mentions Solaris 8, and I'm
still running Solaris 7. You think I should apply this OBP upgrade?
(Normally I take the position of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.")

Thanks for the follow-up, Fredrik!

Regards,
Jim
--
Jim Seymour | "There is no expedient to which a man will not
jseymour@LinxNet.com | go to avoid the labor of thinking."
http://jimsun.LinxNet.com | - Thomas A. Edison

jseymour@LinxNet.com (Jim Seymour) writes:

> ,

>however, *is* an AXi OBP upgrade. But it mentions Solaris 8, and I'm
>still running Solaris 7. You think I should apply this OBP upgrade?
>(Normally I take the position of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.")

If it ain't broken don't fix it. OBP upgrades are independent of
software releases.

Casper
--
Expressed in this posting are my opinions. They are in no way related
to opinions held by my employer, Sun Microsystems.
Statements on Sun products included here are not gospel and may
be fiction rather than truth.

Jim Seymour wrote:
> This:
>
> ,
>
> however, *is* an AXi OBP upgrade. But it mentions Solaris 8, and I'm
> still running Solaris 7. You think I should apply this OBP upgrade?

OBP patches usually are not OS-dependent. The Ultra 5/10 OBP patch README
reads:

Patch-ID# 106121-18
SunOS Release: 5.7 5.8
NOTE: This utility is *not* OS-dependent. The list of releases shown
under the "Solaris Release" and "SunOS Release" sections may not
be complete: The absence of a valid Solaris Release or SunOS
Release from the lists above does not preclude the installation
of this patch against the hardware.

> (Normally I take the position of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.")

Seconded, esp. as far as Firmware/OBP patches are concerned. 116753-01
only fixes two bugs anyway. If they don't affect you, just ignore it.

mp.
--
Systems Administrator | Institute of Scientific Computing | Univ. of Vienna

Jim Seymour wrote:
> [My apologies to those of you that might see this twice. I *meant*
> to cross-post it, and forgot.]
>
> I'm thinking of upgrading the processor in my venerable old
> Rave-built Sparc box from the 360MHz processor it has to a 440MHz
> processor. I'm a bit confused regarding OBP version requirement.
> The docs for the CPU module, Sun p/n 501-5149, say "requires OBP >=
> 3.19v4." But the highest revision I can find for my AXi board is
> 3.10.13. (I currently have 3.10.8.) I've found tantalizing
> references to 3.19v4 by searching Sun's site, but the links lead to
> places I may not go, as I don't have a Sun support contract.
>
> Anybody know what the story is here?

As others already said: AXi != Ultra-5/10
They are similar, but that's all.

One comment on the 440 MHz CPU, though.
These aren't officially supported in the AXi, and if you have
more than one or two PCI cards in the system, you'll most likely
run into problems.
My machine for example has a QFE, two additional SCSI controllers,
some ESS soundcard and a PGX32 Framebuffer. When CDE starts, it
either crashes immediately or the whole system locks up or panics.
If I pull out the PGX32 or use a slower CPU, everything's just fine.
There are some pages on Sunsolve about this particular problem, but
no solution apart from shuffling PCI cards, running headless or using
a slower CPU. For my own part, I'm running the machine headless now
as the PGX32 isn't of much use anyway.


Martin.
--
"For the Snark's a peculiar creature, that won't
Be caught in a commonplace way.
Do all that you know, and try all that you don't;
Not a chance must be wasted to-day!"