Solaris

[linux12414]

My nephew is going to send me a copy of Solaris (for Intel).

I want to try it. What are the pros and cons, if any.

Thanks for your input.

[Rickdog]

A very nice looking desktop, but much more difficult to implement if you are used to the KDE/Gnome type desktop. It is very poorly supported hardware wise and I had a hell of a time trying to set up an internet connection. Get all the help you can from your nephew and when you get it on the internet there are quite a few driver updates and support for hardware that weren't on the 02/02 distribution. Good luck! PS, I sold mine for $20 and was happy to get it as I finally gave up trying to get hardware working.

[sol-dude]

Solaris 8 for intel is not bad. I agree that you
may have issues with your hardware. I would
suggest a 3com network card if you are interested
in networking.

As a workstation, cde is the default gui. As a server on sparcs, it rocks.

Files are similar to linux but not the same.
For instance, nfs is handled on the server on
a file called /etc/dfs/dfstab and not /etc/exports.

You can set up a dhcp server with a command called
dhcpconfig. A nis+ server with two commands: /usr/lib/nis/nisserver and /usr/lib/nis/ nispopulate. Nis can be set up with the different
yp commands and it is configured in /var/yp.

Give it a shot. You'll like it.

[The Whizzard]

The major issue I had with Solaris (intel) was that it was slow as sh!t on mt PIII 600. It's been some time since I used it but it did support the hardware I had. I believe ATI RageIII+, RTL8139 NIC. Didn't have a sound card at the time.

[sol-dude]

Have you tried it yet?

[linux12414]

Probably this August or Sept. I'll get around to doing it.

My nephew promises but it's his mother who delivers , and she's coming in August (from UK) and is bringing it with her.

[JohnT]

August????? I can't wait till then. Have him mail it. Burn us all a copy.:D :D :D :D

[linux12414]

Originally posted by JohnT
August????? I can't wait till then. Have him mail it. Burn us all a copy.:D :D :D :D

John...

That's easier said than done!:D

As soon as I get it, I'll be glad to burn you a copy and send it to you.

PS--my nephew works for Sun UK and has all this stuff at his disposal and why he can't send it from the company is beyond me. :confused:

[JohnT]

Originally posted by linux12414
John...

That's easier said than done!:D

As soon as I get it, I'll be glad to burn you a copy and send it to you.

PS--my nephew works for Sun UK and has all this stuff at his disposal and why he can't send it from the company is beyond me. :confused:

Just kidding, but all things considered, I wouldn.t mind a copy. I'd even be willing to pay postage+ if he wants to send it.

[ssadams]

i like Solaris for intel, and yes there are hardware issues, but that aside, it works fine and is a good learning tool. I can tell you that Solaris 9 looks and runs faster on my Bladw 150 then the intel version runs on my P3 1000

[swangods]

For those paying attention, Solaris 9 for x86 was just released. Rickdog is right- hardware support is really not so good. The SPARC edition is also rock-solid and speedy, and, frankly, I have to successfully install Solaris myself on x86. I've used a Blade 100 with it pre-installed, but that's it. Any of the Linux distributions, including Slackware, Debian, Arch, any of the purported "difficult to install" ones are pancakes compared to Solaris. Beyond the fact that the ISO's themselves are not exactly useable without modification or a boot floppy, the lack of hardware support is discouraging and the install interface is downright befuddling. Some of the terminology is a bit unclear, though not insurmountable. Hardware selection is about as rough as it gets, and, frankly, even just navigating the interface is uncomfortable. 2/3 of the screens you use F2 (or esc-2) to proceed and F3 (or esc-3) to fall back or cancel. And yet, 1/3 of the screens have the two reversed. *sigh*

But, installation qualms aside (and I have my doubts that Sun is too worried about DIY'ers on x86), Solaris is fantastic. We only have the single Blade 100 at work, but I would love to get another Blade for testing plus a Solaris-based server or two.

Can anyone recommend a "beginners guide to installing Solaris" or something like that?