Hardware Wanted

Hello,
I am looking for new NVRAM chips for Sparcstation 20.

Thank you

You're best bet would probably be to open up the existing NVRAMs and add a battery. An old PC CR2032 holder will epoxy to the top of the current Mostek unit just fine.

I think that the Sun4m architecture works OK with the newer Mostek/whoever owns Mostek now units, but the Sun4c architecture doesn't. Check around to Mouser or the like.

Used ones aren't worth it - most of them will die soon. If you need to reprogram your MAC and serial it should be stored in the system log at bootup. It's also a good idea to write it out somewhere on the chassis just in case, because these machines are all gettting old.

SAQ wrote: You're best bet would probably be to open up the existing NVRAMs and add a battery. An old PC CR2032 holder will epoxy to the top of the current Mostek unit just fine.

Hi SAQ, there are different versions of NVRAM chips for various Sun models. The guide: http://www.squirrel.com/sun-nvram-hostid.faq.html I found about adding a CR2032 battery holder on the existing NVRAM chip is mainly for Sun Ultras and for some earlier models, not sparcstations.

SAQ wrote: If you need to reprogram your MAC and serial it should be stored in the system log at bootup. It's also a good idea to write it out somewhere on the chassis just in case, because these machines are all gettting old.

If I replace the NVRAM Chip, do I need to reprogram the mac address ? I thought that the system is reading it during the boot and stores it somehow.

I've put coin cells on both Sun4c and Sun4m systems - it's not a big deal and I think the instructions in your guide will probably work almost exactly the same. The Bhargavaz page works as well for all Sun NVRAMs ( http://blog.bhargavaz.us/2010/12/idprom ... -page.html )

Yes, you do need to reprogram your MAC and serial numbers. Unlike SGI for all machines != Indy, Sun stored this information in semivolitile RAM and did not have any sticker with a physical copy of the information. Since you have a operable Solaris or SunOS install things are much easier, since looking through the system log will give you the correct values to reprogram. I write them on a part of the chassis as well, just to be sure.

Hi SAQ thank you very much for the info.

I am afraid I cannot find the pins that coming inside the NVRAM chip (due to the small pictures), but which of those M48T02 could I buy for use with SS20 ?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... Categories

dir_marillion wrote: Hi SAQ thank you very much for the info.

I am afraid I cannot find the pins that coming inside the NVRAM chip (due to the small pictures), but which of those M48T02 could I buy for use with SS20 ?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... Categories

I think the T02 is the Sun4c model. Look for a M48t08 - but you can check your chip. The label/barcode on the top means nothing unless you have a service contract with Sun/Oracle or other way to get a look at their database, and given the way Oracle works I suspect the only way that would happen would involve the transfer of $$$$$$$$$.

Hi SAQ,

If I replace my dead NVRAM chip with the chip M48t08 (I checked and my NVRAM has 24 pins, I assume 150 is the speed of the chip...) and follow the procedure to import the (hopefully correct) mac address I kept, its possible that the system will have all the necessary information to enable the on-board NIC into Solaris.

Otherwise may I install another S-BUS network card (which has it's own mac address) and use it as primary Ethernet controller ?

as long as you choose a sysid that is a valid unicast MAC address, the onboard ethernet should work with any address you want. the reason for keeping the same address is for software licensing, and to avoid confusing routers/switches that have the station MAC address stored, for VLAN assignment, proxy ARP, etc.

robespierre wrote: as long as you choose a sysid that is a valid unicast MAC address, the onboard ethernet should work with any address you want. the reason for keeping the same address is for software licensing, and to avoid confusing routers/switches that have the station MAC address stored, for VLAN assignment, proxy ARP, etc.

If you have the proper MAC address go ahead and use it. That way you don't have to worry about keeping records of your MAC allocations (and you don't have to worry about taking your box to a different network where everyone has their dead Sun programmed with C0:FF:EE), and you get to keep the Sun MAC prefix so the machine comes up on NMAP et al as a Sun rather than whatever (because the other way of ensuring a "good MAC" across different unknown networks is to get a cheapo PC-type card, retire it, and use the MAC on your Sun - but then it comes up as "Netgear" or whatever...)

Note that you need to program two numbers for everything to be good: the MAC and the system serial number. On Suns they're different. SSN's big use is licensing.

Thank you very much guys, I have already ordered a M48t08 and I will replace the dead NVRAM with it.
This SS20 will be used at my home, among SGIs, so no need for VLANs or more complicated networks.

Then I will re-program the MAC and the serial via openboot.

Hey guys, for your info, I received the (new) M48t08 and replaced the official NVRAM. I have already reprogrammed it with success.
M48t08 works fine with Sparcstation 20.

Let's see in how many years, the battery will come to it's end.

Thank you very much SAQ.

Sorry for the ancient thread bump...

Did we decide that we need the 100MHz chip per here: http://www.memoryxsun.com/5251378.html

...or the 150MHz per the thread above?

Memory speeds are in nanoseconds, not megahertz. 200ns or faster will work, although the squirrel.com page notes a problem that had been experienced with the M48T02-150 in SparcStation 2s. Today only the faster speeds (like 100ns or faster) are being made. In fact it's a little surprising that such an old chip is made at all.

Bad news. I bought this chip: M48T08-100PC1 http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDet ... 48T0810PC1

...and my SS20 won't boot with it. Replacing the original chip works.

Did I get the wrong chip or is the chip perhaps, bad?

You need to follow the kickstart procedure. A chip from Mouser is unlikely to be fake or discharged.

strong_epoxy wrote: Bad news. I bought this chip: M48T08-100PC1 http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDet ... 48T0810PC1
...and my SS20 won't boot with it. Replacing the original chip works.

I replaced 4 nvrams in SS20 not four months ago with those chips, they work fine.

1) Make sure the chips is inserted the right way...
2) Start the system with keyboard & screen
3) keep the 'stop' and 'n' key down to force a nvram reset during startup until the screen comes up (can take a while due to the full system test)
4) once it's at the openboot prompt, reset the values with 'set-defaults' and set the hostid & mac address as per the nvram FAQ

Good luck,