I installed Solaris 8 on an Ultra-2 from the Solaris 8 
07/01 media.

Discovered after the fact that the box had a cgsix card in
it rather than the Creator card I thought it had.

If I want to pull that card out and put a Creator card in, will
I have to jump through hoops reconfiguring all the X-server stuff
or will it (miracle of miracles) detect and adapt to this change
by itself?

Is the performance improvement even worth making such a change?
I do know that the Creator (FFB) card/driver supports more
resolution settings.

TIA..


-- 
*   Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which       *
*   differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are   *
*   even incapable of forming such opinions.             -- Albert Einstein   *
*                                                                             *
* To send email, remove numbers and spaces:  pjkusenet64 @  ekahuna27 . com   *
*  Simple answers are for simple minds.  Try a new way of looking at things.  *

"Philip J. Koenig" wrote:
> 
> I installed Solaris 8 on an Ultra-2 from the Solaris 8
> 07/01 media.
> 
> Discovered after the fact that the box had a cgsix card in
> it rather than the Creator card I thought it had.

Eww, I hope you weren't ripped off.

> If I want to pull that card out and put a Creator card in, will
> I have to jump through hoops reconfiguring all the X-server stuff
> or will it (miracle of miracles) detect and adapt to this change
> by itself?

I *think* that if you will do a reconfiguration reboot (boot -r at
the ok prompt) then you should be okay. I had to go back and forth
between a PGX32 and Creator3D-S3 in an Ultra 60 a while back, and I
don't remember any serious heartache.

> Is the performance improvement even worth making such a change?
> I do know that the Creator (FFB) card/driver supports more
> resolution settings.

It depends on which cgsix you have, and which ffb you have, and
how much the ffb costs you. But in all probabability, it will be
worth the swap.

Good luck!

-- 
Griff Miller II                   |                                           |
Manager of Information Technology | The collectivists are coming!             |
Positron Corporation              | The collectivists are coming!             |
griff.miller@positron.com         |                                           |

Philip J. Koenig wrote:
> I installed Solaris 8 on an Ultra-2 from the Solaris 8 
> 07/01 media.
> 
> Discovered after the fact that the box had a cgsix card in
> it rather than the Creator card I thought it had.
> 
> If I want to pull that card out and put a Creator card in, will
> I have to jump through hoops reconfiguring all the X-server stuff
> or will it (miracle of miracles) detect and adapt to this change
> by itself?
> 
> Is the performance improvement even worth making such a change?
> I do know that the Creator (FFB) card/driver supports more
> resolution settings.
> 
> TIA..
> 
> 

A boot -r should do it. Your X server uses /dev/fb by default. This is a 
link to the 'real' device that is your framebuffer. If you physically 
change your framebuffer and do a boot -r, /dev/fb will get relinked.

The real benefit of using the Creator over the cgsix is the increase in 
color depth. The cgsix is only capable of doing 8 bit (256 color) 
whereas the Creator can do 24 bit (16.7 million color).


-- 
John Cecere
unixguy at optonline dot net

In article <3F5CFC4A.6C415034@positron.com>, griff.miller@positron.com (Griff 
Miller) writes...
> "Philip J. Koenig" wrote:
> > 
> > I installed Solaris 8 on an Ultra-2 from the Solaris 8
> > 07/01 media.
> > 
> > Discovered after the fact that the box had a cgsix card in
> > it rather than the Creator card I thought it had.
> 
> Eww, I hope you weren't ripped off.


Actually I think I was, but the deal was still good and since
I have found people selling ffb boards on Ebay for $20..



> > If I want to pull that card out and put a Creator card in, will
> > I have to jump through hoops reconfiguring all the X-server stuff
> > or will it (miracle of miracles) detect and adapt to this change
> > by itself?
> 
> I *think* that if you will do a reconfiguration reboot (boot -r at
> the ok prompt) then you should be okay. I had to go back and forth
> between a PGX32 and Creator3D-S3 in an Ultra 60 a while back, and I
> don't remember any serious heartache.


Seems to be the consensus - a "boot -r".. thanks.

 
> > Is the performance improvement even worth making such a change?
> > I do know that the Creator (FFB) card/driver supports more
> > resolution settings.
> 
> It depends on which cgsix you have, and which ffb you have, and
> how much the ffb costs you. But in all probabability, it will be
> worth the swap.


One thing I found is there doesn't seem to be a way to ascertain 
the precise hardware in a box from the OS, most of the utilities
(prtconfig? and one other starting with a D...) seem to give
relatively general info which narrows it down to the general
family of driver needed, nothing beyond that.

I think I'm going to upgrade the card in any case, 8-bit color
just doesn't cut it for web browsing etc..


-- 
*   Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which       *
*   differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are   *
*   even incapable of forming such opinions.             -- Albert Einstein   *
*                                                                             *
* To send email, remove numbers and spaces:  pjkusenet64 @  ekahuna27 . com   *
*  Simple answers are for simple minds.  Try a new way of looking at things.  *

In article <7Na7b.99131$Ay2.23060314@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net>, nospam00
@optonline.net (jc) writes...
> Philip J. Koenig wrote:
> > I installed Solaris 8 on an Ultra-2 from the Solaris 8 
> > 07/01 media.
> > 
> > Discovered after the fact that the box had a cgsix card in
> > it rather than the Creator card I thought it had.
> > 
> > If I want to pull that card out and put a Creator card in, will
> > I have to jump through hoops reconfiguring all the X-server stuff
> > or will it (miracle of miracles) detect and adapt to this change
> > by itself?
> > 
> > Is the performance improvement even worth making such a change?
> > I do know that the Creator (FFB) card/driver supports more
> > resolution settings.

 
> A boot -r should do it. Your X server uses /dev/fb by default. This is a 
> link to the 'real' device that is your framebuffer. If you physically 
> change your framebuffer and do a boot -r, /dev/fb will get relinked.


Thanks, very helpful.

 
> The real benefit of using the Creator over the cgsix is the increase in 
> color depth. The cgsix is only capable of doing 8 bit (256 color) 
> whereas the Creator can do 24 bit (16.7 million color).


Yep, I think I'm going to need that.  Web browsing with 8-bit color
these days is a little annoying.

Although that minor annoyance was greatly overshadowed by the 
practically useless Netscape 4.76 that ships with Solaris 8.  When 
I installed a copy of Opera 7.20 beta on there yesterday, I thought
I had died and gone to heaven...  :-)



-- 
*   Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which       *
*   differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are   *
*   even incapable of forming such opinions.             -- Albert Einstein   *
*                                                                             *
* To send email, remove numbers and spaces:  pjkusenet64 @  ekahuna27 . com   *
*  Simple answers are for simple minds.  Try a new way of looking at things.  *

On Tue, 09 Sep 2003 17:56:26 -0700, Philip J. Koenig wrote:

> One thing I found is there doesn't seem to be a way to ascertain 
> the precise hardware in a box from the OS, most of the utilities
> (prtconfig? and one other starting with a D...) seem to give
> relatively general info which narrows it down to the general
> family of driver needed, nothing beyond that.

Did you execute /usr/platform/sun4u/sbin/prtdiag -v ?

It even gives you the P/N of your framebuffer

 0   UPA    84           30  FFB, Double Buffered          SUNW,501-2633      

> I think I'm going to upgrade the card in any case, 8-bit color
> just doesn't cut it for web browsing etc..

With an FFB card you will want to run, as root on the console, ffbconfig,
then 

# mkdir -p /etc/dt/config
# cp /usr/dt/config/Xservers /etc/dt/config
# vi /etc/dt/config/Xservers and fix the last line:

   :0   Local local_uid@console root /usr/openwin/bin/Xsun :0 -nobanner -dev /dev/fbs/ffb0 defdepth 24

Philip J. Koenig <See_email_@ddress_below.This_one_is.invalid> writes in comp.unix.solaris:
|If I want to pull that card out and put a Creator card in, will
|I have to jump through hoops reconfiguring all the X-server stuff
|or will it (miracle of miracles) detect and adapt to this change
|by itself?

If the packages for the Creator are installed (SUNWffb*), it should be a
simple boot -r.  If not, insert the Solaris CD, pkgadd those packages,
and then boot -r.

-- 
________________________________________________________________________
Alan Coopersmith                              alanc@alum.calberkeley.org
http://www.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU/~alanc/       aka: Alan.Coopersmith@Sun.COM
  Working for, but definitely not speaking for, Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Alan Coopersmith wrote:

> Philip J. Koenig <See_email_@ddress_below.This_one_is.invalid> writes in
> comp.unix.solaris:
> |If I want to pull that card out and put a Creator card in, will
> |I have to jump through hoops reconfiguring all the X-server stuff
> |or will it (miracle of miracles) detect and adapt to this change
> |by itself?
> 
> If the packages for the Creator are installed (SUNWffb*), it should be a
> simple boot -r.  If not, insert the Solaris CD, pkgadd those packages,
> and then boot -r.
> 
I agree with Alan, make sure you put in the packages first. Makes things 
easier.

cheers

Avaalak

In article <pan.2003.09.10.01.22.54.235599@yahoo.com>, daveuhring@yahoo.com (Dave 
Uhring) writes...
> On Tue, 09 Sep 2003 17:56:26 -0700, Philip J. Koenig wrote:
> 
> > One thing I found is there doesn't seem to be a way to ascertain 
> > the precise hardware in a box from the OS, most of the utilities
> > (prtconfig? and one other starting with a D...) seem to give
> > relatively general info which narrows it down to the general
> > family of driver needed, nothing beyond that.
> 
> Did you execute /usr/platform/sun4u/sbin/prtdiag -v ?


Yep I did.

 
> It even gives you the P/N of your framebuffer
> 
>  0   UPA    84           30  FFB, Double Buffered          SUNW,501-2633      



Hmm, didn't notice that, I'll have to go look at the output again.


 
> > I think I'm going to upgrade the card in any case, 8-bit color
> > just doesn't cut it for web browsing etc..
> 
> With an FFB card you will want to run, as root on the console, ffbconfig,
> then 
> 
> # mkdir -p /etc/dt/config
> # cp /usr/dt/config/Xservers /etc/dt/config
> # vi /etc/dt/config/Xservers and fix the last line:
> 
>    :0   Local local_uid@console root /usr/openwin/bin/Xsun :0 -nobanner -dev /dev/fbs/ffb0 defdepth 24



Thanks for the tips one and all.  :-)



-- 
*   Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which       *
*   differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are   *
*   even incapable of forming such opinions.             -- Albert Einstein   *
*                                                                             *
* To send email, remove numbers and spaces:  pjkusenet64 @  ekahuna27 . com   *
*  Simple answers are for simple minds.  Try a new way of looking at things.  *

"Philip J. Koenig" wrote:
> 
> In article <3F5CFC4A.6C415034@positron.com>, griff.miller@positron.com (Griff
> Miller) writes...
> 
> > It depends on which cgsix you have, and which ffb you have, and
> > how much the ffb costs you. But in all probabability, it will be
> > worth the swap.

Oops, that should have been "probability" - heh.

> One thing I found is there doesn't seem to be a way to ascertain
> the precise hardware in a box from the OS, most of the utilities
> (prtconfig? and one other starting with a D...) seem to give
> relatively general info which narrows it down to the general
> family of driver needed, nothing beyond that.

You could try the fbinfo script. Look for it at
http://www.sunhelp.org/faq/FrameBuffer.html .

> I think I'm going to upgrade the card in any case, 8-bit color
> just doesn't cut it for web browsing etc..

Quite!

-- 
Griff Miller II                   |                                           |
Manager of Information Technology | "Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?" |
Positron Corporation              |                                           |
griff.miller@positron.com         |                                           |

In article <pan.2003.09.10.01.22.54.235599@yahoo.com>, daveuhring@yahoo.com (Dave 
Uhring) writes...
> On Tue, 09 Sep 2003 17:56:26 -0700, Philip J. Koenig wrote:
> 
> > One thing I found is there doesn't seem to be a way to ascertain 
> > the precise hardware in a box from the OS, most of the utilities
> > (prtconfig? and one other starting with a D...) seem to give
> > relatively general info which narrows it down to the general
> > family of driver needed, nothing beyond that.
> 
> Did you execute /usr/platform/sun4u/sbin/prtdiag -v ?
> 
> It even gives you the P/N of your framebuffer
> 
>  0   UPA    84           30  FFB, Double Buffered          SUNW,501-2633      



OK, I had run prtconf and sysdef, didn't even know about that utility.
(that directory isn't in the executable path either, hmm..)

So what I have is a cgsix 501-2325.  Some of the hardware that I've
seen around include the following models - would appreciate some input
on which would be best. (ie does the Creator 3D have any benefit if 
I'm not doing 3D modeling?)

Creator Series 1 (501-4126 or 501-4127)
Creator 3D Series 1 (501-2633, option 3652)
Creator 3D Series 3 (501-4790, option 3661)


The ffb drivers are installed.. will they work with the Creator 3D
"ffb2+" (501-4790) card?

Thanks..


 
-- 
*   Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which       *
*   differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are   *
*   even incapable of forming such opinions.             -- Albert Einstein   *
*                                                                             *
* To send email, remove numbers and spaces:  pjkusenet64 @  ekahuna27 . com   *
*  Simple answers are for simple minds.  Try a new way of looking at things.  *

On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 14:10:45 -0700, Philip J. Koenig wrote:

> OK, I had run prtconf and sysdef, didn't even know about that utility.
> (that directory isn't in the executable path either, hmm..)

There are useful things all over the place.  Solaris 9 hard links that
utility to /usr/sbin/prtdiag.

> So what I have is a cgsix 501-2325.  Some of the hardware that I've
> seen around include the following models - would appreciate some input
> on which would be best. (ie does the Creator 3D have any benefit if 
> I'm not doing 3D modeling?)

Yeah, you get 24 bit color.

> The ffb drivers are installed.. will they work with the Creator 3D
> "ffb2+" (501-4790) card?

You will find your answers here:

http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Devices/Graphics/GRAPH_TOC.html

In article <pan.2003.09.11.22.15.59.888480@yahoo.com>, daveuhring@yahoo.com (Dave 
Uhring) writes...
> On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 14:10:45 -0700, Philip J. Koenig wrote:
> 
> > OK, I had run prtconf and sysdef, didn't even know about that utility.
> > (that directory isn't in the executable path either, hmm..)
> 
> There are useful things all over the place.  Solaris 9 hard links that
> utility to /usr/sbin/prtdiag.
> 
> > So what I have is a cgsix 501-2325.  Some of the hardware that I've
> > seen around include the following models - would appreciate some input
> > on which would be best. (ie does the Creator 3D have any benefit if 
> > I'm not doing 3D modeling?)
> 
> Yeah, you get 24 bit color.


Actually I meant the difference between the regular Creator card
and the Creator-3D card.

 
> > The ffb drivers are installed.. will they work with the Creator 3D
> > "ffb2+" (501-4790) card?
> 
> You will find your answers here:
> 
> http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Devices/Graphics/GRAPH_TOC.html



Extremely helpful link - thanks very much.



-- 
*   Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which       *
*   differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are   *
*   even incapable of forming such opinions.             -- Albert Einstein   *
*                                                                             *
* To send email, remove numbers and spaces:  pjkusenet64 @  ekahuna27 . com   *
*  Simple answers are for simple minds.  Try a new way of looking at things.  *

On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 20:27:28 -0700, Philip J. Koenig wrote:

> Actually I meant the difference between the regular Creator card
> and the Creator-3D card.

Go for the 501-4790 card.  Sooner or later you will want to run GNOME and
its screensavers use the 3D capabilities of your framebuffer.  It is also
specifically designed for the Ultra-2.