My Sun Ultra[tm] 20 M2 workstation
Posted by DogAway4337@reddit | retrobattlestations | View on Reddit | 83 comments
Just wanted to share my beloved workhorse and imo, historic art piece, over here 🙂
I’m a retro computing enthusiast with a bit of a soft spot for Sun hardware, and this is my Sun Ultra™ 20 M2 workstation still going strong.
It’s running a current version of Gentoo Linux with a modern Chrome browser, and I use it daily for testing and as a music player. It’s surprisingly usable even today.
I’ve also got it dual-booting Solaris 10 with a fully working build of ioquake3 and official Nvidia drivers — and honestly, it runs really well.
The office network is run by a retro Sun Fire V240 (yes, in production… just for the hell of it). There’s some real SPARC magic going on there with a T4-1 build server etc, but that’s probably a story for another post if people are interested.
Above the monitor is a 3D-printed illuminated sign (Thingiverse design: 4383479), and in the display case is a Sun UltraSPARC IIIi CPU.
Happy to answer any questions or dive deeper into the setup!
hellslinger@reddit
Very cool! Pardon me for saying so, but seeing it on the edge of that flimsy desk makes me worry. ;)
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Thanks, no need to worry. The desk is actually very solid 🤣
CaRteR-NZ91@reddit
How much does one of these fetch for?
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Availability, price and condition varies. Best to check Ebay listings for an up to date price.
If you consider one of these machines, you better check the differences between the different models. Some are based on x86 compatible processors, and some models use SPARC.
CaRteR-NZ91@reddit
Okay.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Updated post with corrected Sun lamp :)
https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/comments/1s2bhtt/update_my_sun_ultratm_20_m2_workstation/
crc_73@reddit
7 or 8 years ago, work were throwing away a labs-worth of these boxes away (maybe 25-30). I snagged a few (2 or 3) but never did anything with them.
More recently, I saw another one of these cases at work for recycling, but it had been upgraded with an AMD-based ASRock a75 pro4 motherboard.
Solid cases, well made and look good.
Merlin80@reddit
Have i not seen this on YouTube 🤔
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Not this particular one, at least.
Temetka@reddit
Gosh, that Sun tower is a thing of beauty. I’ve always wanted one. Been a fan of the UltraSparc CPU’s for a long time.
Love the idea of your light up logo, can wait to see it in the correct orientation.
saboteaur@reddit
The Ultra 20 M2 is Opteron based AMD64. The Ultra 25/45 were the last UltraSparc IIIi-based workstations ever made. I still have one.
Boring-War-1981@reddit
Id love one too, but no clue what I would use it for. Probably would just sit around like my IBM PC Server 500
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Yep, new print coming in on Monday. Don't understand how I missed that. Luckily a simple fix as the LED's a mounted on the backplate.
Sn0wt1ger@reddit
I feel so guilty. I bought a Sun Ultra 20 a while ago with plans to make a sleeper build out of it and the cable management was really difficult so I ended up throwing it out. I miss it tbh 🥲🥲🥲
SarcasticMisterKIA@reddit
Missing a Sun monitor, saw one listed in Portugal a few days ago.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I couldn't find an original, so got a Lenovo monitor that sort of blended in.
ksuwildkat@reddit
Beautiful!
neileroberts@reddit
I love the setup, remember using these in the 2000's and Ultra 60s before that............ But please. Why is the illuminated logo on the wall backwards?
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
OMG, you're right. I hadn't even noticed! I will print a new one ASAP, thanks a lot!!
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
...this was the latest addition to the setup, obviously lack of QA here, won't happen again!
OktayAcikalin@reddit
We... will... see.... 🥸
Nice setup btw 😁
adtr223@reddit
Any chance you could share the file and filament you used?
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
The file is from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4383479
I used this filament https://www.clasohlson.com/no/PLA-3D-filament-Multicolor,-1,75-mm,-1-kg/p/39-2658
adtr223@reddit
Awesome, thank you!
SubcommanderMarcos@reddit
Remember to check the logo orientation before the print lmao
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Pro tip 🤣
KARSONJAE@reddit
Nice, I fell in love with the Sun Fire V240 about four years ago when I ran two Kodak Digimaster E125, I have all the software from them since I got to borrow the CDs for a day and I copied them all onto a USB. Would love to own one of those Sun computers
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Those machines are truly awesome. I might make a post about them later, explain what they are being used for. Especially Sparco the Sunborn, a true hero.
KARSONJAE@reddit
Yea. The machines were used for the software and everything to run the digital press, I remember there was something called EOS for those digital presses built into that software run by the Sun and EOS was essentially a tool to help fix the press if there was an issue or you can just learn how to do certain tasks. Very amazing machines and the presses were very interesting too that were attached to the machine. I might have a picture somewhere of the Sun Fire v240
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Sounds awesome, thanks for sharing :)
KARSONJAE@reddit
No problem. Shoot me a dm if you want to know more
de_sonnaz@reddit
Lovely. Is this setup very noisy?
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Not noisy, but I've set the fans to quite low fixed RPM as cooling isn't an issue at all, and I want it quiet in my office.
Sun Oracle (320-1367) Type 7 UNIX keyboard
de_sonnaz@reddit
Wonderful, thanks.
iissmarter@reddit
I love these systems! I'm actually in the market for a dual socket Ultra 45 if anyone has one for sale.
rharrow@reddit
Love it! The case would make such a sweet sleeper build.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I thought about that as well, but I can't get myself to mess around with it in its working authentic state 😅
rharrow@reddit
For sure, I completely agree. I just mean if I found this device in for parts/unusable condition I would reuse the case as a sleeper
R-ten-K@reddit
I mean, it is just a standard commodity opteron ATX board. There is nothing "magical" or particularly important historically. Other than the neat looking ATX case.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Hey, it's connected to the internet, and can hear you.
Don't forget about internal disk bays with server like caddies and SAS support ;)
It has a mighty fancy Sun BIOS boot screen, and it's fully supported by Solaris 10.
If you want to tinker with Solaris stuff, net booting etc, you can recreate the full experience by following the official docs still available.
I actually used this one to jump start the Sun Fire V240 (SPARC) from Solaris using rarpd and tftp.
The SPARC's are definitely more exotic, but the stuff I can still do with this one makes it a worthy addition to the collection imo.
Cybrknight@reddit
Oh nice! Haven't repaired one of those since forever :D
StefanCelMijlociu@reddit
Jealous!
R-ten-K@reddit
NUZ Microsystems?
Successful-Future823@reddit
Is there a good sub for ancient Sun hardware?
R-ten-K@reddit
r/SunMicrosystems
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Not that I'm aware of
banksy_h8r@reddit
Does this mean you have an UltraSparc native version of Chrome?!
EntertainmentAOK@reddit
It belongs in a museum!
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
It kinda is, an office exhibition ;)
mmarkklar@reddit
Oh no, the Sun sign on the wall is backwards! It was such a brilliant logo, it should read as SUN no matter the orientation.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Indeed, I'm well aware (now). Fix in master, will be patched on Monday ;)
FlimsyKnowledge@reddit
Holy based
algaefied_creek@reddit
Solaris is super cool!!! Have you considered dual-booting one of the /r/Illumos (opensolaris) distributions to run older Solaris software and modern stuff alike also?
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Not tried Illumos, mostly running Linux (Gentoo/SPARC) on the SPARC machines. Very optimized systems, very stable and getting modern security and encryption on this retro hardware. Solaris is mostly for the authentic retro feel, so I had fun project getting Quake 3 running on it.
Aggravating-Exit-660@reddit
Nice
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Yeah, Nvidia actually shipped Solaris drivers, so it was doable. Quite a bit of tinkering involving to setup the build deps and everything, but works like a charm now. Can even play online. Pretty sure I'm the only Solaris player 🤣
algaefied_creek@reddit
Well, it’s time to get more posts for /r/solaris and Illumos players to share! Create a Facebook group and post here on Reddit!
Can even try to get Python3 working for Endcord as a TUI Discord client for Solaris !
——
——
Anyway either way I’m glad you enjoy your machine a lot and I hope you can get some Solaris Gamers together! xD
isecore@reddit
I wouldn't mind adding one of these to my collection. Always enjoyed the late SPARC-towers and the design of these appeal to me.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Yeah, this particular model is actually not SPARC (AMD Opteron), but my servers are SPARC, V240's and T4-1.
isecore@reddit
I stand correcred. But I believe there was a sparc-based tower with similar design right before they switched to Opteron?
Either way, I want one.
No_Transportation_77@reddit
The Ultra 25 (single-CPU) and Ultra 45 (dual-CPU). Very nice machines.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Yes, you're right. They look the same. I wanted to restore one to an actual modern OS with a working browser. For the SPARC Ultra's you can run Solaris, but getting any modern browser running on SPARC is not straight forward, to say the least.
moreanswers@reddit
When I was in school one of the 300 level Instruction Set Architecture classes was basically just a semester of the prof fanboying all over SPARC. He was positive it was the future of all computing. We were able to do some pretty crazy stuff with it. I've always had a special place in my heart for SPARC, and also MIPS III/IV (which powered the SGIs in the old days).
isecore@reddit
Alas, I have limited experience with both MIPS and SPARC. I've owned a few Sun-boxen but the last one was well over 20 years ago, and I've never had more than a fleeting experience with SGI-gear.
I think the problem was that while all these processors and platforms were incredibly neat, none of them could stand up against the rapid spread of x86 over so many manufacturers, generations and implementations. It's like Lenin said, sometimes quantity has a quality all it's own.
moreanswers@reddit
Yes... However! It definitely feels like RISC is going to end up having the last laugh over x86, if ARM chips from the last few years are any indication.
isecore@reddit
Very possible! I am still quite surprised that ARM turned out to be the wild-card that came out and challenged Intel. Don't think anyone saw that coming in the mid-90s. It's going to be very interesting seeing where ARM goes in the future.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
When I'm not playing with SPARC, I'm paying close attention to RISC-V.
I've preordered some RISC-V boards based on Spacemit K3, and are hoping to see more silicon compatible with RVA23 going forward.
I have a framework 13 laptop that hopefully will get RISC-V board April/May
yv-fr@reddit
Xfce4 😘
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Indeed 👍😀
Foreign_Addition_220@reddit
It's shining
WretchedGibbon@reddit
Very nice. I always liked the Sun stuff but I was just a bit late to the party. By the time my career as a sysadmin started, they were more or less done, so my only actual experience with them is nursing a SPARCStation 5 and an Enterprise 450 through their final days of running a library catalog and Informix database respectively before I got the job of disposing of them. Sadly "rescuing" them was not an option available to me :(. This was in the late 2000s though so they'd had a pretty good life by that point. I don't remember much about them other than one very panicked Monday morning where a lot of Stop-A pressing happened, and my much older colleague filling me in on the OpenWindows vs CDE rivalry.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
I'm actually going backwards into Sun. I never got to play with the Sun stuff back in the days, and have picked it uo now as part of my interest for Retro computing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm having lots of fun with old x86 computers as well, but there's just something about these exotic architectures...
I also love the Sun servers with their ALOM, Openboot, all that stuff 🤩
Bllago@reddit
This is awesome. I love it. Great presentation with it too.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Thanks 🤩
Useful_Resolution888@reddit
Old computers come and go but the one I really miss was the maxed out ultra 60 I sold five years ago. I don't miss lugging it around but i do regret getting rid of it.
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Yes, there's just something about these Sun machines...
nigg469@reddit
I have 20 of those in a warehouse sadly can't take any :(
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
20?! 🤯
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Wait, that means it would be possible to setup a LAN party with only Sun Ultra's and kick off a Quake 3 Solaris tournament?!
Where is this warehouse? ;)
ROCKCOCK53@reddit
That’s super cool, my mom worked there from 2002-2008 and met the guy that made Java
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
Awesome 🤩
cycle-nerd@reddit
That’s so cool, thank you for sharing! I would love to get my hands on some of this sweet Sun hardware, but local supply is low to non-existent and if something pops up it is priced prohibitively high… this exact combination of an Ultra 20 workstation and a V420 server would be a dream to own. Keep up the good work 👍
DogAway4337@reddit (OP)
I got this one of Ebay. I really love the design, and it's a thing of beauty getting a lot of attention.