Ethernet problems installing Solaris 10 on Ultra 5
I am trying to install on a Sun Sparc Ultra 5 which I have inherited. The machine booted up OK with Solaris 7 with the old user's set up, but I do not have his ids or passwords.
When I try to install Solaris 10, early in the boot it comes up with "attempting to configure interface hme0..."
the a wait for a while then "Skipped interface hme0"
The network is OK and so is the cable - I checked them by swapping the leads with my lap top which could access the network fine.
I then went through and selected the language (English), selected 'networked', 'dhcp' then 'IPv6' then it comes up with "just a moment" then a long wait before "Could not contact a dhcp server on network interface hme0"
The dhcp server on the University network was fine.
I would be very grateful for any ideas or suggestions.
Many thanks,
Chris.
[929 byte] By [
] at [2007-11-25 22:53:23]
# 1
Christian,
The integrated NIC may or may not be working.
I'm going to presume you have a Sun keyboard, a Sun mouse and a monitor connected.
I'm also going to presume, unless you tell us otherwise, that you have never worked with Sun systems, before this Ultra-5.
Boot the system.
Just as you see a signal successfully activate the monitor, hold the STOP key and press the letter "A".
This stop-a sequence will halt the boot process and leave you at OpenBoot.Your screen prompt will the the word <b>OK</b>
There are many tests that you can perform at OBP, without invoking any OS.For today's tasks, you can prepare the chassis for a network circuit test.
Do ...
<b> OK set-defaults</b> <enter>
<b>OK setenv auto-boot? false</b> <enter> (note the question mark character)
<b>OK reset-all</b> <enter>
Those three items will clear the OBP of any confusing or customized settings, then it will prepare the chassis to always stop automatically at the OK prompt, then it will write your choices to the PROM and reboot the system.
You can reset the <i>auto-boot?</i> back to true when you are finished.
--
After the reboot it should automatically stop at OK.
If it does not do so, then you had a typo in your commands.
Type <b>sifting watch</b> to be presented with all the command syntax that includes the word "watch".Find the network test that checks for connectivity.
Do ...
<b>OK watch-net</b> <enter>
If the Ethernet port has link to a valid network, you will see dots scroll along.An occasional 'X' is a lost packet.
You can download the 211+ page PDF file for the OBP 3.x command reference from Sun's documentation site, Docs.Sun.Com.
<a href="http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/1140.2?q=openboot+command+reference" target="_blank"> http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/coll/1140.2?q=openboot+command+ reference</a>
This is all described in that PDF.
at 2007-7-5 17:08:48 >
# 2
If the system fails the hardware-level test, you'll have only a couple of alternatives.Return the computer, orinstall an Ethernet adapter that will work in a Sun system.You cannot use an adapter card from a PC. (it just won't work)
at 2007-7-5 17:08:48 >
# 3
Thanks. I will try out your suggestions when I get to work tomorrow. I used to run Sun systems about 10 years' ago, but have forgotten virtually everything. I have an old program with an XView interface that runs on a University server. I need something with Solaris on to act as a X-terminal. Unfortunately, my program does not display properly when I use other machines as a terminal. I have tried Cygwin, RedHat Fedora and the Exceed Emulator. I had been running happily with a 1991 Sun Classic until it dies a few months ago. I inherited the Ultra 5, but would ideally like to get Solaris running on my PCs and laptops in dual boot mode. I am having other problems trying to do that - see my other posts! Thanks again for your help. Will let you know how I get on.
Chris.
at 2007-7-5 17:08:48 >
# 4
The hardware seems fine. Lots of dots and no crosses. I still get the error "Skipped interface hme0 ". I am now using a set of Solaris 9 disks from Sun (i.e. the commercial product rather than a download.Any ideas?Thanks,Chris
at 2007-7-5 17:08:48 >
# 5
Just for "giggles", try the following.
Start the installation all over (I don't care which set of media).
Configure the networking for a static IP.
If you don't desire to use an IP in the normal range, then use a non-routable one, such as 10.10.0.100 for this test.
Don't bother with IPv6 unless the local LAN/WAN requires it, or if that is part of what you're eventually hoping to investigate.
It simply takes up a few bites of disk space and a few cpu cycles.
I am beginning to suspect that the DHCP server is configured, for bandwidth and for security reasons, to answer a DHCP request for specific systems and ignore an IP request for anyone not on its list of recognized client MAC addresses.
The University recognizes the laptop as a familiar network client, but the U-5 is an intruder.
Your Ultra-5 may have been functional all along, but just won't work on DHCP until you contact the network's admin staff.
at 2007-7-5 17:08:48 >
# 6
Hello Christian,"Skipped interface hme0" isn't an error. I think rubkat had the right idea, the ip-adress is only assigned to clients with mac-adresses known to the DCHP server (for security reasons).Michael
at 2007-7-5 17:08:48 >
# 7
If that's the case, you might be able from the OBP to override the MAC address to one that you know works...
