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Kralizec Craig
Guest
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 Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 11:23 am Post subject: AXi-based systems rebooting for no apparent reason... |
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Hi everyone,
I have two machines built aroung AXi system boards. One is running a 440 Mhz
processor and has an Elite3D framebuffer installed. The other is running a
360 MHz processor and has a PGX-32 framebuffer installed.
The machine with the 440 MHz processor has GNOME installed as it's the
machine my wife and I use on another room away from my main network
installation. It fails regularly by completely locking up while running an
active GNOME user session and it appears, though I don't have any way to
confirm it, that there is a particular Xscreensaver hack which always makes
the machine lock up.
There are no warnings - all of the sudden the machine freezes up and the
only way out is a reset. With subsequent nervousness after hitting the reset
button and watching how much filesystem damage has been caused... 8-)
The other AXi-based system is running as a dial-up server machine which
contains two Magma PCI serial cards (running Magma's new v5.4 PCI Solaris 9
driver), and a Digi AccelePort RAS-8 card which run's Digi's custom Solaris
drivers.
This machine seems to reboot spontaneously after several days of flawless
operation. There is a problem with the Digi card in that after about a day
the modems on the card get stuck in a 'busy' state and will not answer
incoming calls.
The machine only has 512 MB of RAM at the moment, but it doesn't have GNOME
on it. Just raw system resources and lots of 3rd-party applications like
Inn, Squid, etc. that are all built natively from source using pre-compiled
GCC from sunfreeware.com.
This particular system (the AXi-based dial-up server) is of particular
concern as there is nothing in the logs which indicate what's causing the
reboots.
I suspect it's either because the memory allocator can't allocate any more
memory with all the different server packages plus the drivers for the Digi
card using up all available RAM, or something else.
If I can't figure out what the problem with the AXi-based server is, I'll
replace it with an Ultra 30 packed with as much RAM as possible, or find
another solution (which would still involve a new machine).
I only placed the AXi-based server into use two weeks ago! It replaced a
Sparc 20 which of course has no PCI so it can't use the Digi AccelePort card
or either of the PCI-based Magma serial port cards.
Has anyone else had unusual problems running AXi-based systems which they
couldn't fathom? Did you replace the hardware with something more
traditional to Sun's usual product line like an Ultra 30 or 60 in order to
get more stable, reliable hardware?
Regards,
Craig.
--
SUN RIPENED KERNELS - Surplus Sun Microsystems Equipment, Parts + Accessories
Waterfall, NSW, Australia - Operated by Craig Dewick - Founded in 1996
Main site: www.sunrk.com.au - Ebay Shop: www.ebayshops.com.au/sunripenedkernels
Ph: +612-9520-2547 - Fax: +612-9520-2557 - Mobile: 04-2163-0547 (int. +614) |
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Andre
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 11:17 pm Post subject: Re: AXi-based systems rebooting for no apparent reason... |
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In article <bu0kes$e5k$1@yoda.apana.org.au>, Kralizec Craig wrote:
| Quote: | The machine with the 440 MHz processor has GNOME installed as it's the
machine my wife and I use on another room away from my main network
installation. It fails regularly by completely locking up while running an
active GNOME user session and it appears, though I don't have any way to
confirm it, that there is a particular Xscreensaver hack which always makes
the machine lock up.
|
I found this with Linux - specifically RedHat 8's GNOME distribution - there
was a couple of screensavers that would leak memory like a sieve, and there
was a couple that would lock the system.
It wasn't just the fancy GL savers that did this, either - some of the simple
line-art types were the culprits.
| Quote: | There are no warnings - all of the sudden the machine freezes up and the
only way out is a reset. With subsequent nervousness after hitting the reset
button and watching how much filesystem damage has been caused... 8-)
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I found it often didn't lock the machine, just the console.
| Quote: | This machine seems to reboot spontaneously after several days of flawless
operation. There is a problem with the Digi card in that after about a day
the modems on the card get stuck in a 'busy' state and will not answer
incoming calls.
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Cooling? Memory? What sort of case is that board in?
| Quote: | Has anyone else had unusual problems running AXi-based systems which they
couldn't fathom? Did you replace the hardware with something more
traditional to Sun's usual product line like an Ultra 30 or 60 in order to
get more stable, reliable hardware?
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Surely you've got enough lying around in stock that you could do a quick
swapover?
--
Andre |
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bruno.s.delbon
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 11:46 pm Post subject: Re: AXi-based systems rebooting for no apparent reason... |
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Kralizec Craig wrote:
| Quote: | The machine with the 440 MHz processor has GNOME installed as it's the
machine my wife and I use on another room away from my main network
installation. It fails regularly by completely locking up while running an
active GNOME user session and it appears, though I don't have any way to
confirm it, that there is a particular Xscreensaver hack which always makes
the machine lock up.
|
In my exprience the culprit is "Penrose". If it's enabled, it can cause
the machine to hang. Try to run xscreensaver without it.
| Quote: | Has anyone else had unusual problems running AXi-based systems which they
couldn't fathom? Did you replace the hardware with something more
traditional to Sun's usual product line like an Ultra 30 or 60 in order to
get more stable, reliable hardware?
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Yes, normally. I've ridden myself from AXi hardware completely. |
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Chris Morgan
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 10:46 pm Post subject: Re: AXi-based systems rebooting for no apparent reason... |
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"bruno.s.delbono<nospam>" <"bruno.s.delbono<nospam>"@mail.ac> writes:
| Quote: | Has anyone else had unusual problems running AXi-based systems which they
couldn't fathom? Did you replace the hardware with something more
traditional to Sun's usual product line like an Ultra 30 or 60 in order to
get more stable, reliable hardware?
Yes, normally. I've ridden myself from AXi hardware completely.
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Of course there could be a lot of AXi hardware out there with problems
due to a wide range of factors, such as cheap cases, mishandling etc,
but are you suggesting there is a systemic hardware/design flaw? I
find them quite nice for fun (pretty cheap on ebay, especially when
poorly described in the auction :)
I've never had a problem with one spontaneously rebooting. I had one
with memory errors, but then it did have 256MB simms in which are not
supported. When I put the right kind of memory in it stopped having
problems.
Chris
--
Chris Morgan
"Post posting of policy changes by the boss will result in
real rule revisions that are irreversible"
- anonymous correspondent |
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Frank-Christian Kruegel
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 8:52 pm Post subject: Re: AXi-based systems rebooting for no apparent reason... |
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On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 11:23:08 +0000 (UTC), cd@lios.apana.org.au (Kralizec Craig)
wrote:
| Quote: | Has anyone else had unusual problems running AXi-based systems which they
couldn't fathom? Did you replace the hardware with something more
traditional to Sun's usual product line like an Ultra 30 or 60 in order to
get more stable, reliable hardware?
|
I've got two AXi system running for a couple of years, and they just run fine.
System 1: 360 MHz, 256k cache, 2*256 MB, ATI Rage Pro, Sun Dual UW SCSI
controller (53C876 chip)
System 2: 440 MHz, 2MB cache, 6*128MB+2*32MB, Creator 3D, Sun PCI II, ESS1371
based soundcard
Both: Solaris 8 MU7
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Dipl.-Ing. Frank-Christian Krügel |
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The One4Sun - GWS
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2004 8:59 pm Post subject: Re: AXi-based systems rebooting for no apparent reason... |
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"Frank-Christian Kruegel" <dontmailme@news.invalid> writes:
| Quote: | On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 11:23:08 +0000 (UTC), cd@lios.apana.org.au (Kralizec Craig)
wrote:
Has anyone else had unusual problems running AXi-based systems which they
couldn't fathom? Did you replace the hardware with something more
traditional to Sun's usual product line like an Ultra 30 or 60 in order to
get more stable, reliable hardware?
I've got two AXi system running for a couple of years, and they just run fine.
System 1: 360 MHz, 256k cache, 2*256 MB, ATI Rage Pro, Sun Dual UW SCSI
controller (53C876 chip)
System 2: 440 MHz, 2MB cache, 6*128MB+2*32MB, Creator 3D, Sun PCI II, ESS1371
based soundcard
Both: Solaris 8 MU7
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Ok thanks for this. It seems the system of mine with the 440 Mhz CPU is
locking up due to memory leaks from an Xscreensaver hack. Someone else
pointed out a couple of the hacks which they think are culprits so I will
check them out more closely to see.
What is the maximum amount of RAM the AXi boards will support btw? Looks
like 1 GB going on the system board specs, but the boards so appear to
support 256 MB modules, so can they be used with 2 GB of RAM?
The other AXi-based machine (the dial-up server box with the Digi AcellePort
RAS card) only has 512 MB of RAM though I'm not sure about what's causing it
to abort and reboot at odd intervals. I'd assume some sort of intermittent
electrical connection, but it could be processes running out of memory. More
investigation is needed there.
Regards,
Craig.
--
Guru Will Sellit! ** 'sunrk' on Ebay ** | Get Back on Track at the Sun Shack
Craig Dewick - aka the one4sun! | www.sunshack.org or www.sunshack.net
Main info website at www.one4sun.org +-------------------------------------
SRK's Ebay Shop is now available at www.ebayshops.com.au/sunripenedkernels |
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Chris Morgan
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 3:48 pm Post subject: Re: AXi-based systems rebooting for no apparent reason... |
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one4sun@lios.apana.org.au (The One4Sun - GWS) writes:
| Quote: | What is the maximum amount of RAM the AXi boards will support btw? Looks
like 1 GB going on the system board specs, but the boards so appear to
support 256 MB modules, so can they be used with 2 GB of RAM?
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IIRC the max supported is 1GB using 8 128MB modules. I have a 440mhz
unit with this configuration which works fine for me, I also have
another machine with the same cpu which had 1GB in 4x256 modules and
it sort of worked for a while but coulnd't complete a Solaris
install. Going to the right density solved that problem.
Chris
--
Chris Morgan
"Post posting of policy changes by the boss will result in
real rule revisions that are irreversible"
- anonymous correspondent |
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Thomas
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 8:47 am Post subject: Re: AXi-based systems rebooting for no apparent reason... |
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In comp.sys.sun.hardware Chris Morgan <cm@mihalis.net> wrote:
| Quote: | IIRC the max supported is 1GB using 8 128MB modules. I have a 440mhz
unit with this configuration which works fine for me, I also have
another machine with the same cpu which had 1GB in 4x256 modules and
it sort of worked for a while but coulnd't complete a Solaris
install. Going to the right density solved that problem.
|
In any case you have to take care which memory you use in which slots, as
only four of the eight slots are capable of dealing with 11bit, wheras the
other four only do 10bit. As far as I understand the manual, you can have 8
10bit memory sticks, but not a mixture of 10bit and 11bit.
I myself have the problem that my AXi came with 2x64MB memory - which I
cannot get to work together with any of the memory I still have from my
U5/U10s. If I use U5/U10 memory exclusively, the machine works fine, so I
assume it's related to the 10bit/11bit issue.
Cheerio,
Thomas
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas Ribbrock http://www.ribbrock.org
"You have to live on the edge of reality - to make your dreams come true!" |
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