Solaris 10 SunPCI II tricks

Ok, here is what I had to do to get my SunPCI II card working with Solaris 10 at work:
1. Install SUNWspci2 v2.3.2
2. Install patch 113616-06
3. In /opt/SUNWspci2/drivers/solaris link sunpcidrv.2100 -> sunpcidrv.290
4. link sunpcidrv2100.64 -> sunpcidrv.290.64
5. Run sunpcload to load the kernel modules
6. Boot up the sunpci card as you normally would, life is good again.

SunPCI2 should now work - with one exception that I found
I ran across a problem that the passthru ethernet driver would cause my sun to panic on a bad trap. To fix this, I booted Windows 2k in single user mode, and disabled the sun NDIS device in device manager. The SIS network interface on the sunpci card does still function.

11 Responses to “Solaris 10 SunPCI II tricks”

  1. Dan Says:

    When I try to install SUNWspci2 v2.3.2, it gets all the way to “Executing postinstall script” and then fails with the following messages:
    Warning: /etc/devlink.tab not updated correctly
    Perhaps the system OBP needs to be updated
    pkgadd: ERROR: postinstall script did not complete successfully

    Any ideas?

  2. Barry Callahan Says:

    What it’s trying to do when it fails is load the solaris 10 version of the driver (which doesn’t exist yet) into the kernel…

    Step 5 does by hand the step that failed when you installed the package.

  3. unixmuseum Says:

    I followed all the instructions, also get the pkadd failure…
    Running sunpcload returns:

    devfsadm: driver failed to attach: sunpci2drv
    Warning: Driver (sunpci2drv) successfully added to system but failed to attach.

    I have an entry in /etc/devlink:

    #The following lines added for the SunPCi 2 Device Driver
    type=ddi_pseudo;name=pci108e,7063 sunpci2drv\N0

    What does this all mean? Non-working SunPCI?

  4. Barry Callahan Says:

    are you sure that /opt/SUNWspci2/drivers/solaris/sunpcidrv.2100 is a link (hard or sym - I used symlinks) to /opt/SUNWspci2/drivers/solaris/sunpcidrv.290 and /opt/SUNWspci2/drivers/solaris/sunpcidrv.2100.64 is a link to /opt/SUNWspci2/drivers/solaris/sunpcidrv.290 ?

    What happens if you run /opt/SUNWspci2/bin/sunpci?

  5. Shawn Holwegner Says:

    Thanks for the tip - I just got a U10, and am trying to get up to date with Solaris. Managed to get 10 wedged on it, found the joys, and pain, of crle… managed to get an old SunPCI K6-2 300. Installed 1.3, and made the symlinks, but was still having issues - NDIS seems to kill it.

    ..of course, this one has no NIC on it, but it does have USB 1.1. Any ideas on how to force it to skip NDIS for the Win2K install - or should I just try to fudge the drivers after a basic 2k install?

  6. unixmuseum Says:

    OK, I just got a new SunPCi, as the one I had was faulty…
    All the sudden, Mike’s tips start to work… I guess it helps to have working hardware… So, the driver is created just fine, Master.ini is there, sunpciload works, sunpci starts and asks me to create a C:\ drive and formats it, but then nothing… Nothing happens at all… I have never used a SunPCi, but according to the documentation it should start installing, asking for Win CD and all… I even tried DR-DOS, which asks me to reboot the SunPCi for the C:\ mapping to take place, but after that: nothing. I don’t get a DOS window or anything… What is going on?

  7. dan Says:

    Just thought I should put something positive in here. I just got my hands on a sunpci IIpro, followed your instructions exactly and everything worked perfectly!

    Thanks for posting this. Very very helpful.

  8. Sebastian Laubscher Says:

    Any Ideas about getting a SUNPCi 1.1.2 to work with Solaris 10? I have a Blade 100 with a SUNPCi 1.

    Thx

  9. Ray Kolbe Says:

    I am getting stuck on step 2. I get the same results after step 1 as Dan (first post above). But after I download the 113616-06 patch when I attempt to install it seems to do nothing:
    Validating patches…

    Loading patches installed on the system…

    Done!

    Loading patches requested to install.

    Version of package SUNWspci2 from patch 113616-06 differs from the package installed on the system.
    Done!

    The following requested patches do not update any packages installed on the system
    No any packages from patch 113616-06 are installed on the system.

    No patches to check dependency.

    Any ideas on what I’m doing incorrectly?

  10. Tramadol. Says:

    Tramadol….

    Tramadol….

  11. Sheldon Says:

    more info for sunpci II users

    using 3rd part chips invalidates sun’s warranty but sun’s warranty on the pci II is negligible.

    upgrading memory from sun is atrocious ($$$) but hitechvendors.com and others have memory that works fine - I just installed 2 of the following:

    256MB PC133 133MHZ 16X16 8 Chip 144-Pin SODIMM

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