Linux on Sun Ultra 5?

[Marc04]

Any info for installing Linux on a Sun machine would be greatly appreciated. I downloaded the iso files for Mandrake for the 64 bit Sun platform but haven't found much helpful info as far as how to boot from the cd, or if the cd-rom is even bootable on the machine.

Or, would I be better off with the Solaris OS that came on the machine? If so, is it possible to run a window manager in Solaris?

Marc

[tarpat1]

You can install linux on a Sun box, I did on my Ultra 30. Here's a link to help you on your way its based on a Suse distro but should help a little.

http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue72/forsberg.html

Good luck!

[originel]

it can definitely be done, but personally i would recommend using solaris since you can download it for free since you own a sun machine. I think it's a better OS than Linux, mostly due to stability and speed (it's optimized for the sun architecture whereas Linux isn't) and yes it comes with a window manager (a pretty good one IMO).

[Marc04]

woohoo, I'm writing from the Sun box with a fresh install of Mandrake. Took a bit for me to get the network settings set correctly, but it's working now. I still have a bit of work to do but I appreciate the help.

That link was very helpful Tarpat, although I wish the author would have given a bit more details about how to edit the boot prom.

Marc