Toronto store for Sun -> VGA adapter?

[Tim Writer]

"Mike Kirk" <mike.kirk-rieW9WUcm8FFJ04o6PK0Fg at public.gmane.org> writes:

> > > > I recently bought a Sun Ultra 10 used with Gentoo installed. I'd like
> to use
> > > > it with a PC monitor, but I can't find any stores in my area that
> stock the
> > > > adapter I need (http://www.computerplug.com/adapter_13w3vga1.htm). I'm
> > >
> > > Hi Mike.  Your Ultra 10 has a 13W3?  Every Ultra 10 (or Ultra 5 [1])
> I've
> > > ever seen uses VGA out.  Are you sure this isn't a SpaceStation 10
> (SS10)?
> > > Sun dropped 13W3 in preference to VGA long ago.
> >
> > Some Ultra 10's (like mine) have an add-on Creator 3D board in the UPA
> > slot, which uses 13W3. I'm pretty sure Sun is still using 13W3 for
> > accelerator boards.
> 
> Thanks for the replies: yes, my Ultra 10 came with a Creator 3D installed
> (it shipped that way with the extra "Creator 3D" logo on the case). For now
> I've yanked it out so it uses the onboard ATI VGA, but I was thinking that
> if an adapter wasn't too pricey I'd like to use the Creator, if only because
> it has more memory to drive higher colour depths.
> 
> It's working fine via ssh, but I'd like to tinker with it, including playing
> with the desktop. CDE may be ugly, and Gnome may be painfully slow (333 MHz
> CPU), but it helps me pass the time :)

Again, you don't need a monitor to do that.  Just configure dtlogin (CDE's
version of xdm) to accept XDMCP connections.  Then, on your Linux box, start
X with one of:

    X :1 -query sun
    X :1 -broadcast
    X :1 -indirect sun

depending on how you configured dtlogin.  Here, "sun" is the hostname or
address of your Sun and I've suggested using :1 so you can run your normal
(Linux) X session on :0.  If dtlogin is configured correctly, you will see
the Solaris CDE graphical login dialog on :1, at which point you can login to
the Sun and you'll have CDE etc. running.

In terms of functionality, this setup is indistinguishable from logging into
your Sun with a locally attached monitor.  In fact, I used just this kind of
setup with a headless Ultra 1 for several years.  Even with only a 10Mbps
network, performance was better than with the directly attached monitor.  Now,
I didn't have a Creator 3D but, then again, my Linux box was only a P120 w/ a
Matrox MGA Millenium and it kicked the Sun's butt in terms of graphics
performance.

-- 
tim writer <tim-s/rLXaiAEBtBDgjK7y7TUQ at public.gmane.org>                                  starnix inc.
905.771.0017 ext. 225                           thornhill, ontario, canada
http://www.starnix.com              professional linux services & products
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