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From the release notes: > o Support the sun4v hypervisor interrupt cookie API, adding support for SPARC T7-1/2/4 machines. Who is running OpenBSD on a big e

From the release notes: > o Support the sun4v hypervisor interrupt cookie API, adding support for SPARC T7-1/2/4 machines. Who is running OpenBSD on a big expensive SPARC T7 and why? I'm genuinely curious as to what possible use cases there are which make this a desirable combination.

brynet 9y ago
It was probably for testing, but that platform supports partitioning up the hardware through LDOMs, which OpenBSD supports as both a host and guest. https://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/OpenBSD-on-a-Sun-T5120 https://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/OpenBSD-on-a-Sun-T5120 (Not expired, Ted runs his own CA) http://man.openbsd.org/man8/sparc64/ldomctl.8 http://man.openbsd.org/man8/sparc64/ldomctl.8
- captn3m0 9y ago
  unrelated, but I found his post about running his own CA quite interesting: https://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/moving-to-https https://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/moving-to-https
  - zaat 9y ago
    Actually, being special is sometimes just boring and annoying. >Do we really want an internet where the use of encryption requires authorization? No, it doesn't require, it provides identification and that's a huge benefit. We are all far better by having it as a standard. Just configure Let's Encrypt and stop annoying your readers.
  - nickpsecurity 9y ago
    For a while, every article from his site on Lobste.rs had someone complaining about that. It got old. I eventually came up with a theory about what the prankster was really up to: https://lobste.rs/s/rboyfz/books_chapter_nine#c_p7mv5p https://lobste.rs/s/rboyfz/books_chapter_nine#c_p7mv5p
zdw 9y ago
In general, OpenBSD support for Sparc helps with testing - the Sparc is architecturally quite a bit different from other CPUs: https://www.openbsd.org/sparc64.html https://www.openbsd.org/sparc64.html "The other architectures that OpenBSD supports have benefited because some kinds of bugs are exposed more often by the 64-bit big endian nature of UltraSPARC."
- ComputerGuru 9y ago
  That’s the same reason I include Solaris as a target in my automated build system. It’s arcane enough and independently developed enough to expose incorrect assumptions in C code.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
    Could you say how you do that? Keep an open indiana VM and tell Jenkins it's a build slave?
yellowapple 9y ago
I don't know about a SPARC T7, but I do run OpenBSD on my Sun Fire T2000 (UltraSPARC T1) and have been impressed with its LDOM support.
- equalunique 9y ago
  Thanks for the testimony. :) Becoming a new SPARC user is becoming more tempting to me now.
KindOne 9y ago
Take a look at this, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12526420 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12526420 (2016) "SPARC64 is a favorite of this developer because it's some Alice in Wonderland stuff where up is down and left is right compared to other architectures. So it exposes a number of bugs that others don't."
alvil 9y ago
What has the hardware cost in common with OS running on it? Just curious.

brynet 9y ago

It was probably for testing, but that platform supports partitioning up the hardware through LDOMs, which OpenBSD supports as both a host and guest. https://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/OpenBSD-on-a-Sun-T5120 https://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/OpenBSD-on-a-Sun-T5120 (Not expired, Ted runs his own CA) http://man.openbsd.org/man8/sparc64/ldomctl.8 http://man.openbsd.org/man8/sparc64/ldomctl.8

captn3m0 9y ago
unrelated, but I found his post about running his own CA quite interesting: https://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/moving-to-https https://www.tedunangst.com/flak/post/moving-to-https
- zaat 9y ago
  Actually, being special is sometimes just boring and annoying. >Do we really want an internet where the use of encryption requires authorization? No, it doesn't require, it provides identification and that's a huge benefit. We are all far better by having it as a standard. Just configure Let's Encrypt and stop annoying your readers.
- nickpsecurity 9y ago
  For a while, every article from his site on Lobste.rs had someone complaining about that. It got old. I eventually came up with a theory about what the prankster was really up to: https://lobste.rs/s/rboyfz/books_chapter_nine#c_p7mv5p https://lobste.rs/s/rboyfz/books_chapter_nine#c_p7mv5p

zdw 9y ago

In general, OpenBSD support for Sparc helps with testing - the Sparc is architecturally quite a bit different from other CPUs: https://www.openbsd.org/sparc64.html https://www.openbsd.org/sparc64.html "The other architectures that OpenBSD supports have benefited because some kinds of bugs are exposed more often by the 64-bit big endian nature of UltraSPARC."

ComputerGuru 9y ago
That’s the same reason I include Solaris as a target in my automated build system. It’s arcane enough and independently developed enough to expose incorrect assumptions in C code.
- yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
  Could you say how you do that? Keep an open indiana VM and tell Jenkins it's a build slave?

yellowapple 9y ago

I don't know about a SPARC T7, but I do run OpenBSD on my Sun Fire T2000 (UltraSPARC T1) and have been impressed with its LDOM support.

equalunique 9y ago
Thanks for the testimony. :) Becoming a new SPARC user is becoming more tempting to me now.

KindOne 9y ago

Take a look at this, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12526420 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12526420 (2016) "SPARC64 is a favorite of this developer because it's some Alice in Wonderland stuff where up is down and left is right compared to other architectures. So it exposes a number of bugs that others don't."

alvil 9y ago

What has the hardware cost in common with OS running on it? Just curious.