OpenBSD Journal

OpenBSD on a MacSE/30

Contributed by jose on from the that-old-stuff-in-the-corner dept.

ubiquitin writes :
"Here's what 68kBSD is all about. :) Link is here ."
Man, these things are so awesome, either as OpenBSD boxes (a print server, a toy, whatever) or as Mac-o-lanterns . An interesting setup on OpenBSD on low budget hardware.

(Comments are closed)

Comments

  1. By Chris () chris.wareham@bloodyvikings.btinternet.com on http://www.btinternet.com/~chris.wareham/

    I recently acquired an old m68k Mac, which I was hoping to install NetBSD on. It has a little more RAM than this guys SE, the maximum 10Mb, but a decent 2Gb hard drive. Unfortunately the critter is an LC, the very first model, with a crippled PMMU. The dodgy memory handling means that the vanilla LC is unlikely to ever run a *BSD or Linux.

    A few days after getting my LC someone on the my local LUG mailing list asked about installing OpenBSD on a more pwerfull m68k Mac. I may have committed a bit of a faux-pas, as I suggested avoiding Open and going with Net. The reason? An article on this very website a while ago which discussed the likelihood of dropping support for really old hardware like this stuff. Well, it seems Open on m68k hardware is still viable, so I'll have to see if I can find the relevant LUG'ger and let them know.

    Chris

    Comments

    1. By Jeffrey Flowers () jeffrey@jeffreyf.net on mailto:jeffrey@jeffreyf.net

      If I recall correctly, the first Mac LC had a
      68020 processor, which is why you have a crippled
      PMMU.

    2. By Anonymous Coward () on

      Obviously it's cool if OpenBSD supports tons of whacky old hardware, and obviously the developers will make the decisions about where to spend their time... but what gets me more excited, strong support for the 68k, or SMP support on modern server-class machines? I know which one I care about. I think (I hope) the developers' priorities are similar to mine.

  2. By Anonymous Coward () on

    Install (from macos) - 24hrs
    Firstboot (ssh keygen) - .75hrs
    Login via ssh - 1minute

    And this is on a 33mhz (vroom!!) machine.

    Comments

    1. By Anonymous Coward () on

      So, not much different from rebuilding world on a sun4c then?

      I concur with the author's tip on switching your monitor off while it's churning away.

      Comments

      1. By Philip Plane () pjp@xinqu.net on mailto:pjp@xinqu.net

        Oh there is a big difference.

        My SS1+ is a rocketship compared to my Mac IIci.

        If I had a few spare days I'd run a benchmark for you, but it's a nice day so I'm going for a walk instead. The SS1+ feels 2-3 times as fast as the IIci. Both with 25MHz CPUs.

      2. By Anonymous Coward () on

        Unfortunatly you cannot shut the monitor off on many of the all in one models :-)

  3. By RC () on

    You can get more function out of a $10 386 than an old Mac. I would know, I had one as my firewall for a couple years.

    The author is right... some sort of better boot-loader is needed for Apple machines.

    Comments

    1. By Anonymous Coward () on

      This is true. I've loaded and used Open and NetBSD on old Mac and Intel hardware.

      The Mac stuff is a pain to load and not very functional. Using an old IIci, I could connect to the internet using a modem, but it wasn't useful as a gateway. It does have a nice wow factor though.

      The Intel stuff loads easily load and can do useful stuff. An old 486 Packard Bell with OpenBSD has been working as a gateway for the past 4 years at my house. But no one is all that impressed.

    2. By Anonymous Coward () on

      Theyve been out of production for like eight years I wonder just how 'needed' a better bootloader is.

  4. By tim () n/a on mailto:n/a

    I use lunchbox Macs the same way. MacOS+Zterm makes a great serial terminal! :)

    Secret: Mac printer cables are serial, you can get one with a DB25 end, add a null modem adapter, and you are in business. Interface to anything!

  5. By Ed Hintz () ed@hintz.org on http://www.hintz.org

    My very first unix was NetBSD on a SE/30, back when I was a phone monkey at Apple, about 5-6 years ago. It wasn't the most usable machine ever, but it did make me the local hero of the cubicle farm. And got me started down the path of true enlightenment. Or whatever.

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