Soon-to-be SGI first-timer

[vidmak]

I have tons of experience with *BSD and Linux (both professional and as a hobby) and have long wanted to get my hands dirty with an SGI machine and IRIX. Recently, I finally ordered an Octane2 from one of the few professional dealers left in my part of the world (fully tested/warranty, etc.). It should get delivered next week. Mostly I will just be mucking around with the operating system and programming environment and trying out software.

This post is mostly by way of introduction, but also to ask a couple of questions:

1) Is there anything one should generally know about these machines before diving in? I have done a lot of research about IRIX versions and installation, useful software, display output (13W3 to VGA cable [SGI, not sun!], SOG, …), but would be super grateful for any tips – and warnings! – from experienced users.

2) I have read that the PSUs (especially Lucent) are increasingly subject to failure, so I have bought a spare Cherokee one (refurbished/tested) just in case. (Perhaps superfluous, but better safe than sorry.) If the worst happens, is it easy/safe to replace the PSU yourself at home?

3) What other machines might be worth acquiring next after the Octane2? There are some (in my view) good offers on Indigo2s in my region. If I want a second system anyway, would that be a complement for the Octane2? How reliable are Indigo2s with respect to board/PSU failures, etc.? Already I get the feeling SGI can turn into an expensive hobby…

Thanks and look forward to being part of the community!

 

[stormy]

1) There is a very obsolete bunch of software called Nekoware (form the old nekochan days) which are in the standard SGI installation file format (tardist was it?) Which you're free to play with, but generally these days it's recommended to use the new SGUG-RSE software repository which uses Fedora RPM packaging. It can get a bit messy if you mix the both, in terms of shared libraries and such. If you're skilled with Linux/BSD we'd really appreciate any new SGUG user who might take an interest in compiling Linux apps over to IRIX, and Sgug is the perfect system to do that with since you can easily edit Fedora .spec files for easy porting. (You can get all the instructions for installing the SGUG repo here on the forum)

2) It's super easy to replace PSU on an Octane because they're fully modular, you just unscrew two thumb-screws and the whole PSU module pulls out the back, like a brick. Then you just push the new one in and tighten the screws.

3) That might be a personal question more than anything... I have 2x Octane's, one with Mardigras EMX graphics and one with V12. Which means they're unique enough to justify having both. Indigo's are the most unreliable systems, most have PSU failures. I don't think there is any point having an Indigo when you have an Octane, unless it's something super rare like an r8000. I personally would like to get an Indy one day, because it's all well-and-good having an Octane, but they're large, loud and power hungry. For my use-case it'd be nice to have a small form factor SGI to play around with. An o2 would also be nice but people have told me they're very fragile and can easily break down. More of a collection piece rather than a workhorse you'd keep running often.

 

[vidmak]

Thanks for the reply – very helpful! To go through the points one by one:

1) I have found some collections of software (including proprietary), including a site called Unix Files. I do have experience porting software from Linux to BSD, including programs requiring system-specific tweaks (most recently did a FreeBSD fork of nvtop [old version] using kernel APIs, for personal use). I am not the best C programmer so there would be a learning curve, but it would be interesting as a hobby task. Is there a wishlist of wanted ports somewhere, preferably simple ones to start off with?

2) Reassuring & good to know!

3) That's great advice, thanks. I've heard about the Indigo2 PSU issues, which was one reason why I decided against one as a first system, even though I read they're a tad lighter and less bulky. I am definitely looking more for a workhorse system for compiling software, 2D graphics, and maybe some light 3D (SGI demos). Depending on how this one (R12000 400MHz) performs, perhaps another Octane/Octane2 (or system module) with a dual CPU will be in order at some point.