Larry's Linux Box

Overview

Named Cerveza, after my other hobby
Red Hat Linux release 5.1 (Manhattan)
Linux Kernel 2.0.34 with Cx5x86 patches
Mainly used for software development, research writing papers, and fun.

Main Board

MTI-486 VLB (R407) board from M Technology, Inc
Cyrix 5x86 120 Mhz
64 Mb RAM
1 Mb Cache
5 ISA slots, 3 VLB slots

Drives

4.4 GB (8ms) Quantum SCSI disk drive
2.2 GB (8ms) Quantum SCSI disk drive
1.0 GB (8ms) Quantum SCSI disk drive
NEC Quad speed SCSI CDROM drive
Seagate (Archive) 4586NP 32GB Autoloader DAT drive. Here is the Amanda tape changer program for it. You will also need Gerd Knorr's scsi-changer kernel patch.
3 1/2" floppy

Adapter Cards

BusLogic BT 445s - VLB Mastering SCSI Host Adapter
Diamond Stealth64 Video 3400 - S3 968 accelerated VLB graphics card with 4 Meg VRAM.
Ensoniq SoundScape. Here are the microcode files that you need to initialize the SoundScape under Linux. Here is my patch to give MIDI mixer control, master volume control, and a few other things.
Asante EtherPac 2000+3 Ethernet card
Hayes ESP intelligent 8 port serial board.
Eprom programmer (No software for Linux, but the DOS software runs under DOSEMU)

External stuff

Multi-Tech MT 2834ZDXV data/fax/voice modem.
ViewSonic V17 Monitor (Usually keep it in 1280x1024x16, but sometimes use 1280x1024x8 or 1152x900x24)
Mouse Systems compatible 3 button mouse
DEClaser 5100 PostScript printer with 18Meg RAM and 1200DPI upgrade card.
Other machines in the house connected by ethernet:
- SparcStation 2 with Weitek Power uP running Linux
- A 486 PC in the basement running Linux.
Cerveza is the file server and gatway for all machines in the house. It performs IP masquerading so that any machine in the house can connect to the internet using Cerveza's modem and a single phone line. Cerveza automatically dials and establishes a PPP connection whenever it receives a packet destined for a machine that is not within the house. Cerveza also acts as the print server for the other machines in the house.

Problems I have had

When I upgraded to the 120Mhz Cyrix processor, I went to a local shop to buy the motherboard and was taken by the Fake Cache Scam. Performance on the board was terrible, even after replacing the fake cache.

Board bought from local shop:

Norton Compute Index 25
cachechk found no cache
Linux kernel compile took 2 hours and 25 minutes.

After replacing the fake cache with 256K of REAL L2 cache:

Norton Compute Index 51
cachechk found no cache
Linux kernel compile took 1 hour 6 minutes.

I took the motherboard back and went to Bob Wagner at Motherboard Technology (1-800-784-4831 ext 204). He sold me an MTI-486 VLB board from M Technology, Inc.

MTI-486 VLB (R407)

Norton Compute Index 272
cachechk found L1 and L2 cache (I had to set L1 to write-through to get it to boot)
Linux kernel compile took 12 minutes and 50 seconds.
Byte Unix benchmarks are comparable to a 50Mhz Sparcstation 10.

Now I am happy and I can take comfort in knowing that I am not the only one who had this experience. The moral is: Be careful where you buy your motherboard.

Here is a web page listing some Fake Cache Vendors.

I also had problems with my BusLogic card when I went over 16Meg of RAM. The original card could only perform DMA to the lower 16Meg. When I installed 36Meg, disk I/O performance dropped by about 20%. I called BusLogic and they sent me a new card for a $20 upgrade fee (I had to return the original). They were very easy to deal with.

I have had my share of temperature control problems. Even my old 486/66 would overheat when I ran a raytracer for more than an hour. When I upgraded to the 120Mhz 5x86, it would overheat within 5 minutes. I finally bought a larger case with 2 fans and put a huge heat sink and fan on the processor. Now it seems to run reliably.

I used a Number Nine GXE Level 12 accelerated VLB graphics card for 4 years. It was a very nice card, but a capacitor went out or something. I emailed tech support at Number Nine and they replaced it under warranty. I had no receipt, and had never registered it, but they went ahead and replaced it with no questions. Great products and great support. I have since upgraded to a 4 Meg adapter and the Number Nine is now in my second 486 machine. I would definitely recommend Number Nine products.

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