Re: Ressurecting an IPX

[Please don't use paragraph-length lines!]

> Thanks to the list I picked up a free IPX.  [...]

> What OS should I run on it today.

(I'm assuming that's a question, despite the punctuation.)  That
depends on your tradeoffs.  If you want the classic Sun feel, you might
try to track down a copy of SunOS 4.x, or Solaris 2.x, depending on
which feel you associate with classic Suns.  (As I recall the
timelines, SunOS would be the more authentic for the IPX, but I've
never had a good grasp on those timelines, so ICBW.)

If you want to run something more modern, there are at least three
open-source OSes (NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Linux) that run on such
hardware.  My own preference is NetBSD, but that doesn't necessarily
mean it's right for you.

> What[']s the biggest capacity and fastest type of hard disk I can use
> with it[?]

Depends on how much you're willing to spend and what additional
hardware you're willing to use.  With an IDE<->SCSI bridge, you could
use drives up around the hundred-gig range.  With SATA<->SCSI (I've
never seen one but would be astonished if they didn't exist),
multi-terabyte drives are available.

If you stick with SCSI all the way to the disk, I don't know.  I don't
think I've heard of larger than "72GB" (meaning 72 disk-manufacturer
artificially shrunken GB, actually about 67GB), though it's entirely
possible there are larger disks I just don't know of.

I think the IPX's internal SCSI is single-ended narrow only.  There
exist SBus cards for wide and/or differential; you might get one of
those, but I suspect you may find that the SBus becomes the limiting
piece if you push very far past the IPX's internal SCSI.  (If you want
high-voltage differential - not compatible with LVD or SE - I have lots
of HVD SBus cards, far more than any sane person needs, and would
cheerfully send you a couple, unless shipping from Canada to you is
outrageous.)

> Chiefly I want to use it to copy ageing floppy disks onto a network
> drive (how the mighty fall eh).

Heh.  Better check the floppy drive over; like floppy drives on
peecees, the floppy drives on IPXen tended to be one of the earlier
pieces to fail - and often unnoticed when they did fail, since a lot of
people didn't use floppies for much.

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