gfr@cobra.mitre.org (Glenn Roberts) (01/13/89)
If you have a 386i and are still running 4.0.0 you should make the move to
4.0.1 as soon as possible. Sun tells me that 4.0.1 has been shipped to
*all* 386i owners (not just those under maintenance or warranty). I got
our copies just before New Year's.
Note that 4.0.1 for the 386i bears little similarity to 4.0.1 for the 3's
and 4's).
First the bad news:
The installation procedure is basically a complete reinstall. This takes
your machine back to the state it was in when it was new. The Sun
literature estimates one hour per machine to upgrade but this is much too
low since you must reinstall printers, re-create accounts, backup and
restore user files, rebuild YP databases, etc. Another interesting fact
is that the 4.0.1 installation procedures differ markedly from the other
'plug and play' manuals distributed with the 386i. If you're new to Suns
you may have your hands full installing 4.0.1.
Now the good news:
4.0.1 fixes many problems that have been noted here (Sun-Spots) and
elsewhere with the 4.0.0. The upgrade notes actually use the phrase (and
I quote) "beta quality" in describing much of 4.0. There are 11 pages of
fix notes distributed with 4.0.1 - I'll try to summarize the highlights:
- sendmail/fingerd holes fixed
- support for 4M diskful machines (diskless still need 8M)
- SNAP bugs fixed; more tolerable of hand manipulation of the
databases it controls
- DOS performance improved
- Sun 3 or 4 can now be a server for a 386i
- Driver provided for Microsoft Windows - allows MS Window to
be any size on the screen
- Support for external 5-1/4" floppy drive
- BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) software now works (so
you can actually do mail on the machine for a change!)
- Serial line now works properly up to 9600 baud
- many many bugs fixed ...
As I say, if you're doing serious work on a 386i you should move to 4.0.1
at your earliest convenience. This release has solved many of my
problems.
- Glenn Roberts, The MITRE Corp., McLean VA (703) 883-6820
gfr@cobra.mitre.org <-- (cobra is my 386i !)