SUN: 32/64 bit kernel boots

Apparently there's a couple of 32 bit drivers and some software that doesn't work under the new 64 bit kernels. The software that I've heard of is some firewall apps; however, if there's one, there's probably more.

So, you have to boot 32 bit kernels by default. How do you do that?

To boot a 32 or 64 bit kernel only once do the following. This leaves the default as it was previously set so it only affects this boot:

1. 32 bit: ok boot disk kernel/unix
2. 64 bit: ok boot disk kernel/sparv9/unix

To set one or the other kernels as the default, update the boot-file parameter thusly:

1. 32 bit: ok setenv boot-file kernel/unix
2. 64 bit: ok setenv boot-file kernel/sparv9/unix

Then, boot as normal. From hither on, you'll be booting whichever kernel you set as default.

To determine which kernel you're booting, execute the isainfo command

isainfo -b

It'll return either a 32 or a 64 depending on which kernel you're running.

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