Informal poll to see if there's some kind of correlation.

[mr_daemon@untrusted.website]

Informal poll to see if there's some kind of correlation.

*If you have used Solaris SMF before*, how do you feel about systemd?

[freya@chaosfem.tw]

@mr_daemon

Systemd: is like SMF, but done badly
docker: is like zones, but done badly
selinux and friends: is like contracts and roles and profiles, but done badly
cgroups: is like projects, but done badly
whatever the latest SDN cloud-first trashfire is: is like crossbow, but done badly
KVM: is like LDOMs, but done badly
BTRFS: is like ZFS, but done badly
rarpboot+nfs+jumpstart: is like every zero-touch deployment tech for linux, but done badly. I'm seeing a theme here

[mr_daemon@untrusted.website]

@freya I feel most of these, especially zones and ZFS.

I used to refer to Upstart as "Someone looked at Solaris SMF and thought 'you know what, I can fuck that up'", so maybe that is why I feel systemd is a step up.

[freya@chaosfem.tw]

@mr_daemon watching all the Linux people rediscover things we had in 2010.... or 2005.... or 1999... is like watching someone rediscover food and claim it to be their idea. like, no, sweetie, we've had this forever, you're just going to re-make it with more useless features, lower code quality, less OS integration and next to zero pride

[freya@chaosfem.tw]

@mr_daemon systemd would have been a step up had it strictly remained an int system. inittab starts svc.systemd, that starts all the services, end of story. but it didn't.. Systemd also lacks an "ok, we're done." Far as I can figure Sun got SMF right first try in 2005 and baiscally haven't touched it since

[freya@chaosfem.tw]

@mr_daemon query for you: do you have any Solaris 10 SPARC gear running? cause if so I've got a thing you may be interested in

[mr_daemon@untrusted.website]

@freya That Could Run yes, that is running no, because it consumes the electricity of a small village lol -- but yes my Sun Blade 1000 was still in working order last I checked

I think my Sunfire v120 could also just be booted in situ, it is sitting on a shelf next to the rack in my lab

[freya@chaosfem.tw]

@mr_daemon yooooooo nice. I have an entire set of modern tools, GCC 9.5, bash 5.3, MariaDB 11.8, NMginx 1.28, PHP 8.5, the whole bit, for Solaris 10 SPARC

[freya@chaosfem.tw]

@mr_daemon I'm currently uploading all the package files and signatures and suchlike and I'll send you a link when it's done

[mr_daemon@untrusted.website]

@freya Sick! Thanks, that will give me a good excuse to boot these boys again <3

[freya@chaosfem.tw]

@mr_daemon relevant info:

root@nitrogen:~# uname -a
SunOS nitrogen 5.10 Generic_153153-01 sun4u sparc SUNW,Sun-Blade-100
root@nitrogen:~# php-fpm --version
PHP 8.5.1+FRACTAL (fpm-fcgi) (built: Jan 2 2026 11:43:40) (NTS)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.5.1, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
with Zend OPcache v8.5.1+FRACTAL, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies
root@nitrogen:~# python3
Python 3.14.2 (main, Jan 10 2026, 12:37:55) [GCC 9.5.0 Kaleidoscope GCC 2026-01-01 (FractalC 9.5.0 2026 SunOS SPARC)] on sunos5
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>
root@nitrogen:~# ruby -v
ruby 4.0.0 (2025-12-25 revision 553f1675f3) +PRISM [sparc64-solaris2.10]
root@nitrogen:~# lua -v
Lua 5.4.8 Copyright (C) 1994-2025 Lua.org, PUC-Rio
root@nitrogen:~# mariadbd --version
mariadbd Ver 11.8.5-MariaDB for solaris10 on sparc (Source distribution)
root@nitrogen:~# emacs --version| head -n 1
GNU Emacs 30.2
root@nitrogen:~# vim --version | head -n 4
VIM - Vi IMproved 9.1 (2024 Jan 02, compiled Dec 22 2025 23:20:49)
Included patches: 1-2011
Modified by FractalMicrosystems
Compiled by FractalMicrosystems
root@nitrogen:~# elfsign verify -v $(which vim)
elfsign: verification of /usr/local/bin/vim passed.
format: rsa_md5_sha1.
signer: C=NZ, ST=Wellington, L=Wellington, O=Fractal Microsystems\, Inc., OU=FractalKit Executable Object Verification 2026, CN=SunOS 5.10, MAILTO=fractalkit@highenergymagic.net.
root@nitrogen:~#

[freya@chaosfem.tw]

@mr_daemon ok done! anonymous ftp to highenergymagic.net, the login message will tell you where to go, check /FractalKit/sunos5.10/__INSTALL_THESE_FIRST/README for info