The Vanishing Act of VA Linux Hardware Docs? 57
Joshua Johnston asks: "Yesterday, my roommate and I picked up a used (and slightly abused) VA Linux 2231 2U server system at a computer show here in New Hampshire. Given the manufacturer, I had expected that support documentation would be a piece of cake to locate. Unfortunately, I couldn't have been any further away from the truth. Only the
Internet Archive copies of the VA Linux/VA Software website had any information whatsoever on the system, with even Google striking out badly on almost any reference material. This comes as a complete surprise, as I had expected much more to be available in regards to a system once touted as a success for the Open Source movement. The current VA Software site has nothing even mentioning the fact they once made some solid server-class hardware, let alone a buried archive of the PDF manuals. What kind of options still remain for reviving some kind of community archive of these files? In the span of three years, are we left with nearly no trace of information on these machines?"
Isn't it just made out of commodity parts? (Score:3, Interesting)
It's vaguely possible that they have some really funky firmware RAID controller, I've seen Dell server machines require a special microcode load into the RAID controller to work with Linux. That's a pain in the butt, and when the only thing is available is the binary and only from the vendor I just think the offending device is evil and punt it. (Lotsa RAID stuff is still this way, and sometimes it's even on the motherboard, which means you toss the motherboard).
What would you like to know? (Score:4, Interesting)
But seriously, what would you like to know that you can't find at Phoenix or Intel?
A.
Slightly OT (Score:4, Interesting)
I purchased a lot of 4 VALinux 2u rackmount chassis from ebay a few months ago for a good price (model "FullON 2130"). I knew they weren't going to be 'standard' atx but figured I could rewire things from documentation to get the power button and LEDs working. No dice. There is no documentation left at all. So im taking it upon myself to document/diagram what I did to make the power/reset headers ATX-usable and will post a procedure on my humble website. Hopefully google will pick it up and I can help the next guy that comes along wanting to do the same thing . . .
Japan (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyway, you may want to try VA Linux Japan [valinux.co.jp], who are still in the server business. ("UltraPossum 0.1beta is available now!") Like others have said, though -- I don't think there's anything especially unusual about those VA boxes, apart from blue LED's.
The Weirdest Part (Submitter here) (Score:4, Interesting)
I suppose that with the motherboard information that I have, I can probably manage things just fnie, but there are still a few areas that make me wonder. My RAM seems to be the a slightly off speed, as I get an incorrect speed warning that requires an F1 to continue booting each time the system is turned on. That's going to make for an interesting day of eBay or Pricewatch next week.
Primarily though, I have to say I'm bothered by such a dearth of information being available. Why on Earth would VA entirely remove -all- information on the products they sold, not even archiving a manual?