Getting Replacement Parts For Sun Clones?

Autoversicherung writes "Two of our production servers started to act up last week and after a few hours of testing and swapping in and out hardware we nailed it down to the power supply. Great, we thought -- probably the easiest part to get a replacement for. Was I wrong. The power supply was specifically made for Sun clones, and contains one standard ATX 20-pin and one EPS 24-pin connector to the motherboard. The original power supply is no longer in production, so far I haven't been able to dig up any suitable replacement for it. Am I able to modify a new PSU? I know how to use the tools required, I'm not sure what the implication are for things like 'separate voltage lines for each CPU complex' etc. The servers in question are EVU450 from Tritec, AFAIK clones of the E420R Sun server. The original Sun parts don't fit, though. Am I out of luck?"

Comments

Real Stuff

[droyad]

This is one of the downsides of skimping on cheap hardware. The parts and support are just not there 3-4 years down the track. Thus us the advantage of the expensive Intel/Sun/IBM.

I'm sure you can still get parts for IBM machines 10-20 years old.

Re:Real Stuff

[i.r.id10t]

Yup - in '92 or '93 I called IBM to find out about RAM for my original PS/2 286 system - they were happy to accomodate, at nearly $2000 per meg.

Re:Real Stuff

[stanmann]

But they had it RIGHT? In fact, if you called them today, they would still be happy to accomodate. Just because it was more than you were prepared to pay, is more or less a non-issue. IBM provides enterprise components at an enterprise price with enterprise quality support.

Re:Mistake

[flithm]

Apparently all the moderators forgot to actually check the links you posted, since they totally suck. Obviously you saw the results, and noted how crappy they are, were you just trying to get first post and sound knowledgeable at the same time, or were you simply trying to make fun of a guy with a legitimate problem?

It seems pretty clear the guy has already exhausted alternative measures, and ask slashdot was one of his last options. What he wants is some first hand experience on this matter, which the slashdot crowd may very well have!

Next time you try to get first post, at least be a man and say something to the effect of "fr0st p1s+". Making a person feel silly for having such a valid question, and doing it by posting such a silly response... well that's just wrong.

Re:Fix the old one

[Cmdr TECO]

Switching power supplies are dangerous to work on. Enough voltage to break your skin and enough current to kill. Someone who is unsure about just refitting an old connector on a new PSU should definitely not try.

Re:Just buy some used Sun kit

[menscher]

Agreed. A few years back, we had a whole bunch of SGI Indy power supply failures. AFter we ran out of spares, I had to shop around for a replacement power supply. Turns out a power supply was $250. Or a computer for $300. We paid the $300, got some extra parts, and I think even had a slightly faster machine as a result. All that was from a company called XS Net. They do Sun stuff too.

Oh, and if anyone is throwing away a working SGI Indy, pull the power supply and NVRAM. Those parts are probably still worth something on eBay, since 100% of the failures I've seen involve one of them.

Re:Scaredy Cat!

[harrkev]

Yes, you are probably right, but are you willing to bet your LIFE on it?

[Eastwood voice] Do ya feel lucky, punk? Well, do ya? [/Eastwood voice]

This also assumes that the person:

1) Has some good analog knowledge. How do you know which part to replace? Testing pars while they are still on the board is even more difficult.

2) Can look up replacement parts for any blown semis. Some transistors are marked with "house numbers," which makes replacing them very difficult, since you cannot even tell if they are NPN, PNP, N-channel, P-Channel, etc.

In short, a person with some experience can fix a PSU, and it is definately not rocket science. But if you have never cracked open a PSU, it can be imtimidating.

Your power supply

[Sai Babu]

Nothing magic about the unit described at the link you included. How dead is it? It may be worth a peek inside to see if you've a simple problem. Fuses. Open or shorted rectifier. Cold solder joint on flyback, bad switching device(s). If you're lucky the controller chip(s) will be labeled and you can download some reference designs from that (or 2nd source) manufacturers web site. Otherwise, anything that provides the power you need and can be accomodated in whatever space you have (duct tape it to the outside of the case if you like) will work. You can probably dispense with the -12V if you don't use any RS232. The SB 850ma is for your onboard on-off switch and maybe for NVRAM. Easiest solution is to find an off the shelf meeeting specs, and if it doesn't fit inside, duct tape or poprivet it to the outside of the cabinet. If all your other parts are standard (CPU module, memory) t might be more cost effective to buy a stripped down Sun which will accomodate the parts. Plenty of used ones about. Solar Systems, Optimus Solutions (ex solar systems guys, talk to James, tell him Bob sent you), Data Instruments(probably your cheapest source for something with a guarantee, talk to Fred, tell him Bob sent you). A google search of used Sun vendors will get you a big list. Heck, you may get lucky and find one with your same machine in the warehouse. If so, the power supply should be CHEAP ($150-$300 plus ship) as these guys pay next to nothing for Sun Clones. I used to be in the business but margins went to hell. Once ebay was in the mix all I seemed to get was support calls for stuff folks had purchased on ebay. "Can you tell me how to hook this up, what do you mean Sun memory costs $X, I can buy PC memory for $Y" and so on.