Overview
Sun has a long history of introducing artificial compatibility restrictions between similar systems in order to drive increased sales. The Sun Blade 1000 officially supports 600, 750 & 900 MHz CPUs while the Sun Blade 2000 supports CPUs up to 1.2 GHz. It would be a nice speed boost for my Blade 1000 if I could use the faster CPUs.
An internet search turned up conflicting information. Some people claimed the CPU upgrade should work, while others claimed it would be incompatible or cause problems with overheating. No one reported actually trying the upgrade, so all posts were mere speculation. An examination of the Sun System Handbook reveals identical part numbers (501-6230, 501-5938 & 501-4143) for the system boards of the Blade 1000 and 2000. The internal layout and cooling of the two systems is also identical. Furthermore, the two systems share one officially compatible CPU, the 900 MHz UltraSPARC III Cu (501-6002), indicating that the Blade 1000 does support the later Cu modules. In theory, the faster CPU should be a drop-in replacement, requiring at most a firmware upgrade.
I attempted the upgrade and it went smoothly. The information below documents my attempt. Although YMMV, I suspect this upgrade will work for all combinations of CPUs and system boards used in the Sun Blade 1000, Blade 2000, SunFire 280R and Netra 20.
Hardware
The exact hardware used for this test is shown below. If you attempt this procedure, let me know what part numbers you used and the result; I will update this page.
System Board: 501-6230
CPU: 501-6750
PROM: 4.16.4 (patch 118323-01)
My computer originally had OBP v4.10.1. The upgrade to 4.16.4 is in patch 118323-01 which I have included as a link at the bottom of this page. It can be applied either from within Solaris or directly from your existing OBP environment via a UFS volume. Instructions for both methods are included in the tarball. Remember to set the write-enable jumper on the system board.
If you transition from dual to single CPU the empty slot must be filled in order to maintain proper airflow, but original filler panels are difficult to find. A plug could be made out of cardboard but, if you have dead CPUs available, removing the connector allows use of an old CPU, thus ensuring proper airflow. A table saw cuts through PCB like a hot knife through butter. Clean the edge thoroughly; you don’t want to introduce metal flakes inside your Blade 1000. Also, use spacers on the anchor bolts of the CPU to prevent contact and damage to the connector on the system board.
Result
Before PROM upgrade:
# prtdiag -v
System Configuration: Oracle Corporation sun4u Sun Blade 1000 (2 X UltraSPARC-III)
System clock frequency: 150 MHZ
Memory size: 3GB
==================================== CPUs ====================================
E$ CPU CPU
CPU Freq Size Implementation Mask Status Location
--- -------- ---------- --------------------- ----- ------ --------
0 750 MHz 8MB SUNW,UltraSPARC-III 5.4 on-line +-board/cpu0
1 750 MHz 8MB SUNW,UltraSPARC-III 5.4 on-line +-board/cpu1
...
System PROM revisions:
----------------------
OBP 4.10.1 2003/04/09 10:56
POST 4.10.1 2003/04/09 14:29
After PROM upgrade:
# prtdiag -v
System Configuration: Oracle Corporation sun4u Sun Blade 1000 (2 X UltraSPARC-III)
System clock frequency: 150 MHZ
Memory size: 3GB
==================================== CPUs ====================================
E$ CPU CPU
CPU Freq Size Implementation Mask Status Location
--- -------- ---------- --------------------- ----- ------ --------
0 750 MHz 8MB SUNW,UltraSPARC-III 5.4 on-line +-board/cpu0
1 750 MHz 8MB SUNW,UltraSPARC-III 5.4 on-line +-board/cpu1
...
System PROM revisions:
----------------------
OBP 4.16.4 2004/12/18 05:18
POST 4.16.3 2004/11/05 20:02
After CPU upgrade:
# prtdiag -v
System Configuration: Oracle Corporation sun4u Sun Blade 1000 (UltraSPARC-III+)
System clock frequency: 150 MHZ
Memory size: 3GB
==================================== CPUs ====================================
E$ CPU CPU
CPU Freq Size Implementation Mask Status Location
--- -------- ---------- --------------------- ----- ------ --------
0 1200 MHz 8MB SUNW,UltraSPARC-III+ 11.0 on-line +-board/cpu0
1 1200 MHz 8MB SUNW,UltraSPARC-III+ 11.0 on-line +-board/cpu1
...
System PROM revisions:
----------------------
OBP 4.16.4 2004/12/18 05:18
POST 4.16.3 2004/11/05 20:02
The upgrade appears to be a complete success. I have not encountered any problems under either Solaris 10 1/13 or NetBSD 7.0. Temperatures are stable and safe under extended compiles.