Very Computer

Hi,

  I   was wondering if  it is  possible  to write a program   to turn off the
monitor of a Sparc. Does anybody know how?

  When rebooting under Solaris 2 the machine turns  off the monitor for a few
seconds so I guess there must be a way to somehow do the same. I've also seen
a Sun that could be  turned  on just like   a Mac by  pressing  a key on  the
keyboard (though I don't remember what kind of machine type was).

  In  the    header file    <sys/cg14io.h>   is    an  ioctl  define   called
SET_MONITOR_POWER but using this on a cg6 for example has no effect.

  Turning off just the video like screenblankers  do is not  what I want. The
idea is to have a  daemon* around that turns  off the monitor if noone
is sitting at the machine between 6pm and 6am (esp. on weekends).

  The monitor  type we usually use   is this 20"   piece from Sun  (with this
little remote control) and are all contected  to different machines (Classic,
5, 10, 20).

Sven

PS: Please reply by email. I'll post a summary later, thanks.
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Quote:

>  I   was wondering if  it is  possible  to write a program   to turn off the
>monitor of a Sparc. Does anybody know how?

>  When rebooting under Solaris 2 the machine turns  off the monitor for a few
>seconds so I guess there must be a way to somehow do the same.

It doesn't actually turn the power off, but I know what you want :-)

Quote:

I've also seen
>a Sun that could be  turned  on just like   a Mac by  pressing  a key on  the
>keyboard (though I don't remember what kind of machine type was).

I think the sparc5 and later. The ones with the momentary power switch
which don't stick in an "on" position.

Quote:>  Turning off just the video like screenblankers  do is not  what I want. The
>idea is to have a  daemon* around that turns  off the monitor if noone
>is sitting at the machine between 6pm and 6am (esp. on weekends).

If you have solaris 2.4 you should have gotten a little manual on
the power management functions. I don't remember whether the software
was installed with the main 2.4 or if it was on the other cd; but the
command you want is dtpower. It has three nifty functions: 1) put monitor
into power saving mode when it blanks, 2) suspend/resume the whole system,
3) automatically suspend the whole system during certain hours if idle.

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Sven> I  was wondering if it is  possible to write  a program to turn off the
Sven> monitor of a Sparc. Does anybody know how?

Sven> When rebooting under Solaris 2 the machine turns off  the monitor for a
Sven> few seconds so I guess there must be a way to somehow do the same.

Andrew> It doesn't actually turn the power off, but I know what you want :-)

Sven> I've  also  seen a Sun  that  could be  turned on  just  like a  Mac by
Sven> pressing a key  on the keyboard (though  I don't remember what kind  of
Sven> machine type was).

Andrew> I think  the sparc5 and  later.  The ones  with  the momentary  power
Andrew> switch which don't stick in an "on" position.

Sven> Turning  off just  the  video like  screenblankers  do  is  not what  I
Sven> want. The idea is  to have a daemon*  around that turns  off the
Sven> monitor if noone is sitting at the machine between 6pm and 6am (esp. on
Sven> weekends).

Andrew> If you have solaris 2.4 you should have gotten a little manual on the
Andrew> power management functions. I don't remember whether the software was
Andrew> installed  with the main 2.4  or if it was  on the other  cd; but the
Andrew> command you  want is dtpower.  It has  three nifty  functions: 1) put
Andrew> monitor into power saving mode when  it blanks, 2) suspend/resume the
Andrew> whole   system, 3)  automatically suspend   the  whole system  during
Andrew> certain hours if idle.

  I received mail  from Glenn Weinberg and  Matthieu  Herrb and both  told me
about  the  same.     The   software   comes    on an   update  CD     called
'upd_sol_2_4_hw1194_smcc'  and  contains  those tools.    There  is  also  an
AnswerBook library called  'Solaris 2.4 on Sun  Hardware' which describes the
tools and their installation. So, no problem at all.

  The only  thing that bothers me is  that the power configuration (either by
hand or via dtpower) is a bit too unflexible.  Setting the monitor into power
savings  mode isn't a problem  because  it has no  effect  on the machine and
software.
  But this autoshutdown feature is too restricted.   People here like to lock
their screens and  go home but still  have some programs  running.  So what I
need  is something like  'turn everything off if  noone is  logged in and the
machine hasn't been used for several hours or on weekends'.

Sven
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