Installing Oracle Solaris 11 by Using AI

If you are transitioning to an AI installation method, refer to the following information, which provides a basic overview of each process and task that is required to set up and install systems by using AI.

Setting Up an Install Server

An Oracle Solaris 11 server can be used to install Oracle Solaris 11 by using AI or to install Oracle Solaris 10 by using JumpStart. You can set up a JumpStart install server on an Oracle Solaris 11 system. However, you can only use JumpStart to install Oracle Solaris 10. See Setting Up an Oracle Solaris 11 System as an Oracle Solaris 10 JumpStart Server in Transitioning From Oracle Solaris 10 JumpStart to Oracle Solaris 11 Automated Installer.

You can use the same Oracle Solaris 11 system as both a JumpStart install server and an AI install server. See Chapter 4, Installing Oracle Solaris 10 Using JumpStart on an Oracle Solaris 11 Server, in Transitioning From Oracle Solaris 10 JumpStart to Oracle Solaris 11 Automated Installer.

The following tasks are required to set up an AI install server:

• Check system requirements – See Install Server Requirements in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

• Install the AI installation tools package – To install the tools package, you must have access to a networked IPS package repository. Determine whether the installadm package is already installed by typing the following command:

  $ pkg list installadm

  Next, ensure that the IPS package repository contains the installadm package:

  $ pkg list -a installadm

• Configure the install server – The configuration that you can perform on the install server to prepare for AI client installations is described in Configure the Install Server in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

• Create an AI installation instance – An install server can have more than one install service. A separate install service is created for each client hardware architecture and for each version of Oracle Solaris 11 that you want to install. See Create an AI Install Service in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems. See also Automated Installer Use Cases in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

Customizing an AI Installation

The following tasks make up an AI customization:

• Match clients with installation and configuration instructions – When using AI, you must set up a DHCP server and an install server. The install server must have at least one AI boot image and an AI install service that is associated with that boot image. When the client boots, DHCP directs the client to the install server. The client uses the default install service for that client architecture. Or, the client uses an assigned install service. The install service uses the methods that are described in Chapter 9, Customizing Installations, in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems to match the client with the correct installation and configuration instructions.

• Select the AI manifest to be used by the client system – Each client uses exactly one AI manifest to complete its installation. The AI manifest is selected for a client according to a particular algorithm. See Selecting the AI Manifest in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

• Select SC profiles – The criteria keywords that are used for selecting SC profiles for a client are the same as those that are used for selecting an AI manifest. More than one SC profile can be selected for any particular client. See Selecting System Configuration Profiles in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

  The Oracle Configuration Manager settings can also be configured in an SC profile. To opt out of using Oracle Configuration Manager for any clients, see Opting Out of Oracle Configuration Manager in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

• Specify selection criteria – The following keywords and values can be used with the create-manifest, create-profile, and set-criteria subcommands of the installadm command:

  -c criteria=value|list|range
  -c mac="aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff"
  -c zonename="zone1 zone2"
  -c mem="2048-unbounded"

  See Selection Criteria in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

Provisioning a Client System

AI manifests contain instructions for how the client is to be installed. See Chapter 10, Provisioning the Client System, in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

AI manifests can be created and used in the following ways:

• Use the default AI manifest – When you create an AI install service, you get a default AI manifest that specifies how to provision the clients. The AI manifest is an XML file that specifies where to install the operating system and what software packages to install. See Default AI Manifest in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

• Create a new, custom AI manifest – You can create a custom XML AI manifest file. This method is best suited to an environment where fewer systems require custom provisioning. Most systems that are to be installed have identical or similar hardware and are provisioned identically.

• Create a new AI manifest at client installation time – You can write a script that dynamically creates an AI manifest for each client at installation time. Use this method to create a custom installation for each client, based on client characteristics that are discovered at installation time.

Configuring a Client System

You can configure a client by providing configuration profiles, by specifying the configuration in an SC profile, or by using scripts that are executed by an SMF service that runs once at the first boot of a system after the installation. These methods replace the JumpStart method that uses finish scripts and sysidcfg. For example, a client might be assigned one profile that provides only a static network configuration or naming services configuration. The same client, and other clients, might be assigned other profiles that set more broadly applicable property values. See Sample System Configuration Profile in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

To create an SC profile, you can run the interactive configuration tool and save the output to a file, as shown in this example, where a valid profile is created in the sc.xml file from responses that are provided:

# sysconfig create-profile -o sc.xml

Or, you can create an SC profile by using the property specifications that are described in Specifying Configuration in a System Configuration Profile in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems. For more information about using the sysconfig utility to unconfigure and reconfigure a system, see System Configuration Tools Changes.

Example 2-1 Specifying a Client Configuration in an SC Profile

The following example shows how to specify a client configuration in an SC profile by using SMF properties:

# svccfg -s name-service/switch describe config
config application
Name service switch configuration data as described in nsswitch.conf(4).
config/value_authorization astring solaris.smf.value.name-service.switch
config/default astring files
Default configuration database entry.
config/host astring "files dns mdns"
config application
Name service switch configuration data as described in nsswitch.conf(4).
config/value_authorization astring solaris.smf.value.name-service.switch
config/default astring files
Default configuration database entry.
config/host astring "files dns mdns"

See Specifying Configuration in a System Configuration Profile in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

Creating a Script That Runs at First Boot

To perform an installation or create a configuration that cannot be specified in an AI manifest or an SC profile, you can create a script that runs at first boot by using a once-run SMF service, as follows:

1. Create a first-boot script. See Creating a Script To Run at First Boot in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

2. Create a manifest for an SMF service that runs one time at first boot and executes that script. See Creating an SMF Manifest File in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

3. Create an IPS package that contains the service manifest and the script, then add the IPS package to the repository. See Creating an IPS Package For the Script and Service in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

4. Install the first boot package on the AI client. See Installing the First Boot Package on the AI Client in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

Installing Client Systems by Using AI

When you initially set up your install server, you created at least one install service for each client architecture and each version of Oracle Solaris that you plan to install. When you created each install service, you created customized installation instructions and system configuration instructions for different clients. The installation begins when you boot the client and follows this sequence:

1. The client is booted.

2. The client system contacts the DHCP server and retrieves the client IP address, the boot file, and the IP address of the installer, if required.

3. The client system loads the net image.

4. The client system completes its installation by using the appropriate AI manifest, as described in Selecting the AI Manifest in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

5. The client system reboots, if the auto_reboot value is set in the AI manifest or the client, or if rebooted by the system administrator.

6. During a reboot, the client system is configured by using an SC profile, as described in Selecting System Configuration Profiles in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems, or by the administrator's responses in the interactive system configuration tool.

When the svc:/application/auto-installer SMF service on that client reaches an online state, the installation is complete.

Example 2-2 Setting Up an Installation Client

To set up an installation client on an install server, use the installadm create-client command. This command associates a particular client with a particular install service. The installadm create-client command requires the MAC address for the client and the name of the install service that the client is to use for installation.

For x86 clients, you can optionally specify boot properties, as shown in the following example:

# installadm create-client -n s11-x86 -e 0:e0:81:5d:bf:e0
No local DHCP configuration found. If not already configured, the
following should be added to the DHCP configuration:
Boot server IP : 10.80.239.5
Boot file : 01001122334455

Display the results of the installadm create-client command in the /etc/netboot directory:

# cd /etc/netboot
# ls -l
lrwxrwxrwx 13:23 0100E0815DBFE0 -> pxegrub.I86PC.Solaris-1
drwxr-xr-x 13:26 I86PC.Solaris-1
-rw-r--r-- 13:23 menu.lst.0100E0815DBFE0
-rwxr-xr-x 13:23 pxegrub.I86PC.Solaris-1
-rw-r--r-- 13:23 rm.0100E0815DBFE0

# cat menu.lst.0100E0815DBFE0
default=0
timeout=30
min_mem64=1000
title Oracle Solaris boot image
kernel$ /I86PC.Solaris-1/platform/i86pc/kernel/$ISADIR/unix
-B install_media=http://135.134.0.10:5555/export/aiserver/s11-ai-x86,
install_service=s11-ai-x86,install_svc_address=135.134.0.10:46501
module$ /I86PC.Solaris-1/platform/i86pc/$ISADIR/boot_archive
title Oracle Solaris Automated Install
kernel$ /I86PC.Solaris-1/platform/i86pc/kernel/$ISADIR/unix
-B install=true,install_media=http://135.134.0.10:5555/export/aiserver/s11-ai-x86,
install_service=osol-1003-ai-x86,install_svc_address=135.134.0.10:46501
module$ /I86PC.Solaris-1/platform/i86pc/$ISADIR/boot_archive

To install a SPARC client, bring the system to the ok PROM prompt, then boot the system:

ok boot net:dhcp - install

For details, see Installing a SPARC Client in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems and Installing an x86 Client in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

To install and configure zones by using AI, see Chapter 12, Installing and Configuring Zones, in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems. For complete instructions on installing client systems by using AI, see Chapter 15, Installing Client Systems, in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.