Solstice AdminSuite 2.3 Administration Guide

Overview of System Types

System types are basically defined by how they access the root (/) and /usr file systems, including the swap area. For example, standalone and server systems mount these file systems from a local disk, while diskless and dataless clients and JavaStations mount the file systems remotely, relying on servers to provide these services. Table 6-1 lists these and other differences for each system type.

Table 6-1 System Type Overview


System Type	Local File Systems	Local Swap?	Remote File Systems
Server	root (`/`) `/usr` `/home` `/opt` /export `/export/home` `/export/root`	Yes	optional
Standalone System	root (`/`) `/usr` `/export/home`	Yes	optional
Diskless Client	- none -	No	root (`/`) swap `/usr` `/home`
JavaStation	- none -	No	`/home`
Dataless Client	root (`/`)	Yes	`/usr` `/home`
AutoClient System	cached root (`/`) cached `/usr`	Yes	root (`/`) `/usr` `/home`

Table 6-2 describes how the other clients compare to a standalone system.

Table 6-2 Comparison of Clients Relative to a Standalone System


System Type	Centralized Administration	Performance	System Disk Usage	Network Use
AutoClient System	better	similar	better	similar
Diskless Client	better	worse	better	worse
Dataless Client	similar	worse	better	worse

Servers

A server system has the following file systems:

The root (/) and /usr file systems, plus swap space
The /export, /export/swap, and /export/home file systems, which support client systems and provide home directories for users
The /opt directory or file system for storing application software

Servers can also contain the following software to support other systems:

Operating system (OS) services for diskless clients, dataless clients, and AutoClient systems
Solaris CD image and boot software for networked systems to perform remote installations
JumpStart^TM directory for networked systems to perform custom JumpStart installations

Standalone Systems

A networked standalone system can share information with other systems in the network, but it can function autonomously because it has its own hard disk with enough space to contain the root (/), /usr, and /export/home file systems and swap space. The standalone system thus has local access to operating system software, executables, virtual memory space, and user-created files.

A non-networked standalone system is a standalone system with all the characteristics listed above except that is not connected to a network.

Diskless Clients

A diskless client has no disk and depends on a server for all its software and storage area. A diskless client remotely mounts its root (/), /usr, and /home file systems from a server.

A diskless client generates significant network traffic due to its continual need to procure operating system software and virtual memory space (swap) from across the network. A diskless client cannot operate if it is detached from the network or if its server malfunctions.

JavaStation Client

The JavaStation is a client designed for zero administration. This client optimizes Java; the JavaStation client takes full advantage of the network to deliver everything from Java applications and services to complete, integrated system and network management. The JavaStation has no local administration; booting, administration, and data storage are handled by servers.

Dataless Clients

A dataless client has local storage for its root (/) file system and swap space. The dataless client cannot function if detached from the network, because its executables (/usr) and user files (/home) are located across the network on the disk of a server.

A dataless client places far less demand on the server and the network than a diskless client does. Because dataless clients require less network access, a server can accommodate many more dataless clients than it can diskless clients. Also, since all the user files of all the dataless clients are stored centrally (on a server), they can be backed up and administered centrally.

Note -

Dataless clients are no longer supported with operating systems later than Solaris 2.5.1; it is recommended that you use AutoClient systems instead of dataless clients.

AutoClient Systems

For detailed information about AutoClient systems and how to administer them, see the AutoClient 2.1 Administration Guide. An AutoClient system is nearly identical to a diskless client in terms of installation and administration. It has the following characteristics:

Requires a 100-Mbyte or larger local disk for swapping and for caching its individual root (/) file system and the /usr file system from a server
Can be set up so that it can continue to access its cache when the server is unavailable
Relies on servers to provide other file systems and software applications
Contains no permanent data, making it a field replaceable unit (FRU)

Note -

You must obtain a license for each AutoClient system you want to add to your network. See the Solstice AdminSuite 2.3 Installation and Product Notes for licensing information.