Solaris Flash Differential Archives and Configuration Scripts

This feature is new in the Software Express pilot program and in the Solaris 9 4/03 release. This feature is included in the Solaris 10 3/05 release.

The Solaris Flash installation feature provides new enhancements for the Solaris software.

• A Solaris Flash installation can now update a clone system with minor changes. If you have a clone system and want to update it, you can create a differential archive that contains only the differences between two images, the original master image and an updated master image. When you update a clone system with a differential archive, only the files that are specified in the differential archive are changed. The installation is restricted to clone systems that contain software which is consistent with the original master image. You use the custom JumpStart installation method to install a differential archive on a clone system. Or, you can use Solaris Live Upgrade to install a differential archive on a duplicate boot environment.

• Special scripts can now be run for configuration of the master or clone or can be run to validate the archive. These scripts enable you to do the following tasks.

  • Configure applications on clone systems. You can use a custom JumpStart script for some uncomplicated configurations. For more complicated configurations, special configuration file processing might be necessary on the master system or before or after installation on the clone system. Also, local preinstallation and postinstallation scripts can reside on the clone. These scripts can protect local customizations from being overwritten by the Solaris Flash software.

  • Identify nonclonable, host-dependent data that enables you to make the flash archive host independent. Host independence is enabled by modifying such data or excluding the data from the archive. An example of host-dependent data is a log file.

  • Validate software integrity in the archive during creation.

  • Validate the installation on the clone system.

For further information, see Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Solaris Flash Archives (Creation and Installation). This guide also includes information on how to use Solaris Live Upgrade to install a differential archive.