When to Use the format Utility

Disk drives are partitioned and labeled by the Solaris installation utility when you install the Solaris release. You can use the format utility to do the following:

• Display slice information

• Partition a disk

• Add a disk drive to an existing system

• Format a disk drive

• Label a disk

• Repair a disk drive

• Analyze a disk for errors

The main reason a system administrator uses the format utility is to partition a disk. These steps are covered in Chapter 12, SPARC: Adding a Disk (Tasks) and Chapter 13, x86: Adding a Disk (Tasks).

See the following section for guidelines on using the format utility.