Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Solaris Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning

Part I Overall Planning of Your Solaris Installation or Upgrade

This part guides you through planning the installation or upgrade of the Solaris Operating System.

Chapter 1 What's New in Solaris Installation

This chapter describes new features in the Solaris installation programs. To view features for all of the Solaris OS, see Solaris 10 What’s New.

What's New in the Solaris 10 1/06 Release For Solaris Installation

This section describes the following new installation features in the Solaris 10 1/06 release.

Upgrading the Solaris OS When Non-Global Zones Are Installed

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release, Solaris Zones partitioning technology provides the ability to configure non-global zones in a single instance of Solaris, the global zone. A non-global zone is an application execution environment in which processes are isolated from all other zones. If you are running a system with non-global zones installed, you can use standard Solaris upgrade programs to upgrade to the Solaris 1/06 release. You can use either the Solaris interactive installation program or custom JumpStart to upgrade. There are some limitations to upgrading with non-global zones installed.

For details on using the Solaris interactive installation program, see Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Basic Installations

x86: GRUB Based Booting

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release, the open source GNU GRand Unified BootLoader (GRUB) has been adopted in the Solaris OS for x86 based systems. GRUB is responsible for loading a boot archive into the system's memory. A boot archive is a collection of critical files that is needed during system startup before the root (/) file system is mounted. The boot archive is used to boot the Solaris OS.

The most notable change is the replacement of the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant with the GRUB menu. The GRUB menu facilitates booting the different operating systems that are installed on your system. The GRUB menu is displayed when you boot an x86 based system. From the GRUB menu, you can select an OS instance to install by using the arrow keys. If you do not make a selection, the default OS instance is booted.

The GRUB based boot feature provides the following improvements:

For more information about GRUB refer to the following sections.

Task 

GRUB Task 

For More Information 

Installation 

Overview information about GRUB based booting 

x86: GRUB Based Booting (Overview)

Installation planning for GRUB based booting 

x86: GRUB Based Booting (Planning)

How to boot and install over the network with the GRUB menu 

Booting and Installing the System From the Network With a DVD Image in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

How to boot and install with the GRUB menu and the Custom JumpStart installation method 

Performing a Custom JumpStart Installation in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations

How to use the GRUB menu and Solaris Live Upgrade to activate and fall back to boot environments  

Locating the GRUB menu's menu.lst file

x86: Locating the GRUB Menu's menu.lst File (Tasks)

System Administration 

How to perform system administration tasks with the GRUB menu 


Note –

GNU is a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not UNIX.” For more information, go to http://www.gnu.org.


Upgrade Support Changes for Solaris Releases

Starting with the Solaris 1/06 release, you can upgrade the Solaris OS from the Solaris 8, 9, or 10 releases. Upgrades from the Solaris 7 release are not supported.

What's New in the Solaris 10 3/05 Release For Solaris Installation

This section describes the following new installation features in the Solaris 10 3/05 release.

Solaris Installation Changes Including Installation Unification

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, several changes in the installation of the Solaris OS provide a more simplified and unified installation experience.

The changes include the following:


Note –

The (noninteractive) Solaris custom JumpStartTM installation method has not changed.


To install the OS, simply insert the Solaris Software - 1 CD or the Solaris Operating System DVD and type one of the following commands.

For instructions about how to install the Solaris OS by using CD or DVD media with the new text boot option

Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Basic Installations

For changes to setting up an installation server with CD media 

Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

Accessing the GUI or Console-based Installations

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, you can choose to install the software with a GUI or with or without a windowing environment. If the memory is sufficient, the GUI is displayed by default. If the memory is insufficient for the GUI, other environments are displayed by default. You can override defaults with the nowin or text boot options. However, you are limited by the amount of memory in your system or by installing remotely. Also, if the Solaris installation program does not detect a video adapter, the program is automatically displayed in a console-based environment.

For specific memory requirements, see System Requirements and Recommendations.

Custom JumpStart Installation Package and Patch Enhancements

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, when you install and upgrade the Solaris OS by using the custom JumpStart installation method, new customizations enable the following:

For further information, see Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

Configuring Multiple Network Interfaces During Installation

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, the Solaris installation programs enable you to configure multiple interfaces during your installation. You can preconfigure these interfaces in the sysidcfg file for your system. Or you can configure multiple interfaces during the installation. For more information, see the following documents:

SPARC: 64-bit Package Changes

In previous Solaris releases, the Solaris software was delivered in separate packages for 32-bit components and 64-bit components. Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, packaging has been simplified with the delivery of most 32-bit components and 64-bit components in a single package. The combined packages retain the names of the original 32-bit packages, and the 64-bit packages are no longer delivered.

The removal of the 64-bit packages simplifies installation and increases performance:

The 64-bit packages are renamed with the following conventions:

This change means that you might need to modify your custom JumpStart script or other package installation scripts to remove references to the 64-bit packages.

Custom JumpStart Installation Method Creates New Boot Environment

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, you can now use the JumpStart installation method to create an empty boot environment when you install the Solaris Operating System. The empty boot environment can then be populated with a Solaris Flash archive for later use.

For further information, see Chapter 11, Custom JumpStart (Reference), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

Reduced Networking Software Group

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, you can now create a more secure system with fewer enabled network services by selecting or specifying the Reduced Networking software group (SUNWCrnet) during your installation. The Reduced Networking software group provides system administration utilities and a multiuser text-based console. SUNWCrnet enables the system to recognize network interfaces. During the installation, you can customize your system's configuration by adding software packages and by activating network services as needed.

For further information, see Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

Modifying Disk Partition Tables by Using a Virtual Table of Contents

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, the Solaris installation program now enables you to load existing slices from the virtual table of contents (VTOC.) You can now preserve and use the system's existing disk slice tables during your installation, rather than use the installer's default disk layout.

x86: Change in Default Boot-Disk Partition Layout

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, a new feature in the Solaris installation program is a boot-disk partition layout. This layout, by default, accommodates the Service partition on Sun x86 based systems. This installation program enables you to preserve an existing Service partition.

The new default includes the following partitions.

If you want to use this default layout, select Default when the Solaris installation program asks you to choose a boot-disk layout.


Note –

If you install the Solaris OS for x86 based systems on a system that does not currently include a Service partition, the Solaris installation program does not create a new Service partition. If you want to create a Service partition on your system, first use your system's diagnostic CD to create the Service partition. After the Service partition is created, then install the Solaris Operating System.

For information about how to create the Service partition, see your hardware documentation.


For more information, see Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

Chapter 2 Solaris Installation and Upgrade (Roadmap)

This chapter provides you with information about decisions you need to make before you install or upgrade the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS). This chapter contains the following sections:


Note –

This book uses the term slice, but some Solaris documentation and programs might refer to a slice as a partition.

x86: To avoid confusion, this book distinguishes between x86 fdisk partitions and the divisions within the Solaris fdisk partition. The x86 fdisk divisions are called partitions. The divisions within the Solaris fdisk partition are called slices.


Task Map: Installing or Upgrading the Solaris Software

The following task map is an overview of the steps necessary to install or upgrade the Solaris OS when using any installation program. Use this task map to identify all of the decisions that you need to make to complete the most efficient installation for your environment.

Table 2–1 Task Map: Installing or Upgrading the Solaris Software

Task 

Description 

For Instructions 

Choose initial installation or upgrade. 

Decide if you want to perform an initial installation or an upgrade.  

Initial Installation, or Upgrade?.

Choose an installation program. 

The Solaris OS provides several programs for installation or upgrade. Choose the installation method that is most appropriate for your environment. 

Choosing a Solaris Installation Method.

(Solaris interactive installation program) Choose a default or custom installation. 

Decide which type installation is suitable for your environment: 

  • If you are using a graphical user interface (GUI) you can choose a default or a custom installation:

    • A default installation formats the hard disk and installs a preselected set of software.

    • A custom installation enables you to modify the hard disk layout and select the software that you want to install.

  • If you use a text installer (non-graphical interface), you can select the default values or edit the values to select the software you want to install.

For information on the Solaris installation program's choices, see Chapter 4, Gathering Information Before Upgrade (Planning)

Review system requirements. Also, plan and allocate disk space and swap space. 

Determine if your system meets the minimum requirements to install or upgrade. Allocate disk space on your system for the components of the Solaris OS that you want to install. Determine the appropriate swap-space layout for your system. 

Chapter 3, Solaris Installation and Upgrade (Planning).

Choose to install a system from local media or from the network. 

Decide on the most appropriate installation media for your environment. 

Installing From the Network or From DVD or CDs?.

Gather information about your system. 

  • For the Solaris installation program, complete the worksheet to collect all of the information that you need to install or upgrade.

  • For the custom JumpStart installation method, decide which profile keywords to use in your profile. Then review the keyword descriptions to find the information about your system that you need.

(Optional) Set system parameters. 

You can preconfigure system information to avoid being prompted for the information during the installation or upgrade. 

Chapter 6, Preconfiguring System Configuration Information (Tasks), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations.

(Optional) Prepare to install the Solaris software from the network. 

If you chose to install the Solaris software from the network, complete the following tasks. 

  • (x86 based systems) Verify that your system supports PXE

  • Create an installation server

  • Create a boot server (if necessary)

  • Configure a DHCP server (if necessary)

  • Set up systems to be installed from the network

To install over a local area network, see Chapter 9, Preparing to Install From the Network With CD Media (Tasks), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations.

To install over a wide area network, see Chapter 13, Preparing to Install With WAN Boot (Tasks), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations.

(Upgrade only) Perform tasks prior to upgrade. 

Back up your system and determine if you can upgrade with disk space reallocation. 

Upgrade.

Perform an installation or upgrade. 

Use the Solaris installation method that you chose to install or upgrade the Solaris software. 

The chapter or chapters that provide detailed instructions for the installation programs. 

Troubleshoot installation problems 

Review the troubleshooting information when you encounter problems with your installation. 

Appendix A, Troubleshooting (Tasks).

Installing From the Network or From DVD or CDs?

The Solaris software is distributed on DVD or CD media so that you can install or upgrade systems that have access to a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive.

You can set up the systems to install from the network with remote DVD or CD images. You might want to set up systems this way for the following reasons:

You can use all of the Solaris installation methods to install a system from the network. However, by installing systems from the network with the Solaris Flash installation feature or with a custom JumpStart installation, you can centralize and automate the installation process in a large enterprise. For more details about the different installation methods, refer to Choosing a Solaris Installation Method.

Installing the Solaris software from the network requires initial setup. For information about preparing to install from the network, choose one of the following options.

For detailed instructions about preparing to install from a local area network 

Chapter 9, Preparing to Install From the Network With CD Media (Tasks), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

For instructions about preparing to install over a wide area network 

Chapter 13, Preparing to Install With WAN Boot (Tasks), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

For instructions about how to install x86 based clients over the network by using PXE 

Overview of Booting and Installing Over the Network With PXE in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

Initial Installation, or Upgrade?

You can choose to perform an initial installation or, if your system is already running the Solaris OS, you can upgrade your system.

Initial Installation

An initial installation overwrites the system's disk with the new version of the Solaris OS. If your system is not running the Solaris OS, you must perform an initial installation.

If the system is already running the Solaris OS, you can choose to perform an initial installation. If you want to preserve any local modifications, before you install, you must back up the local modifications. After you complete the installation, you can restore the local modifications.

You can use any of the Solaris installation methods to perform an initial installation. For detailed information about the different Solaris installation methods, refer to Choosing a Solaris Installation Method.

Upgrade

You can upgrade the Solaris OS by using two upgrade methods: standard and Solaris Live Upgrade. A standard upgrade maintains as many existing configuration parameters as possible of the current Solaris OS. Solaris Live Upgrade creates a copy of the current system. This copy can be upgraded with a standard upgrade. The upgraded Solaris OS can then be switched to become the current system by a simple reboot. If a failure occurs, you can switch back to the original Solaris OS with a reboot. Solaris Live Upgrade enables you to keep your system running while you upgrade and enables you to switch back and forth between Solaris OS releases.

For more information about upgrading and the list of upgrade methods, see Upgrade.

Choosing a Solaris Installation Method

The Solaris OS provides several programs for installation or upgrade. Each installation technology offers different features that are designed for specific installation requirements and environments. Use the following table to help you decide which installation method to use.

Table 2–2 Choosing Your Installation Method

Task 

Installation Method 

Reasons for Choosing This Program 

Instructions 

Install one system from CD-ROM or DVD-ROM media with an interactive program. 

Solaris installation program 

  • This program divides tasks into panels, prompts you for information, and offers default values.

  • This program is not an efficient method when you have to install or upgrade multiple systems. For batch installations of multiple systems, use custom JumpStart or the Solaris Flash installation feature.

Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Basic Installations

Install one system over a local area network. 

Solaris installation program over the network 

This program enables you to set up an image of the software you want to install on a server and install this image on a remote system. If you need to install multiple systems, you can use the network installation image with the custom JumpStart and Solaris Flash installation methods to efficiently install or upgrade systems on your network. 

Part II, Installing Over a Local Area Network, in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

Automate the installation or upgrade of multiple systems based on profiles you create. 

Custom JumpStart 

This program efficiently installs multiple systems. But if you only have a few systems, the creation of a custom JumpStart environment might be time consuming. For a few systems, use the Solaris interactive installation program. 

Chapter 6, Preparing Custom JumpStart Installations (Tasks), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations

Replicate the same software and configuration on multiple systems. 

Solaris Flash archives

  • This program saves installation time by installing all Solaris packages at once on your system. Other programs install each individual Solaris package and update the package map for each package.

  • Solaris Flash archives are large files and require a significant amount of disk space. To manage different installation configurations or to change your installation configuration, you might consider using the custom JumpStart installation method. Alternatively, you can accomplish system-specific customizations by using a JumpStart finish script or an embedded Solaris Flash postdeployment script.

Chapter 1, Solaris Flash (Overview), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Solaris Flash Archives (Creation and Installation)

Install systems over a wide area network (WAN) or the Internet. 

WAN boot 

If you want to install a Solaris Flash archive over the network, this program enables a secure installation. 

Chapter 11, WAN Boot (Overview), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

Upgrade a system while it is running. 

Solaris Live Upgrade 

  • This program enables you to upgrade or add patches to avoid the system down time related to a standard upgrade

  • This program enables you to test an upgrade or new patches without affecting the current OS

Chapter 6, Solaris Live Upgrade (Overview)

After installing the Solaris OS, create an isolated application environment. 

Solaris Zones partitioning technology 

This program creates isolated non-global zones that provide a secure application environment. This isolation prevents processes that are running in one zone from monitoring or affecting processes that are running in any other zones.  

Chapter 16, Introduction to Solaris Zones, in System Administration Guide: Solaris Containers-Resource Management and Solaris Zones

Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8

The Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8 provides for broad deployment of application services and web services. This software is automatically installed with the Solaris OS. You can find documentation for the server in the following areas:

For documentation about starting the server 

See Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8 QuickStart Guide in the installation directory at /docs/QuickStart.html

For the full Application Server documentation set 

http://docs.sun.com/db/coll/ApplicationServer8_04q2

For a tutorial 

http://java.sun.com/j2ee/1.4/docs/tutorial/doc/index.html

Chapter 3 Solaris Installation and Upgrade (Planning)

This chapter describes system requirements to install or upgrade to the Solaris OS. General guidelines for planning the disk space and default swap space allocation are also provided. This chapter contains the following sections:

System Requirements and Recommendations

Table 3–1 SPARC: Memory, Swap, and Processor Recommendations

SPARC Based System 

Size 

Memory to install or upgrade 

256 MB is the recommended size. 128 MB is the minimum size. 


Note –

Some optional installation features are enabled only when sufficient memory is present. For example, if you install from a DVD with insufficient memory, you install through the Solaris installation's text installer, not through the GUI. For more information about these memory requirements, see Table 3–3.


Swap area 

512 MB is the default size. 


Note –

You might need to customize the swap space. Swap space is based on the size of the system's hard disk.


Processor requirements 

200–MHz or faster processor is required. 

Table 3–2 x86: Memory, Swap, and Processor Recommendations

x86 Based System 

Size 

Memory to install or upgrade 

  • Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release, 512 MB is the recommended size. 256 MB is the minimum size.

  • For the Solaris 10 3/05 release, 256 MB is the recommended size. 128 MB is the minimum size.


Note –

Some optional installation features are enabled only when sufficient memory is present. For example, if you install from a DVD with insufficient memory, you install through the Solaris installation's text installer, not through the GUI. For more information about these memory requirements, see Table 3–3.


Swap area 

512 MB is the default size. 


Note –

You might need to customize the swap space. Swap space is based on the size of the system's hard disk.


Processor requirements 

120–MHz or faster processor is recommended. Hardware floating-point support is required. 

You can choose to install the software with a GUI or with or without a windowing environment. If there is sufficient memory, the GUI is displayed by default. Other environments are displayed by default if memory is insufficient for the GUI. You can override defaults with the nowin or text boot options. But, you are limited by the amount of memory in your system or by installing remotely. Also if the Solaris installation program does not detect a video adapter, it automatically displays in a console-based environment. Table 3–3 describes these environments and lists minimal memory requirements for displaying them.

Table 3–3 SPARC: Memory Requirements for Display Options

SPARC: Memory 

Type of Installation 

Description 

128–383 MB 

Text-based 

Contains no graphics, but provides a window and the ability to open other windows.  

If you install by using the text boot option and the system has enough memory, you are installing in a windowing environment. If you are installing remotely through a tip line or using the nowin boot option, you are limited to the console-based installation.

384 MB or greater 

GUI-based 

Provides windows, pull-down menus, buttons, scrollbars, and iconic images. 

Table 3–4 x86: Memory Requirements for Display Options

x86: Memory 

Type of Installation 

Description 

  • Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release: 256–511 MB

  • For the Solaris 10 3/05 release: 128–383 MB

Text-based 

Contains no graphics, but provides a window and the ability to open other windows.  

If you install by using the text boot option and the system has enough memory, you are installing in a windowing environment. If you are installing remotely through a tip line or using the nowin boot option, you are limited to the console-based installation.

  • Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release: 512 MB

  • For the Solaris 10 3/05 release: 384 MB

GUI-based 

Provides windows, pull-down menus, buttons, scrollbars, and iconic images. 

Allocating Disk and Swap Space

Before you install the Solaris software, you can determine if your system has enough disk space by doing some high-level planning.

General Disk Space Planning and Recommendations

Planning disk space is different for everyone. Consider allocating space for the following conditions, depending on your needs.

Table 3–5 General Disk Space and Swap Space Planning

Conditions for Space Allocations 

Description 

File systems 

For each file system that you create, allocate an additional 30 percent more disk space than you need to enable you to upgrade to future Solaris versions.  

By default, the Solaris installation methods create only root (/) and /swap. When space is allocated for OS services, the /export directory is also created. If you are upgrading to a major Solaris release, you might need to reslice your system or allocate double the space that you need at installation time. If you are upgrading to an update, you could prevent having to reslice your system by allocating extra disk space for future upgrades. A Solaris update release needs approximately 10 percent more disk space than the previous release. You can allocate an additional 30 percent of disk space for each file system to allow space for several Solaris updates.

The /var file system

If you intend to use the crash dump feature savecore(1M), allocate double the amount of your physical memory in the /var file system.

Swap 

The Solaris installation program allocates a default swap area of 512 Mbytes under the following conditions: 

  • If you use the installation program's automatic layout of disk slices

  • If you avoid manually changing the size of the swap slice

By default, the Solaris installation programs allocate swap space by placing swap so that it starts at the first available disk cylinder (typically cylinder 0 on SPARC based systems). This placement provides maximum space for the root (/) file system during the default disk layout and enables the growth of the root (/) file system during an upgrade.

If you think you might need to expand the swap area in the future, you can place the swap slice so that it starts at another disk cylinder by using one of the following methods.  

For an overview of the swap space, see Chapter 21, Configuring Additional Swap Space (Tasks), in System Administration Guide: Devices and File Systems.

A server that is providing home directory file systems 

By default, home directories are usually located in the /export file system.

The Solaris software group you are installing 

A software group is a grouping of software packages. When you are planning disk space, remember that you can add or remove individual software packages from the software group that you select. For information about software groups, see Disk Space Recommendations for Software Groups.

Upgrade  

Language support 

For example, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. If you plan to install a single language, allocate approximately 0.7 Gbytes of additional disk space for the language. If you plan to install all language supports, you need to allocate up to approximately 2.5 Gbytes of additional disk space for the language supports, depending on the software group you install. 

Printing or mail support 

Allocate additional space. 

Additional software or third-party software 

Allocate additional space. 

Disk Space Recommendations for Software Groups

The Solaris software groups are collections of Solaris packages. Each software group includes support for different functions and hardware drivers.

When you are installing the Solaris software, you can choose to add or remove packages from the Solaris software group that you selected. When you are selecting which packages to add or remove, you need to know about software dependencies and how the Solaris software is packaged.

The following figure shows the grouping of software packages. Reduced Network Support contains the minimal number of packages and Entire Solaris Software Group Plus OEM Support contains all the packages.

Figure 3–1 Solaris Software Groups

The context describes the illustration.

Table 3–6 lists the Solaris software groups and the recommended amount of disk space that you need to install each group.


Note –

The disk space recommendations in Table 3–6 include space for the following items.

You might find that the software groups require less disk space than the amount that is listed in this table.


Table 3–6 Disk Space Recommendations for Software Groups

Software Group 

Description 

Recommended Disk Space 

Entire Solaris Software Group Plus OEM Support 

Contains the packages for the Entire Solaris Software Group plus additional hardware drivers, including drivers for hardware that is not on the system at the time of installation. 

6.8 Gbytes 

Entire Solaris Software Group 

Contains the packages for the Developer Solaris Software Group and additional software that is needed for servers. 

6.7 Gbytes 

Developer Solaris Software Group 

Contains the packages for the End User Solaris Software Group plus additional support for software development. The additional software development support includes libraries, include files, man pages, and programming tools. Compilers are not included. 

6.6 Gbytes 

End User Solaris Software Group 

Contains the packages that provide the minimum code that is required to boot and run a networked Solaris system and the Common Desktop Environment. 

5.3 Gbytes 

Core System Support Software Group 

Contains the packages that provide the minimum code that is required to boot and run a networked Solaris system. 

2.0 Gbytes 

Reduced Network Support Software Group 

Contains the packages that provide the minimum code that is required to boot and run a Solaris system with limited network service support. The Reduced Network Support Software Group provides a multiuser text-based console and system administration utilities. This software group also enables the system to recognize network interfaces, but does not activate network services. 

2.0 Gbytes 

Upgrade

You can upgrade a system by using one of three different upgrade methods: Solaris Live Upgrade, the Solaris installation program, and custom JumpStart.

Table 3–7 Solaris Upgrade Methods

Current Solaris OS 

Solaris Upgrade Methods 

Solaris 8, Solaris 9, Solaris 10 

  • Solaris Live Upgrade – Upgrades a system by creating and upgrading a copy of the running system

  • The Solaris installation – Provides an interactive upgrade with a graphical user interface or command-line interface

  • Custom JumpStart method – Provides an automated upgrade

Upgrade Limitations

Issue 

Description 

Upgrading to a different software group 

You cannot upgrade your system to a software group that is not installed on the system. For example, if you previously installed the End User Solaris Software Group on your system, you cannot use the upgrade option to upgrade to the Developer Solaris Software Group. However, during the upgrade you can add software to the system that is not part of the currently installed software group. 

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release: Upgrading when non-global zones are installed

When you are upgrading the Solaris OS, you can upgrade a system that has non-global zones installed. The Solaris interactive installation program and custom JumpStart programs enable an upgrade. For limitations when upgrading, see Upgrading When Non-Global Zones Are Installed.

Upgrade Programs

You can perform a standard interactive upgrade with the Solaris installation program or an unattended upgrade with the custom JumpStart installation method. Solaris Live Upgrade enables you to upgrade a running system.

Upgrade Program 

Description 

For More Information 

Solaris Live Upgrade 

Enables you to create a copy of the currently running system. The copy can be upgraded and then a reboot switches the upgraded copy to become the currently running system. Using Solaris Live Upgrade reduces the downtime that is required to upgrade the Solaris OS. Also, Solaris Live Upgrade can prevent problems with upgrading. An example is the ability to recover from an upgrade if the power fails, because the copy being upgraded is not the currently running system.  

To plan for disk space allocation when using Solaris Live Upgrade, see Solaris Live Upgrade Requirements.

The Solaris installation program  

Guides you through an upgrade with an interactive GUI.  

Chapter 2, Installing With the Solaris Installation Program (Tasks), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Basic Installations.

Custom JumpStart program 

Provides an automated upgrade. A profile file and optional preinstallation and postinstallation scripts provide the information required. When creating a custom JumpStart profile for an upgrade, specify install_type upgrade. You must test the custom JumpStart profile against the system's disk configuration and currently installed software before you upgrade. Use the pfinstall -D command on the system that you are upgrading to test the profile. You cannot test an upgrade profile by using a disk configuration file.

Installing a Solaris Flash Archive Instead of Upgrading

The Solaris Flash installation feature provides a method of creating a copy of the whole installation from a master system that can be replicated on many clone systems. This copy is called a Solaris Flash archive. You can install an archive by using any installation program.


Caution – Caution –

A Solaris Flash archive cannot be properly created when a non-global zone is installed. The Solaris Flash feature is not compatible with Solaris Zones partitioning technology. If you create a Solaris Flash archive, the resulting archive is not installed properly when the archive is deployed under these conditions:


For information about installing an archive, see the following table.

Solaris Live Upgrade 

Installing Solaris Flash Archives on a Boot Environment

Custom JumpStart 

To Prepare to Install a Solaris Flash Archive With a Custom JumpStart Installation in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations

Solaris interactive installation 

Chapter 4, Installing and Administering Solaris Flash Archives (Tasks), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Solaris Flash Archives (Creation and Installation)

WAN boot installation method 

Chapter 14, Installing With WAN Boot (Tasks), in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

Upgrading With Disk Space Reallocation

The upgrade option in the Solaris installation program and the upgrade keyword in the custom JumpStart program provide the ability to reallocate disk space. This reallocation automatically changes the sizes of the disk slices. You can reallocate disk space if the current file systems do not have enough space for the upgrade. For example, file systems might need more space for the upgrade for the following reasons:

The auto-layout feature attempts to reallocate the disk space to accommodate the new size requirements of the file system. Initially, auto-layout attempts to reallocate space, based on a set of default constraints. If auto-layout cannot reallocate space, you must change the constraints on the file systems.


Note –

Auto-layout does not have the ability to “grow” file systems. Auto-layout reallocates space by the following process:

  1. Backing up required files on the file systems that need to change.

  2. Repartitioning the disks on the basis of the file system changes.

  3. Restoring the backup files before the upgrade happens.


Backing Up Systems Before Upgrading

Backing up your existing file systems before you upgrade to the Solaris OS is highly recommended. If you copy file systems to removable media, such as tape, you can safeguard against data loss, damage, or corruption. For detailed instructions to back up your system, refer to Chapter 24, Backing Up and Restoring File Systems (Overview), in System Administration Guide: Devices and File Systems.

How to Find the Version of the Solaris OS That Your System Is Running

To see the version of Solaris software that is running on your system, type either of the following commands.


$ uname -a

The cat command provides more detailed information.


$ cat /etc/release

Locale Values

As a part of your installation, you can preconfigure the locale that you want the system to use. A locale determines how online information is displayed in a specific language and specific region. A language might also include more than one locale to accommodate regional differences, such as differences in the format of date and time, numeric and monetary conventions, and spelling.

You can preconfigure the system locale in a custom JumpStart profile or in the sysidcfg file.

Setting the locale in a profile 

Creating a Profile in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations

Setting the locale in the sysidcfg file

Preconfiguring With the sysidcfg File in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

List of locale values 

International Language Environments Guide

Platform Names and Groups

When you are adding clients for a network installation, you must know your system architecture (platform group). If you are writing a custom JumpStart installation rules file, you need to know the platform name.

Some examples of platform names and groups follow. For a full list of SPARC based systems, see Solaris Sun Hardware Platform Guide at http://docs.sun.com/.

Table 3–8 Example of Platform Names and Groups

System 

Platform Name 

Platform Group 

Sun Fire 

T2000 

sun4v 

Sun BladeTM

SUNW,Sun-Blade-100 

sun4u 

x86 based 

i86pc 

i86pc 


Note –

On a running system, you can also use the uname -i command to determine a system's platform name or the uname -m command to determine a system's platform group.


Installing and Configuring Zones

The following introduction provides high-level planning information for global and non-global zones. For overview and planning information and specific procedures, see Chapter 16, Introduction to Solaris Zones, in System Administration Guide: Solaris Containers-Resource Management and Solaris Zones.

Solaris Zones Partitioning Technology (Overview)

After the Solaris OS is installed, you can install and configure zones. The global zone is the single instance of the operating system that is running and is contained on every Solaris system. The global zone is both the default zone for the system and the zone that is used for system-wide administrative control. A non-global zone is a virtualized operating system environment.

Solaris Zones are a software partitioning technology used to virtualize operating system services and provide an isolated and secure environment for running applications. When you create a zone, you produce an application execution environment in which processes are isolated from all other zones. This isolation prevents processes that are running in one zone from monitoring or affecting processes that are running in any other zones. Even a process running in a non-global zone with superuser credentials cannot view or affect activity in any other zones. A process running in the global zone with superuser credentials can affect any process in any zone.

Understanding Global and Non-Global Zones

The global zone is the only zone from which a non-global zone can be configured, installed, managed, or uninstalled. Only the global zone is bootable from the system hardware. Administration of the system infrastructure, such as physical devices, routing, or dynamic reconfiguration (DR), is only possible in the global zone. Appropriately privileged processes running in the global zone can access objects associated with any or all other zones. The following table summarizes the characteristics of both global and non-global zones.

Global Zone 

Non-Global Zone 

Is assigned ID 0 by the system 

Is assigned a zone ID by the system when the zone is booted 

Provides the single instance of the Solaris kernel that is bootable and running on the system 

Shares operation under the Solaris kernel booted from the global zone 

Contains a complete installation of the Solaris system software packages 

Contains an installed subset of the complete Solaris Operating System software packages 

Can contain additional software packages or additional software, directories, files, and other data not installed through packages 

Contains Solaris software packages shared from the global zone 

Provides a complete and consistent product database that contains information about all software components installed in the global zone  

Can contain additional installed software packages not shared from the global zone  

Can contain additional software, directories, files, and other data created on the non-global zone that are not installed through packages or shared from the global zone 

Holds configuration information specific to the global zone only, such as the global zone host name and file system table 

Has configuration information specific to that non-global zone only, such as the non-global zone host name and file system table 

Is the only zone that is aware of all devices and all file systems  

Has a complete and consistent product database that contains information about all software components installed on the zone, whether present on the non-global zone or shared read-only from the global zone 

Is the only zone with knowledge of non-global zone existence and configuration 

Is not aware of the existence of any other zones 

Is the only zone from which a non-global zone can be configured, installed, managed, or uninstalled 

Cannot install, manage, or uninstall other zones, including itself  

For more information, see the following:

Solaris Zones (Planning)

After the Solaris OS is installed, you can install and configure zones. The global zone is the single instance of the operating system that is running and is contained on every Solaris system. The global zone is both the default zone for the system and the zone that is used for system-wide administrative control. A non-global zone is a virtualized operating system environment.


Caution – Caution –

Any command that accepts an alternate root (/) file system by using the -R option or equivalent must not be used if the following are true:

An example is the -R root_path option to the pkgadd utility run from the global zone with a path to the root (/) file system in a non-global zone.

For a list of utilities that accept an alternate root (/) file system and more information about zones, see Restriction on Accessing A Non-Global Zone From the Global Zone in System Administration Guide: Solaris Containers-Resource Management and Solaris Zones.


Installing and Upgrading When Using Non-global Zones

When the Solaris OS is installed, the software group installed in the global zone is the set of packages that is shared by all the non-global zones. For example, if you install the Entire software group, all zones contain these packages. By default, any additional packages installed in the global zone also populate the non-global zones. You can segregate into non-global zones any applications, namespaces, servers, and network connections such as NFS and DHCP as well as other software. Each non-global zone is unaware of other non-global zones and each can operate independently. For example, you might have installed the Entire software group on the global zone and have running on separate non-global zones the Java Enterprise System Messaging Server, a database, DHCP, and a web server. When installing non-global zones remember the performance requirements of the applications running in each non-global zone.


Caution – Caution –

A Solaris Flash archive cannot be properly created when a non-global zone is installed. The Solaris Flash feature is not compatible with Solaris Zones partitioning technology. If you create a Solaris Flash archive, the resulting archive is not installed properly when the archive is deployed under these conditions:


Upgrading When Non-Global Zones Are Installed

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release, when you are upgrading the Solaris OS, you can upgrade a system that has non-global zones installed. The Solaris interactive installation program and custom JumpStart programs enable an upgrade.


Caution – Caution –

You cannot use Solaris Live Upgrade to upgrade a system when non-global zones are installed. You can create a boot environment with the lucreate command, but if you use the luupgrade command, the upgrade fails. An error message is displayed.


Disk Space Requirements for Non-Global Zones

When installing the global zone, be sure to reserve enough disk space for all of the zones you might create. Each non-global zone might have unique disk space requirements. The following description is a brief overview of planning information. For complete planning requirements and recommendations, see Chapter 18, Planning and Configuring Non-Global Zones (Tasks), in System Administration Guide: Solaris Containers-Resource Management and Solaris Zones.

No limits are placed on how much disk space can be consumed by a zone. The global zone administrator is responsible for space restriction. Even a small uniprocessor system can support a number of zones running simultaneously.

The characteristics of the packages installed in the global zone affect the space requirements of the non-global zones that are created. The number of packages and space requirements are factors. The following are general disk space guidelines.

SPARC: 64–bit Packaging Changes

In previous Solaris releases, the Solaris OS was delivered in separate packages for 32-bit and 64-bit components. In the Solaris 10 OS, packaging has been simplified with the delivery of most 32-bit and 64-bit components in a single package. The combined packages retain the names of the original 32-bit packages, and the 64-bit packages are no longer delivered. This change reduces the number of packages and simplifies installation. This change means that you might need to modify your custom JumpStart script or other package installation scripts to remove references to the 64-bit packages.

The 64-bit packages are renamed with the following conventions:

x86: Partitioning Recommendations

When using the Solaris OS on x86 based systems, follow these guidelines for partitioning your system.

The Solaris installation uses a default boot-disk partition layout. These partitions are called fdisk partitions. An fdisk partition is a logical partition of a disk drive that is dedicated to a particular operating system on x86 based systems. To install the Solaris software, you must set up at least one Solaris fdisk partition on an x86 based system. x86 based systems allow up to four different fdisk partitions on a disk. These partitions can be used to hold individual operating systems. Each operating system must be located on a unique fdisk partition. A system can only have one Solaris fdisk partition per disk.

Table 3–9 x86: Default Partitions

Partitions 

Partition Name 

Partition Size 

First partition (on some systems) 

Diagnostic or Service partition 

Existing size on system. 

Second partition (on some systems) 

x86 boot partition  

For the Solaris 10 3/05 release: An x86 boot partition is created and is the existing size on the system.

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release, the following conditions apply:

  • If you are performing an initial installation, this partition is not created.

  • If you upgrade and your system does not have an existing x86 boot partition, this partition is not created.

  • If you upgrade and your system has an x86 boot partition:

    • If the partition is required to bootstrap from one boot device to another, the x86 boot partition is preserved on the system.

    • If the partition is not required to boot additional boot devices, the x86 boot partition is removed. The contents of the partition are moved to the root partition.

Third partition 

Solaris OS partition 

Remaining space on the boot disk. 

Default Boot-Disk Partition Layout Preserves the Service Partition

The Solaris installation program uses a default boot-disk partition layout to accommodate the diagnostic or Service partition. If your system currently includes a diagnostic or Service partition, the default boot-disk partition layout enables you to preserve this partition.


Note –

If you install the Solaris OS on an x86 based system that does not currently include a diagnostic or Service partition, the installation program does not create a new diagnostic or Service partition by default. If you want to create a diagnostic or Service partition on your system, see your hardware documentation.


Chapter 4 Gathering Information Before Upgrade (Planning)

This chapter contains a worksheet to help you gather all of the information that you need to upgrade your system.

Checklist for Upgrading

Use the following checklist to gather the information that you need for a standard upgrade of the Solaris OS. You do not need to gather all of the information that is requested on the checklist. You only need to collect the information that applies to your system. If you are performing the upgrade over the network, the installation program provides the information for you, based on the current system configuration.

You cannot change basic system identification, such as host name or IP address. The installation program might prompt you for basic system identification, but you must enter the original values. If you use the Solaris installation program to upgrade, the upgrade fails if you attempt to change any of the values.

Table 4–1 Upgrade Checklist

Information for Upgrade 

Description or Example 

Answer – Defaults are noted with an asterisk (*) 

Network connection 

Is the system connected to a network? 

Networked/Nonnetworked* 

DHCP 

Can the system use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to configure its network interfaces? 

DHCP provides the network parameters that are necessary for installation. 

Yes/No* 

If you are not using DHCP, note the network address. 

IP Address 

If you are not using DHCP, supply the IP address for the system. 

Example: 172.31.255.255 

To find this information about a running system, type the following command. 


# ypmatch host-name hosts
 
 

Subnet 

If you are not using DHCP, is the system part of a subnet? 

If yes, what is the netmask of the subnet? 

Example: 255.255.255.0 

To find this information about a running system, type the following command. 


# more /etc/netmasks
 
 

IPv6 

Do you want to enable IPv6 on this machine? 

IPv6 is a part of the TCP/IP Internet protocol that facilitates IP addressing by adding better security and increasing Internet addresses.  

Yes/No* 

Host Name. 

Host name that you choose for the system. 

To find this information about a running system, type the following command. 


# uname -n
 

Kerberos.

Do you want to configure Kerberos security on this machine? 

If yes, gather this information: 

Yes/No* 

Default Realm: 

Administration Server 

First KDC: 

(Optional) Additional KDCs: 

The Kerberos service is a client-server architecture that provides secure transactions over networks. 

If the system uses a name service, provide the following information. 

Name Service 

Which name service should this system use? 

To find this information about a running system, type the following command. 


# cat /etc/nsswitch.conf

A naming service stores information in a central place, which enables users, machines, and applications to communicate across the network. Examples of information stored are host names and addresses or user names and passwords. 

NIS+/NIS/DNS/ LDAP/None* 

Domain Name 

Provide the name of the domain in which the system resides. 

To find this information about a running system, type the following command. 


# domainname
 
 

NIS+ and NIS 

Do you want to specify a name server or let the installation program find one? 

If you want to specify a name server, provide the following information. 

Specify one/Find one* 

Server's host name: 

  • For NIS clients, type the following command to display the server's host name.


    # ypwhich
    
  • For NIS+ clients, type the following command to display the server's host name.


    # nisping
    

Server's IP Address: 

  • For NIS clients, type the following command to display the server's IP address.


    # ypmatch nameserver-name hosts
    
  • For NIS+ clients, type the following command to display the server's IP address.


    # nismatch nameserver-name 
    hosts.org_dir
    

Network Information Service (NIS) makes network administration more manageable by providing centralized control over a variety of network information, such as machine names and addresses. 

 

DNS 

Provide IP addresses for the DNS server. You must enter at least one IP address, but you can enter up to three addresses. 

 

Server's IP Address: 

To display the server's IP address, type the following command. 


# getents ipnodes dns

You can enter a list of domains to search when a DNS query is made. 

Search Domain: 

Search Domain: 

Search Domain: 

The domain name system (DNS) is the name service provided by the Internet for TCP/IP networks. DNS provides host names to the IP address service. DNS focuses on making communication simpler by using machine names instead of numerical IP addresses. DNS also serves as a database for mail administration. 

 

LDAP 

Provide the following information about your LDAP profile. 

 

Profile Name: 

Profile Server: 

If you specify a proxy credential level in your LDAP profile, gather this information. 

Proxy-bind distinguished name: 

 

Proxy-bind password: 

 

LDAP defines a relatively simple protocol for updating and searching directories running over TCP/IP. 

Default Route. 

Do you want to specify a default route IP address or let the Solaris installation find one?

The default route provides a bridge that forwards traffic between two physical networks. An IP address is a unique number that identifies each host on a network. 

You have the following choices:  

  • You can specify the IP address. An /etc/defaultrouter file is created with the specified IP address. When the system is rebooted, the specified IP address becomes the default route.

  • You can let the Solaris installation program detect an IP address. However, the system must be on a subnet that has a router that advertises itself by using the ICMP router discovery protocol. If you are using the command-line interface, the software detects an IP address when the system is booted.

  • You can choose None if you do not have a router or do not want the software to detect an IP address at this time. The software automatically tries to detect an IP address on reboot.

Specify one/Detect one/None* 

Time Zone. 

How do you want to specify your default time zone? 

Geographic region*  

Offset from GMT 

Time zone file 

Root Password 

Provide the root password for the system.  

 

Upgrading a system with non-global zones 

Starting with the Solaris 10 release, you can use the Solaris 10 DVD or a DVD-based network installation image to upgrade a system that has non-global zones installed. If you choose to upgrade a system with non-global zones installed, you cannot customize your upgrade.


Note –

In the Solaris 10 release, you cannot upgrade a system with non-global zones installed with the Solaris Software - 1 CD or the Solaris Live Upgrade installation method.


If your system has more than one root (/) partition or disk, the installation program prompts you to select a root partition to upgrade. 

Yes/No 

 

Root (/) to upgrade: 

Default or Custom Install  

Do you want to perform a default installation, or customize the installation?  

  • Select Default installation to format the entire hard disk and install a preselected set of software.

  • Select Custom installation to modify the hard disk layout and select the software that you want to install.


Note –

The text installer does not prompt you to select a Default or Custom Installation. To perform a default installation, accept the default values that are provided in the text installer. To perform a custom installation, edit the values in the text installer screens.


Default installation*/Custom installation  

Locales. 

For which geographic regions do you want to install support? 

 

SPARC: Power Management (only available on SPARC systems that support Power Management). 

Do you want to use Power Management? 


Note –

If your system has Energy Star version 3 or later, you are not prompted for this information.


Yes*/No 

Automatic reboot or CD/DVD ejection. 

Reboot automatically after software installation? 

Eject CD/DVD automatically after software installation? 

Yes*/No 

Yes*/No 

Disk space reallocation. 

If you do not have enough disk space to accommodate the Solaris OS, you might be prompted to modify your disk layout. You can reallocate disk space with either of the following methods. 

  • Instruct the installation program to automatically re-layout the systems on your disks.

  • Manually enter a new disk layout

By default, the installation program selects manual layout. 

Yes/No* 

If you are installing through a tip line, follow these instructions.

Ensure that your window display is at least 80 columns wide and 24 rows long. For more information, see tip(1).

To determine the current dimensions of your tip window, use the stty command. For more information, see the man page, stty(1).

 

Check your Ethernet connection. 

If the system is part of a network, verify that an Ethernet connector or similar network adapter is connected to your system. 

 

Solaris Live Upgrade use. 

 

Apply patches before installing Solaris Live Upgrade 


Caution – Caution –

Correct operation of Solaris Live Upgrade requires that a limited set of patch revisions be installed for a given OS version. Before installing or running Solaris Live Upgrade, you are required to install these patches.

Make sure you have the most recently updated patch list by consulting http://sunsolve.sun.com. Search for the info doc 72099 on the SunSolveSM Web site.



x86 only –

If this set of patches is not installed, Solaris Live Upgrade fails and you might see the following error message. If you don't see the following error message, necessary patches still might not be installed. Always verify that all patches listed on the Sunsolve infodoc have been installed before attempting to install Solaris Live Upgrade.


ERROR: Cannot find or is not
executable: </sbin/biosdev>.
ERROR: One or more patches required
 by Live Upgrade has not been
installed.

 

Check the system for the existence of Prestoserve software. 

If you begin the upgrade process by shutting down the system with the init 0 command and you're using Prestoserve software, you might lose data. Refer to the Prestoserve documentation for shutdown instructions.

 

Check for patches needed. 

The most recent patch list is provided at http://sunsolve.sun.com.

 

Review the planning chapter and other relevant documentation. 

  • Review the entire planning chapter or specific sections in Chapter 3, Solaris Installation and Upgrade (Planning).

  • Review the Solaris Release Notes and vendor release notes to ensure that the software you use is supported in the new Solaris release.

  • Review the Sun Hardware Platform Guide to ensure that your hardware is supported.

  • Review the documentation that accompanied your system to ensure that your system and devices are supported by the Solaris release.

 

Chapter 5 x86: GRUB Based Booting For Solaris Installation

This chapter describes the GRUB based booting on x86 based systems that relates to Solaris installation. This chapter contains the following sections:

x86: GRUB Based Booting (Overview)

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release, GRUB, the open source boot loader, has been adopted as the default boot loader in the Solaris OS.


Note –

GRUB based booting is not available on SPARC based systems.


The boot loader is the first software program that runs after you power on a system. After you power on an x86 based system, the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) initializes the CPU, the memory, and the platform hardware. When the initialization phase has completed, the BIOS loads the boot loader from the configured boot device, and then transfers control of the system to the boot loader.

GRUB is an open source boot loader with a simple menu interface that includes boot options that are predefined in a configuration file. GRUB also has a command-line interface that is accessible from the menu interface for performing various boot commands. In the Solaris OS, the GRUB implementation is compliant with the Multiboot Specification. The specification is described in detail at http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/grub.html.

Because the Solaris kernel is fully compliant with the Multiboot Specification, you can boot a Solaris x86 based system by using GRUB. With GRUB, you can more easily boot and install various operating systems. For example, on one system, you could individually boot the following operating systems:

A key benefit of GRUB is that it is intuitive about file systems and kernel executable formats, which enables you to load an operating system without recording the physical position of the kernel on the disk. With GRUB based booting, the kernel is loaded by specifying its file name, and the drive, and the partition where the kernel resides. GRUB based booting replaces the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant and simplifies the booting process with a GRUB menu.

x86: How GRUB Based Booting Works

After GRUB gains control of the system, a menu is displayed on the console. In the GRUB menu, you can do the following:

A configurable timeout is available to boot the default OS entry. Pressing any key aborts the default OS entry boot.

To view an example of a GRUB menu, see Description of the GRUB Main Menu.

x86: GRUB Device Naming Conventions

The device naming conventions that GRUB uses are slightly different from previous Solaris OS versions. Understanding the GRUB device naming conventions can assist you in correctly specifying drive and partition information when you configure GRUB on your system.

The following table describes the GRUB device naming conventions.

Table 5–1 Naming Conventions for GRUB Devices

Device Name 

Description 

(fd0), (fd1)

First diskette, second diskette 

(nd)

Network device 

(hd0,0), (hd0,1)

First and second fdisk partition of first bios disk

(hd0,0,a), (hd0,0,b)

Solaris/BSD slice 0 and 1 on first fdisk partition on the first bios disk


Note –

All GRUB device names must be enclosed in parentheses. Partition numbers are counted from 0 (zero), not from 1.


For more information about fdisk partitions, see Guidelines for Creating an fdisk Partition in System Administration Guide: Devices and File Systems.

x86: Where to Find Information About GRUB Based Installations

For more information about these changes, see the following references:

Table 5–2 Where to Find Information on GRUB Based Installations

Topic 

GRUB Menu Tasks 

For More Information 

Installation 

To install from the Solaris OS CD or DVD media 

Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Basic Installations.

To install from a network installation image 

Part II, Installing Over a Local Area Network, in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

 

To configure a DHCP server for network installations 

Preconfiguring System Configuration Information With the DHCP Service (Tasks) in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

 

To install with the Custom JumpStart program 

Performing a Custom JumpStart Installation in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations

 

To activate or fall back to a boot environment by using Solaris Live Upgrade 

System Administration 

For more detailed information about GRUB and for administrative tasks 

Chapter 12, GRUB Based Booting (Tasks), in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration

x86: GRUB Based Booting (Planning)

This section describes the basics of GRUB based booting and describes the GRUB menu.

When you install the Solaris OS, two GRUB menu entries are installed on the system by default. The first entry is the Solaris OS entry. The second entry is the failsafe boot archive, which is to be used for system recovery. The Solaris GRUB menu entries are installed and updated automatically as part of the Solaris software installation and upgrade process. These entries are directly managed by the OS and should not be manually edited.

During a standard Solaris OS installation, GRUB is installed on the Solaris fdisk partition without modifying the system BIOS setting. If the OS is not on the BIOS boot disk, you need to do one of the following:

The preferred method is to install the Solaris OS on the boot disk. If multiple operating systems are installed on the machine, you can add entries to the menu.lst file. These entries are then displayed in the GRUB menu the next time you boot the system.

For additional information on multiple operating systems, see Coexistence of Multiple Operating Systems in the GRUB Boot Environment in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.

x86: Performing a GRUB Based Installation From the Network

Performing a GRUB based network boot requires a DHCP server that is configured for PXE clients and an install server that provides tftp service. The DHCP server must be able to respond to the DHCP classes, PXEClient and GRUBClient. The DHCP response must contain the following information:


Note –

rpc.bootparamd, which is usually a requirement on the server side for performing a network boot, is not required for a GRUB based network boot.


If no PXE or DHCP server is available, you can load GRUB from CD-ROM or local disk. You can then manually configure the network in GRUB and download the multiboot program and the boot archive from the file server.

For more information, see Overview of Booting and Installing Over the Network With PXE in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations.

Description of the GRUB Main Menu

When you boot an x86 based system, the GRUB menu is displayed. This menu provides a list of boot entries to choose from. A boot entry is an OS instance that is installed on your system. The GRUB menu is based on the menu.lst file, which is a configuration file. The menu.lst file is created by the Solaris installation program and can be modified after installation. The menu.lst file dictates the list of OS instances that are shown in the GRUB menu.


Example 5–1 GRUB Main Menu

In the following example, the GRUB main menu shows the Solaris and Microsoft Windows operating systems. A Solaris Live Upgrade boot environment is also listed that is named second_disk. See the following for descriptions of each menu item.


GNU GRUB version 0.95 (616K lower / 4127168K upper memory)
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Solaris                                                            |
|Solaris failsafe                                                   |
|second_disk                                                        |
|second_disk failsafe                                               |
|Windows                                                            |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
Use the ^ and v keys to select which entry is highlighted. Press
enter to boot the selected OS, 'e' to edit the commands before
booting, or 'c' for a command-line.
Solaris

Specifies the Solaris OS.

Solaris failsafe

Specifies a boot archive that can be used for recovery if the Solaris OS is damaged.

second_disk

Specifies a Solaris Live Upgrade boot environment. The second_disk boot environment was created as a copy of the Solaris OS. It was upgraded and activated with the luactivate command. The boot environment is available for booting.

Windows

Specifies the Microsoft Windows OS. GRUB detects these partitions but does not verify that the OS can be booted.


Description of GRUB menu.lst File

The GRUB menu.lst file lists the contents of the GRUB main menu. The GRUB main menu lists boot entries for all the OS instances that are installed on your system, including Solaris Live Upgrade boot environments. The Solaris software upgrade process preserves any changes that you make to this file.

Any revisions made to the menu.lst file are displayed on the GRUB main menu, along with the Solaris Live Upgrade entries. Any changes that you make to the file become effective at the next system reboot. You can revise this file for the following reasons:


Caution – Caution –

Do not use the GRUB menu.lst file to modify Solaris Live Upgrade entries. Modifications could cause Solaris Live Upgrade to fail.


Although you can use the menu.lst file to customize booting behavior such as booting with the kernel debugger, the preferred method for customization is to use the eeprom command. If you use the menu.lst file to customize, the Solaris OS entries might be modified during a software upgrade. Changes to the file would then be lost.

For information about how to use the eeprom command, see How to Set Solaris Boot Parameters by Using the eeprom Command in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.


Example 5–2 Menu.lst File

Here is a sample of a menu.lst file:


default 0
timeout 10
title Solaris
  root (hd0,0,a)
  kernel /platform/i86pc/multiboot -B console=ttya
  module /platform/i86pc/boot_archive
title Solaris failsafe
  root (hd0,0,a)
  kernel /boot/multiboot -B console=ttya -s
  module /boot/x86.miniroot.safe
#----- second_disk - ADDED BY LIVE UPGRADE - DO NOT EDIT  -----
title second_disk
  root (hd0,1,a)
  kernel /platform/i86pc/multiboot
  module /platform/i86pc/boot_archive
title second_disk failsafe
  root (hd0,1,a)
  kernel /boot/multiboot kernel/unix -s
  module /boot/x86.miniroot-safe
#----- second_disk -------------- END LIVE UPGRADE ------------
title Windows
  root (hd0,0)
  chainloader -1
default

Specifies which item to boot if the timeout expires. To change the default, you can specify another item in the list by changing the number. The count begins with zero for the first title. For example, change the default to 2 to boot automatically to the second_disk boot environment.

timeout

Specifies the number of seconds to wait for user input before booting the default entry. If no timeout is specified, you are required to choose an entry.

title OS name

Specifies the name of the operating system.

  • If this is a Solaris Live Upgrade boot environment, OS name is the name you gave the new boot environment when it was created. In the previous example, the Solaris Live Upgrade boot environment is named second_disk.

  • If this is a failsafe boot archive, this boot archive is used for recovery when the primary OS is damaged. In the previous example, Solaris failsafe and second_disk failsafe are the recovery boot archives for the Solaris and second_disk operating systems.

root (hd0,0,a)

Specifies on which disk, partition, and slice to load files. GRUB automatically detects the file system type.

kernel /platform/i86pc/multiboot

Specifies the multiboot program. The kernel command must always be followed by the multiboot program. The string after multiboot is passed to the Solaris OS without interpretation.

For a complete description of multiple operating systems, see Coexistence of Multiple Operating Systems in the GRUB Boot Environment in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.


Locating the menu.lst File To Change the GRUB Menu

You must always use the bootadm command to locate the GRUB menu's menu.lst file. The list-menu subcommand finds the active GRUB menu. The menu.lst file lists all the operating systems that are installed on a system. The contents of this file dictate the list of operating systems that is displayed on the GRUB menu. If you want to make changes to this file, see x86: Locating the GRUB Menu's menu.lst File (Tasks).

x86: Locating the GRUB Menu's menu.lst File (Tasks)

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release, the GRUB menu can be updated. For example, you might want to change the default time for how fast the default OS is booted. Or, you might want to add another OS to the GRUB menu.

Typically, the active GRUB menu's menu.lst file is located at /boot/grub/menu.lst. In some situations, the GRUB menu.lst file resides elsewhere. For example, in a system that uses Solaris Live Upgrade, the GRUB menu.lst file might be on a boot environment that is not the currently running boot environment. Or if you have upgraded a system with an x86 boot partition, the menu.lst file might reside in the /stubboot directory. Only the active GRUB menu.lst file is used to boot the system. In order to modify the GRUB menu that is displayed when you boot the system, the active GRUB menu.lst file must be modified. Changing any other GRUB menu.lst file has no effect on the menu that is displayed when you boot the system. To determine the location of the active GRUB menu.lst file, use the bootadm command. The list-menu subcommand displays the location of the active GRUB menu. The following procedures determine the location of the GRUB menu's menu.lst file.

For more information about the bootadm command, see bootadm(1M) man page.

ProcedureLocating the GRUB Menu's menu.lst file

In the following procedure, the system contains two operating systems: Solaris and a Solaris Live Upgrade boot environment, second_disk. The Solaris OS has been booted and contains the GRUB menu.

Steps
  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. To locate the menu.lst file, type:


    # /sbin/bootadm list-menu
    

    The location and contents of the file are displayed.


    The location for the active GRUB menu is: /boot/grub/menu.lst
    default 0
    timeout 10
    0 Solaris
    1 Solaris failsafe
    2 second_disk
    3 second_disk failsafe

ProcedureLocating the GRUB Menu's menu.lst File When the active menu.lst file is in Another Boot Environment

In the following procedure, the system contains two operating systems: Solaris and a Solaris Live Upgrade boot environment, second_disk. In this example, the menu.lst file does not exist in the currently running boot environment. The second_disk boot environment has been booted. The Solaris boot environment contains the GRUB menu. The Solaris boot environment is not mounted.

Steps
  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. To locate the menu.lst file, type:


    # /sbin/bootadm list-menu
    

    The location and contents of the file are displayed.


    The location for the active GRUB menu is: /dev/dsk/device_name(not mounted)
    The filesystem type of the menu device is <ufs>
    default 0
    timeout 10
    0 Solaris
    1 Solaris failsafe
    2 second_disk
    3 second_disk failsafe
  3. Because the file system containing the menu.lst file is not mounted, mount the file system. Specify the UFS file system and the device name.


    # /usr/sbin/mount -F ufs /dev/dsk/device_name /mnt
    

    Where device_name specifies the location of the root (/) file system on the disk device of the boot environment that you want to mount. The device name is entered in the form of /dev/dsk/cwtxdysz. For example:


    # /usr/sbin/mount -F ufs /dev/dsk/c0t1d0s0 /mnt
    

    You can access the GRUB menu at /mnt/boot/grub/menu.lst

  4. Unmount the filesystem


    # /usr/sbin/umount /mnt
    

    Note –

    If you mount a boot environment or a file system of a boot environment, ensure that the file system or file systems are unmounted after use. If these file systems are not unmounted, future Solaris Live Upgrade operations on that boot environment might fail.


ProcedureLocating the GRUB Menu's menu.lst File When a Solaris Live Upgrade Boot Environment is Mounted

In the following procedure, the system contains two operating systems: Solaris and a Solaris Live Upgrade boot environment, second_disk. The second_disk boot environment has been booted. The Solaris boot environment contains the GRUB menu. The Solaris boot environment is mounted at /.alt.Solaris.

Steps
  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. To locate the menu.lst file, type:


    # /sbin/bootadm list-menu
    

    The location and contents of the file are displayed.


    The location for the active GRUB menu is:
    /.alt.Solaris/boot/grub/menu.lst
    default 0
    timeout 10
    0 Solaris
    1 Solaris failsafe
    2 second_disk
    3 second_disk failsafe

    Since the boot environment containing the GRUB menu is already mounted, then you can access the menu.lst file at /.alt.Solaris/boot/grub/menu.lst.

ProcedureLocating the GRUB Menu's menu.lst File When Your System Has an x86 Boot Partition

In the following procedure, the system contains two operating systems: Solaris and a Solaris Live Upgrade boot environment, second_disk. The second_disk boot environment has been booted. Your system has been upgraded and an x86 boot partition remains. The boot partition is mounted at /stubboot and contains the GRUB menu. For an explanation of x86 boot partitions, see x86: Partitioning Recommendations.

Steps
  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. To locate the menu.lst file, type:


    # /sbin/bootadm list-menu
    

    The location and contents of the file are displayed.


    The location for the active GRUB menu is:
    /stubboot/boot/grub/menu.lst
    default 0
    timeout 10
    0 Solaris
    1 Solaris failsafe
    2 second_disk
    3 second_disk failsafe

    You can access the menu.lst file at /stubboot/boot/grub/menu.lst.