Customizing an Archive With Scripts

After the software is installed on the master system, special scripts can be run during creation, installation, postinstallation and first reboot. These scripts enable you to do the following:

• 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.

• Protect local customizations on clone systems. Local preinstallation and postinstallation scripts reside on the clone. These scripts protect local customizations from being overwritten by the Solaris Flash software.

• Identify nonclonable, host-dependent data that enables you to make the archive host independent. Host independence is enabled by modifying such data or excluding it 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.

Guidelines for Creating a Custom Script

When creating scripts other than the reboot script, following these guidelines to assure the script does not corrupt the OS or otherwise disrupt the system. These guidelines enable the use of Solaris Live Upgrade, which creates a new boot environment for installation of the OS. The new boot environment can be installed with an archive while the current system is running.

These guidelines are not for reboot scripts that are allowed to run daemons or make other types of modification to the root (/) file system.

• Scripts must not affect the currently running system. The currently running OS might not be the one running when the Solaris Flash archive is installed.

• Scripts must not start or stop any daemon processes.

• Scripts must not depend on the output of commands such as ps, truss, or uname, which are dependent on the OS. These commands report information about the currently running system.

• Scripts must not send any signals or otherwise affect any currently running processes.

• Scripts can use standard UNIX commands that facilitate shell scripting such as expr, cp, and ls.

For an overview of Solaris Live Upgrade, see Chapter 2, Solaris Live Upgrade (Overview), in Solaris 10 8/07 Installation Guide: Solaris Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning.