Solaris 10 10/09 Installation Guide: Solaris Flash Archives (Creation and Installation)

Designing an Initial Installation of the Master System

The first task in the Solaris Flash installation process is to install a system, the master system, with the configuration that you want each of the clone systems to have. You can use any of the Solaris installation methods to install an archive on the master system. The installation can be a subset or a complete installation of the Solaris OS. After you complete the installation, you can add or remove software or modify any configuration files. Some limitations to installing the master system are the following:

The master system and the clone systems must have the same kernel architectures. For example, you can only use an archive that was created from a master system that has a Sun4U^TM architecture to install clones with a Sun4U architecture. For sample instructions, see Installing a Sun4U Flash Archive on a Sun4V Machine.
You must install the master system with the exact configuration that you want on each of the clone systems. The decisions that you make when you design the installation of the master system depend on the following:
- The software that you want to install on the clone systems
- Peripheral devices that are connected to the master system and the clone systems
- The architecture of the master system and the clone systems

Note –

If you already have installed clone systems and want to update these systems with a new configuration, see Planning to Create the Solaris Flash Differential Archive for an Update.

Installing a Sun4U Flash Archive on a Sun4V Machine

Before You Begin

Note the following limitations to this procedure:

These instructions are for simple installations only, not for the following:
- Installations with zones.
- Installations with attached storage.
- Installations with fibre attached or with SAN in use.
These instructions are for installing through the primary interface only. See CR 6772769.
These instructions may not work with volume-managed root (encapsulated).
These instructions are for a UFS root only. Solaris Flash installation of a ZFS root system uses a different installation mechanism.

Create a Solaris Flash archive on a Sun4U machine, so that the archive can be installed on a Sun4V machine. Use one of the following two options to add Sun4V as a supported architecture for the archive.

Note –
You must start with a Sun4U machine that has been installed with the Entire Plus OEM Software Group, so that all the driver packages are in the image, even if these packages are not in use. For further information about this requirement, see SPARC: Supporting Peripheral Devices Not Found on the Master System.
- Add the following information to the /var/sadm/system/admin/.platform file. Then, create the Solaris Flash archive.
  PLATFORM_GROUP=sun4v
  Note –
  You can verify that the Sun4V platform group is supported by using the following command:
  # flar -i <path_to_hybrid>.flar | grep content_architectures
  This command should display the following results:
  content_architectures=sun4u,sun4v
- Create the Solaris Flash archive, using the -U option to add Sun4V as a supported architecture for the archive. See the following example:
  # flarcreate -n S10U5hybrid -U "content_architectures=sun4u,sun4v" \ -c -x /data /data/S10U5hybrid.flar
  The above sample command provides /data for the -c option, to indicate the location for the archive. Your value for this -c option should reflect your file setup.
  
  Note –
  You can verify that the Sun4V platform group is supported by using the flar command again as shown in the previous step.

Install the Solaris Flash archive on the Sun4V machine. You can use Solaris JumpStart and a net image to deploy the Solaris Flash archive.

Note –
At this point, the Sun4V machine may not boot. Do not try to patch the machine at this stage. If the machine is allowed to reboot after using JumpStart, you will probably see a message such as:
Boot device: /pci@780/pci@0/pci@9/scsi@0/disk@0,0:a File and args: Boot load failed. The file just loaded does not appear to be executable.

Upgrade the Sun4V machine using either a network image or a DVD image.

For example, you could use a Solaris 10 Update 6 JumpStart image. Then, you could boot the Sun4V image from that network image, selecting the upgrade option.

In this example, the upgrade completes with the following issues:
- Where both .u and .v versions of a package were available, both versions will be installed. See CR 6846077.
- The /var/sadm/system/admin/.platform file contains incorrect information. See CR 6523030.
- Any third party .v packages are not part of the Solaris image. So, third party packages will probably not be upgraded.

Boot the Sun4V machine. You can now apply patches to the machine as needed.

Customizing the Solaris Installation on the Master System

After you install the Solaris OS on the master system by using any of the Solaris installation methods, you can add or delete software and modify system configuration information as necessary. To customize the master system's software, you can do the following:

Delete software. You can remove software that you determine is not necessary to install on the clone systems. To see a list of software that is installed on the master system, use the Product Registry. For detailed instructions, refer to System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.
Add software. You can install software that is included in the Solaris release. You can also add software that is not delivered as part of the Solaris OS. All of the software that you install on the master system is included in the Solaris Flash archive and is installed on the clone systems.
Modify configuration files. You can alter configuration files on the master system. For example, you can modify the /etc/inet/inetd.conf file to restrict the daemons that the system runs. All of the modifications that you make are saved as part of the Solaris Flash archive and are installed on the clone systems.
Further customization can be done when creating the archive. For example, you can exclude large data files that you might not want in the archive. For an overview, see Customizing an Archive's Files and Directories.

Creating Archives for SPARC and x86 Systems

If you want to install Solaris software by using a Solaris Flash archive on both SPARC and x86 systems, you must create a separate Solaris Flash archive for each platform. Use the Solaris Flash archive that was created from the SPARC master system to install SPARC systems. Use the Solaris Flash archive that was created from the x86 master system to install x86 systems.

SPARC: Supporting Peripheral Devices Not Found on the Master System

Choosing the drivers to install on the master system has the following dependencies.

The type of peripheral devices attached to both the master system and the clone system.
The type of software group installed.

The Entire Plus OEM Software Group installs all drivers regardless of the hardware that is present on the system. Other software groups provide limited support. If you install another software group and the clone systems have different peripheral devices than the master system, you need to install the appropriate drivers on the master system before you create the archive.

How to Get the Support for Peripherals That You Need

You can install support for peripherals on clone systems that are different from the master system in by installing the Entire Plus OEM Software Group or installing selected packages.

Type of Installation	Description
Install the Entire Plus OEM Software Group	The Entire Plus OEM Software Group is the largest Software Group available. This group contains every package that is found in the Solaris OS. The Entire Plus OEM Software Group installs all drivers regardless of the hardware that is present on the system. A Solaris Flash archive that is created with the Entire Plus OEM Software Group works on any clone system that has peripheral devices supported by the installed release of the Solaris OS. Installing master systems with the Entire Plus OEM Software Group guarantees compatibility with other peripheral configurations. However, the Entire Plus OEM Software Group requires at least 2.9 Gbytes of disk space. The clone systems might not have the space that is required to install the Entire Plus OEM Software Group.
Install other software groups	If you install the master system with the following software groups, you are limiting the support for peripherals. The master system supports only the peripheral devices that are attached to the master system at the time of installation. Reduced Networking Software Group Core Software Group End User Software Group Developer Software Group Entire Software Group Installing these software groups could result in your clone systems failing to have all the drivers needed. For example, if you install the Entire Software Group on a master system that has a GX CG6 frame buffer, only the GX CG6 frame buffer driver is installed. This situation is not a problem if all the clone systems that you want to install have the GX CG6 frame buffer or no frame buffer.
Install selected packages	When you install the master system, you can install only the packages that you need for the master system and the clone systems. By selecting specific packages, you can install only support for the peripherals that you know exist on the master system or clone systems.

Type of Installation

Description

Install the Entire Plus OEM Software Group

The Entire Plus OEM Software Group is the largest Software Group available. This group contains every package that is found in the Solaris OS. The Entire Plus OEM Software Group installs all drivers regardless of the hardware that is present on the system. A Solaris Flash archive that is created with the Entire Plus OEM Software Group works on any clone system that has peripheral devices supported by the installed release of the Solaris OS.

Installing master systems with the Entire Plus OEM Software Group guarantees compatibility with other peripheral configurations. However, the Entire Plus OEM Software Group requires at least 2.9 Gbytes of disk space. The clone systems might not have the space that is required to install the Entire Plus OEM Software Group.

Install other software groups

If you install the master system with the following software groups, you are limiting the support for peripherals. The master system supports only the peripheral devices that are attached to the master system at the time of installation.

Reduced Networking Software Group
Core Software Group
End User Software Group
Developer Software Group
Entire Software Group

Installing these software groups could result in your clone systems failing to have all the drivers needed. For example, if you install the Entire Software Group on a master system that has a GX CG6 frame buffer, only the GX CG6 frame buffer driver is installed. This situation is not a problem if all the clone systems that you want to install have the GX CG6 frame buffer or no frame buffer.

Install selected packages

When you install the master system, you can install only the packages that you need for the master system and the clone systems. By selecting specific packages, you can install only support for the peripherals that you know exist on the master system or clone systems.