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

Customizing an Archive's Files and Directories

When you create a Solaris Flash archive, some files and directories that are to be copied from the master system can be excluded. If you have excluded a directory, you can also restore specified files or subdirectories under that directory. For example, you could create an archive that excludes all files and directories in /a/aa/bb/c. The content of the bb subdirectory could be included. The only content would then be in the bb subdirectory.


Caution – Caution –

Use the flarcreate file-exclusion options with caution. If you exclude some directories, others that you were unaware of might be left in the archive, such as system configuration files. The system would then be inconsistent and the installation would not work. Excluding directories and files is best used with data that can easily be removed without disrupting the system, such as large data files.


The following table lists the flarcreate command options that can exclude files and directories and restore files and subdirectories.

How Specified? 

Options That Exclude 

Options That Include 

Specify the name of the directory or file 

-x exclude_dir/filename

-y include_dir/filename

Use a file that contains a list 

-X list_filename

-z list_filename

-f list_filename

-z list_filename

For descriptions of these options, see Table 5–7.

For examples of customizing an archive, see Creating a Solaris Flash Archive and Customizing Files (Examples).