NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | SEE ALSO
/
/usr
The file system tree is organized for administrative convenience. Distinct areas within the file system tree are provided for files that are private to one machine, files that can be shared by multiple machines of a common platform, files that can be shared by all machines, and home directories. This organization allows sharable files to be stored on one machine but accessed by many machines using a remote file access mechanism such as NFS. Grouping together similar files makes the file system tree easier to upgrade and manage.
The file system tree consists of a root file system and a collection of mountable file systems. The mount(2) program attaches mountable file systems to the file system tree at mount points (directory entries) in the root file system or other previously mounted file systems. Two file systems, / (the root) and /usr, must be mounted in order to have a completely functional system. The root file system is mounted automatically by the kernel at boot time; the /usr file system is mounted by the system start-up script, which is run as part of the booting process.
Certain locations, noted below, are approved installation locations for bundled Foundation Solaris software. In some cases, the approved locations for bundled software are also approved locations for add-on system software or for applications. The following descriptions make clear where the two locations differ. For example, /etc is the installation location for platform-dependent configuration files that are bundled with Solaris software. The analogous location for applications is /etc/opt/packagename.
In the following descriptions, subsystem is a category of application or system software, such as a window system (dt) or a language (java1.2)
The following descriptions make use of the terms platform, platform-dependent, platform-independent, and platform-specific. Platform refers to a machines Instruction Set Architecture or processor type, such as is returned by uname -i. Platform-dependent refers to a file that is installed on all platforms and whose contents vary depending on the platform. Like a platform-dependent file, a platform-independent file is installed on all platforms. However, the contents of the latter type remains the same on all platforms. An example of a platform-dependent file is compiled, executable program. An example of a platform-independent file is a standard configuration file, such as /etc/hosts. Unlike a platform-dependent or a platform-independent file, the platform-specific file is installed only on a subset of supported platforms. Most platform-specific files are gathered under /platform and /usr/platform.
The root file system contains files that are unique to each machine. It contains the following directories:
Primary location for special files. Typically, device files are built to match the kernel and hardware configuration of the machine.
Symbolic links to physical ap_ids.
Device files for uucp.
Block disk devices.
Frame buffer device files.
File descriptors.
Logical volume management meta-disk devices.
Pseudo-terminal devices.
Raw disk devices.
Raw tape devices.
Entry points for the STREAMS Administrative driver.
Audio device and audio device control files.
Default swap device.
Terminal devices.
Platform-dependent administrative and configuration files and databases that are not shared among systems. /etc may be viewed as the directory that defines the machine's identity. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /etc/opt/packagename.
Accounting system configuration information.
Configuration information for cron(1M).
Defaults information for various programs.
Configuration information for shared file systems.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) configuration files.
Solstice Enterprise Agents configuration files.
Federated Naming Service and X.500 support files.
Binaries organized by file system types for operations required before /usr is mounted.
Generic Security Service (GSS) Application Program Interface configuration files.
Configuration files for Internet services.
Shell scripts for transitioning between run levels.
Shared libraries needed during booting.
Configuration information for the printer subsystem.
Logical link control (llc2) driver configuration files.
Configuration information for the printer subsystem.
Mail subsystem configuration.
Configuration information for transport independent network services.
NFS server logging configuration file.
Configuration information for optional packages.
OpenWindows configuration files.
Scripts for entering or leaving run level 0. See init(1M).
Scripts for entering or leaving run level 1. See init(1M).
Scripts for entering or leaving run level 2. See init(1M).
Scripts for entering or leaving run level 3. See init(1M).
Scripts for bringing the system up in single user mode.
This directory might contain an NIS+ authentication configuration file.
Service Access Facility files.
Basic Security Module (BSM) configuration files.
Default profile scripts for new user accounts. See useradd(1M).
Platform-dependent subsystem configuration files that are not shared among systems. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /etc/opt/packagename.
Trademark files; contents displayed at boot time.
UUCP configuration information. See uucp(1C).
Non-permanent, temporary files created by the system. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Default root of the shared file system tree.
Default root of a subtree for user directories.
Subtree of platform-dependent loadable kernel modules required as part of the boot process. It includes the generic part of the core kernel that is platform-independent, /kernel/genunix. See kernel(1M) An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
32-bit device drivers.
64-bit SPARC device drivers.
Platform-independent kernel.
64-bit Intel IA64 platform-dependent modules required for boot. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software. Note that ia64 is an example name; the actual name might be different.
64-bit SPARC platform-dependent modules required for boot. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Default temporary mount point for file systems. This is an empty directory on which file systems can be temporarily mounted.
Root of a subtree for add-on application packages.
Subtree of platform-specific objects which need to reside on the root filesystem. It contains a series of directories, one per supported platform. The semantics of the series of directories is equivalent to / (root).
Platform-specific modules required for boot. These modules have semantics equivalent to /kernel. It includes the file unix, the core kernel. See kernel(1M). An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Hardware class-specific modules required for boot. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Intel 64-bit, platform-dependent modules required for boot. Note that ia64 is an example name; the actual name might be different. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software.
SPARC 64-bit platform-specific modules required for boot. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software.
64-bit platform-dependent kernel.
32-bit platform-dependent kernel.
Platform-specific shared objects required for boot. Semantics are equivalent to /lib. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Platform-specific administrative utilities required for boot. Semantics are equivalent to /sbin. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Root of a subtree for the process file system.
Essential executables used in the booting process and in manual system recovery. The full complement of utilities is available only after /usr is mounted. /sbin is an approved installation location for bundled Solaris software.
Temporary files; cleared during the boot operation.
Mount point for the /usr file system. See description of /usr file system, below.
Root of a subtree for varying files. Varying files are files that are unique to a machine but that can grow to an arbitrary (that is, variable) size. An example is a log file. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /var/opt/packagename.
System logging and accounting files.
Basic Security Module (BSM) audit files.
Default depository for kernel crash dumps.
Log files for cron(1M).
Solstice Enterprise Agents (SEA) Desktop Management Interface (DMI) run-time components.
dtlogin configuration files.
FTP server directory.
IPv6 router state files.
System log files.
Line printer subsystem logging information.
Directory where users' mail is kept.
Community service messages. This is not the same as USENET-style news.
NFS server log files.
NIS+ databases.
Network Time Protocol (NTP) server state directory.
Root of a subtree for varying files associated with optional software packages. An approved installation location for add-on system software and applications.
Backup files for vi(1) and ex(1).
Temporary files which are not needed across reboots. Only root may modify the contents of this directory.
Databases maintained by the software package management utilities.
Status log files produced by software management functions and/or applications. For example, log files produced for product installation. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software and applications.
Service access facility logging and accounting files.
Contains directories for files used in printer spooling, mail delivery, cron(1M), at(1), and so forth.
cron(1M) and at(1) spooling files.
Spooling lock files.
Line printer spool files. See lp(1).
Mail queued for delivery.
Spooled packages.
Queued uucp(1C) jobs.
Files deposited by uucp(1C).
Network status monitor files.
Files that vary in size or presence during normal system operations. This directory is not cleared during the boot operation. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software and applications.
uucp(1C) log and status files.
Databases needed for backwards compatibility with NIS and ypbind(1M); unnecessary after full transition to NIS+.
Because it is desirable to keep the root file system small and not volatile, on disk-based systems larger file systems are often mounted on /home, /opt, /usr, and /var.
The file system mounted on /usr contains platform-dependent and platform-independent sharable files. The subtree rooted at /usr/share contains platform-independent sharable files; the rest of the /usr tree contains platform-dependent files. By mounting a common remote file system, a group of machines with a common platform may share a single /usr file system. A single /usr/share file system can be shared by machines of any platform. A machine acting as a file server can share many different /usr file systems to support several different architectures and operating system releases. Clients usually mount /usr read-only so that they do not accidentally change any shared files.
The /usr file system contains the following subdirectories:
a.out libraries for the Binary Compatibility Package. See the Binary Compatibility Guide.
Symbolic link to the /usr/bin directory.
Symbolic link to the /usr/openwin directory.
Symbolic link to the /var/adm directory.
Directory for Automated Security Enhancement Tools (ASET) programs and files.
Platform-dependent, user-invoked executables. These are commands users expect to be run as part of their normal $PATH. For executables that are different on a 64-bit system than on a 32-bit system, a wrapper that selects the appropriate executable is placed here. See isaexec(3C). An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/bin.
Intel 64-bit, platform-dependent, user-invoked executables. Note that ia64 is an example name; the actual name might be different. This directory should not be part of a user's $PATH. A wrapper in /usr/bin should invoke the executable in this directory. See isaexec(3C). An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/bin/ia64.
SPARC 64-bit, platform-dependent, user-invoked executables. This directory should not be part of a user's $PATH. A wrapper in /usr/bin should invoke the executable in this directory. See isaexec(3C). An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/bin/sparcv9.
Platform-dependent user-invoked executables that are associated with subsystem. These are commands users expect to be run as part of their normal $PATH. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/bin.
Intel 64-bit, platform-dependent, user-invoked executables. Note that ia64 is an example name; the actual name might be different. This directory should not be part of a user's $PATH. A wrapper in /usr/bin should invoke the executable in this directory. See isaexec(3C). An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/bin/ia64.
SPARC 64-bit, platform-dependent, user-invoked executables. This directory should not be part of a user's $PATH. A wrapper in /usr/bin should invoke the executable in this directory. See isaexec(3C). An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/bin/sparcv9.
Platform-dependent user-invoked executables that are associated with subsystem. These are commands users expect to be run as part of their normal $PATH. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/bin.
Intel 64-bit, platform-dependent, user-invoked executables. Note that ia64 is an example name; the actual name might be different. This directory should not be part of a user's $PATH. A wrapper in /usr/bin should invoke the executable in this directory. See isaexec(3C). An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/bin/ia64.
SPARC 64-bit, platform-dependent, user-invoked executables. This directory should not be part of a user's $PATH. A wrapper in /usr/bin should invoke the executable in this directory. See isaexec(3C). An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/bin/sparcv9.
C compilation system.
C compilation commands and system utilities.
Symbolic link to /usr/lib.
Demo programs and data.
Symbolic link to the /usr/share/lib/dict directory, which contains the dictionary file used by the UNIX spell program.
root of a subtree for CDE software.
Primary location for CDE system utilities.
Header files for CDE software.
Libraries for CDE software.
On-line reference manual pages for CDE software.
An empty directory, a remnant of the SunOS 4.0/4.1 software.
Include headers (for C programs).
Directories containing Java programs and libraries.
Subtree of platform-dependent loadable kernel modules, not needed in the root filesystem. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software.
A mount point, retained for backward compatibility, that formerly contained platform-specific binaries and libraries.
Platform-dependent libraries, various databases, commands and daemons not invoked directly by a human user. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/lib.
Symbolic link to the most portable 64-bit Solaris interfaces.
Accounting scripts and binaries. See acct(1M).
Scheduling-class-specific directories containing executables for priocntl(1) and dispadmin(1M).
Database files for spell(1).
troff(1) font description files.
File system type dependent modules; generally not intended to be invoked directly by the user.
Intel 64-bit, platform-dependent libraries, various databases, commands and daemons not invoked directly by a human user. Note that ia64 is an example name; the actual name might be different. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/lib/ia64.
Conversion tables for iconv(1).
Profiled libraries.
Localization databases.
Line printer subsystem databases and back-end executables.
Auxiliary programs for the mail(1) subsystem.
Internet network services.
Auxiliary NFS-related programs and daemons.
Position Independent Code (PIC) archives needed to rebuild the run-time linker.
Auxiliary programs for refer(1).
Scripts and commands for the system activity report package. See sar(1).
Auxiliary programs and daemons related to the service access facility.
SPARC 64-bit, platform-dependent libraries, various databases, commands and daemons not invoked directly by a human user. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/lib/sparcv9.
Auxiliary programs and databases for spell(1). This directory is only present when the Binary Compatibility Package is installed.
Auxiliary programs and daemons for uucp(1C).
Platform-dependent libraries, various databases, commands and daemons that are associated with subsystem and that are not invoked directly by a human user. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/lib.
Intel 64-bit, platform-dependent libraries, various databases, commands and daemons that are associated with subsystem and that are not invoked directly by a human user. Note that ia64 is an example name; the actual name might be different. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/lib/ia64.
SPARC 64-bit, platform-dependent libraries, various databases, commands and daemons that are associated with subsystem and that are not invoked directly by a human user. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/lib/sparcv9.
Platform-dependent libraries, various databases, commands and daemons not invoked directly by a human user. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/lib.
Intel 64-bit, platform-dependent libraries, various databases, commands and daemons that are associated with subsystem and that are not invoked directly by a human user. Note that ia64 is an example name; the actual name might be different. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/lib/ia64.
SPARC 64-bit, platform-dependent libraries, various databases, commands and daemons that are associated with subsystem and that are not invoked directly by a human user. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/lib/sparcv9.
Commands local to a site.
Symbolic link to the /var/mail directory.
Symbolic link to the /usr/share/man directory.
Entry points for foreign name service requests relayed using the network listener. See listen(1M).
Symbolic link to the /var/news directory.
Commands and files related to the Form and Menu Language Interpreter (FMLI) execution environment. See face(1).
Programs that are being phased out.
Installation or mount point for the OpenWindows software.
Perl 5 programs and documentation
Subtree of platform-specific objects which does not need to reside on the root filesystem. It contains a series of directories, one per supported platform. The semantics of the series of directories is equivalent to /platform, except for subdirectories which do not provide utility under one or the other (for example, /platform/include is not needed).
Platform-specific system (sys, vm) header files with semantics equivalent to /usr/include. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Platform-specific modules with semantics equivalent to /usr/kernel. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Platform-specific daemon and shared objects with semantics equivalent to /usr/lib. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Intel IA64 64-bit, platform-specific daemon and shared objects. Note that ia64 is an example name; the actual name might be different. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
SPARC 64-bit, platform-specific daemon and shared objects. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Where num can be one of 3x, 1m, 4, 7d, or 9e. Platform-specific system manual pages for documenting platform-specific, shared objects, administration utilities, configuration files, special files/modules, and header files. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Platform-specific system administration utilities with semantics equivalent to /usr/sbin. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software and for add-on system software.
Symbolic link to the /var/preserve directory.
Directory for the proc tools.
Contains links to SPARC Version 8 binaries in /usr/bin.
Files for online man page and character processing.
System administration files and directories.
Binaries for the Form and Menu Language Interpreter (FMLI) scripts. See fmli(1).
Executables and scripts for package management.
Platform-dependent executables for system administration, expected to be run only by system administrators. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/sbin.
Platform-dependent executables for system administration, expected to be run only by system administrators, and associated with subsystem. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/sbin.
Platform-dependent executables for system administration, expected to be run only by system administrators, and associated with subsystem. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/sbin.
Statically linked version of selected programs from /usr/bin and /usr/sbin. These are used to recover from broken dynamic linking and before all pieces necessary for dynamic linking are present.
Platform-independent sharable files. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software.
Platform-independent sharable databases. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software.
Contains word list for spell(1).
Keyboard layout description tables.
Help files for mailx(1).
nroff(1) terminal tables.
Character set data files.
Tab setting escape sequences.
Terminal description files for terminfo(4).
Macro packages and related files for text processing tools, for example, nroff(1) and troff(1).
Time zone information.
Platform-independent sharable manual pages. An approved installation location for bundled Solaris software. The analogous location for add-on system software or for applications is /opt/packagename/[[s]]man.
Source code for kernel, utilities, and libraries.
Files related to system and network administration..
Symbolic link to the /var/spool directory.
Symbolic link to the /usr/share/src directory.
Symbolic link to the var/tmp directory.
Berkeley compatibility package binaries. See Source Compatibility Guide
Berkeley compatibility package headers.
Berkeley compatibility package libraries.
Commands and files related to the Framed Access Command Environment (FACE) programs. See face(1).
Directory for POSIX-compliant utilities.
at(1), ex(1), face(1), fmli(1), iconv(1), lp(1), isainfo(1), mail(1), mailx(1), nroff(1), priocntl(1), refer(1), sar(1), sh(1), spell(1), troff(1), uname(1), uucp(1C), vi(1), acct(1M), cron(1M), dispadmin(1M), fsck(1M), init(1M), kernel(1M), mknod(1M), mount(1M), useradd(1M), ypbind(1M), mount(2), intro(4), terminfo(4)
NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | SEE ALSO