System Administration Guide: Basic Administration

IA: Boot Subsystems

At three points during the Solaris boot process, you can make the following choices about a booting system as follows:

Primary Boot Subsystem (Partition Boot Menu) – This first menu appears if multiple operating environments exist on the disk. The menu enables you to boot any of the operating environments installed. By default, the operating environment that is designed as active is booted.

Note that if you choose to boot a non-Solaris operating environment, you cannot reach the next two menus.
Interrupt the Autoboot Process – If the autoboot process is interrupted, you can access the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant.

The Solaris Device Configuration Assistant enables you to boot the Solaris system from a different boot device, configure new or misconfigured hardware, or perform other device-related or boot-related tasks.
Current Boot Parameters Menu – Two forms of this menu exist, one for a normal Solaris boot and one menu for a Solaris installation boot:
- The normal Current Boot Parameters menu enables you to boot the Solaris system with options, or enter the boot interpreter.
- The install Current Boot Parameters menu enables you to select the type of installation to be performed, or customize the boot.

The following table summarizes the purpose of the primary IA boot interfaces. See the sections that follow for a detailed description and example of each boot interface.

Table 15–2 IA: Boot Subsystems


Boot Subsystem	Purpose
Primary Boot Subsystem	This menu appears if the disk you are booting from contains multiple operating environments, including the Solaris operating environment.
Secondary Boot Subsystem	This menu appears each time you boot the Solaris release. The Solaris release is booted automatically unless you choose to run the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant by interrupting the autoboot process.
Solaris Device Configuration Assistant/Boot Diskette	There are two ways to access the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant menus: Use the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant boot diskette or the Solaris installation CD or DVD (on systems that can boot from the CD-ROM drive) to boot the system. Interrupt the autoboot process when you boot the Solaris software from an installed disk.
Current Boot Parameters Menu	This menu appears when you boot the Solaris release from the disk, CD or DVD, or the network. The menu presents a list of boot options.

Note –

If you need to create the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant boot diskette, go to http://soldc.sun.com/support/drivers/dca_diskettes.

During the boot process, the boot subsystem menus allow you to customize boot choices. If the system receives no response during the time-out periods, it continues to boot automatically using the default selections. You can stop the boot process when each boot subsystem menu is displayed. Or, you can let the boot process continue automatically.

The following section provides examples of each boot subsystem screen.

IA: Booting the Solaris Release

During the device identification phase, the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant does the following:

Scans for devices that are installed on the system
Displays the identified devices
Enables you to perform optional tasks such as selecting a keyboard type and editing devices and their resources

During the boot phase, the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant does the following:

Displays a list of devices from which to boot. The device marked with an asterisk (*) is the default boot device.
Enables you to perform optional tasks, such as editing autoboot settings and property settings, and choosing the network configuration strategy.

The following section provides examples of menus that appear during the device identification phase. The device output varies based on your system configuration.

IA: Screens Displayed During the Device Identification Phase

Several screens are displayed as the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant attempts to identify devices on the system.

IA: Configuration Assistant Screen

This screen appears each time you boot the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant. The Solaris Device Configuration Assistant runs every time the system is booted, although the autoboot process bypasses the menus.

Solaris Device Configuration Assistant

The Solaris(TM) (Intel Platform Edition) Device Configuration Assistant
scans to identify system hardware, lists identified devices, and can
boot the Solaris software from a specified device. This program must be
used to install the Solaris operating environment, add a driver,
or change the hardware on the system.
 
> To perform a full scan to identify all system hardware, choose Continue.
 
> To diagnose possible full scan failures, choose Specific Scan.
 
> To add new or updated device drivers, choose Add Driver.

About navigation...
    - The mouse cannot be used.
    - If the keyboard does not have function keys or they do not respond, 
      press ESC. The legend at the bottom of the screen will change to 
      show the ESC keys to use for navigation.
    - The F2 key performs the default action.

F2_Continue		F3_Specific Scan		F4_Add Driver		F6_Help

IA: Bus Enumeration Screen

The Bus Enumeration screen appears briefly while the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant gathers hardware configuration data for devices that can be detected automatically.

Bus Enumeration

Determining bus types and gathering hardware configuration data ...

Please wait ...

IA: Scanning Devices Screen

The Scanning Devices screen appears while the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant manually scans for devices that can only be detected with special drivers.

Scanning Devices

The system is being scanned to identify system hardware.

If the scanning stalls, press the system's reset button. When the
system reboots, choose Specific Scan or Help.


Scanning: Floppy disk controller

#######################
|      |        |         |         |         |
0	 		 20       40        60	       80       100

Please wait ...

IA: Identified Devices Screen

The Identified Devices screen displays which devices have been identified on the system. From here, you can continue to the Boot Solaris menu or perform optional device tasks, such as setting a keyboard configuration, viewing and editing devices, setting up a serial console, and saving and deleting configurations.

Identified Devices

The following devices have been identified on this system. To identify
devices not on this list or to modify device characteristics, such as
keyboard configuration, choose Device Tasks. Platform types may be
included in this list.

ISA: Floppy disk controller
	ISA: Motherboard
	ISA: PnP bios: 16550-compatible serial controller
	ISA: PnP bios: 16550-compatible serial controller
	ISA: PnP bios: Mouse controller
	ISA: PnP bios: Parallel port
	ISA: System keyboard (US-English)
	PCI: Bus Mastering IDE controller
	PCI: Universal Serial Bus
	PCI: VGA compatible display adapter

F2_Continue   F3_Back   F4_Device Tasks   F6_Help

IA: Menus Displayed During the Boot Phase

During this phase, you can determine the way in which the system is booted.

IA: Boot Solaris Menu

The Boot Solaris menu allows you to select the device from which to boot the Solaris release. You can also perform optional tasks, such as viewing and editing autoboot and property settings. Once you select a boot device and you choose Continue, the Solaris kernel begins to boot.

Boot Solaris
Select one of the identified devices to boot the Solaris kernel and
choose Continue.

To perform optional features, such as modifying the autoboot and property
settings, choose Boot Tasks.

An asterisk (*) indicates the current default boot device.

> To make a selection use the arrow keys, and press Enter to mark it [X].

[X]  DISK: (*) Target 0:QUANTUM  FIREBALL1280A
on Bus Mastering IDE controller on Board PCI at Dev 7, Func 1
[ ]  DISK: Target 1:ST5660A
on Bus Mastering IDE controller on Board PCI at Dev 7, Func 1
[ ]  DISK: Target 0:Maxtor 9 0680D4
	on Bus Mastering IDE controller on Board PCI at Dev 7, Func 1
[ ]  CD  : Target 1:TOSHIBA  CD-ROM XM-5602B  1546
	on Bus Mastering IDE controller on Board PCI at Dev 7, Func 1

F2_Continue   F3_Back   F4_Boot Tasks   F6_Help

IA: Current Boot Parameters Menu

This menu appears each time you boot the Solaris release from the local disk. Let the five-second timeout elapse if you want to boot the default Solaris kernel. If you want to boot with different options, select an appropriate option before the time-out period elapses.

                     <<< Current Boot Parameters >>>
Boot path: /pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ide@0/cmdk@0,0:a
Boot args: 
Type    b [file-name] [boot-flags] <ENTER>       to boot with options
or      i <ENTER>                                to enter boot interpreter
or      <ENTER>                                  to boot with defaults
 
 
                     <<< timeout in 5 seconds >>>
 
Select (b)oot or (i)nterpreter: