Chapter 33 Upgrading With Solaris Live Upgrade (Tasks)

This chapter explains how to use Solaris Live Upgrade to upgrade and activate an inactive boot environment. It also explains how to recover from an activation failure. This chapter contains the following sections:

• Task Map: Upgrading a Boot Environment

• Upgrading a Boot Environment

• Installing Solaris Flash Archives on a Boot Environment

• Activating a Boot Environment

• Failure Recovery: Falling Back to the Original Boot Environment (Command-Line Interface)

You can use Solaris Live Upgrade with menus or by using the command-line interface (CLI). Procedures are documented for both interfaces. These procedures do not exhaust the possibilities for using Solaris Live Upgrade. For more information about commands, see Chapter 36, Solaris Live Upgrade (Command Reference) for commands and the appropriate man pages, which more fully document the CLI.

Task Map: Upgrading a Boot Environment

Upgrading a Boot Environment

Use the Upgrade menu or luupgrade command to upgrade a boot environment. This section provides the procedure for upgrading an inactive boot environment from files that are located on the following:

• NFS server

• Local file

• Local tape

• Local device, including DVD or CD

  ---

  Note –

  If the installation requires more than one CD, you must use the command-line interface procedure for upgrading. See To Upgrade an Operating System Image From Multiple CDs (Command-Line Interface).

  ---

When you upgrade a boot environment with the latest operating environment, you do not affect the active boot environment. The new files merge with the inactive boot environment critical file systems, but shareable file systems are not changed.

Rather than upgrading, if you have created a Solaris Flash archive, you could install the archive on an inactive boot environment. The new files overwrite the inactive boot environment critical file systems, but shareable file systems are not changed. See Installing Solaris Flash Archives on a Boot Environment.

Upgrading Metadevices and Volumes

To upgrade or install an archive on a new boot environment, the device must be a physical slice. If you have a boot environment that has a file system that is mounted either on a Solaris Volume Manager metadevice or a Veritas file system (VxFS) volume, the upgrade or installation of an archive fails. To upgrade or install an archive on such a boot environment, you must manually change the boot environment so that all slices are physical disk slices. You could use the lucreate command to create another boot environment or you could break the metadevices or volumes.

To use the lucreate command to make a copy of the boot environment, you would place the boot environment copy on physical disk slices. For example, suppose your current boot environment's disk configuration contains the following volumes and slices.

You could then use the following lucreate command to copy the boot environment on physical disk slices. The boot environment could then be upgraded or be installed with an archive. In this example, the current boot environment is named currentBE, and the new boot environment is named nextBE.

# lucreate -s currentBE -n nextBE -m /:/dev/dsk/c0t4d0s0:ufs \
-m /usr:/dev/dsk/c0t4d0s3:ufs -m /var:/dev/dsk/c0t4d0s4:ufs

You would then be able to upgrade or install a archive on the new boot environment, activate it, and then re-mirror or encapsulate it manually.

If you choose to manually break the metadevice or volume, you would need to do the following:

• Manually mount the boot environment

• Edit the /etc/vfstab file to change all metadevices or volumes to physical disk slices

• Use the Solaris Volume Manager or Veritas software to tear down the metadevices or volumes

• Unmount the boot environment

Managing Packages and Patches With Solaris Live Upgrade

You can use Solaris Live Upgrade to add patches and packages to a system. As with upgrading a machine, by using Live Upgrade to add patches to a machine, the only downtime the system incurs is that of a reboot. You can add patches and packages directly to a boot environment with the luupgrade command. Or, you can apply patches and packages to a master system and apply a Solaris Flash archive of that system to a boot environment by using Live Upgrade.

To add patches to a boot environment directly, create a new boot environment and use the luupgrade command with the -t option. To add packages to a boot environment, use the luupgrade command with the -p option. For more information, see the man page, luupgrade(1M).

Or, you can use Solaris Live Upgrade to install a Solaris Flash archive that contains a complete copy of a boot environment with new packages and patches already included. This complete boot environment or single reference system is called a master system. The process of creating a Solaris Flash archive begins with creating a master system. After you have created a master system, add any patches and packages that you want to install. Then, create a Solaris Flash archive of the master system. Use Solaris Live Upgrade to install the archive on the new boot environment. You can copy the boot environment, change it, and distribute it as many times as necessary. For details about how to create a Solaris Flash archive, see Chapter 18, Creating Solaris Flash Archives (Tasks). For information on using Solaris Live Upgrade to install a Solaris Flash archive, see Installing Solaris Flash Archives on a Boot Environment.

When upgrading and adding and removing packages or patches, Solaris Live Upgrade requires packages or patches that comply with the SVR4 advanced packaging guidelines. While Sun packages conform to these guidelines, Sun cannot guarantee the conformance of packages from third-party vendors. A non-conformant package can cause the package-addition software during an upgrade to fail or worse, to alter the active boot environment.

For more information on adding and removing packages with Solaris Live Upgrade, see the man page, luupgrade(1M). For more information on packaging requirements, see Appendix C, Additional SVR4 Packaging Requirements (Reference).

To Upgrade an Operating System Image on a Boot Environment (Character Interface)

To upgrade by using this procedure, you must use only one CD, a DVD, or a combined installation image. For an installation that requires more than one CD, you must use the procedure: To Upgrade an Operating System Image From Multiple CDs (Command-Line Interface).

1. From the Solaris Live Upgrade main menu, select Upgrade.

   The Upgrade menu screen is displayed.

2. Type the new boot environment's name.

3. Type the path to where the Solaris installation image is located.

   Installation Media Type	Description
   Network File System	Specify the path to the network file system where the installation image is located.
   Local file	Specify the path to the local file system where the installation image is located.
   Local tape	Specify the local tape device and the position on the tape where the installation image is located.
   Local device, DVD, or CD	Specify the local device and the path to the installation image.

   • If you are using DVD or one CD, type the path to that disc, as in this example:

     Package Media: /cdrom/solaris9/s0

   • If you have a combined image on the network, type the path to the network file system as in this example:

     Package Media: /net/installmachine/export/solaris9/os_image

4. To upgrade, press F3.

5. When the upgrade is completed, the main menu is displayed.

To Upgrade an Operating System Image on a Boot Environment (Command-Line Interface)

To upgrade by using this procedure, you must use only one CD, a DVD, or a combined installation image. If the installation requires more than one CD, you must use the procedure: To Upgrade an Operating System Image From Multiple CDs (Command-Line Interface).

1. Log in as superuser.

2. Indicate the boot environment to upgrade and the path to the installation software by typing:

   # luupgrade -u -n BE_name -s os_image_path

   -u	Upgrades an operating system image on a boot environment
   -n BE_name	Specifies the name of the boot environment that is to be upgraded
   -s os_image_path	Specifies the path name of a directory that contains an operating system image

   ---

   Example 33–1 Upgrading an Operating System Image on a Boot Environment (Command-Line Interface)

   
   

   In this example, the second_disk boot environment is upgraded.

   # luupgrade -u -n second_disk \ -s /net/installmachine/export/solaris9/OS_image

   ---

To Upgrade an Operating System Image From Multiple CDs (Command-Line Interface)

If the operating system image resides on two or more CDs, use this upgrade procedure.

1. Log in as superuser.

2. Indicate the boot environment to upgrade and the path to the installation software by typing:

   # luupgrade -u -n BE_name -s os_image_path

   -u	Upgrades an operating system image on a boot environment
   -n BE_name	Specifies the name of the boot environment that is to be upgraded
   -s os_image_path	Specifies the path name of a directory that contains an operating system image

3. When the installer is finished with the contents of the first CD, insert the second CD.

4. This step is identical to the previous step, but the -u option is replaced by the -i option. Also, choose to run the installer on the second CD with menus or with text.

   • This command runs the installer on the second CD with menus.

     # luupgrade -i -n BE_name -s os_image_path

   • This command runs the installer on the second CD with text and requires no user interaction.

     # luupgrade -i -n BE_name -s os_image_path -O '-nodisplay -noconsole'

   -i	Looks for an installation program on the specified medium and runs that program. The installer program is specified with -s.
   -n BE_name	Specifies the name of the boot environment that is to be upgraded.
   -s os_image_path	Specifies the path name of a directory that contains an operating system image.
   -O '-nodisplay -noconsole'	(Optional) Runs the installer on the second CD in text mode and requires no user interaction.

   The boot environment is ready to be activated. See Activating a Boot Environment.

   ---

   Example 33–2 SPARC: Upgrading an Operating System Image From Multiple CDs (Command-Line Interface)

   
   

   In this example, the second_disk boot environment is upgraded and the installation image is on two CDs: the Solaris 9 Software 1 of 2 and the Solaris 9 Software 2 of 2 CDs. The -u option determines if sufficient space for all the packages is on the CD set. The -O option with the -nodisplay and -noconsole options prevents the character user interface from displaying after the reading of the second CD. If you use these options, you are not prompted to input information. Omit these options to display the interface.

   Insert the Solaris 9 Software 1 of 2 CD and type:

   # luupgrade -u -n second_disk -s /dev/cdrom/cdrom0/s0

   Insert the Solaris 9 Software 2 of 2 CD and type:

   # luupgrade -i -n second_disk -s /dev/cdrom/cdrom0 -O '-nodisplay \ -noconsole'

   ---

   ---

   Note –

   Use the luupgrade command with the -i option to install any additional CDs.

   ---

To Create a Profile to be Used by Solaris Live Upgrade

This procedure shows you how to create a profile for use with Solaris Live Upgrade. You can use this profile to upgrade an inactive boot environment by using the luupgrade command with the -j option.

For procedures to use this profile, see the following sections:

• For an upgrade with a profile, see To Upgrade With a Profile by Using Solaris Live Upgrade (Command-Line Interface).

• For a Solaris Flash installation with a profile, see To Install a Solaris Flash Archive With a Profile (Command-Line Interface).

1. Use a text editor to create a text file.

   Name the file descriptively. Ensure that the name of the profile reflects how you intend to use the profile to install the Solaris software on a system. For example, you might name this profile upgrade_solaris9.

2. Add profile keywords and values to the profile.

   Only the following upgrade keywords can be used in a Solaris Live Upgrade profile.

   Table 33–2 Live Upgrade Profile Keywords and Descriptions

   Keyword	Description
   (Required) Install_type	Defines whether to upgrade the existing Solaris environment on a system or install a Solaris Flash archive on the system. The values are upgrade or flash_install.
   (Optional) archive_location	Retrieves a Solaris Flash archive from a designated location. For a list of values that can be used with this keyword, see archive_location Keyword.
   (Optional) cluster (adding or deleting clusters)	Designates whether a cluster is to be added or deleted from the software group that is to be installed on the system. For a list of values that can be used with this keyword, see cluster Profile Keyword (Adding Software Groups).
   (Optional) geo	Designates the regional locale or locales that you want to install on a system or to add when upgrading a system. For a list of values that can be used with this keyword, see geo Profile Keyword.
   (Optional) isa_bits	Specifies whether 64-bit or 32-bit Solaris 9 packages are to be installed. For a list of values that can be used with this keyword, see isa_bits Profile Keyword.
   (Optional) locale	Designates the locale packages you want to install or add when upgrading. For a list of values that can be used with this keyword, see locale Profile Keyword.
   (Optional) package	Designates whether a package is to be added to or deleted from the software group that is to be installed on the system. For a list of values that can be used with this keyword, see package Profile Keyword.

3. Save the profile in a directory on the local system.

4. Ensure that root owns the profile and that the permissions are set to 644.

5. Test the profile (optional).

   For a procedure to test the profile, see To Test a Profile to Be Used By Solaris Live Upgrade.

Example 33–3 Creating a Profile to Be Used With Solaris Live Upgrade

In this example, a profile provides the upgrade parameters. This profile is to be used to upgrade an inactive boot environment with the Solaris Live Upgrade luupgrade command and the -u and -j options. This profile adds a package and a cluster. A regional locale and additional locales are also added to the profile. If you add locales to the profile, make sure that you have created a boot environment with additional disk space.

# profile keywords         profile values
# ----------------         -------------------
  install_type             upgrade
  package                  SUNWxwman add
  cluster                  SUNWCacc add
  geo                      C_Europe
  locale                   zh_TW
  locale                   zh_TW.BIG5
  locale                   zh_TW.UTF-8
  locale                   zh_HK.UTF-8
  locale                   zh_HK.BIG5HK
  locale                   zh
  locale                   zh_CN.GB18030
  locale                   zh_CN.GBK
  locale                   zh_CN.UTF-8

To Test a Profile to Be Used By Solaris Live Upgrade

After you create a profile, use the luupgrade command to test the profile. By looking at the installation output that is generated by luupgrade, you can quickly determine if a profile works as you intended.

1. Test the profile.

   # luupgrade -u -n BE_name -D -s os_image_path -j profile_path

   -u	Upgrades an operating system image on a boot environment.
   -n BE_name	Specifies the name of the boot environment that is to be upgraded.
   -D	luupgrade command uses the selected boot environment's disk configuration to test the profile options passed with the -j option.
   -s os_image_path	Specifies the path name of a directory that contains an operating system image. This directory can be on an installation medium, such as a DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, or it can be an NFS or UFS directory.
   -j profile_path	Path to a profile that is configured for an upgrade. The profile must be in a directory on the local machine.

Example 33–4 Testing a Profile by Using Solaris Live Upgrade

In the following example, the profile is named upgrade_solaris9, The profile is successfully tested on the inactive boot environment named, s9u1b08.

# luupgrade -u -n s9u1b08 -D -s /net/installsvr/export/s9u1/combined.s9s_u1wos \
 -j /var/tmp/flash_profile
Validating the contents of the media /net/installsvr/export/s9u1/combined.s9s_u1wos.
The media is a standard Solaris media.
The media contains an operating system upgrade image.
The media contains Solaris version 9.
Locating upgrade profile template to use.
Locating the operating system upgrade program.
Checking for existence of previously scheduled Live Upgrade requests.
Creating upgrade profile for BE s9u1b08.
Determining packages to install or upgrade for BE s9u1b08.
Simulating the operating system upgrade of the BE s9u1b08.
The operating system upgrade simulation is complete.
INFORMATION: var/sadm/system/data/upgrade_cleanup contains a log of the
upgrade operation.
INFORMATION: var/sadm/system/data/upgrade_cleanup contains a log of
cleanup operations required.
The Solaris upgrade of the boot environment s9u1b08 is complete.

You can now use the profile to upgrade an inactive boot environment.

To Upgrade With a Profile by Using Solaris Live Upgrade (Command-Line Interface)

This procedure provides step-by-step instructions for upgrading a operating environment by using a profile.

If you want to install a Solaris Flash archive by using a profile, see To Install a Solaris Flash Archive With a Profile (Command-Line Interface).

If you added locales to the profile, make sure that you have created a boot environment with additional disk space.

1. Log in as superuser.

2. Create a profile.

   See Table 33–2 for a list of upgrade keywords that can be used in a Solaris Live Upgrade profile.

3. Type:

   # luupgrade -u -n BE_name -s os_image_path -j profile_path

   -u	Upgrades an operating system image on a boot environment
   -n BE_name	Specifies the name of the boot environment that is to be upgraded.
   -s os_image_path	Specifies the path name of a directory that contains an operating system image. This directory can be on an installation medium, such as a DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, or it can be an NFS or UFS directory.
   -j profile_path	Path to a profile. The profile must be in a directory on the local machine. For information on creating a profile, see To Create a Profile to be Used by Solaris Live Upgrade.

   The boot environment is ready to be activated.

   ---

   Example 33–5 Upgrading a Boot Environment By Using a Custom JumpStart Profile (Command-Line Interface)

   
   

   In this example, an archive is installed on the second_disk boot environment. The -j option is used to access the profile. The boot environment is then ready to be activated. To create a profile, see To Create a Profile to be Used by Solaris Live Upgrade.

   # luupgrade -u -n second_disk \ -s /net/installmachine/export/solarisX/OS_image \ -j /var/tmp/profile

   ---

Installing Solaris Flash Archives on a Boot Environment

This section provides the procedure for using Solaris Live Upgrade to install Solaris Flash archives that are stored on the following:

• HTTP server

• FTP server - Use this path from the command line only

• NFS server

• Local file

• Local tape

• Local device, including DVD or CD

For examples of the correct syntax for paths that are associated with archive storage, see archive_location Keyword.

Installing a Solaris Flash archive overwrites all files on the new boot environment except for shared files.

To use the Solaris Flash installation feature, you need to have installed the master system and to have created the Solaris Flash archive. For more information about Solaris Flash, see Chapter 16, Solaris Flash Installation Feature (Topics).

Upgrading Metadevices and Volumes

To upgrade or install a Solaris Flash archive on a new boot environment, the device must be a physical slice. If you have a boot environment that has a file system that is mounted either on a Solaris Volume Manager metadevice or a Veritas file system (VxFS) volume, the upgrade or installation of a archive fails. To upgrade or install an archive on such a boot environment, you must manually change the boot environment so that all slices are physical disk slices. You could use the lucreate command to create another boot environment or you could tear down the metadevices or volumes.

To use the lucreate command to make a copy of the boot environment, you would place the boot environment copy on physical disk slices. For example, suppose your current boot environment's disk configuration is the following:

You could then use the following lucreate command to copy the boot environment on physical disk slices. The boot environment could then be upgraded or be installed with an archive. In this example, the current boot environment is named currentBE and the new boot environment is named nextBE.

# lucreate -s currentBE -n nextBE -m /:/dev/dsk/c0t4d0s0:ufs \
-m /usr:/dev/dsk/c0t4d0s3:ufs -m /var:/dev/dsk/c0t4d0s4:ufs

You would then be able to upgrade or install a archive on the new boot environment, activate it, and then re-mirror or encapsulate it manually.

If you choose to manually tear down the metadevice or volume, you would need to do the following:

• Manually mount the boot environment

• Edit the /etc/vfstab file to change all metadevices or volumes to physical disk slices

• Use the Solaris Volume Manager or Veritas software to tear down the metadevices or volumes

• Unmount the boot environment

To Install a Solaris Flash Archive on a Boot Environment (Character Interface)

1. From the Solaris Live Upgrade main menu, select Flash.

   The Flash an Inactive Boot Environment menu is displayed.

2. Type the name of the boot environment where you want to install the Solaris Flash archive and the location of the installation media:

   Name of Boot Environment: solaris_9 Package media: /net/install-svr/export/s9/latest

3. Press F1 to add an archive.

   An Archive Selection submenu displays an empty list, the name of a single archive, or a list of a number of archives.

   You can add and remove archives from the list. The following example shows an empty list.

   Location - Retrieval Method <No Archives added> - Select ADD to add archives

   • To install the list with no changes, proceed to Step 4.

   • If the Solaris Flash archives list is empty or contains an archive that you do not want to install, proceed to Step a.

   1. You can add or remove archives.

      • Press F1 to add an archive to the list. Proceed to Step b.

        A Select Retrieval Method submenu is displayed.

        HTTP NFS Local File Local Tape Local Device

      • Press F2 to remove an archive from the list. Proceed to Step e.

   2. On the Select Retrieval Method menu, select the location of the Solaris Flash archive.

      Media Selected	Prompt
      HTTP	Specify the URL and proxy information that is needed to access the Solaris Flash archive.
      NFS	Specify the path to the network file system where the Solaris Flash archive is located. You can also specify the archive file name.
      Local file	Specify the path to the local file system where the Solaris Flash archive is located.
      Local tape	Specify the local tape device and the position on the tape where the Solaris Flash archive is located.
      Local device	Specify the local device, the path to the Solaris Flash archive, and the type of file system on which the Solaris Flash archive is located.

      A Retrieval submenu is displayed, similar to the following example, which depends on the media you selected.

      NFS Location:

   3. Type the path to the archive, as in the following example.

      NFS Location: host:/path/to archive.flar

   4. Press F3 to add the archive to the list.

   5. When the list contains the archives that you want to install, press F6 to exit.

4. Press F3 to install one or more archives.

   The Solaris Flash archive is installed on the boot environment. All files on the boot environment are overwritten, except for shareable files.

   The boot environment is ready for activation. See To Activate a Boot Environment (Character Interface).

To Install a Solaris Flash Archive on a Boot Environment (Command-Line Interface)

1. Log in as superuser.

2. Type:

   # luupgrade -f -n BE_name -s os_image_path -a archive

   -f	Indicates to install an operating system from a Solaris Flash archive.
   -n BE_name	Specifies the name of the boot environment that is to be installed with an archive.
   -s os_image_path	Specifies the path name of a directory that contains an operating system image. This directory can be on an installation medium, such as a DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, or it can be an NFS or UFS directory.
   -a archive	Path to the Solaris Flash archive when the archive is available on the local file system. The operating system image versions specified with the -s option and the -a option must be identical.

   ---

   Example 33–6 Installing Solaris Flash Archives on a Boot Environment (Command-Line Interface)

   
   

   In this example, an archive is installed on the second_disk boot environment. The archive is located on the local system. The operating systems versions for the -s and -a options are both Solaris 9 releases. All files are overwritten on second_disk except shareable files.

   # luupgrade -f -n second_disk \ -s /net/installmachine/export/solaris9/OS_image \ -a /net/server/archive/solaris9

   The boot environment is ready to be activated.

   ---

To Install a Solaris Flash Archive With a Profile (Command-Line Interface)

This procedures provides the steps to install a Solaris Flash archive by using a profile.

If you added locales to the profile, make sure that you have created a boot environment with additional disk space.

1. Log in as superuser.

2. Create a profile.

   See Table 33–2 for a list of keywords that can be used in a Solaris Live Upgrade profile.

3. Type:

   # luupgrade -f -n BE_name -s os_image_path -j profile_path

   -f	Indicates to install an operating system from a Solaris Flash archive.
   -n BE_name	Specifies the name of the boot environment that is to be upgraded.
   -s os_image_path	Specifies the path name of a directory that contains an operating system image. This directory can be on an installation medium, such as a DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, or it can be an NFS or UFS directory.
   -j profile_path	Path to a profile that is configured for a flash installation. The profile must be in a directory on the local machine.

   The boot environment is ready to be activated.

   ---

   Example 33–7 Upgrading a Boot Environment With a Profile (Command-Line Interface)

   
   

   In this example, an archive is installed on the second_disk boot environment. The -j option is used to access the profile. The boot environment is then ready to be activated. To create a profile, see To Create a Profile to be Used by Solaris Live Upgrade.

   # luupgrade -f -n second_disk \ -s /net/installmachine/export/solarisX/OS_image \ -j /var/tmp/profile

   ---

To Install a Solaris Flash Archive With a Profile Keyword (Command-Line Interface)

This procedure enables you to install a Solaris Flash archive and use the archive_location keyword at the command line rather than from a profile file. You can quickly retrieve an archive without the use of a profile file.

1. Log in as superuser.

2. Type:

   # luupgrade -f -n BE_name -s os_image_path -J 'profile'

   -f	Indicates to upgrade an operating system from a Solaris Flash archive.
   -n BE_name	Specifies the name of the boot environment that is to be upgraded.
   -s os_image_path	Specifies the path name of a directory that contains an operating system image. This directory can be on an installation medium, such as a DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, or it can be an NFS or UFS directory.
   -J 'profile'	Specifies the archive_location profile keyword. For the keyword values, see archive_location Keyword.

   The boot environment is ready to be activated.

   ---

   Example 33–8 Installing a Solaris Flash Archive By Using a Profile (Command-Line Interface)

   
   

   In this example, an archive is installed on the second_disk boot environment. The -J option and the archive_location keyword is used to retrieve the archive. All files are overwritten on second_disk except shareable files.

   # luupgrade -f -n second_disk \ -s /net/installmachine/export/solarisX/OS_image \ -J 'archive_location http://example.com/myflash.flar'

   ---

Activating a Boot Environment

Activating a boot environment makes it bootable on the next reboot of the system. You can also switch back quickly to the original boot environment if a failure occurs on booting the newly active boot environment. See Failure Recovery: Falling Back to the Original Boot Environment (Command-Line Interface).

To successfully activate a boot environment, that boot environment must meet the following conditions:

• The boot environment must have a status of “complete.” To check status, see Displaying the Status of All Boot Environments.

• If the boot environment is not the current boot environment, you cannot have mounted the partitions of that boot environment by using lumount(1M) or mount(1M).

• The boot environment that you want to activate cannot be involved in a comparison operation. See Comparing Boot Environments.

If you want to reconfigure swap, make this change prior to booting the inactive boot environment. By default, all boot environments share the same swap devices. To reconfigure swap, see “To Create a New Boot Environment,” Step 9 or To Create a Boot Environment and Reconfigure Swap (Command-Line Interface).

x86: (Optional) Update Boot Diskette Before Activating

If you're not using the Solaris 9 Device Configuration Assistant x86 Platform Edition diskette to boot the system, you can skip this procedure. If you use the Device Configuration Assistant to boot, you need to update the boot diskette. This procedure matches a boot diskette to your release by overwriting the existing diskette or writing to a new diskette.

1. Insert the Solaris 9 Device Configuration Assistant x86 Platform Edition diskette. This is either the existing diskette that is overwritten or a new diskette.

2. Update the boot diskette with the latest image for this release.

3. Eject the boot diskette.

4. Type:

   volcheck

5. Copy the new boot environment's boot/solaris/bootenv.rc file to the diskette.

   cp /a/boot/solaris/bootenv.rc /floppy/floppy0/solaris/bootenv.rc

6. Check the input-device and output-device on the diskette to ensure that they are correct. If not, then update them.

   You are ready to activate the new boot environment.

To Activate a Boot Environment (Character Interface)

The first time you boot from a newly created boot environment, Solaris Live Upgrade software synchronizes the new boot environment with the boot environment that was last active. The active boot environment is not necessarily the boot environment that was the source for the newly created boot environment. "Synchronize" here means that certain system files and directories are copied from the last-active boot environment to the boot environment being booted. Solaris Live Upgrade does not perform this synchronization after this initial boot, unless you type yes when asked the question ”Do you want to force a Live Upgrade sync operations?”

If you force a synchronization, Solaris Live Upgrade checks for conflicts between files that are subject to synchronization. When the new boot environment is booted and a conflict is detected, a warning is issued and the files are not synchronized. Activation can be completed successfully, in spite of such a conflict. A conflict can occur if you, for example, do one of the following:

• Upgrade the current boot environment to a new operating system

• Upgrade an inactive boot environment to a new operating system and modify files on the original boot environment

• Modify system files such as /etc/passwd on both the boot environments

Use this option with great care, because you might not be aware or in control of changes that might have occurred in the last-active boot environment. For example, if you were running Solaris 9 software on your current boot environment and booted back to a Solaris 2.6 release with a forced synchronization, files could be changed on the 2.6 release. Because files are dependent on the release of the operating environment, the boot to the Solaris 2.6 release could fail because the Solaris 9 files might not be compatible with the Solaris 2.6 files.

1. From the Solaris Live Upgrade main menu, select Activate.

2. Type the name of the boot environment to make active:

   Name of Boot Environment: solaris_9 Do you want to force a Live Upgrade sync operations: no

3. You can either continue or force a synchronization of files.

   • Press Return to continue.

     The first time that the boot environment is booted, files are automatically synchronized.

   • You can force a synchronization of files, but use this feature with caution. Operating systems on each boot environment must be compatible with files that are being synchronized. To force a synchronization of files, type:

     Do you want to force a Live Upgrade sync operations: yes

4. Press F3 to begin the activation process.

5. Press Return to continue.

   The new boot environment is activated at the next reboot.

6. To activate the inactive boot environment, reboot:

   # init 6

To Activate a Boot Environment (Command-Line Interface)

1. Log in as superuser.

2. To activate the boot environment, type:

   # /usr/sbin/luactivate BE_name

   BE_name

   Specifies the name of the boot environment that is to be activated

3. Reboot.

   # init 6

   ---

   Caution –

   Use only the init or shutdown commands to reboot. If you use the reboot, halt, or uadmin commands, the system does not switch boot environments. The last active boot environment is booted again.

   ---

Example 33–9 Activating a Boot Environment (Command-Line Interface)

In this example, the second_disk boot environment is activated at the next reboot.

# /usr/sbin/luactivate second_disk
# init 6

To Activate a Boot Environment and Synchronize Files (Command-Line Interface)

The first time you boot from a newly created boot environment, Solaris Live Upgrade software synchronizes the new boot environment with the boot environment that was last active. The active boot environment is not necessarily the boot environment that was the source for the newly created boot environment. "Synchronize" here means that certain system files and directories are copied from the last-active boot environment to the boot environment being booted. Solaris Live Upgrade does not perform this synchronization after this initial boot, unless you use the luactivate with the -s option.

If you force a synchronization with the -s option, luactivate checks for conflicts between files that are subject to synchronization. When the new boot environment is booted and a conflict is detected, a warning is issued and the files are not synchronized. Activation can be completed successfully, despite such a conflict. A conflict can occur if you, for example, do the following:

• Upgrade the current boot environment to a new operating system

• Upgrade an inactive boot environment to a new operating system and modify files on the original boot environment

• Modify system files such as /etc/passwd on both the boot environments

Use this option with great care, because you might not be aware or in control of changes that might have occurred in the last-active boot environment. For example, if you were running Solaris 9 software on your current boot environment and booted back to a Solaris 2.6 release with a forced synchronization, files could be changed on the 2.6 release. Because files are dependent on the release of the operating environment, the boot to the Solaris 2.6 release could fail because the Solaris 9 files might not be compatible with the Solaris 2.6 files.

1. Log in as superuser.

2. To activate the boot environment, type:

   # /usr/sbin/luactivate -s BE_name

   BE_name

   Specifies the name of the boot environment that is to be activated.

   -s

   Causes synchronization of files between the last-active boot environment and the new boot environment.   The -s option is used to synchronize files after the first activation of a boot environment. The first time that a boot environment is activated, the files between the boot environment are synchronized, but with subsequent activations, the files are not synchronized. Use this option with great caution, because you might not be aware or in control of changes that might have occurred in the last-active boot environment.

3. Reboot.

   # init 6

Example 33–10 Activating a Boot Environment (Command-Line Interface)

In this example, the second_disk boot environment is activated at the next reboot and the files are synchronized.

# /usr/sbin/luactivate -s second_disk
# init 6

Failure Recovery: Falling Back to the Original Boot Environment (Command-Line Interface)

If a failure is detected after upgrading or if the application is not compatible with an upgraded component, fall back to the original boot environment by using one of the following procedures, depending on your platform. For SPARC based systems, the first procedure runs luactivate to switch back to the original boot environment. If the first procedure fails, use the second procedure to boot from a DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, or net image. For x86 based systems, choose the procedure that is based on where the root (/) file systems are mounted, on the same or different physical disks.

To Fall Back Despite Successful New Boot Environment Creation

Use this procedure when you have successfully activated your new boot environment, but are unhappy with the results.

1. Log in as superuser.

2. Type:

   # /usr/sbin/luactivate BE_name

   BE_name

   Specifies the name of the boot environment to be activated

3. Reboot.

   # init 6

   The previous working boot environment becomes the active boot environment.

SPARC: To Fall Back From a Failed Boot Environment Activation

• If you experience a failure while booting the new boot environment and can boot the original boot environment in single-user mode, use this procedure to fall back to the original boot environment.

• If you need to boot from media or a net installation image, see SPARC: To Fall Back to the Original Boot Environment by Using a DVD, CD, or Net Installation Image.

1. At the OK prompt, boot the machine to single-user state from the Solaris 9 DVD, Solaris 9 Installation CD, the network, or a local disk.

   OK boot cdrom -s

   or

   OK boot net -s

   or

   OK boot device_name -s

   device_name

   Specifies the name of devices from where the system can boot, for example /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0

2. Type:

   # /sbin/luactivate BE_name

   BE_name

   Specifies the name of the boot environment to be activated

   • If this command fails to display a prompt, proceed to SPARC: To Fall Back to the Original Boot Environment by Using a DVD, CD, or Net Installation Image.

   • If the prompt is displayed, continue.

3. At the prompt, type:

   Do you want to fallback to activate boot environment <disk name> (yes or no)? yes

   A message displays that the fallback activation is successful.

4. Reboot.

   # init 6

   The previous working boot environment becomes the active boot environment.

SPARC: To Fall Back to the Original Boot Environment by Using a DVD, CD, or Net Installation Image

Use this procedure to boot from a DVD, CD, or a net installation image. You need to mount the root (/) slice from the last active boot environment. Then run the luactivate command, which makes the switch. When you reboot, the last active boot environment is up and running again.

1. At the OK prompt, boot the machine to single-user state from the Solaris 9 DVD, Solaris 9 Installation CD, the network, or a local disk:

   OK boot cdrom -s

   or

   OK boot net -s

   or

   OK boot device_name -s

   device_name

   Specifies the name of the disk and the slice where a copy of the operating system resides, for example /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0

2. If necessary, check the integrity of the file system for the fallback boot environment root (/).

   # fsck device_name

   device_name

   Specifies the location of the root (/) file system on the disk device of the boot environment you want to fall back to. The device name is entered in the form of /dev/dsk/cnumtnumdnumsnum.

3. Mount the active boot environment root (/) slice to some directory, such as /mnt:

   # mount device_name /mnt

   device_name

   Specifies the location of the root (/) file system on the disk device of the boot environment you want to fall back to. The device name is entered in the form of /dev/dsk/cnumtnumdnumsnum.

4. From the active boot environment root (/) slice, type:

   # /mnt/sbin/luactivate

   luactivate activates the previous working boot environment and indicates the result.

5. Unmount /mnt

   # umount /mnt

6. Reboot.

   # init 6

   The previous working boot environment becomes the active boot environment.

x86: To Fall Back With Boot Environments on Different Disks

You might experience a failure while booting the new boot environment. If the root (/) file systems for the boot environments are on different physical disks, use the following procedure to fall back to the original boot environment.

1. Reboot the machine and enter the appropriate BIOS menus.

   • If your boot devices are SCSI, refer to documentation on your SCSI controller on how to enter the SCSI BIOS.

   • If the boot devices are maintained by the system BIOS, refer to system BIOS documentation on how to enter the system BIOS.

2. Follow the appropriate BIOS documentation to change the boot device back to the original boot environment's boot device if different.

3. Save the BIOS changes.

4. Exit BIOS to begin the boot process.

5. Type b -s to boot the machine to single-user state.

6. Type:

   # /sbin/luactivate

7. Reboot.

   # init 6

x86: To Fall Back With Boot Environments on the Same Disk

You might experience a failure while booting. If the root (/) file systems are on the same physical disk, use the following procedure to fall back to the original boot environment. You need to mount the root (/) slice from the last active boot environment. Then run the luactivate command, which makes the switch. When you reboot, the last active boot environment is up and running again.

1. Decide how to boot the system.

   • If you boot from the Solaris 9 DVD or the Solaris 9 Installation CD, insert the disc. Your system's BIOS must support booting from a DVD or CD.

   • If you boot from the network, use Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) network boot. The system must support PXE. Enable the system to use PXE by using the systems's BIOS setup tool or the network adapter's configuration setup Tool.

   • If you boot from a diskette, insert Solaris 9 Device Configuration Assistant x86 Platform Edition diskette into the system's diskette drive.

     ---

     x86 only –

     You can copy the Device Configuration Assistant software to a diskette by the following methods:

     • Copy the software to a diskette from the Solaris 9 x86 Platform Edition DVD or Solaris 9 Software 2 of 2 x86 Platform Edition CD by using this procedure: Appendix E, x86: Preparing to Boot From the Solaris 9 Device Configuration Assistant or the Network (Tasks).

     • Download and copy the software to a diskette from the Solaris Developer Connection at http://soldc.sun.com/support/drivers/dca_diskettes.

     ---

   Follow the directions on screen until the Current Boot Parameters menu is displayed.

2. Type b -s to boot the machine to single-user state.

3. If necessary, check the integrity of the file system for the fallback boot environment root (/).

   # fsck mount_ point

   mount_point

   A root file system that is known and reliable

4. Mount the active boot environment root slice to some directory (such as /mnt/sbin):

   # mount device_name /mnt/sbin

   device_name

   Specifies the location of the root (/) file system on the disk device of the boot environment you want to fall back to. The device name is entered in the form of /dev/dsk/cnumtnumdnumsnum.

5. From the active boot environment root slice, type:

   # /mnt/sbin/luactivate

   luactivate activates the previous working boot environment and indicates the result.

6. Unmount /mnt/sbin.

   # umount device_name /mnt/sbin

   device_name

   Specifies the location of the root (/) file system on the disk device of the boot environment you want to fall back to. The device name is entered in the form of /dev/dsk/cnumtnumdnumsnum.

7. Reboot.

   # init 6

   The previous working boot environment becomes the active boot environment.