x86: Service Partition Not Created by Default on Systems With No Existing Service Partition (Solaris 9 Installation Guide)

Solaris 9 Installation Guide

x86: Service Partition Not Created by Default on Systems With No Existing Service Partition

If you install the Solaris 9 operating environment on a system that does not currently include a Service partition, the installation program might not create a Service partition by default. If you want to include a Service partition on the same disk as the Solaris partition, you must recreate the Service partition before you install the Solaris 9 operating environment.

If you installed the Solaris 8 2/02 operating environment on a Sun LX50 system, the installation program might not have preserved the Service partition. If you did not manually edit the fdisk boot partition layout to preserve the Service partition, the installation program deleted the Service partition during the installation.

Note –

If you did not specifically preserve the Service partition when you installed the Solaris 8 2/02 operating environment, you might not be able to recreate the Service partition and upgrade to the Solaris 9 operating environment.

If you want to include a Service partition on the disk that contains the Solaris partition, choose one of the following workarounds.

To use the Solaris Web Start installation program to install from the Solaris 9 Installation CD, follow these steps.

Delete the contents of the disk.
Before you install, create the Service partition by using the Sun LX50 Diagnostics CD.

For information on how to create the Service partition, see the Sun LX50 Server User's Manual and the Sun LX50 Knowledge Base at http://cobalt-knowledge.sun.com.
Insert the Solaris 9 Installation CD in the CD-ROM drive.

Begin installing the Solaris 9 operating environment.

When the installation program detects the Service partition, the following message is displayed.

The default layout for the bootdisk is one x86 Boot partition
and a Solaris partition on the remaining space. The Service fdisk
partition, if one exists, is also preserved by default.

Select one of the following to continue:

1) Use the default layout
2) Run fdisk to manually edit the disk
3) Exit

Please make a selection: [?]

Type 1 to use the default layout.

The installation program preserves the Service partition and creates the x86 boot partition and the Solaris partition.

Note –
The Solaris Web Start installation program creates the x86 boot partition by removing 10 Mbytes from the Solaris fdisk partition. This utility prevents any existing fdisk partitions from being altered. Do not create this partition manually.
Complete the installation.

To install from a network installation image or from the Solaris 9 DVD over the network, follow these steps.
1. Delete the contents of the disk.
2. Before you install, create the Service partition by using the Sun LX50 Diagnostics CD.
  
  For information on how to create the Service partition, see the Sun LX50 Server User's Manual and the Sun LX50 Knowledge Base at http://cobalt-knowledge.sun.com.
3. Boot the system from the network.
  
  The Customize fdisk Partitions screen is displayed.
4. To load the default boot disk partition layout, click Default.
  
  The installation program preserves the Service partition and creates the x86 boot partition and the Solaris partition.
To use the suninstall program to install from the Solaris 9 Software 1 of 2 CD or from a network installation image on a boot server, follow these steps.
1. Delete the contents of the disk.
2. Before you install, create the Service partition by using the Sun LX50 Diagnostics CD.
  
  For information on how to create the Service partition, see the Sun LX50 Server User's Manual and the Sun LX50 Knowledge Base at http://cobalt-knowledge.sun.com.
3. Boot the system.
  
  The installation program prompts you to choose a method for creating the Solaris partition.
4. Select the Use rest of disk for Solaris partition option.
  
  The installation program preserves the Service partition and creates the Solaris partition.
5. Complete the installation.