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Solaris 9 9/04 Installation Guide

Planning the Creation of a Solaris Flash Archive

You can create an archive from the master system or create a differential archive from two system images. The differential archive installs only the differences between the two images.

Planning to Create the Solaris Flash Archive for an Initial Installation

After you install the master system, the next task in the Solaris Flash installation process is to create a Solaris Flash archive. Files on the master system are copied to a Solaris Flash archive along with various pieces of identification information. You can create a Solaris Flash archive while the master system is running in multiuser mode or single-user mode. You can also create a Solaris Flash archive after you boot from one of the following:

Planning to Create the Solaris Flash Differential Archive for an Update

If you have a clone system and want to update it, you can create a differential archive that contains only the differences between two images, the unchanged master image and an updated master image. One image can be your system that is running the original software that was installed on the clone, or you need to access a saved copy of the unchanged master image. This image is to be updated with the desired changes. Another image is to be accessed and used for comparison. The differences between these two images is the differential archive. You can install a Solaris Flash differential archive with the custom JumpStart installation method. Or, you can use Solaris Live Upgrade to install a differential archive on an inactive boot environment. After you update a clone system with a differential archive, only the files that are in the differential archive are changed on the clone system. Scripts can be used to customize the archive before or after installation, which is especially helpful for reconfiguration.

An unchanged master image should be saved after the initial installation so it could be accessed by any of the following methods.

For step-by-step instructions, see To Create a Solaris Flash Differential Archive With an Updated Master Image.

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 then would be in the bb subdirectory.

Caution – Caution –

Use the flar create 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 flar create 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 23–7.

For examples of customizing an archive, see Examples—Creating an Archive for an Initial Install.

Customizing an Archive With Scripts

After the software is installed on the master system, special scripts can be run during creation, installation, postinstallation and first reboot. These scripts enable you to do the following:

Guidelines for Creating a Custom Script

When creating a scripts other than the reboot script, following these guidelines to assure the script does not corrupt the operating environment or otherwise disrupt the system. These guidelines enable the use of Solaris Live Upgrade, which creates a new boot environment for installation of the operating environment. The new boot environment can be installed with an archive while the current system is running.

Note –

These guidelines are not for reboot scripts that are allowed to run daemons or make other types of modification to the root (/) file system.

For an overview of Solaris Live Upgrade, see Chapter 33, Solaris Live Upgrade (Overview).

Solaris Flash Archive Sections

Solaris Flash archives contain the following sections. Some sections can be used by you to identify and customize the archive and view status information on the installation. For a further description of each section, see Chapter 23, Solaris Flash (Reference).

Table 20–1 Flash Archive Sections

Section Name 

Informational Only 

Description 

Archive cookie  

X 

The first section contains a cookie that identifies the file as a Solaris Flash archive.

Archive identification  

 

The second section contains keywords with values that provide identification information about the archive. Some identification information is supplied by the archive software. Other specific identification information can be added by you by using options to the flar create command.

User-defined  

 

This section follows the identification section. You can define and insert these sections to customize the archive. The Solaris Flash archive does not process any sections that you insert. For example, a section could contain a description of the archive or perhaps a script to check the integrity of an application. 

Manifest  

X 

This section is produced for a Solaris Flash differential archive and used for validating a clone system. The manifest section lists the files on a system to be retained, added to, or deleted from the clone system. This section is informational only, lists the files in an internal format, and cannot be used for scripting. 

Predeployment, Postdeployment, Reboot 

X 

This section contains internal information that the flash software uses before and after installing an operating environment image. Any scripts that you have provided are included in this section.  

Summary  

 

This section contains messages about the archive creation. The section also records the activities of predeployment and postdeployment scripts. You can view the success of the installation in this section by writing a script to send output to this section. 

Archive files 

X 

The archive files section contains the files that have been gathered from the master system. 

When to Create the Archive for an Initial Installation

Create the archive when the system is in as static a state as possible.

Create the archive after software is installed on the master system and before software is configured. For example, Solaris Volume Manager stores metainformation outside the file system. If you have an encapsulated and mirrored boot disk, the creation of the archive is not possible. Because archive creation does not access the metainformation outside the file system, the archive must be created before configuration.

Where to Store the Solaris Flash Archive

After you create the Solaris Flash archive, you can save the archive on the hard disk of the master system or on a tape. After you save the archive, you can copy it to any file system or media that you choose.

Compressing the Archive

When you create the Solaris Flash archive, you can specify that the archive be saved as a compressed file by using the compress(1) utility. An archive that is compressed requires less disk storage space and creates less congestion when you install the archive over a network.