Chapter 2 What's New in Solaris Installation

This chapter describes new features in the Solaris installation programs. To view features for all of the Solaris OS, see Solaris Express Developer Edition What’s New. This chapter describes the following sections.

What's New in the Solaris Express Developer Edition

x86: GRUB Extended Support for Directly Loading and Booting the UNIX Kernel

Starting with the Solaris Express Developer Edition 5/07 release, changes have been made to GRUB that enable the boot loader to directly load and boot the unix kernel. The GRUB multiboot module is no longer used. This implementation integrates the previous multiboot functionality directly into the platform-specific unix kernel module. These changes reduce the time, as well as memory requirements, that are needed to boot the Solaris OS.

Two new keywords, kernel$ and module$, have been added to GRUB to assist in creating menu.lst entries that work with either 32-bit or 64-bit systems. Another new keyword, $ISADIR, displays 32–bit and 64–bit information in the boot command. In addition, the bootadm command that manages the menu.lst file has been modified to create file entries for the platform-specific unix module that is loaded by GRUB. During an upgrade, the bootadm command converts any existing multiboot menu.lst entries to unix entries.

These new keywords are used in normal installations. However, the miniroot is 32-bit only. Therefore, failsafe installations do not use the new keywords.

For overview and task-related information, see Chapter 11, Administering the GRUB Bootloader (Tasks), in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration. See also Chapter 12, Booting a Solaris System With GRUB (Tasks), in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.

For more information, see the boot(1M) and bootadm(1M) man pages.

The Solaris Express Developer Edition Release

The Solaris Express Developer Edition 5/07 (Developer) release includes new device drivers and additional developer tools. In addition, you can now upgrade your Developer release. Additional developer tools include Sun Studio 12, NetBeans Visual Web Pack 5.5, and NetBeans Profiler 5.5.

Starting with the Solaris Express Developer Edition 2/07 release, a new installation provides a simple initial installation of the Solaris OS for your laptop. Combined with community and Sun support and training services, the Developer release includes the tools, technologies, and platforms that enable developers to create custom Solaris, Java^TM, and Web 2.0 applications.

The Developer release installs a Solaris system that is automatically networked by using DHCP with DNS name resolution. IPv6 is also enabled. The Solaris Developer release is an initial installation, not an upgrade.

The Developer release is the new default installation from the DVD. In the initial installation screen, you now see the following choices with the Developer release as the default.

Solaris Express Developer Edition
Solaris Express
Solaris Express Serial Console ttya
Solaris Express Serial Console ttyb (for lx50,v60x and v65x)

The “Solaris Express” and “Solaris Express Serial Console” installations provide system administrators with the necessary choices to set up servers and clients. Because of the configuration choices, these installations require more time. These installation options do not include the developer tools. If you choose the Solaris Express Developer Edition option and do not have enough memory to run the graphical user interface (GUI), you must select one the of the other “Solaris Express” installations on the screen.

The Developer release includes the following developer tools, operating system, and desktop:

• Sun^TM Studio 11 – C, C++, Fortran compilers, IDE, and integrated tools

• NetBeans^TM IDE 5.5 – An open-sourced IDE for Java software developers

• NetBeans IDE Enterprise Pack 5.5 – Added to the NetBeans IDE, functionality to develop Java Platform, Enterprise Edition 5 based applications

• Java Platform, Standard Edition 6 – The OpenJDK based release of the Java platform JDK

• StarOffice^TM 8 – The OpenOffice based productivity suite, including word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation tools

• Open Source Tools – Over 150 open source applications, including Perl, Python, and GCC

• Solaris Express operating system and desktop - Includes new features from the Java Desktop System (JDS). JDS is a secure and comprehensive enterprise desktop software solution that combines open-source innovation from communities such as GNOME, and Firefox. The Desktop includes the following:

  • GNOME 2.16 - The latest enhanced GNOME desktop

  • Firefox 2.0 and Thunderbird 1.5 - Current release of Mozilla browser and email service

  • Orca - Screen reader and magnifier for the JDS/GNOME desktop

  • Java and GNOME bindings for the GNOME Platform libraries and the Cairo 2D drawing engine - Enable GNOME and GTK+ applications to be written in Java software

  • NetBeans plug-ins - Used in the NetBeans IDE to create applications

  • Ekiga - An open-source desktop Voice over IP (VoIP) and video-conferencing application for the GNOME desktop

  • Vino - Provides the ability to remotely administer a desktop session

  To learn more about the JDS features, see Open Solaris http://opensolaris.org/os/project/jds/.

The Solaris Express Developer Edition is currently only for x86 based systems. However, developers on SPARC based systems can obtain similar functionality by downloading Solaris Express Community Edition and then installing Sun Studio and NetBeans IDE 5.5 with NetBeans Enterprise Pack 5.5.

Downloads are available at the following Web sites:

• Solaris Express Community Edition

• Sun Studio 11

• NetBeans IDE 5.5 with NetBeans Enterprise Pack 5.5.

Automated Network Configuration

Starting with the Solaris Express Developer Edition 5/07 release, the booting process runs the nwamd daemon. This daemon implements an alternate instance of the SMF service svc:/network/physical which enables automated network configuration with minimal intervention. The Open Solaris Network Auto-Magic Phase 0 page and nwamd man page contain further information, including instructions for turning off the NWAM daemon, if preferred. For more information and a link to the nwamd(1M) man page, see http://www.opensolaris.org/os/project/nwam/phase0/.

For the 5/07 developer release, the NWAM daemon is enabled by default under the following circumstances:

• You have selected the “Solaris Express Developer Edition” choice on the installation screen.

• And, after having made this choice, you are performing an initial installation.

The NWAM daemon is not enabled under the following circumstances:

• On the installation screen, you choose “Solaris Express.”

• Or, you choose to upgrade after any choice on the installation screen.

  In those cases, you must manually turn on the NWAM daemon. See the nwamd(1M) man page for details.

Upgrading the Solaris OS When Non-Global Zones Are Installed

Starting with the Solaris Express Developer Edition 2/07 release, you can upgrade the Solaris OS when non-global zones are installed.

The only limitation to upgrading involves a Solaris Flash archive. When you use a Solaris Flash archive to install, an archive that contains non-global zones is not properly installed on your system.

Changes to accommodate systems that have non-global zones installed are summarized below.

• For the Solaris interactive installation program, you can upgrade or patch a system when non-global zones are installed. The time to upgrade or patch might be extensive, depending on the number of non-global zones that are installed.

• For an automated JumpStart installation, you can upgrade or patch with any keyword that applies to an upgrade or patching. The time to upgrade or patch might be extensive, depending on the number of non-global zones that are installed.

• For Solaris Live Upgrade, you can upgrade or patch a system that contains non-global zones. If you have a system that contains non-global zones, Solaris Live Upgrade is the recommended upgrade program or program to add patches. Other upgrade programs might require extensive upgrade time, because the time required to complete the upgrade increases linearly with the number of installed non-global zones. If you are patching a system with Solaris Live Upgrade, you do not have to take the system to single-user mode and you can maximize your system's uptime.

  Solaris Live Upgrade creates a copy of the OS on the inactive boot environment. The inactive boot environment can be upgraded or patched when non-global zones are installed. The inactive boot environment can then be booted to become the new boot environment. Changes to accommodate systems that have non-global zones installed are the following:

  • A new package, SUNWlucfg, is required to be installed with the other Solaris Live Upgrade packages, SUNWlur and SUNWluu. This package is required for any system, not just a system with non-global zones installed.

    These three packages comprise the software needed to upgrade by using Solaris Live Upgrade. These packages include existing software, new features, and bug fixes. If you do not install these packages on your system before using Solaris Live Upgrade, upgrading to the target release fails.

  • Creating a new boot environment from the currently running boot environment remains the same as in previous releases with one exception. You can specify a destination disk slice for a shared file system within a non-global zone.

    The argument to the -m option has a new optional field, zonename. This new field enables creating the new boot environment and specifying zones that contain separate file systems. This argument places the zone's file system on a separate slice in the new boot environment.

  • The lumount command now provides non-global zones with access to their corresponding file systems that exist on inactive boot environments. When the global zone administrator uses the lumount command to mount an inactive boot environment, the boot environment is mounted for non-global zones as well.

  • Comparing boot environments is enhanced. The lucompare command now generates a comparison of boot environments that includes the contents of any non-global zone.

  • Listing file systems with the lufslist command is enhanced to display a list of file systems for both the global zone and the non-global zones.

For step-by-step procedures for upgrading a system with non-global zones installed or for information on the Solaris Zones partitioning technology, see the following references.

New sysidkdb Tool Prevents Having to Configure Your Keyboard

SPARC: This feature was introduced for SPARC based systems in the Solaris Express 10/06 release.

x86: This feature was introduced for x86 based systems in the Solaris Express Developer Edition 2/07.

The sysidkdb tool configures your USB language and its corresponding keyboard layout.

The following procedure occurs:

• If the keyboard is self-identifying, the keyboard language and layout automatically configures during installation.

• If the keyboard is not self-identifying, the sysidkdb tool provides you, during the installation, a list of supported keyboard layouts during installation, so that you can select a layout for keyboard configuration.

SPARC: Previously, the USB keyboard assumed a self-identifying value of 1 during the installation. Therefore, all of the keyboards that were not self-identifying always configured for a U.S. English keyboard layout during installation.

PS/2 keyboards are not self-identifying. You are asked to select the keyboard layout during the installation.

Prevent Prompting When You Use the JumpStart Program

If the keyboard is not self-identifying and you want to prevent being prompted during your JumpStart installation, select the keyboard language in your sysidcfg file. For JumpStart installations, the default is for the U.S. English language. To select another language and its corresponding keyboard layout, set the keyboard keyword in your sysidcfg file.

For more information, see one of the following:

• Preconfiguring With the sysidcfg File in Solaris Express Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

• sysidtool(1M) man page

• sysidcfg(4) man page

New sharemgr Utility for File-Sharing

Starting with the Solaris Express Developer Edition 2/07 release, you can use the new sharemgr utility for file-sharing tasks during installations. This new utility both simplifies and enhances the file-sharing process and related tasks. You do not need to use the share, shareall, or unshare utilities, although these utilities are still available. Additionally, you do not need to edit the /etc/dfs/dfstab file.

The sharemgr utility introduces the concept of a share group. Options for sharemgr are set to a share group, not to a specific file or directory. A share group can be used by multiple file-system types, such as NFS and ZFS. For example, the share group, my_group, could have one set of options for NFS and another set of options for ZFS.

For more information, see the sharemgr(1M) man page. See also, sharemgr Command in System Administration Guide: Network Services.

Starting with the Solaris Express Developer Edition 5/07 release, installation documentation provides both options for file-sharing, using sharemgr or using the share command.

What's New in the Solaris Express 7/06 Release for Installation

Enhanced Security Using the Restricted Networking Profile

Starting with the Solaris Express 7/06, the generic installation has been changed so that all network services, except Secure Shell, are disabled or restricted to respond to local requests only. This change minimizes the potential vulnerabilities a remote attacker might try to exploit. In addition, the change provides a base for customers to enable only the services they require.

For Solaris Express releases, the hardening changes are automatically applied whenever a fresh install is performed. This effect is achieved by invoking the netservices command from the SMF upgrade file found in /var/svc/profile. Behavior is unchanged if the system is upgraded.

All of the affected services are controlled by the Service Management Framework (SMF). Any individual service can be enabled by using the svsadm(1M) and svccfg(1M) commands. The netservices(1M) command can be used to switch the service startup behavior.

Installing Solaris Trusted Extensions

Starting with the Solaris Express 7/06 release, Solaris Trusted Extensions provides multilevel security for the Solaris OS. This feature enables you to control information in a flexible but highly secure manner. You can now enforce strict access controls to your data based on data sensitivity, not just data ownership.

An installation that accesses Solaris Trusted Extensions differs from a standard installation. For a list of these installation differences and further information about Solaris Trusted Extensions, see Installing or Upgrading the Solaris OS for Trusted Extensions in Solaris Trusted Extensions Installation and Configuration.

Solaris Flash Can Create an Archive That Includes Large Files

The flarcreate command no longer has size limitations on individual files. You can create a Solaris Flash archive that contains individual files over 4 Gbytes. The following two archive utilities are available for use:

• The portable archive interchange utility, pax, is the default. The archive can be created without size limitations on individual files.

• The cpio archive utility is invoked with -L cpio option. Individual files cannot be greater than 2 or 4 Gbytes. The size limitation depends on the version of cpio used. This option is useful for backward compatibility issues.

For more information, see Creating an Archive That Contains Large Files in Solaris Express Installation Guide: Solaris Flash Archives (Creation and Installation)

What's New in the Solaris Express 5/06 Release for Installation

NFSv4 Domain Name Configurable During Installation

Starting with the Solaris Express 5/06 release, the NFS version 4 domain can now be defined during the installation of the Solaris OS. Previously, the NFS domain name was defined during the first system reboot after installation.

This new feature affects installation as follows:

• The sysidtool command includes an enhanced sysidnfs4 program. The sysidnfs4 program now runs during the installation process to determine whether an NFSv4 domain has been configured for the network.

  For further information, see the sysidtool(1M) and sysidnfs4(1M) man pages.

  During an interactive installation, the user is provided with the default NFSv4 domain name that is automatically derived from the OS. The user can accept this default. Or, the user can specify a different NFSv4 domain.

• As part of a Solaris JumpStart installation, a new keyword is available in the sysidcfg file. The user can now assign a value for the NFSv4 domain by using the new keyword, nfs4_domain.

  • For further information about this new keyword, see the sysidnfs4(1M) man page. This man page also provides an example of how to use this new keyword

  • For further information about the NFSv4 domain name configuration, see the System Administration Guide: Network Services

What's New in the Solaris Express 1/06 Release for Solaris Installation

This section describes the following new installation features in the Solaris Express release.

x86: GRUB Based Booting

Starting with the Solaris Express release, the open source GNU GRand Unified Boot Loader (GRUB) has been adopted in the Solaris OS for x86 based systems. GRUB is responsible for loading a boot archive into the system's memory. A boot archive is a collection of critical files that is needed during system startup before the root (/) file system is mounted. The boot archive is used to boot the Solaris OS.

The most notable change is the replacement of the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant with the GRUB menu. The GRUB menu facilitates booting the different operating systems that are installed on your system. The GRUB menu is displayed when you boot an x86 based system. From the GRUB menu, you can select an OS instance to install by using the arrow keys. If you do not make a selection, the default OS instance is booted.

The GRUB based boot feature provides the following improvements:

• Faster boot times

• Installation from USB CD or DVD drives

• Ability to boot from USB storage devices

• Simplified DHCP setup for PXE boot (no vendor-specific options)

• Elimination of all realmode drivers

• Ability to use Solaris Live Upgrade and the GRUB menu to quickly activate and fall back to boot environments

For more information about GRUB refer to the following sections.

GNU is a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not UNIX.” For more information, go to http://www.gnu.org.