Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Express by Using an Interactive Installer

You can install Oracle Solaris by using either the GUI installer on the live CD or the text installer option. Both installers can be used to install Oracle Solaris on the x86 platform. The text installer can also be used to install Oracle Solaris on the SPARC platform. Both installers are capable of functioning with a minimum of 512 MB of memory. Both installers enable you to select, create, or modify partitions during an installation.

The text installer has the following advantages over the GUI installer:

• Enables you to install the operating system on either SPARC or x86 based systems. The text installer enables you to select, create, or modify VTOC slices or partitions for use in the installation.

• Can be used on systems that do not have (or do require) graphics cards.

• Can require less memory than the GUI installer, depending on your system's specifications.

To download either the live CD ISO image or the text installer image, go to http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/solaris11/downloads/index.html.

Interactive Installation Settings and Guidelines

Following are the default network and security settings that are used by the GUI installer on the live CD and by the text installer:

• Oracle Solaris is automatically networked by using DHCP, with Domain Name System (DNS) resolution.

  The DNS domain and server Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are retrieved from the DHCP server.

• IPv6 is disabled.

• The NFSv4 domain is dynamically derived.

• The nwamd daemon, which is controlled by the Service Management Facility (SMF), performs automatic network configuration.

• Kerberos is disabled.

When installing Oracle Solaris, note the following important information about disk partitioning:

• The installation overwrites the whole disk layout, if any of the following is true:

  • The disk table cannot be read.

  • The disk was not previously partitioned.

  • You select the entire disk for the installation.

• A maximum of 2 TB on a disk or a partition can be used for installing the OS, regardless of whether the disk or partition is larger than 2 TB. Disks that do not have enough space for a successful installation are labeled as such.

• If an existing Oracle Solaris fdisk partition is on a system, and you make no modifications to the existing partitions, the installation overwrites the Oracle Solaris fdisk partition only. Other existing partitions are not changed.

For more information about partitioning a system before an installation, see Guidelines for Partitioning a System Prior To Installation.

For information about partitioning a system during an interactive installation, see Guidelines for Partitioning a System During an Interactive Installation.

Performing an Interactive Installation

Whether you are using the GUI installer on the live CD or the text installer, you follow the same basic steps to perform an installation. However, the order in which the steps are performed and the details that are displayed on each installation panel might vary, depending on which installer you are using, and whether you are installing on the SPARC or x86 platform.

Review the following basic installation steps. For detailed instructions on what to do at a particular installer screen, see the online help for that screen.

Table 3-1 Interactive Installation Steps

Step Instructions 1. Complete any preliminary tasks. Review the guidelines in Chapter 2, Preparing to Install Oracle Solaris 11 Express. In particular, if you are planning to set up and install Oracle Solaris on a partition or slice and have not done so yet, review the information in x86: Setting Up Partitions During an Interactive Installation. You can download either the live CD ISO image or the text installer image, then copy the image to removable media, such as a CD, DVD, or a USB stick. Alternatively, you can run the image inside VirtualBox. To download the Oracle Solaris Live CD ISO image or the text installer image, go to http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/solaris11/downloads/index.html. Note - If you have previously installed the Linux operating system, you will need to save a copy of the existing menu.lst file to a USB drive for use after the installation. For instructions, see Adding a Linux OS Entry From a Previous Installation to the GRUB Menu. 2. Insert the installation media, boot the system, then make any preliminary language selections. On the live CD, when the GRUB menu is displayed, select the Boot From CD option. If you are prompted to log in to the live CD, the user name and password are jack. The root password is solaris. 3. (Conditional) Install any missing drivers that are required for installation. When you boot the live CD, if any drivers are missing, a prompt is displayed. Follow the instructions for accessing the Device Driver Utility to locate and install any drivers that are required for the installation. Alternatively, you can select option #2 on the initial text installer menu to install required drivers before selecting option #1 to install Oracle Solaris. For instructions on using the Device Driver Utility, see How to Use the Device Driver Utility. 4. Initiate the installation. On the live CD desktop, double-click the Install Oracle Solaris icon to start the GUI installer. On the text installer initial menu, select option #1 to initiate an installation of Oracle Solaris. 5. Select an installation target. Optionally, you can modify the partition or slice layout. In the series of Disks panels that is displayed, choose whether to install the operating system on the whole disk or on a partition or a slice on the disk. You can modify the partition or slice layout. For instructions, see x86: Setting Up Partitions During an Interactive Installation and Setting Up Solaris VTOC Slices With the Text Installer. At any point during this phase of the installation, you can revert to the original settings. Caution - If the existing partition table cannot be read, the panel displays proposed partitioning. In this instance, all of the data on the disk is destroyed during the installation. 6. Complete date, time, and time zone settings. Select the default date and time, then select a time zone or location. The installer uses the time zone from the system's internal settings as the default, if possible. 7. Select the language and locale. The language and locale selections determine the language support and other data formats for the installed system. Note that for the text installer, language support is selected when the system boots, prior to running the installer. You can change either the default locale or the locale for that particular section any time that you log in to the system. To change the locale during login, click the Options button, then choose Select language. 8. Complete the user settings. To complete the user account setup, a login name and password are required. Type a user name and password. The login name must begin with a letter and can only contain letters and numbers. For the text installer, provide a root password. If you do not create a user account during the installation, the root account is set up as a regular user account rather than a role. For the GUI installer, you are not required to provide a root password during the installation. On an installed system, the initial root password defaults to the user account password that you entered during the installation. Note - The first time you use the root password, you are prompted to change the password. Type a computer name or accept the default. This field cannot be blank. For the GUI installer, the computer name field is included in the user panel. For the text installer, this field is located in the network configuration panel. 9. Text installer only: Specify the network configuration information. Specify how the network should be configured, as follows: Allow DHCP to configure the connection automatically. Skip the network configuration step during the installation, then configure the network settings after the installation. 10. Review the installation specifications. Review the specifications in the Installation Summary screen. If necessary, go back and make any required changes before starting the installation. 11. Install the system using the specifications you have provided. The Oracle Solaris installation process begins. Caution - Do not interrupt an installation that is in progress. An incomplete installation can leave a disk in an indeterminate state. 12. Review the installation logs. The Installation Results panel provides access to installation logs that you can review. 13. Reboot the system, or quit the installer and shut down the system. After a successful installation, reboot the system or exit the installer and shut down the system. Eject the live CD as the next system boot begins. Or, select the “Boot from Hard Disk” option in the GRUB menu. If the installation fails, you can view the installation log and exit the installer. 14. (optional) Perform any additional steps. For further instructions, see Related Information.