System Administration Guide: Basic Administration

August 2011

This book is for anyone who is responsible for administering one or more systems that run the Oracle Solaris operating system (OS). The book covers a broad range of Solaris system administration topics such as managing user accounts, diskless clients, booting a system, using the Service Management Facility (SMF), and managing software and patches.Topics are described for both SPARC and x86 based systems, where appropriate.

Document Information
About This Book
1. Oracle Solaris Management Tools (Road Map)
- What's New in Oracle Solaris Management Tools?
- Matrix of Oracle Solaris Management Tools and Supported Releases
- Feature Descriptions for Oracle Solaris Management Tools
- Feature Descriptions for Solaris 9 Management Tools
- Availability of Solaris Management Commands
  - Solaris 10 System Management Commands
- For More Information About Oracle Solaris Management Tools
2. Working With the Solaris Management Console (Tasks)
- Solaris Management Console (Overview)
- Becoming Superuser (root) or Assuming a Role
  - How to Become Superuser (root) or Assume a Role
- Using the Solaris Management Tools With RBAC (Task Map)
- Starting the Solaris Management Console
  - How to Start the Console as Superuser or as a Role
- Using the Oracle Solaris Management Tools in a Name Service Environment (Task Map)
- Adding Tools to the Solaris Management Console
  - How to Add a Legacy Tool to a Toolbox
  - How to Install an Unbundled Tool
- Troubleshooting the Solaris Management Console
  - How to Troubleshoot the Solaris Management Console
3. Working With the Oracle Java Web Console (Tasks)
- What's New in Administering the Oracle Java Web Console?
  - Oracle Java Web Console Server Management
  - Applications That Are Available to the Oracle Java Web Console
- Oracle Java Web Console (Overview)
- Getting Started With the Oracle Java Web Console (Task Map)
- Getting Started With the Oracle Java Web Console
  - How to Start Applications From the Oracle Java Web Console's Launch Page
- Managing the Console Service
- Configuring the Oracle Java Web Console
- Troubleshooting the Oracle Java Web Console Software (Task Map)
- Troubleshooting the Oracle Java Web Console Software
- Oracle Java Web Console Reference Information
4. Managing User Accounts and Groups (Overview)
- What's New or Changed in Managing Users and Groups?
- Tools for User Account and Group Account Management
- What Are User Accounts and Groups?
  - User Account Components
  - Guidelines for Using User Names, User IDs, and Group IDs
- Where User Account and Group Information Is Stored
- Tools for Managing User Accounts and Groups
  - Tasks for Solaris User and Group Management Tools
  - Managing Users and Resources With Projects
- Customizing a User's Work Environment
5. Managing User Accounts and Groups (Tasks)
- Setting Up User Accounts (Task Map)
- Maintaining User Accounts (Task Map)
6. Managing Client-Server Support (Overview)
- What's New in Managing Client-Server Support?
- Where to Find Client-Server Tasks
- What Are Servers, Clients, and Appliances?
- What Does Client Support Mean?
- Overview of System Types
- Diskless Client Management Overview
7. Managing Diskless Clients (Tasks)
- Managing Diskless Clients (Task Map)
- Preparing for Managing Diskless Clients
- Patching Diskless Client OS Services
  - Displaying OS Patches for Diskless Clients
  - How to Add an OS Patch for a Diskless Client
- Troubleshooting Diskless Client Problems
  - Troubleshooting Diskless Client Installation Problems
    - How to Locate and Install Missing ARCH=all Packages
  - Troubleshooting General Diskless Client Problems
8. Introduction to Shutting Down and Booting a System
- What's New in Shutting Down and Booting a System
- Where to Find Shut Down and Boot Tasks
- Shut Down and Boot Terminology
- Guidelines for Shutting Down a System
- Guidelines for Booting a System
- When to Shut Down a System
- When to Boot a System
9. Shutting Down and Booting a System (Overview)
- Fundamentals of the Oracle Solaris Boot Design
- Understanding the New SPARC Boot Architecture
- Implementation of the Boot Archives on SPARC
- x86: Administering the GRUB Bootloader
  - How GRUB Based Booting Works
  - GRUB Support for findroot Command
- Booting From an Oracle Solaris ZFS Root File System
10. Shutting Down a System (Tasks)
- Shutting Down the System (Task Map)
- Shutting Down the System
- Turning Off Power to All Devices
  - How to Turn Off Power to All Devices
11. Modifying Oracle Solaris Boot Behavior (Tasks)
- Modifying Boot Behavior on SPARC Based Systems (Task Map)
- Modifying Boot Behavior on x86 Based Systems (Task Map)
12. Booting an Oracle Solaris System (Tasks)
- Booting a SPARC Based System (Task Map)
- Booting a SPARC Based System
- Booting From a Specified ZFS Root File System on a SPARC Based System
  - SPARC: How to List Available Bootable Datasets Within a ZFS Root Pool
  - SPARC: How to Boot From a Specified ZFS Root File System
- Booting a SPARC Based System in Failsafe Mode
  - How to Boot a SPARC Based System in Failsafe Mode
- Booting a SPARC Based System From the Network
  - SPARC: How to Boot a System From the Network
- Booting an x86 Based System by Using GRUB (Task Map)
- x86: Booting From a Specified ZFS Root File System on an x86 Based System
  - x86: How to Display a List of the Available ZFS Boot Environments
  - x86: How to Boot From a Specified ZFS Root File System
- Booting an x86 Based System in Failsafe Mode
  - How to Boot an x86 Based System in Failsafe Mode
  - x86: How to Boot in Failsafe Mode to Forcibly Update a Corrupt Boot Archive
- Booting an x86 Based System From the Network
  - x86: About DHCP Macros
  - x86: How to Perform a GRUB Based Boot From the Network
- Accelerating the Reboot Process on the SPARC Platform (Task Map)
- Initiating a Fast Reboot of a SPARC Based System
13. Managing the Oracle Solaris Boot Archives (Tasks)
- Managing the Oracle Solaris Boot Archives (Task Map)
- Description of the Oracle Solaris Boot Archives
- Managing the boot-archive Service
  - How to Enable or Disable the boot-archive Service
- Automatic Boot Archive Recovery
  - x86: How to Clear Automatic Boot Archive Update Failures by Using the auto-reboot-safe Property
  - How to Clear Automatic Boot Archive Update Failures by Using the bootadm Command
- Using the bootadm Command to Manage the Boot Archives
14. Troubleshooting Booting an Oracle Solaris System (Tasks)
- Troubleshooting Booting on the SPARC Platform (Task Map)
- Troubleshooting Booting on the x86 Platform (Task Map)
15. x86: GRUB Based Booting (Reference)
- x86: Boot Processes
  - x86: System BIOS
  - x86: Kernel Initialization Process
- x86: Support for GRUB in the Oracle Solaris OS
16. x86: Booting a System That Does Not Implement GRUB (Tasks)
- x86: Booting a System (Task Map)
- x86: Booting a System That Does Not Implement GRUB
- x86: Boot Processes (Reference)
17. Working With the Oracle Solaris Auto Registration regadm Command (Tasks)
- Oracle Solaris Auto Registration (Overview)
- Getting Started With the regadm Command
  - When to Use the regadm Command-Line Interface
  - Requirements for Using the regadm Command
- Managing the Auto Registration SMF Service
- Configuring the Auto Registration Feature by Using the regadm Command
- Registering Your System by Using the regadm Command
- Troubleshooting Auto Registration Issues
18. Managing Services (Overview)
- Introduction to SMF
- Changes in Behavior When Using SMF
- SMF Concepts
- SMF Administrative and Programming Interfaces
  - SMF Command-Line Administrative Utilities
  - Service Management Configuration Library Interfaces
- SMF Components
  - SMF Master Restarter Daemon
  - SMF Delegated Restarters
- SMF and Booting
- SMF Compatibility
- Run Levels
  - When to Use Run Levels or Milestones
  - Determining a System's Run Level
- /etc/inittab File
  - What Happens When the System Is Brought to Run Level 3
19. Managing Services (Tasks)
- Managing Services (Task Map)
- Monitoring SMF Services
- Managing SMF Services (Task Map)
- Managing SMF Services
- Configuring SMF Services
- Using Run Control Scripts (Task Map)
- Using Run Control Scripts
- Troubleshooting the Service Management Facility
20. Managing Software (Overview)
- What's New in Software Management in the Oracle Solaris Operating System?
- Where to Find Software Management Tasks
- Overview of Software Packages
- Tools for Managing Software Packages
- Adding or Removing a Software Package (pkgadd)
- Key Points for Adding Software Packages (pkgadd)
- Guidelines for Removing Packages (pkgrm)
- Restrictions on Adding and Removing Software Packages and Patches for Solaris Releases That Are Not Zones Aware
- Avoiding User Interaction When Adding Packages (pkgadd)
  - Using an Administration File
  - Using a Response File (pkgadd)
21. Managing Software With Oracle Solaris System Administration Tools (Tasks)
- Oracle Solaris Product Registry and Solaris GUI Installation Tools for Managing Software
- Adding Software With the Oracle Solaris Installation GUI
  - How to Install Software With the Oracle Solaris Installation GUI Program
- Managing Software With the Oracle Solaris Product Registry GUI (Task Map)
- Managing Software With the Oracle Solaris Product Registry Command-Line Interface (Task Map)
- Managing Software With the Oracle Solaris Product Registry Command-Line Interface
22. Managing Software by Using Oracle Solaris Package Commands (Tasks)
- Managing Software Packages by Using Package Commands (Task Map)
- Using Package Commands to Manage Software Packages
23. Managing Patches
- About Patches
- Patching Strategy
- Downloading a Patch
  - How to Search for a Patch
- Displaying Information About Patches
- Applying a Patch
  - How to Apply a Patch Using the patchadd Command
- Removing a Patch
- Patch Management Terms and Definitions
A. SMF Services
Index
- Numbers and Symbols
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- X
- Z

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