Planning Your Flash Archive Installation

Before you create and install a Flash Archive, you must make some decisions about how you want to install the Oracle Solaris OS on your systems. The first time that you install a system, you install with a full archive that is an initial installation. After a system has been installed with an archive, the system can be updated with a differential archive. The differential archive installs only the differences between two archives.

Review the following limitations before creating and installing a Flash Archive.

Table 2-1 Limitations When Creating and Installing a Flash Archive Archive

Designing an Initial Installation of the Master System

The first task in the Flash Archive installation process is to install a system, the master system, with the configuration that you want each of the clone systems to have. You can use any of the Oracle Solaris installation methods to install an archive on the master system. The installation can be a subset or a complete installation of the Oracle Solaris OS. After you complete the installation, you can add or remove software or modify any configuration files. Some limitations to installing the master system are the following:

• The master system and the clone systems must have the same kernel architectures. For example, you can only use an archive that was created from a master system that has a Sun4U architecture to install clones with a Sun4U architecture. For sample instructions, see Installing a Sun4U Flash Archive on a Sun4V Machine.

• You must install the master system with the exact configuration that you want on each of the clone systems. The decisions that you make when you design the installation of the master system depend on the following:

  • The software that you want to install on the clone systems

  • Peripheral devices that are connected to the master system and the clone systems

  • The architecture of the master system and the clone systems

Installing a Sun4U Flash Archive on a Sun4V Machine

Before You Begin

Note the following limitations to this procedure:

• These instructions are for simple installations only, not for the following:

  • Installations with zones.

  • Installations with attached storage.

  • Installations with fibre attached or with SAN in use.

• These instructions are for installing through the primary interface only. See CR 6772769.

• These instructions may not work with volume-managed root (encapsulated).

• These instructions are for a UFS root only. Solaris Flash installation of a ZFS root system uses a different installation mechanism.

1. Create a Flash Archive on a Sun4U machine, so that the archive can be installed on a Sun4V machine. Use one of the following two options to add Sun4V as a supported architecture for the archive.

   ---

   Note - You must start with a Sun4U machine that has been installed with the Entire Plus OEM Software Group, so that all the driver packages are in the image, even if these packages are not in use. For further information about this requirement, see SPARC: Supporting Peripheral Devices Not Found on the Master System.

   Note that, in order for a Flash Archive to be installed on different system types, the Entire Plus OEM distribution needs to be installed on the master system.

   ---

   • Add the following information to the /var/sadm/system/admin/.platform file. Then, create the Flash Archive.

     PLATFORM_GROUP=sun4v

     ---

     Note - You can verify that the Sun4V platform group is supported by using the following command:

     ---

     # flar -i <path_to_hybrid>.flar | grep content_architectures

     This command should display the following results:

     content_architectures=sun4u,sun4v

   • Create the Flash Archive, using the -U option to add Sun4V as a supported architecture for the archive. See the following example:

     # flarcreate -n S10U5hybrid -U "content_architectures=sun4u,sun4v" \
     -c -x /data /data/S10U5hybrid.flar

     The above sample command provides /data for the -c option, to indicate the location for the archive. Your value for this -c option should reflect your file setup.

     ---

     Note - You can verify that the Sun4V platform group is supported by using the flar command again as shown in the previous step.

     ---

2. Install the Flash Archive on the Sun4V machine. You can use JumpStart, a feature of Oracle Solaris, and a net image to deploy the Flash Archive.

   ---

   Note - At this point, the Sun4V machine may not boot. Do not try to patch the machine at this stage. If the machine is allowed to reboot after using JumpStart, you will probably see a message such as:

   ---

   Boot device: /pci@780/pci@0/pci@9/scsi@0/disk@0,0:a  File and args:
   Boot load failed.
   The file just loaded does not appear to be executable.

3. Upgrade the Sun4V machine using either a network image or a DVD image.

   For example, you could use a Solaris 10 Update 6 JumpStart image. Then, you could boot the Sun4V image from that network image, selecting the upgrade option.

   In this example, the upgrade completes with the following issues:

   • Where both .u and .v versions of a package were available, both versions will be installed. See CR 6846077.

   • The /var/sadm/system/admin/.platform file contains incorrect information. See CR 6523030.

   • Any third party .v packages are not part of the Oracle Solaris image. So, third party packages will probably not be upgraded.

4. Boot the Sun4V machine. You can now apply patches to the machine as needed.

Customizing the Oracle Solaris Installation on the Master System

After you install the Oracle Solaris OS on the master system by using any of the Oracle Solaris installation methods, you can add or delete software and modify system configuration information as necessary. To customize the master system's software, you can do the following:

• Delete software. You can remove software that you determine is not necessary to install on the clone systems. To see a list of software that is installed on the master system, use the Product Registry. For detailed instructions, refer to System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.

• Add software. You can install software that is included in the Oracle Solaris release. You can also add software that is not delivered as part of the Oracle Solaris OS. All of the software that you install on the master system is included in the Flash Archive and is installed on the clone systems.

• Modify configuration files. You can alter configuration files on the master system. For example, you can modify the /etc/inet/inetd.conf file to restrict the daemons that the system runs. All of the modifications that you make are saved as part of the Flash Archive and are installed on the clone systems.

• Further customization can be done when creating the archive. For example, you can exclude large data files that you might not want in the archive. For an overview, see Customizing an Archive's Files and Directories.

Creating Archives for SPARC and x86 Systems

If you want to install Oracle Solaris software by using a Flash Archive archive on both SPARC and x86 systems, you must create a separate Flash Archive archive for each platform. Use the Flash Archive that was created from the SPARC master system to install SPARC systems. Use the Flash Archive that was created from the x86 master system to install x86 systems.

SPARC: Supporting Peripheral Devices Not Found on the Master System

Choosing the drivers to install on the master system has the following dependencies.

• The type of peripheral devices attached to both the master system and the clone system.

• The type of software group installed.

The Entire Plus OEM Software Group installs all drivers regardless of the hardware that is present on the system. Other software groups provide limited support. If you install another software group and the clone systems have different peripheral devices than the master system, you need to install the appropriate drivers on the master system before you create the archive.

How to Get the Support for Peripherals That You Need

You can install support for peripherals on clone systems that are different from the master system in by installing the Entire Plus OEM Software Group or installing selected packages.

Planning the Creation of a Flash Archive Archive

You can create an archive from the master system for an initial installation. Or, if you have already installed an archive on clone systems, you can create a differential archive from two system images. The differential archive installs only the differences between the two images.

Planning to Create the Flash Archive Archive for an Initial Installation

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

• Oracle Solaris Operating System DVD

• Oracle Solaris Software - 1 CD

• An image of the Oracle Solaris Software CDs and the Oracle Solaris Languages CDs

  ---

  Note - Starting with the Oracle Solaris 10 9/10 release, only a DVD is provided. Oracle Solaris Software CDs are no longer provided.

  ---

---

Caution - A Flash Archive cannot be properly created when a non-global zone is installed. The Solaris Flash feature is not compatible with the Oracle Solaris Zones partitioning technology. If you create a Flash Archive, the resulting archive is not installed properly when the archive is deployed under these conditions: The archive is created in a non-global zone The archive is created in a global zone that has non-global zones installed

---

Creating Flash Archive With RAID-1 Volumes

You can create a Flash Archive archive when you have Solaris Volume Manager RAID-1 volumes configured. The Flash Archive creation software removes all RAID-1 volume information from the archive to keep the integrity of the clone system. With custom JumpStart you can rebuild the RAID-1 volumes by using a JumpStart profile. With Live Upgrade, a feature of Oracle Solaris, you create a boot environment with RAID-1 volumes configured and install the archive. The Oracle Solaris installation program cannot be used to install RAID-1 volumes with a Flash Archive.

• For examples of RAID-1 volumes in JumpStart profiles, see Profile Examples in Oracle Solaris 10 8/11 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

• For examples of Live Upgrade boot environments configured with RAID-1 volumes, see Creating a New Boot Environment in Oracle Solaris 10 8/11 Installation Guide: Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning.

Creating an Archive That Contains Large Files

The default copy method that is used when you create a Flash Archive is the cpio utility. Individual file sizes cannot be over 4 GB. If you have large individual files, you can create an archive with the pax copy method. The flarcreate command with the -L pax option uses the pax utility to create an archive without limitations on individual file sizes. Individual file sizes can be greater than 4 GB.

Planning to Create the Flash Archive Differential Archive for an Update

If you have a clone system that is already installed with an archive 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. The differences between these two images is the differential archive.

• One image is running on the master system that was the original software installed on the clone system. This image might need be installed on the master system if it was saved in a directory for future use.

• Another image is to be accessed and used for comparison. This image contains the new additions or deletions that will be installed on the clone systems.

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.

You can install a Flash Archive differential archive with the custom JumpStart installation method. Or, you can use Live Upgrade to install a differential archive on an inactive boot environment.

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

• A Live Upgrade boot environment, mounted on some directory that uses the lumount command. For a description of a Live Upgrade boot environment, see Chapter 2, Live Upgrade (Overview), in Oracle Solaris 10 8/11 Installation Guide: Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning.

• A clone system that is mounted over Network File System (NFS) with root permissions.

• A system backup that can be restored with the ufsdump command.

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

Customizing an Archive's Files and Directories

When you create a 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 would then be in the bb subdirectory.

---

Caution - Use the flarcreate 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 flarcreate command options that can exclude files and directories and restore files and subdirectories.

For descriptions of these options, see Table 6-7.

For examples of customizing an archive, see Creating a Flash Archive and Customizing Files (Examples).

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:

• Configure applications on clone systems. You can use a custom JumpStart script for some uncomplicated configurations. For more complicated configurations, special configuration-file processing might be necessary on the master system or before or after installation on the clone system.

• Protect local customizations on clone systems. Local preinstallation and postinstallation scripts reside on the clone. These scripts protect local customizations from being overwritten by the Flash Archive software.

• Identify nonclonable, host-dependent data that enables you to make the archive host independent. Host independence is enabled by modifying such data or excluding it from the archive. An example of host-dependent data is a log file.

• Validate software integrity in the archive during creation.

• Validate the installation on the clone system.

Guidelines for Creating a Custom Script

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

• Scripts must not affect the currently running system. The currently running OS might not be the one running when the Flash Archive is installed.

• Scripts must not start or stop any daemon processes.

• Scripts must not depend on the output of commands such as ps, truss, or uname, which are dependent on the OS. These commands report information about the currently running system.

• Scripts must not send any signals or otherwise affect any currently running processes.

• Scripts can use standard UNIX commands that facilitate shell scripting such as expr, cp, and ls.

For an overview of Live Upgrade, see Chapter 2, Live Upgrade (Overview), in Oracle Solaris 10 8/11 Installation Guide: Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning.

Flash Archive Sections

Flash Archive contains 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 6, Flash Archive (Reference).

Table 2-2 Flash Archive Sections

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.

Where to Store the Flash Archive

After you create the 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 this archive to any file system or media that you choose.

• Network File System (NFS) server

• HTTP or HTTPS server

• FTP server

• Tape

• CD, DVD

• Diskette

• Local drive of clone system that you want to install

Compressing the Archive

When you create the 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.

Planning the Installation of Flash Archive

The final task in the Flash Archive installation process is to install Flash Archive on clone systems. You can use any of the Oracle Solaris installation methods to install Flash Archive on clone systems.