Keeping a System Bootable

The bootadm command handles the details of boot archive update and verification. During the process of a normal system shutdown, the shutdown process compares the boot archive's contents with the root file system. If there have been updates to the system such as drivers or configuration files, the boot archive is rebuilt to include these changes so that upon reboot, the boot archive and root file system are synchronized.

The files in the x86 boot archive are located in the /platform/i86pc/amd64/boot_archive directory.

The files in the SPARC boot archive are located in the /platform directory.

To list the contents of the boot archive by using the bootadm list-archive command, as follows:

# bootadm list-archive

Whenever any files in the boot archive are updated, the archive must be rebuilt. For modifications to take effect, the rebuild of the archive must take place before the next system reboot.

Determining Whether the boot-archive SMF Service Is Running

If the boot-archive service is disabled, automatic recovery of the boot archives upon a system reboot might not occur. As a result, the boot archives could become unsynchronized or corrupted, preventing the system from booting.

To determine whether the boot-archive service is running, use the svcs command, as follows:

$ svcs boot-archive
STATE          STIME    FMRI
online         Mar_31   svc:/system/boot-archive:default

To enable or disable the boot-archive service, type:

# svcadm enable | disable system/boot-archive

To verify the state of the boot-archive service, type:

# svcs boot-archive

If the service is running, the output displays an online service state.

How to Clear a Failed Automatic Boot Archive Update by Manually Updating the Boot Archive

During the process of booting the system, if a warning message that is similar to the following is displayed, take action accordingly:

WARNING: Automatic update of the boot archive failed.
Update the archives using 'bootadm update-archive'
command and then reboot the system from the same device that
was previously booted.

The following procedure describes how to manually update an out-of-date boot archive by using the bootadm command.

1. Become the root role.
2. To update the boot archive, type the following command:

   # bootadm update-archive

   ---

   Note - To update the boot archive on an alternate root, type the following command:

   # bootadm update-archive -R /a

   -R altroot

   Specifies an alternate root path to apply to the update-archive subcommand.

   ---

   Caution - The root file system of any non-global zone must not be referenced with the -R option. Doing so might damage the global zone's file system, compromise the security of the global zone, or damage the non-global zone's file system. See the zones(5) man page.

   ---

   ---

3. Reboot the system.

   # reboot

x86: How to Clear a Failed Automatic Boot Archive Update by Using the auto-reboot-safe Property

Boot archive recovery on x86 platforms is automated through the Fast Reboot feature. However, during the process of booting the system, if a warning similar to the following is displayed:

WARNING: Reboot required.
The system has updated the cache of files (boot archive) that is used
during the early boot sequence. To avoid booting and running the system
with the previously out-of-sync version of these files, reboot the
system from the same device that was previously booted.

The system then enters system maintenance mode. As a result, the automatic update of the boot archive fails. To correct the problem, follow the steps in this procedure.

1. Become the root role.
2. Reboot the system.

   # reboot

3. If the active BIOS boot device and the GRUB menu entries point to the current boot instance, follow these steps to prevent a boot archive update failure:
   1. Set the auto-reboot-safe property of the svc:/system/boot-config SMF service to true, as follows:

      # svccfg -s svc:/system/boot-config:default setprop config/auto-reboot-safe = true

   2. Verify that the auto-reboot-safe property is set correctly.

      # svccfg -s svc:/system/boot-config:default listprop |grep config/auto-reboot-safe
      config/auto-reboot-safe            boolean  true