Oracle Solaris Installation Requirements

Before installing an Oracle Solaris 11 release, refer to the following requirements.

ZFS Root Pool Installation Requirements

Oracle Solaris 11 is installed in a ZFS storage pool called the root pool. The root pool installation requirements are as follows:

• Memory – The minimum memory requirement is 1 GB. The Live Media ISO image, and both the GUI and text installers, are capable of functioning with a limited amount of memory. The exact requirement varies, depending on system specifications.

  If you want to install an Oracle Solaris 11 virtual image on Oracle VM VirtualBox, see the memory requirements listed here:

  http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/solaris11/downloads/virtual-machines-1355605.html

• Disk space – At least 13 GB of disk space is recommended. The space is consumed as follows:

  • Swap area and dump device – The default sizes of the swap and dump volumes created by the Oracle Solaris installation programs vary, based on the amount of memory that is on the system and other variables.

    After installation, you can adjust the sizes of your swap and dump volumes to the sizes of your choosing, as long as the new sizes support system operation. See Managing Your ZFS Swap and Dump Devices in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: ZFS File Systems.

  • Boot environment (BE) – A ZFS BE is approximately 6–8 GB in size, but can vary greatly depending on the size of the dump device. The size of the dump device is based on the size of the system's physical memory. In addition, consider that the size of a new BE increases when it is updated, depending on the amount of updates. You will need to monitor the disk space usage of all BEs on the system. All ZFS BEs in the same root pool use the same swap and dump devices.

  • Oracle Solaris OS components – All subdirectories of the root file system that are part of the OS image, with the exception of /var, must be in the same dataset as the root file system. In addition, all Oracle Solaris OS components must reside within the root pool, with the exception of the swap and dump devices. For information about specific disk requirements, see Chapter 3, Managing Devices.

• x86 only: Support for running multiple operating systems – You can partition the disk that will contain the OS prior to an installation or during an installation. See Partitioning Your System in Installing Oracle Solaris 11.1 Systems.

Oracle Solaris Preinstallation Tasks

Before installing an Oracle Solaris 11 release, review the following information:

• x86: Prepare the boot environment (applies to x86 based systems that will run multiple operating systems) – See Preparing a Boot Environment for Installing Multiple Operating Systems in Installing Oracle Solaris 11.1 Systems.

• Ensure that you have the proper device drivers – Before installing Oracle Solaris 11, determine whether the devices on your system are supported. You can use the Device Driver Utility to ensure that your system has the proper devices. The Device Driver Utility can be accessed through the text installer menu options. See Ensuring That You Have the Proper Device Drivers in Installing Oracle Solaris 11.1 Systems. See also the Hardware Compatibility Lists (HCL) at http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/hcl/index.html.

• x86: Configure the system's date and time (applies to x86 platforms that are installed with AI only) – Oracle Solaris 11 keeps the Real Time Clock (RTC) in Coordinated Universal time (UTC) format. The behavior on x86 platforms is different than in Oracle Solaris 10. AI does not adjust the RTC date and time during an installation. To configure the date and time, see Configuring Date and Time Before and After an Installation.