The Oracle Solaris OS is installed by selecting a set of packages called a group from a package repository. Different groups supply packages for different uses, such as multipurpose servers, minimally installed systems, and desktop systems. Packages are signed and their secure transfer can be verified.
When you install the Oracle Solaris OS, choose the media that installs the appropriate group package, as follows:
Oracle Solaris Large Server – Both the default manifest in an Automated Installer (AI) installation and the text installer install the group/system/solaris-large-server group, which provides an Oracle Solaris large server environment.
Oracle Solaris Small Server – The Automated Installer (AI) installation and the text installer optionally install the group/system/solaris-small-server group, which provides a useful command-line environment to which you can add packages.
Oracle Solaris Minimal Server – The Automated Installer (AI) installation and the text installer optionally install the group/system/solaris-minimal-server group, which provides a minimal command-line environment to which you can add just the packages that you want.
Oracle Solaris Desktop – The Live Media installs the group/system/solaris-desktop group, which provides an Oracle Solaris 11 desktop environment.
To create a desktop system for centralized use, add the group/feature/multi-user-desktop group to the desktop server. For more information, see the article: Optimizing the Oracle Solaris 11 Desktop for a Multiuser Environment .
For an automated installation using the Automated Installer (AI), see Part III, Installing Using an Install Server, in Installing Oracle Solaris 11.2 Systems .
To guide your media choice, see the following installation and package content guides: