About Branded Zones

By default, a non-global zone on a system runs the same operating system software as the global zone. The branded zone (BrandZ) facility in the Oracle Solaris operating system is a simple extension of Oracle Solaris Zones. The BrandZ framework is used to create non-global branded zones that contain operating environments that are different from that of the global zone. Branded zones are used on the Oracle Solaris operating system to run applications. The BrandZ framework extends the Oracle Solaris Zones infrastructure in a variety of ways. These extensions can be complex, such as providing the capability to run different operating system environments within the zone, or simple, such as enhancing the base zone commands to provide new capabilities. For example, Oracle Solaris 10 Zones are branded non-global zones that can emulate the Oracle Solaris 10 operating system. Even default zones that share the same operating system as the global zone are configured with a brand.

The brand defines the operating environment that can be installed in the zone, and determines how the system will behave within the zone so that the software installed in the zone functions correctly. In addition, a zone's brand is used to identify the correct application type at application launch time. All branded zone management is performed through extensions to the standard zones structure. Most administration procedures are identical for all zones.

The resources included in the configuration by default, such as defined file systems and privileges, are covered in the documentation for the brand.

BrandZ extends the zones tools in the following ways:

• The zonecfg command is used to set a zone's brand type when the zone is configured.

• The zoneadm command is used to report a zone's brand type as well as administer the zone.

Although you can configure and install branded zones on an Oracle Solaris Trusted Extensions system that has labels enabled, you cannot boot branded zones on this system configuration, unless the brand being booted is the labeled brand on a certified system configuration.

You can change the brand of a zone in the configured state. Once a branded zone has been installed, the brand cannot be changed or removed.