Chapter 2 About the AutoClient Product

The Solstice AutoClient product allows you to set up AutoClient systems and administer changes to them. This chapter provides information regarding the AutoClient product so that you can successfully complete the tasks discussed in the subsequent chapters.

This is a list of the overview information in this chapter.

• "What's New in the Solstice AutoClient 2.1 Product"

• "Solstice AutoClient Interoperability Support"

• "Disk Space Requirements for AutoClient Servers and AutoClient Systems"

• "Configuration and Transition Issues"

• "Solstice AutoClient Product Limitations "

• "The Relationship Between AutoClient Systems and Host Manager"

• "Command-Line Equivalents of Host Manager Operations"

• "Files Modified by Host Manager"

What's New in the Solstice AutoClient 2.1 Product

The Solstice AutoClient 2.1 product provides the following new features:

• Script feature for Host Manager

  The script feature enables you to run customized scripts when adding, modifying, or deleting an AutoClient system. When adding an AutoClient system, you can specify the scripts to run before and after the AutoClient is added and before and after the AutoClient is booted. When modifying an AutoClient system, you can specify the scripts to run before and after the AutoClient is modified.

  For more information about this feature, refer to the online help in Host Manager or Chapter 5, Host Manager Reference Information.

• System root password functionality for Host Manager

  Using Host Manager, you can now set the system's root password when adding or modifying an AutoClient system. For more information about this feature, refer to the online help in Host Manager or Chapter 5, Host Manager Reference Information.

• JavaStation^TM support with Host Manager

  Host Manager now has the capability to add JavaStation clients. In order to use this feature, you must have JavaOS services loaded on your server. Refer to the online help or the Solstice AdminSuite 2.3 Administration Guide for more information about this feature in Host Manager.

• Multihomed host alias support

  Host Manager now enables you to add additional IP addresses for hosts that have multiple network interfaces.

• Updated root user handling

  Previous versions of Host Manager had limited root capabilities; that is, when running Host Manager as root, very few functions could be performed. Host Manager has been updated to allow root more flexibility in running Host Manager applications.

• Removal of OS services support

  Using Host Manager, you can now remove OS services from an OS server.

Solstice AutoClient Interoperability Support

Table 2-1 describes the server-client configurations that are supported by the Solstice AutoClient 2.1 software.

Table 2-1 Supported Server-Client Configurations

If You Have A ...	You Can Add OS Services and Support For ...	For the Following Releases ...
SPARC server running Solaris 2.3 or later	SPARC clients	Solaris 2.4 or later
	i386 clients	Solaris 2.4 or later
i386 server running Solaris 2.4 or later	SPARC clients	Solaris 2.4 or later
	i386 clients	Solaris 2.4 or later

Disk Space Requirements for AutoClient Servers and AutoClient Systems

Table 2-2 lists the disk space requirements for AutoClient servers and AutoClient systems.

Table 2-2 Disk Space Requirements for AutoClient Servers and Systems

System Type	File System	Minimum Disk Space Requirements
Servers of AutoClient systems	root (/)  /usr /var /export /export	1 Mbyte  4 Mbytes  7.5 Mbytes  17 Mbytes per OS service (this is the minimum space required for the OS; depending upon the OS that you wish to install, the space required could be much greater)  20 Mbytes for each AutoClient system (typically in /export)  Note: When you add an AutoClient system to a server, the /export/root directory is specified by default to store the 20 Mbytes for each system. However, you can specify any directory that has available disk space. See "Adding AutoClient Systems" for detailed information.
AutoClient systems	cache for root (/) and  shared /usr	Minimum of 70 Mbytes

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Caution -

The AutoClient configuration uses the entire disk(s) on the system. (For more information on AutoClient disk configurations, see Table 6-3.) If data already exists on the disk(s), it will be overwritten. You should preserve the data elsewhere by backing it up before you add and boot a system. (See "Adding AutoClient Systems".)

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Configuration and Transition Issues

In operating systems Solaris 2.5 and later, you can add new AutoClient systems to your network or you can make the following AutoClient system conversions.

Table 2-3 AutoClient System Conversions

You Can Convert A ...	To A ...
Generic System	AutoClient System
Standalone System	AutoClient System
Dataless System	AutoClient System
AutoClient System	Standalone System

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Caution -

If you plan to convert existing generic, dataless, or standalone systems to AutoClient systems, you should consider this process a re-installation. Any existing system data will be overwritten when the AutoClient system is booted for the first time.

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Note -

Supported configurations for AutoClient systems are systems with one or two disks only. Other disk configurations are not recommended for the AutoClient system type. Depending on the disk configuration you choose, all of one disk or all of two disks could be overwritten by the AutoClient product. (Disk configuration options are described in Table 6-3.)

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• If your standalone system that is being converted to an AutoClient contains local mail (in /var/mail), copy these directories from the local disk before using the local disk as a cache. In your AutoClient configuration, set up a central mail spool directory on your server for ease of administration.

• If your network has local file systems (other than the Solaris distribution file systems) on your standalone systems, you need to save these files before converting these systems to AutoClient systems. AutoClient systems that maintain local file systems lose the significant advantages of being FRUs, and of not requiring system backup.

• When an AutoClient system is set up using Host Manager, the /opt directory will be empty. On the server, you should establish a uniquely-named /opt file system for each platform that it will support (for example, sparc_opt or x86_opt), so that the AutoClient systems can mount the appropriate file system.

  You should use Storage Manager to create and maintain your file systems. See Solstice AdminSuite 2.3 Administration Guide for more information on Storage Manager.

Solstice AutoClient Product Limitations

When you set up your network with AutoClient systems, you need to consider the following limitations:

• The /usr file system is read-only for AutoClient systems; systems cannot make any modifications to the /usr file system. AutoClient systems make use of the /usr file system in the same way as diskless and dataless systems (mounted read-only).

• The pkginfo(1) command will not reflect all the software that is available to an AutoClient system. In particular, the package database for an AutoClient system will contain only the packages that were installed in the system's root directory. The pkginfo(1) command will not reflect all of the software in that is available /usr.

• Normally, booting an AutoClient system as an NIS system will not work if the network has an NIS+ server running that already knows about the AutoClient system; the AutoClient system will be automatically set up as an NIS+ system. However, you can override this by modifying your bootparams file and adding the ns key for your AutoClient system. For more information on the ns key, see bootparams(4).

• If an AutoClient system is running the Solaris 2.4 software, and the AutoClient server is unavailable, the AutoClient system will see the message in its console "NFS server servername not responding." Only AutoClient systems running the Solaris 2.5 or later software can be set up to use the file systems in the cache when the server is unavailable. For more information on the disconnectable feature, see Table 6-2 or online help.

• The AutoClient product does not support Power Management^TM software, which conserves the amount of power that a system consumes. For more information on Power Management software, see Using Power Management.

The Relationship Between AutoClient Systems and Host Manager

AutoClient systems are installed, configured, and maintained with the command-line interface or with Host Manager. Host Manager is a graphical user interface that allows for greater efficiency and ease of use in administering your AutoClient systems in a network environment. Host Manager enables system administrators to perform the following tasks:

• Add, modify, display, or remove AutoClient system information in a network environment

• Convert existing generic, standalone, and dataless systems to the AutoClient system type

• Change information about multiple AutoClient systems in one operation

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  Note -

  Host Manager does not set up an AutoClient system's /opt directory. For more information, see "Configuration and Transition Issues".

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  Host Manager has the following features:

• Easy conversion to the AutoClient system type - You can easily add AutoClient systems to your network, and convert some existing system types to AutoClient systems.

• Easy Modification - You can modify an AutoClient system by using the Modify screen. You can modify all attributes before saving changes of a newly added AutoClient or stand alone converted to an AutoClient. After saving changes, you can only modify a subset of the attributes.

• Global browsing - You can look at the systems in your local network on one screen.

• Batching - You can add, delete, and modify many AutoClient systems in one work session.

• Progress/status indication - At the bottom of the main menu is a display area that shows you how many systems have been added, deleted, or modified within a work session.

• Viewing and scrolling capabilities - Scroll bars enable easy viewing of system information. Host Manager also provides a search mechanism.

• Viewing error messages - If an error occurs during an operation, a pop-up window appears. You can also open the window manually from the View menu.

  You can find more information on these features in Chapter 5, Host Manager Reference Information, and in Chapter 6, Managing AutoClient Systems," as these features pertain to individual tasks.

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  Note -

  This book focuses on using Host Manager to maintain AutoClient systems. For more information on other Host Manager functionality, use online help or see the Solstice AdminSuite 2.3 Administration Guide.

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Command-Line Equivalents of Host Manager Operations

Table 2-4 lists the commands that provide the same functionality as Host Manager and can be used without running an X Window System^TM, such as the OpenWindows^TM environment. Many of the tasks in Chapter 6, Managing AutoClient Systems, provide corresponding examples using the command-line equivalents.

Table 2-4 Command-Line Equivalents of Host Manager

Command	Description
admhostadd	Adds support for a new system or OS server.
admhostmod	Modifies an existing system or OS server. You can also add OS services to an existing OS server.
admhostdel	Deletes an existing system or OS server.
admhostls	Lists one or more system entries in the selected name service.
admhostls -h	Lists hardware information of one or more system entries in the selected name service.

Files Modified by Host Manager

Table 2-5 describes the system files that may be modified by Host Manager when adding and maintaining your AutoClient systems.

Table 2-5 Files Modified by Host Manager

System File	Where Modified	Description
bootparams	/etc files, NIS, or NIS+	A database listing the servers that provide the paths to a client's boot and installation software and a client's root and swap areas
/etc/dfs/dfstab	Server providing the file services	A file containing a series of share commands that make file resources available to the client system
ethers	/etc files, NIS, or NIS+	A database containing the client's Ethernet address
hosts	/etc files, NIS, or NIS+	A database containing the client's host name and associated IP address
timezone	/etc files, NIS, or NIS+	A database containing the client's time zone
/export/root	Server providing the file services	A default directory that contains root files for a diskless client or AutoClient system
/export/swap	Server providing the file services	A default directory that contains the swap file for a diskless client
/var/sadm/softinfo	Solaris 2.3 and 2.4 servers providing OS services	A directory containing a list of OS services available on Solaris 2.3 and 2.4 servers
/var/sadm/system/admin/services	Solaris 2.5 or later server providing OS services	A directory containing a list of OS services available on a Solaris 2.5 or later server
/tftpboot	Server providing the boot services	A directory containing SPARC client booting information
/rplboot	Server providing the boot services	A directory containing i386 client booting information
/etc/inetd.conf	Server providing the boot services	A system file that starts the tftp and rpl boot daemons
cred.org_dir	NIS+	A NIS+ table used to store the host's DES and LOCAL credentials