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Solaris 10 6/06 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

Chapter 2 Solaris Installation and Upgrade (Roadmap)

This chapter provides you with information about decisions you need to make before you install or upgrade the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS). This chapter contains the following sections:

Note –

This book uses the term slice, but some Solaris documentation and programs might refer to a slice as a partition.

x86: To avoid confusion, this book distinguishes between x86 fdisk partitions and the divisions within the Solaris fdisk partition. The x86 fdisk divisions are called partitions. The divisions within the Solaris fdisk partition are called slices.

Task Map: Installing or Upgrading the Solaris Software

The following task map is an overview of the steps necessary to install or upgrade the Solaris OS when using any installation program. Use this task map to identify all of the decisions that you need to make to complete the most efficient installation for your environment.

Table 2–1 Task Map: Installing or Upgrading the Solaris Software

Task 

Description 

For Instructions 

Choose initial installation or upgrade. 

Decide if you want to perform an initial installation or an upgrade.  

Initial Installation, or Upgrade?.

Choose an installation program. 

The Solaris OS provides several programs for installation or upgrade. Choose the installation method that is most appropriate for your environment. 

Choosing a Solaris Installation Method.

(Solaris interactive installation program) Choose a default or custom installation. 

Decide which type installation is suitable for your environment: 

  • If you are using a graphical user interface (GUI) you can choose a default or a custom installation:

    • A default installation formats the hard disk and installs a preselected set of software.

    • A custom installation enables you to modify the hard disk layout and select the software that you want to install.

  • If you use a text installer (non-graphical interface), you can select the default values or edit the values to select the software you want to install.

For information on the Solaris installation program's choices, see Chapter 5, Gathering Information Before Installation or Upgrade (Planning)

Review system requirements. Also, plan and allocate disk space and swap space. 

Determine if your system meets the minimum requirements to install or upgrade. Allocate disk space on your system for the components of the Solaris OS that you want to install. Determine the appropriate swap-space layout for your system. 

Chapter 3, Solaris Installation and Upgrade (Planning).

Choose to install a system from local media or from the network. 

Decide on the most appropriate installation media for your environment. 

Installing From the Network or From DVD or CDs?.

Gather information about your system. 

  • For the Solaris installation program, complete the worksheet to collect all of the information that you need to install or upgrade.

  • For the custom JumpStart installation method, decide which profile keywords to use in your profile. Then review the keyword descriptions to find the information about your system that you need.

(Optional) Set system parameters. 

You can preconfigure system information to avoid being prompted for the information during the installation or upgrade. 

Chapter 6, Preconfiguring System Configuration Information (Tasks).

(Optional) Prepare to install the Solaris software from the network. 

If you chose to install the Solaris software from the network, complete the following tasks. 

  • (x86 based systems) Verify that your system supports PXE

  • Create an installation server

  • Create a boot server (if necessary)

  • Configure a DHCP server (if necessary)

  • Set up systems to be installed from the network

To install over a local area network, see Chapter 9, Preparing to Install From the Network With CD Media (Tasks).

To install over a wide area network, see Chapter 13, Preparing to Install With WAN Boot (Tasks).

(Upgrade only) Perform tasks prior to upgrade. 

Back up your system and determine if you can upgrade with disk space reallocation. 

Upgrade Planning.

Perform an installation or upgrade. 

Use the Solaris installation method that you chose to install or upgrade the Solaris software. 

The chapter or chapters that provide detailed instructions for the installation programs. 

Troubleshoot installation problems 

Review the troubleshooting information when you encounter problems with your installation. 

Appendix A, Troubleshooting (Tasks).

Installing From the Network or From DVD or CDs?

The Solaris software is distributed on DVD or CD media so that you can install or upgrade systems that have access to a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive.

You can set up the systems to install from the network with remote DVD or CD images. You might want to set up systems this way for the following reasons:

You can use all of the Solaris installation methods to install a system from the network. However, by installing systems from the network with the Solaris Flash installation feature or with a custom JumpStart installation, you can centralize and automate the installation process in a large enterprise. For more details about the different installation methods, refer to Choosing a Solaris Installation Method.

Installing the Solaris software from the network requires initial setup. For information about preparing to install from the network, choose one of the following options.

For detailed instructions about preparing to install from a local area network 

Chapter 9, Preparing to Install From the Network With CD Media (Tasks)

For instructions about preparing to install over a wide area network 

Chapter 13, Preparing to Install With WAN Boot (Tasks)

For instructions about how to install x86 based clients over the network by using PXE 

x86: Overview of Booting and Installing Over the Network With PXE

Initial Installation, or Upgrade?

You can choose to perform an initial installation or, if your system is already running the Solaris OS, you can upgrade your system.

Initial Installation

An initial installation overwrites the system's disk with the new version of the Solaris OS. If your system is not running the Solaris OS, you must perform an initial installation.

If the system is already running the Solaris OS, you can choose to perform an initial installation. If you want to preserve any local modifications, before you install, you must back up the local modifications. After you complete the installation, you can restore the local modifications.

You can use any of the Solaris installation methods to perform an initial installation. For detailed information about the different Solaris installation methods, refer to Choosing a Solaris Installation Method.

Upgrade

You can upgrade the Solaris OS by using two upgrade methods: standard and Solaris Live Upgrade. A standard upgrade maintains as many existing configuration parameters as possible of the current Solaris OS. Solaris Live Upgrade creates a copy of the current system. This copy can be upgraded with a standard upgrade. The upgraded Solaris OS can then be switched to become the current system by a simple reboot. If a failure occurs, you can switch back to the original Solaris OS with a reboot. Solaris Live Upgrade enables you to keep your system running while you upgrade and enables you to switch back and forth between Solaris OS releases.

For more information about upgrading and the list of upgrade methods, see Upgrade Planning.

Choosing a Solaris Installation Method

The Solaris OS provides several programs for installation or upgrade. Each installation technology offers different features that are designed for specific installation requirements and environments. Use the following table to help you decide which installation method to use.

Table 2–2 Choosing Your Installation Method

Task 

Installation Method 

Reasons for Choosing This Program 

Instructions 

Install one system from CD-ROM or DVD-ROM media with an interactive program. 

Solaris installation program 

  • This program divides tasks into panels, prompts you for information, and offers default values.

  • This program is not an efficient method when you have to install or upgrade multiple systems. For batch installations of multiple systems, use custom JumpStart or the Solaris Flash installation feature.

Solaris 10 6/06 Installation Guide: Basic Installations

Install one system over a local area network. 

Solaris installation program over the network 

This program enables you to set up an image of the software you want to install on a server and install this image on a remote system. If you need to install multiple systems, you can use the network installation image with the custom JumpStart and Solaris Flash installation methods to efficiently install or upgrade systems on your network. 

Part II, Installing Over a Local Area Network

Automate the installation or upgrade of multiple systems based on profiles you create. 

Custom JumpStart 

This program efficiently installs multiple systems. But if you only have a few systems, the creation of a custom JumpStart environment might be time consuming. For a few systems, use the Solaris interactive installation program. 

Chapter 6, Preparing Custom JumpStart Installations (Tasks), in Solaris 10 6/06 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations

Replicate the same software and configuration on multiple systems. 

Solaris Flash archives

  • This program saves installation time by installing all Solaris packages at once on your system. Other programs install each individual Solaris package and update the package map for each package.

  • Solaris Flash archives are large files and require a significant amount of disk space. To manage different installation configurations or to change your installation configuration, you might consider using the custom JumpStart installation method. Alternatively, you can accomplish system-specific customizations by using a JumpStart finish script or an embedded Solaris Flash postdeployment script.

Chapter 1, Solaris Flash (Overview), in Solaris 10 6/06 Installation Guide: Solaris Flash Archives (Creation and Installation)

Install systems over a wide area network (WAN) or the Internet. 

WAN boot 

If you want to install a Solaris Flash archive over the network, this program enables a secure installation. 

Chapter 11, WAN Boot (Overview)

Upgrade a system while it is running. 

Solaris Live Upgrade 

  • This program enables you to upgrade or add patches to avoid the system down time related to a standard upgrade

  • This program enables you to test an upgrade or new patches without affecting the current OS

Chapter 6, Solaris Live Upgrade (Overview), in Solaris 10 6/06 Installation Guide: Solaris Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning

After installing the Solaris OS, create an isolated application environment. 

Solaris Zones partitioning technology 

This program creates isolated non-global zones that provide a secure application environment. This isolation prevents processes that are running in one zone from monitoring or affecting processes that are running in any other zones.  

Chapter 16, Introduction to Solaris Zones, in System Administration Guide: Solaris Containers-Resource Management and Solaris Zones

Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8

The Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8 provides for broad deployment of application services and web services. This software is automatically installed with the Solaris OS. You can find documentation for the server in the following areas:

For documentation about starting the server 

See Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8 QuickStart Guide in the installation directory at /docs/QuickStart.html

For the full Application Server documentation set 

http://docs.sun.com/db/coll/ApplicationServer8_04q2

For a tutorial 

http://java.sun.com/j2ee/1.4/docs/tutorial/doc/index.html