Creating Derived Profiles With a Begin Script

A derived profile is a profile that is dynamically created by a begin script during a custom JumpStart installation. Derived profiles are needed when you cannot set up the rules file to match specific systems to a profile. For example, you might need to use derived profiles for identical system models that have different hardware components, such as systems that contain different frame buffers.

To set up a rule to use a derived profile, you must perform the following tasks:

• Set the profile field to an equal sign (=) instead of a profile.

• Set the begin field to a begin script that creates a derived profile that depends on the system on which you intend to install Solaris.

When a system matches a rule with the profile field equal to an equal sign (=), the begin script creates the derived profile that is used to install the Solaris software on the system.

The following is an example of a begin script that creates the same derived profile every time. You can write a begin script to create different derived profiles that depend on the evaluation of rules.

Example 7–1 Begin Script That Creates a Derived Profile

#!/bin/sh
echo "install_type        initial_install"    > ${SI_PROFILE}
echo "system_type         standalone"        >> ${SI_PROFILE}
echo "partitioning        default"           >> ${SI_PROFILE}
echo "cluster             SUNWCprog"         >> ${SI_PROFILE}
echo "package       SUNWman     delete"      >> ${SI_PROFILE}
echo "package       SUNWolman   delete"      >> ${SI_PROFILE}
echo "package       SUNWxwman   delete"      >> ${SI_PROFILE}

In the example, the begin script must use the SI_PROFILE environment variable for the name of the derived profile, which is set to /tmp/install.input by default.

If a begin script is used to create a derived profile, ensure the script does not have any errors. A derived profile is not verified by the check script because derived profiles are not created until the execution of the begin script.