Part I Overall Planning of Any Solaris Installation or Upgrade

This part guides you through planning the installation or upgrade of the Solaris Operating System when using any installation program.

Chapter 1 Where to Find Solaris Installation Planning Information

This book contains two parts: the high-level planning of your installation or upgrade and overviews of several technologies that relate to installation. This chapter provides a roadmap through this book.

Where to Find Planning and System Requirement Information

The Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Planning for Installation and Upgrade provides system requirements and high-level planning information, such as planning guidelines for file systems, and upgrade planning and much more. The following list describes the chapters in the planning book and provides links to those chapters.

Chapter 2 What's New in Solaris Installation

This chapter describes new features in the Solaris installation programs. To view features for all of the Solaris OS, see Solaris 10 What’s New. This chapter describes the following sections.

• What's New in the Solaris 10 8/07 Release for Installation

• What's New in the Solaris 10 11/06 Release for Installation

• What's New in the Solaris 10 1/06 Release for Solaris Installation

• What's New in the Solaris 10 3/05 Release for Solaris Installation

• What's New in the Solaris 10 10/08 Release for Installation

What's New in the Solaris 10 10/08 Release for Installation

Installing a ZFS Root File System

Starting with the Solaris 10 10/08 release, you can install and boot a ZFS root file system.

The following installation programs perform an initial installation of a ZFS root pool.

• The Solaris text installer performs an initial installation for a ZFS root pool. During the installation, you can choose to install either a UFS file system or a ZFS root pool. You can set up a mirrored ZFS root pool by selecting two disks during the installation. Or, you can attach or add additional disks after the installation to create a mirrored ZFS root pool. Swap and dump devices on ZFS volumes are automatically created in the ZFS root pool.

  For step-by-step instructions, see Chapter 3, Installing With the Solaris Interactive Text Installer for ZFS Root Pools (Planning and Tasks), in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Basic Installations.

• With custom JumpStart, you can create a profile to create a ZFS storage pool and designate a bootable ZFS file system. New ZFS profile keywords install a ZFS root pool for an initial installation. A ZFS profile contains a limited set of keywords.

  For more information about JumpStart and ZFS, see Chapter 9, Installing a ZFS Root Pool With JumpStart, in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations

You can use Solaris Live Upgrade to perform the following tasks:

• Migrate a UFS root (/) file system to a ZFS root pool

• Create a new boot environment in the following ways:

  • Within an existing ZFS root pool

  • Within another ZFS root pool

  • From a source other than the currently running system

  • On a system with non-global zones installed

After you have used the lucreate command to create a ZFS boot environment, you can use other Solaris Live Upgrade commands on the boot environment, such as the luupgrade and luactivate commands. For more information on using Solaris Live Upgrade for ZFS, see Chapter 11, Solaris Live Upgrade and ZFS (Overview), in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Solaris Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning.

Structure Change for Installation Media

Starting with the Solaris 10 10/08 release, the structure of the Solaris Operating System DVD and Solaris Software - 1 CD have changed for the SPARC platform. Slice 0 is no longer at the top of the directory structure. Therefore, the structure of the x86 and SPARC DVD and Solaris Software - 1 CD are the same. This change in structure makes setting up an install server easier if you have a mix of platforms, such as a SPARC install server and x86 media. For procedures for setting up an install server, see the following:

• Chapter 5, Installing From the Network With DVD Media (Tasks), in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

• Chapter 6, Installing From the Network With CD Media (Tasks), in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

What's New in the Solaris 10 8/07 Release for Installation

Upgrading the Solaris OS When Non-Global Zones Are Installed

Starting with the Solaris 10 8/07 release, you can upgrade the Solaris OS when non-global zones are installed without most of the limitations found in previous releases.

The only limitation to upgrading involves a Solaris Flash archive. When you use a Solaris Flash archive to install, an archive that contains non-global zones is not properly installed on your system.

Changes to accommodate systems that have non-global zones installed are summarized below.

• For the Solaris interactive installation program, you can upgrade or patch a system when non-global zones are installed with CDs, as well as DVDs. Or you can use a network installation image for either the DVD or CDs. Previously, you were limited to upgrading with a DVD. The time to upgrade or patch might be extensive, depending on the number of non-global zones that are installed.

• For an automated JumpStart installation, you can upgrade or patch with any keyword that applies to an upgrade or patching. In previous releases, a limited number of keywords could be used. The time to upgrade or patch might be extensive, depending on the number of non-global zones that are installed.

• For Solaris Live Upgrade, you can upgrade or patch a system that contains non-global zones. If you have a system that contains non-global zones, Solaris Live Upgrade is the recommended upgrade program or program to add patches. Other upgrade programs might require extensive upgrade time, because the time required to complete the upgrade increases linearly with the number of installed non-global zones. If you are patching a system with Solaris Live Upgrade, you do not have to take the system to single-user mode and you can maximize your system's uptime.

  Solaris Live Upgrade creates a copy of the OS on the inactive boot environment. The inactive boot environment can be upgraded or patched when non-global zones are installed. The inactive boot environment can then be booted to become the new boot environment. Changes to accommodate systems that have non-global zones installed are the following:

  • A new package, SUNWlucfg, is required to be installed with the other Solaris Live Upgrade packages, SUNWlur and SUNWluu. This package is required for any system, not just a system with non-global zones installed.

    These three packages comprise the software needed to upgrade by using Solaris Live Upgrade. These packages include existing software, new features, and bug fixes. If you do not install these packages on your system before using Solaris Live Upgrade, upgrading to the target release fails.

  • Creating a new boot environment from the currently running boot environment remains the same as in previous releases with one exception. You can specify a destination disk slice for a shared file system within a non-global zone.

    The argument to the -m option has a new optional field, zonename. This new field enables creating the new boot environment and specifying zones that contain separate file systems. This argument places the zone's file system on a separate slice in the new boot environment.

  • The lumount command now provides non-global zones with access to their corresponding file systems that exist on inactive boot environments. When the global zone administrator uses the lumount command to mount an inactive boot environment, the boot environment is mounted for non-global zones as well.

  • Comparing boot environments is enhanced. The lucompare command now generates a comparison of boot environments that includes the contents of any non-global zone.

  • Listing file systems with the lufslist command is enhanced to display a list of file systems for both the global zone and the non-global zones.

For step-by-step procedures for upgrading a system with non-global zones installed or for information on the Solaris Zones partitioning technology, see the following references.

New sysidkdb Tool Prevents Having to Configure Your Keyboard

This feature is new in the following releases:

• For SPARC, starting with the Solaris 10 10/06 release

• For x86, starting with the Solaris 10 8/07 release

The sysidkdb tool configures your USB language and its corresponding keyboard layout.

The following procedure occurs:

• If the keyboard is self-identifying, the keyboard language and layout automatically configures during installation.

• If the keyboard is not self-identifying, the sysidkdb tool provides you, during the installation, a list of supported keyboard layouts during installation, so that you can select a layout for keyboard configuration.

SPARC: Previously, the USB keyboard assumed a self-identifying value of 1 during the installation. Therefore, all of the keyboards that were not self-identifying always configured for a U.S. English keyboard layout during installation.

PS/2 keyboards are not self-identifying. You are asked to select the keyboard layout during the installation.

Prevent Prompting When You Use the JumpStart Program

If the keyboard is not self-identifying and you want to prevent being prompted during your JumpStart installation, select the keyboard language in your sysidcfg file. For JumpStart installations, the default is for the U.S. English language. To select another language and its corresponding keyboard layout, set the keyboard keyword in your sysidcfg file.

For more information, see one of the following:

• Preconfiguring With the sysidcfg File in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

• sysidtool(1M) man page

• sysidcfg(4) man page

NFSv4 Domain Name Configurable During Installation

Starting with the Solaris 10 8/07 release, the NFS version 4 domain can now be defined during the installation of the Solaris OS. Previously, the NFS domain name was defined during the first system reboot after installation.

This new feature affects installation as follows:

• The sysidtool command includes an enhanced sysidnfs4 program. The sysidnfs4 program now runs during the installation process to determine whether an NFSv4 domain has been configured for the network.

  For further information, see the sysidtool(1M) and sysidnfs4(1M) man pages.

  During an interactive installation, the user is provided with the default NFSv4 domain name that is automatically derived from the OS. The user can accept this default. Or, the user can specify a different NFSv4 domain.

• As part of a Solaris JumpStart installation, a new keyword is available in the sysidcfg file. The user can now assign a value for the NFSv4 domain by using the new keyword, nfs4_domain.

  • For further information about this new keyword, see the sysidnfs4(1M) man page. This man page also provides an example of how to use this new keyword

  • For further information about the NFSv4 domain name configuration, see the System Administration Guide: Network Services

What's New in the Solaris 10 11/06 Release for Installation

Enhanced Security Using the Restricted Networking Profile

Starting with the Solaris 10 11/06 release, you can, during installation, set the default behavior for network services to run in a much more secured manner. During an interactive installation (hands on), this new security option is provided in the installation configuration selection screens. For automated JumpStart installations (hands off), you can select a restricted network profile by using a new service_profile keyword in the sysidcfg file. This security option is only available for initial installations. An upgrade maintains all previously set services. If necessary, you can restrict network services after an upgrade by using the netservices command.

If you choose to restrict network security, numerous services are fully disabled. Other services are still enabled, but these services are restricted to local connections only. Secure Shell remains available for remote administrative access to the system.

With this restricted networking profile, you reduce your risk of exposure on the Internet or LAN. The system retains full graphical desktop use and outbound network access. For example, you can still access your graphical interface, use browsers or email clients, and mount NFSv4 file shares.

The network services can be enabled after installation by using the netservices open command or by enabling individual services by using SMF commands. See Revising Security Settings After Installation.

For additional information about this security option, see the following references.

Installing Solaris Trusted Extensions

Starting with the Solaris 10 11/06 release, Solaris Trusted Extensions provides multilevel security for the Solaris OS. This feature enables you to control information in a flexible but highly secure manner. You can now enforce strict access controls to your data based on data sensitivity, not just data ownership.

An installation that accesses Solaris Trusted Extensions differs from a standard installation. For a list of these installation differences and further information about Solaris Trusted Extensions, see Installing or Upgrading the Solaris OS for Trusted Extensions in Solaris Trusted Extensions Installation and Configuration for Solaris 10 11/06 and Solaris 10 8/07 Releases.

Solaris Flash Can Create an Archive That Includes Large Files

The flarcreate command no longer has size limitations on individual files. You can create a Solaris Flash archive that contains individual files that are greater than 4 Gbytes. The following two archive utilities are available for use:

• The cpio archive utility is the default. Individual files cannot be greater than 2 or 4 Gbytes. The size limitation depends on the version of cpio used.

• The portable archive interchange utility, pax, is invoked with the -L pax option. If the -L pax option is specified, the archive can be created without size limitations on individual files.

For more information, see Creating an Archive That Contains Large Files in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Solaris Flash Archives (Creation and Installation).

What's New in the Solaris 10 1/06 Release for Solaris Installation

This section describes the following new installation features in the Solaris 10 1/06 release.

Upgrading the Solaris OS When Non-Global Zones Are Installed

Solaris Zones partitioning technology provides the ability to configure non-global zones in a single instance of Solaris, the global zone. A non-global zone is an application execution environment in which processes are isolated from all other zones. Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release and if you are running a system with non-global zones installed, you can use standard Solaris upgrade programs to upgrade. You can use either the Solaris interactive installation program or custom JumpStart to upgrade. There are some limitations to upgrading with non-global zones installed.

• A limited number of custom JumpStart keywords are supported. For a list of supported custom JumpStart keywords, see Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

• You must use the Solaris Operating System DVD or a network installation image created from a DVD. You cannot use the Solaris Software CDs to upgrade a system. For more information about installing with this program, see Chapter 2, Installing With the Solaris Installation Program For UFS File Systems (Tasks), in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Basic Installations.

• On a system with non-global zones installed, do not use Solaris Live Upgrade to upgrade your system. While you can create a boot environment with the lucreate command, the luupgrade command cannot upgrade a boot environment that has non-global zones installed. In that case, the upgrade fails and an error message is displayed.

For details on using the Solaris interactive installation program, see Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Basic Installations

x86: GRUB Based Booting

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release, the open source GNU GRand Unified Boot Loader (GRUB) has been adopted in the Solaris OS for x86 based systems. GRUB is responsible for loading a boot archive into the system's memory. A boot archive is a collection of critical files that is needed during system startup before the root (/) file system is mounted. The boot archive is used to boot the Solaris OS.

The most notable change is the replacement of the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant with the GRUB menu. The GRUB menu facilitates booting the different operating systems that are installed on your system. The GRUB menu is displayed when you boot an x86 based system. From the GRUB menu, you can select an OS instance to install by using the arrow keys. If you do not make a selection, the default OS instance is booted.

The GRUB based boot feature provides the following improvements:

• Faster boot times

• Installation from USB CD or DVD drives

• Ability to boot from USB storage devices

• Simplified DHCP setup for PXE boot (no vendor-specific options)

• Elimination of all realmode drivers

• Ability to use Solaris Live Upgrade and the GRUB menu to quickly activate and fall back to boot environments

For more information about GRUB refer to the following sections.

GNU is a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not UNIX.” For more information, go to http://www.gnu.org.

Upgrade Support Changes for Solaris Releases

Starting with the Solaris 10 1/06 release, you can upgrade the Solaris OS from the Solaris 8, 9, or 10 releases. Upgrades from the Solaris 7 release are not supported.

What's New in the Solaris 10 3/05 Release for Solaris Installation

This section describes the following new installation features in the Solaris 10 3/05 release.

Solaris Installation Changes Including Installation Unification

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, several changes in the installation of the Solaris OS provide a more simplified and unified installation experience.

The changes include the following:

• This release has one installation DVD and several installation CDs. The Solaris Operating System DVD includes the content of all the installation CDs.

  • Solaris Software 1 – This CD is the only bootable CD. From this CD, you can access both the Solaris installation graphical user interface (GUI) and the console-based installation. This CD also enables you to install selected software products from both the GUI and the console-based installation.

  • Other Solaris Operating System CDs – These CDs contain the following:

    • Solaris packages that the software prompts you to install if necessary

    • ExtraValue software that includes supported and unsupported software

    • Installers

    • Localized interface software and documentation

• The Solaris Installation CD no longer exists.

• For both CD and DVD media, the GUI installation is the default (if your system has enough memory). However, you can specify a console-based installation with the text boot option.

• The installation process has been simplified, enabling you to select the language support at boot time, but select locales later.

The (noninteractive) Solaris custom JumpStart installation method has not changed.

To install the OS, simply insert the Solaris Software - 1 CD or the Solaris Operating System DVD and type one of the following commands.

• For the default GUI installation (if system memory permits), type boot cdrom.

• For the console-based installation, type boot cdrom - text.

Accessing the GUI or Console-based Installations

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, you can choose to install the software with a GUI or with or without a windowing environment. If the memory is sufficient, the GUI is displayed by default. If the memory is insufficient for the GUI, other environments are displayed by default. You can override defaults with the nowin or text boot options. However, you are limited by the amount of memory in your system or by installing remotely. Also, if the Solaris installation program does not detect a video adapter, the program is automatically displayed in a console-based environment.

For specific memory requirements, see System Requirements and Recommendations.

Custom JumpStart Installation Package and Patch Enhancements

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, when you install and upgrade the Solaris OS by using the custom JumpStart installation method, new customizations enable the following:

• A Solaris Flash installation with additional packages

  The custom JumpStart profile package keyword has been enhanced to enable installing a Solaris Flash archive with additional packages. For example, you can install the same base archive on two machines, but add a different set of packages to each machine. These packages do not have to be a part of the Solaris OS distribution.

• An installation with additional packages that might not be part of the Solaris distribution

  The package keyword has also been enhanced to enable an installation with a package that is not part of the Solaris distribution. You no longer need to write a postinstallation script to add extra packages.

• An installation with the ability to install Solaris OS patches

  The new custom JumpStart profile patch keyword enables the installation of Solaris OS patches. This feature allows the installation of a list of patches that are specified in a patch file.

For further information, see Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

Configuring Multiple Network Interfaces During Installation

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, the Solaris installation programs enable you to configure multiple interfaces during your installation. You can preconfigure these interfaces in the sysidcfg file for your system. Or you can configure multiple interfaces during the installation. For more information, see the following documents:

• Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations

• sysidtool(1M)

• sysidcfg(4)

SPARC: 64-bit Package Changes

In previous Solaris releases, the Solaris software was delivered in separate packages for 32-bit components and 64-bit components. Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, packaging has been simplified with the delivery of most 32-bit components and 64-bit components in a single package. The combined packages retain the names of the original 32-bit packages, and the 64-bit packages are no longer delivered.

The removal of the 64-bit packages simplifies installation and increases performance:

• Reduces the number of packages, which simplifies Custom JumpStart scripts that contain lists of packages

• Simplifies the packaging system with only one package that groups software functions

• Reduces installation time because fewer packages are installed

The 64-bit packages are renamed with the following conventions:

• If a 64-bit package has a 32-bit counterpart, the 64-bit package is named with the 32-bit package name. For example, a 64-bit library such as /usr/lib/sparcv9/libc.so.1 previously would have been delivered in SUNWcslx, but now is delivered in SUNWcsl. The 64-bit SUNWcslx package is no longer delivered.

• If a package does not have a 32-bit counterpart, the “x” suffix is removed from the name. For example, SUNW1394x becomes SUNW1394.

This change means that you might need to modify your custom JumpStart script or other package installation scripts to remove references to the 64-bit packages.

Custom JumpStart Installation Method Creates New Boot Environment

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, you can now use the JumpStart installation method to create an empty boot environment when you install the Solaris Operating System. The empty boot environment can then be populated with a Solaris Flash archive for later use.

For further information, see Chapter 8, Custom JumpStart (Reference), in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

Reduced Networking Software Group

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, you can now create a more secure system with fewer enabled network services by selecting or specifying the Reduced Networking software group (SUNWCrnet) during your installation. The Reduced Networking software group provides system administration utilities and a multiuser text-based console. SUNWCrnet enables the system to recognize network interfaces. During the installation, you can customize your system's configuration by adding software packages and by activating network services as needed.

For further information, see Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

Modifying Disk Partition Tables by Using a Virtual Table of Contents

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, the Solaris installation program now enables you to load existing slices from the virtual table of contents (VTOC.) You can now preserve and use the system's existing disk slice tables during your installation, rather than use the installer's default disk layout.

x86: Change in Default Boot-Disk Partition Layout

Starting with the Solaris 10 3/05 release, a new feature in the Solaris installation program is a boot-disk partition layout. This layout, by default, accommodates the Service partition on Sun x86 based systems. This installation program enables you to preserve an existing Service partition.

The new default includes the following partitions.

• First partition – Service partition (existing size on system)

• Second partition – x86 boot partition (approximately 11 Mbytes)

• Third partition – Solaris Operating System partition (remaining space on the boot disk)

If you want to use this default layout, select Default when the Solaris installation program asks you to choose a boot-disk layout.

If you install the Solaris OS for x86 based systems on a system that does not currently include a Service partition, the Solaris installation program does not create a new Service partition. If you want to create a Service partition on your system, first use your system's diagnostic CD to create the Service partition. After the Service partition is created, then install the Solaris Operating System.

For information about how to create the Service partition, see your hardware documentation.

For more information, see Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

Chapter 3 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:

• Task Map: Installing or Upgrading the Solaris Software

• Installing From the Network or From DVD or CDs?

• Initial Installation, or Upgrade?

• Choosing a Solaris Installation Method

• Planning Network Security

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.

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:

• If you have systems that do not have local DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drives

• If you are installing several systems and do not want to insert the discs into every local drive to install the Solaris software

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.

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.

Chapter 4 System Requirements, Guidelines, and Upgrade (Planning)

This chapter describes system requirements to install or upgrade to the Solaris OS. General guidelines for planning the disk space and default swap space allocation are also provided. This chapter contains the following sections:

• System Requirements and Recommendations

• Allocating Disk and Swap Space

• Upgrade Planning

• Locale Values

• Platform Names and Groups

• x86: Partitioning Recommendations

• How to Find the Version of the Solaris OS That Your System Is Running

System Requirements and Recommendations

You can choose to install the software with a GUI or with or without a windowing environment. If there is sufficient memory, the GUI is displayed by default. Other environments are displayed by default if memory is insufficient for the GUI. You can override defaults with the nowin or text boot options. But, you are limited by the amount of memory in your system or by installing remotely. Also if the Solaris installation program does not detect a video adapter, it automatically displays in a console-based environment. Table 4–2 describes these environments and lists minimal memory requirements for displaying them.

Allocating Disk and Swap Space

Before you install the Solaris software, you can determine if your system has enough disk space by doing some high-level planning.

General Disk Space Planning and Recommendations

Planning disk space is different for everyone. Consider allocating space for the following conditions, depending on your needs.

For information about disk space for a ZFS root pool installation, see Disk Space Requirements for a ZFS Installation

Disk Space Recommendations for Software Groups

The Solaris software groups are collections of Solaris packages. Each software group includes support for different functions and hardware drivers.

• For an initial installation, you select the software group to install, based on the functions that you want to perform on the system.

• For an upgrade, you must upgrade to a software group that is installed on the system. For example, if you previously installed the End User Solaris Software Group on your system, you cannot use the upgrade option to upgrade to the Developer Solaris Software Group. However, during the upgrade you can add software to the system that is not part of the currently installed software group.

When you are installing the Solaris software, you can choose to add or remove packages from the Solaris software group that you selected. When you are selecting which packages to add or remove, you need to know about software dependencies and how the Solaris software is packaged.

The following figure shows the grouping of software packages. Reduced Network Support contains the minimal number of packages and Entire Solaris Software Group Plus OEM Support contains all the packages.

Figure 4–1 Solaris Software Groups

Table 4–4 lists the Solaris software groups and the recommended amount of disk space that you need to install each group.

The disk space recommendations in Table 4–4 include space for the following items.

• Swap space

• Patches

• Additional software packages

You might find that the software groups require less disk space than the amount that is listed in this table.

Upgrade Planning

• For a UFS file system, you can upgrade a system by using one of three different upgrade methods: Solaris Live Upgrade, the Solaris installation program, and custom JumpStart.

• For a ZFS root pool, you must use Solaris Live Upgrade to upgrade. For ZFS upgrades, see Chapter 12, Solaris Live Upgrade for ZFS (Planning), in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Solaris Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning.

Upgrading and Patching Limitations

The following table lists limitations when you upgrade a system under some conditions.

Upgrade Programs

You can perform a standard interactive upgrade with the Solaris installation program or an unattended upgrade with the custom JumpStart installation method. Solaris Live Upgrade enables you to upgrade a running system.

Installing a Solaris Flash Archive Instead of Upgrading

The Solaris Flash installation feature provides a method of creating a copy of the whole installation from a master system that can be replicated on many clone systems. This copy is called a Solaris Flash archive. You can install an archive by using any installation program.

A Solaris Flash archive cannot be properly created when a non-global zone is installed. The Solaris Flash feature is not compatible with Solaris Zones partitioning technology. If you create a Solaris Flash archive, the resulting archive is not installed properly when the archive is deployed under these conditions:

• The archive is created in a non-global zone

• The archive is created in a global zone that has non-global zones installed

Also, you cannot create an archive with a ZFS root pool or install an archive on a ZFS root pool.

Creating an Archive That Contains Large Files

The default copy method that is used when you create a Solaris Flash archive is the cpio utility. Individual file sizes cannot be greater than 4 Gbytes. If you have large individual files, the flarcreate command with the -L pax option uses the pax utility to create an archive without limitations on individual file sizes. Individual file sizes can be greater than 4 Gbytes.

For information about installing an archive, see the following table.

Upgrading With Disk Space Reallocation

The upgrade option in the Solaris installation program and the upgrade keyword in the custom JumpStart program provide the ability to reallocate disk space. This reallocation automatically changes the sizes of the disk slices. You can reallocate disk space if the current file systems do not have enough space for the upgrade. For example, file systems might need more space for the upgrade for the following reasons:

• The Solaris software group that is currently installed on the system contains new software in the new release. Any new software that is included in a software group is automatically selected to be installed during the upgrade.

• The size of the existing software on the system has increased in the new release.

The auto-layout feature attempts to reallocate the disk space to accommodate the new size requirements of the file system. Initially, auto-layout attempts to reallocate space, based on a set of default constraints. If auto-layout cannot reallocate space, you must change the constraints on the file systems.

Auto-layout does not have the ability to “grow” file systems. Auto-layout reallocates space by the following process:

1. Backing up required files on the file systems that need to change.

2. Repartitioning the disks on the basis of the file system changes.

3. Restoring the backup files before the upgrade happens.

• If you are using the Solaris installation program, and auto-layout cannot determine how to reallocate the disk space, you must use the custom JumpStart program to upgrade.

• If you are using the custom JumpStart method to upgrade and you create an upgrade profile, disk space might be a concern. If the current file systems do not contain enough disk space for the upgrade, you can use the backup_media and layout_constraint keywords to reallocate disk space. For an example of how to use the backup_media and layout_constraint keywords in a profile, refer to Profile Examples in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations.

Using the Patch Analyzer When Upgrading

The Patch Analyzer performs an analysis on your system if you want to upgrade to one of these releases that follow the initial Solaris 10 3/05 release.

• Solaris 10 1/06 release

• Solaris 10 6/06 release

If you are already running the Solaris OS and have installed individual patches, upgrading to a subsequent Solaris 10 release causes the following:

• Any patches that were supplied as part of one of the releases noted above are reapplied to your system. You cannot back out these patches.

• Any patches that were previously installed on your system and are not included in one of the releases noted above are removed.

You can use the Patch Analyzer to determine which patches, if any, will be removed. For detailed instructions about using the Patch Analyzer, refer to Appendix C, Using the Patch Analyzer When Upgrading (Tasks), in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Solaris Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning.

Backing Up And Restarting Systems For an Upgrade

Backing up your existing file systems before you upgrade to the Solaris OS is highly recommended. If you copy file systems to removable media, such as tape, you can safeguard against data loss, damage, or corruption.

• For detailed instructions to back up your system, refer to Chapter 23, Backing Up and Restoring UFS File Systems (Overview), in System Administration Guide: Devices and File Systems.

• To backup your system when non-global zones are installed, see Chapter 26, Solaris Zones Administration (Overview), in System Administration Guide: Solaris Containers-Resource Management and Solaris Zones.

In previous releases, the restart mechanism enabled you to continue an upgrade after a loss of power or other similar problem. Starting with the Solaris 10 10/08 release, the restart mechanism is unreliable. If you have a problem, your upgrade might not restart.

Planning Network Security

Starting with the Solaris 10 11/06 release, you have the option during an initial installation to change the network security settings so that all network services, except Secure Shell, are disabled or restricted to respond to local requests only. This option minimizes the potential vulnerabilities a remote attacker might try to exploit. In addition, this option provides a base for customers to enable only the services they require. This security option is only available during an initial installation, not during an upgrade. An upgrade maintains any set services that were previously set. If necessary, you can restrict network services after an upgrade by using the netservices command.

Depending on the installation program you are using, you can select to restrict network services or keep the services enabled by default:

• For the Solaris interactive installation, you can select the option of enabling network services by default as in previous Solaris releases. Or, you can select the option to restrict network services. For a detailed description of hands-on installations, see Chapter 2, Installing With the Solaris Installation Program For UFS File Systems (Tasks), in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Basic Installations.

• For an automated JumpStart installation, you can set this security restriction by using a new keyword, service_profile in the sysidcfg file. For further information about this keyword, see service_profile Keyword in Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations.

Restricted Security Specifics

If you choose to restrict network security, numerous services are fully disabled. Other services are still enabled, but these services are restricted to local connections only. The Secure Shell remains fully enabled.

For example, the following table lists network services that, for the Solaris 10 11/06 release, are restricted to local connections.

Revising Security Settings After Installation

With the restricted network security feature, all of the affected services are controlled by the Service Management Framework (SMF). Any individual network service can be enabled after an initial installation by using the svcadm and svccfg commands.

The restricted network access is achieved by invoking the netservices command from the SMF upgrade file found in /var/svc/profile. The netservices command can be used to switch the service startup behavior.

To disable network services manually, run the following command:

# netservices limited

This command can be used on upgraded systems, where no changes are made by default. This command can also be used to re-establish the restricted state after enabling individual services.

Similarly, default services can be enabled as they were in previous Solaris releases by running the following command:

# netservices open

For further information about revising security settings, see How to Create an SMF Profile in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration. See also the following man pages.

• netservices(1M)

• svcadm(1M)

• svccfg(1M) commands.

Locale Values

As a part of your installation, you can preconfigure the locale that you want the system to use. A locale determines how online information is displayed in a specific language and specific region. A language might also include more than one locale to accommodate regional differences, such as differences in the format of date and time, numeric and monetary conventions, and spelling.

You can preconfigure the system locale in a custom JumpStart profile or in the sysidcfg file.

Platform Names and Groups

When you are adding clients for a network installation, you must know your system architecture (platform group). If you are writing a custom JumpStart installation rules file, you need to know the platform name.

Some examples of platform names and groups follow. For a full list of SPARC based systems, see Solaris Sun Hardware Platform Guide at http://docs.sun.com/.

On a running system, you can also use the uname -i command to determine a system's platform name or the uname -m command to determine a system's platform group.

x86: Partitioning Recommendations

When using the Solaris OS on x86 based systems, follow these guidelines for partitioning your system.

The Solaris installation program uses a default boot-disk partition layout. These partitions are called fdisk partitions. An fdisk partition is a logical partition of a disk drive that is dedicated to a particular operating system on x86 based systems. To install the Solaris software, you must set up at least one Solaris fdisk partition on an x86 based system. x86 based systems allow up to four different fdisk partitions on a disk. These partitions can be used to hold individual operating systems. Each operating system must be located on a unique fdisk partition. A system can only have one Solaris fdisk partition per disk.

Default Boot-Disk Partition Layout Preserves the Service Partition

The Solaris installation program uses a default boot-disk partition layout to accommodate the diagnostic or Service partition. If your system currently includes a diagnostic or Service partition, the default boot-disk partition layout enables you to preserve this partition.

If you install the Solaris OS on an x86 based system that does not currently include a diagnostic or Service partition, the installation program does not create a new diagnostic or Service partition by default. If you want to create a diagnostic or Service partition on your system, see your hardware documentation.

How to Find the Version of the Solaris OS That Your System Is Running

To see the version of Solaris software that is running on your system, type either of the following commands.

$ uname -a

The cat command provides more detailed information.

$ cat /etc/release

Chapter 5 Gathering Information Before Installation or Upgrade (Planning)

This chapter contains checklists to help you gather all of the information that you need to install or upgrade your system.

• Checklist for Installation

• Checklist for Upgrading

Checklist for Installation

Use the following checklist to gather the information that you need to install the Solaris OS. You do not need to gather all of the information that is requested on the worksheet. You need to collect only the information that applies to your system.

# ypmatch host-name hosts

# more /etc/netmasks

# uname -n

# cat /etc/nsswitch.conf

# getent hosts dns

Checklist for Upgrading

Use the following checklist to gather the information that you need to upgrade the Solaris OS. You do not need to gather all of the information that is requested on the checklist. You only need to collect the information that applies to your system. If you are performing the upgrade over the network, the installation program provides the information for you, based on the current system configuration.

You cannot change basic system identification, such as host name or IP address. The installation program might prompt you for basic system identification, but you must enter the original values. If you use the Solaris installation program to upgrade, the upgrade fails if you attempt to change any of the values.

# ypmatch host-name hosts

# more /etc/netmasks

# uname -n

# cat /etc/nsswitch.conf

# getent hosts dns