Solaris 10 5/09 Installation Guide: Basic Installations

Solaris Installation Program GUI or Text Installer Requirements

The Solaris installation program on the Solaris Operating System DVD or Solaris Software - 1 CD can be run with a graphical user interface (GUI) or as an interactive text installer in a desktop or console session. For x86 based systems, the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant is included in the Solaris installation program.

GUI – The Solaris installation GUI provides windows, pull-down menus, buttons, scrollbars, and iconic images to enable you to interact with the installation program. The GUI requires a local or remote DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive or network connection, video adapter, keyboard, monitor, and enough memory. For more information about these memory requirements, see Table 1–2.
Text installer – The Solaris interactive text installer enables you to type information in a terminal or console window to interact with the installation program. You can run the text installer in a desktop session with a windowing environment, or in a console session. The text installer requires a local or remote DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive or network connection, keyboard, and monitor. You can run the Solaris installation text installer with the tip command. For more information, see the man page, tip(1).

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 1–2 describes these environments and list memory requirements for displaying them.

Table 1–2 Memory Requirements for Display Options


Memory	Type of Installation	Description
384-511 MB	Text-based	Contains no graphics, but provides a window and the ability to open other windows. If you install by using the `text` boot option and the system has enough memory, you are installing in a windowing environment. If you are installing remotely through a `tip` line or using the `nowin` boot option, you are limited to the console-based installation.
512 MB or greater	GUI-based	Provides windows, pull-down menus, buttons, scrollbars, and iconic images.

You can also specify the installer you want to use during the installation by entering a selection or special command at a prompt. For instructions, see the procedures in Chapter 2, Installing With the Solaris Installation Program For UFS File Systems (Tasks).