Solaris Transition Guide

Preface

The Solaris Transition Guide documents differences between SunOS^TM release 4 and SunOS release 5.7 operating systems. It is designed to help users familiar with SunOS release 4 software in transitioning to a SunOS release 5.7 environment.

This edition of the Solaris Transition Guide is delivered with the Solaris^TM 8 operating environment to correct minor technical flaws and problems in table display found in the previous version.

The guide continues to address differences between SunOS release 4 and SunOS release 5.7 operating systems. The Solaris Transition Guide Update, also delivered with the Solaris 8 operating environment, focuses on changes specific to SunOS release 5.8 software.

Note -

In this document the term "IA" refers to the Intel 32-bit processor architecture, which includes the Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium II Xeon, Celeron, Pentium III, and Pentium III Xeon processors and compatible microprocessor chips made by AMD and Cyrix.

Who Should Use This Guide

This guide can help users, system administrators, and software developers make the transition from a SunOS release 4 computing environment to the Solaris 7 operating environment.

What to Expect From This Guide

The purpose of this guide is to give you an overview-level understanding of the differences between SunOS release 4 and SunOS release 5.7 operating environments to make your transition to the Solaris 7 operating environment a smooth one. As a result, Solaris Transition Guide covers a wide range of topics. Because it is not practical to list detailed procedures for tasks here, you will find references throughout this guide to publications in the Solaris 7 documentation set where detailed information is available.

How This Guide Is Organized

This guide is divided into 2 parts with 19 chapters and 6 appendixes as outlined here.

Part 1: Transition Information for Users and System Administrators

You can use this part of the guide to help install Solaris 7 software, to understand changes to the local computing environment, and to understand changes to routine tasks.

This part of the guide contains the following chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction, discusses the benefits of migrating to the Solaris operating environment and summarizes the main differences between SVR4 and the Solaris operating environment.
Chapter 2, Overview of Major Changes, is an overview of some of the major changes between the SunOS release 4 and SunOS release 5.7 environments. It provides background for topics in subsequent chapters, focusing on procedures, tools, and concepts that have changed between releases.
Chapter 3, Converting a SunOS Release 4 System to the Solaris 7 Environment, suggests what to consider to facilitate a smooth transition through software installation and post-installation so that SunOS release 4 data can most easily be restored in the Solaris 7 operating environment.
Chapter 4, Using the Compatibility Packages, discusses the SunOS/BSD Source Compatibility Package and the Binary Compatibility Package. These packages make the transition easier by enabling you to use SunOS release 4 commands and applications during migration to the Solaris 7 operating environment.
Chapter 5, Security , describes the major differences between SunOS release 4 and Solaris 7 security, and points out how those changes might affect system administration procedures.
Chapter 6, User Environment Administration, describes differences in tasks used to set up a local user environment after installing the Solaris software. It includes discussions on setting up a default shell, customizing the user environment, the window system, and user and group administration. It also discusses changes regarding man pages.
Chapter 7, Device Administration, explains SunOS release 5.7 device naming conventions and discusses changes to device-related tasks such as getting information about disks, adding devices to a system, and using volume management.
Chapter 8, Startup and Shutdown, describes changes to procedures for booting and shutting down a system.
Chapter 9, File System Administration, explains changes to file sytems, directories, and files. It also describes changes to file system administration.
Chapter 10, Setting Up a Solaris 7 Server to Support SunOS Release 4 Diskless Clients, discusses setting up servers for clients. It describes three programs--discover4x, install4x, and convert4x--that work together to help prepare a Solaris 7 server to serve SunOS release 4 clients.
Chapter 11, Managing Printers, Terminals, and Modems, describes how to set up and administer printers after you install Solaris 7 software and changes to printer commands. It also describes terminal and modem management using Solstice Admintools^TM and the Service Access Facility (SAF).
Chapter 12, Network Service Administration, outlines changes to the network facilities, TCP/IP and UUCP.
Chapter 13, Using Name Services, discusses NIS+ and the domain name system (DNS), and compares NIS+ to NIS and DNS.
Chapter 14, Solaris Common Desktop Environment, describes the Common Desktop Environment (CDE) and how to make the transition from the OpenWindows environment to CDE.

Part 2: Transition Information for Developers

This part of the guide concentrates on the Solaris 7 changes that most affect developers and the programming environment.

This part contains the following chapters:

Chapter 15, Compilers, Linkers, and Debuggers , discusses which capabilities have been added to or removed from compilers, linkers, and debuggers.
Chapter 16, Tools and Resources , discusses changes to tools and resources for the development environment including changes to ioctl() requests, ptrace() request values, libraries, and the make and SCCS facilities. This chapter also describes how to determine application compatibility, how to use Solaris 7 packaging capabilities, and how to find SunOS release 4 tools.
Chapter 17, Networking and Internationalization, discusses Solaris 7 networking features as they relate to the programming environment. It also describes improved internationalization features.
Chapter 18, System and Device Configuration, describes aspects of system and device configuration that have changed, including the dynamically loaded kernel and kernel layout, config and boot commands, and the /etc/system file.
Chapter 19, Device Drivers and STREAMS , discusses device drivers issues such as changes to device driver interfaces, the devinfo command, porting considerations, STREAMS, and the Solaris 7 driver architecture.

Reference Appendixes

The following appendixes includes reference tables showing SunOS 4.1 interfaces and their status in several operating systems. This information is useful to users, system administrators, and developers. The appendixes are:

Appendix A, Commands Reference Table, compares SunOS release 4 and SunOS release 5.7 commands.
Appendix B, System Calls Reference Table, compares SunOS release 4 and SunOS release 5.7 system calls.
Appendix C, Library Routines Reference Table, compares SunOS release 4 and SunOS release 5.7 library routines.
Appendix D, System Files Reference Table, compares SunOS release 4 and SunOS release 5.7 system files.
Appendix E, / and /usr File Systems Changes, compares SunOS release 4 and SunOS release 5.7 system files.
Appendix F, Quick Reference for Basic Changes, is a quick reference for changes in common commands, files and directories, and daemons and standard processes.

Ordering Sun Documents

Fatbrain.com, an Internet professional bookstore, stocks select product documentation from Sun Microsystems, Inc.

For a list of documents and how to order them, visit the Sun Documentation Center on Fatbrain.com at http://www1.fatbrain.com/documentation/sun.

Accessing Sun Documentation Online

The docs.sun.com^SM Web site enables you to access Sun technical documentation online. You can browse the docs.sun.com archive or search for a specific book title or subject. The URL is http://docs.sun.com.

What Typographic Conventions Mean

The following table describes the typographic changes used in this book.

Table P-1 Typographic Conventions


Typeface or Symbol	Meaning	Example
`AaBbCc123`	The names of commands, files, and directories; on-screen computer output	Edit your `.login` file. Use `ls -a` to list all files. `machine_name% you have mail.`
`AaBbCc123`	What you type, contrasted with on-screen computer output	`machine_name%` `su` `Password:`
`AaBbCc123`	Command-line placeholder: replace with a real name or value	To delete a file, type `rm` `filename`.
AaBbCc123	Book titles, new words, or terms, or words to be emphasized.	Read Chapter 6 in User's Guide. These are called class options. You must be root to do this.

Shell Prompts in Command Examples

The following table shows the default system prompt and superuser prompt for the C shell, Bourne shell, and Korn shell.

Table P-2 Shell Prompts


Shell	Prompt
C shell prompt	`machine_name%`
C shell superuser prompt	`machine_name#`
Bourne shell and Korn shell prompt	`$`
Bourne shell and Korn shell superuser prompt	`#`

man Page References

When commands, system files, or library routine names are first mentioned in the text, the number of the manual page section where the term is fully described is appended. For instance, mv(1). directs you to man Pages(1): User Commands.

Related Books

For more information on the Solaris 7 operating environment, see the following documentation:

Getting Help from Sun Microsystems WWW Site

You can get additional Solaris transition information by accessing the following URL:

http://www.sun.com/smcc/solaris-migration/index.html

The Solaris Migration Initiative home page is a central point for the distribution of tools, documentation, and information to aid you in your transition from SunOS release 4.