When to Use the format Utility

Disk drives are partitioned and labeled by the Solaris installation program as part of installing the Solaris release. You might need to use the format utility when:

• Displaying slice information

• Dividing a disk into slices

• Adding a disk drive to an existing system

• Formatting a disk drive

• Repairing a disk drive

The main reason a system administrator uses the format utility is to divide a disk into disk slices. These steps are covered in Chapter 30, SPARC: Adding a Disk (Tasks) and Chapter 31, IA: Adding a Disk (Tasks).

See the section below for guidelines on using the format utility.