What Is a Profile?

A profile is a text file that defines how to install the Solaris software on a system (the software group to install, for example). Every rule specifies a profile that defines how a system is to be installed with Solaris when that rule is matched during a JumpStart installation. You usually create a different profile for every rule; however, the same profile can be used in more than one rule.

A profile consists of one or more profile keywords and their values. Each profile keyword is a command that controls one aspect of how JumpStart is to install the Solaris software on a system. For example, the profile keyword and value:

system_type  server

tells JumpStart to install the system as a server.

If you created the JumpStart directory using the procedures presented in "Creating a Profile Server" or "Creating a Profile Diskette", sample profiles are already located in the JumpStart directory.