Installing Solaris 10 Operating System

C H A P T E R 3

This chapter describes the installation process for the Solaris 10 operating system.

Note - Your server can be equipped with an internal compact flash (CF) card, on which you can install supported Linux or Solaris operating systems. Due to the limited size of the CF card, a full installation might not be possible, and some installation modes and functions, such as LVM and swap, are not recommended. A discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of booting from CF and CF card optimization procedures are available in Installing and Booting an OS on Compact Flash.

About Solaris OS Installation

This chapter describes some of what you need to know to install the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) on a Sun Fire X4540 server and points you to the Solaris OS documentation for more detailed information you will need to complete the installation.

This chapter contains instructions for installing the Solaris 10 OS from network or media. If you are configuring the preinstalled Solaris 10 OS that is shipped with the server, refer to the Sun Fire X4540 Installation Guide.

Note - This chapter is intended for experienced system administrators who are familiar with using the Solaris OS on an x86/x64 platform.

Overview

In this document the term “x86” refers to the Intel 32-bit family of microprocessors and compatible 64-bit and 32-bit microprocessors made by AMD. The supported x86 based systems appear in the Solaris Hardware Compatibility List at http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/hcl.

The minimum Solaris OS for a Sun Fire X4540 server is Solaris 10 5/08. The Solaris 10 OS box contains the DVD media and documentation that you will need to install the Solaris OS software for both SPARC and x86 platforms. For a Sun Fire X4540 server, use the media for x86 platforms.

The Sun Fire X4540 server supports the following Solaris OS installation methods:

Install one server from CD/DVD media interactively with the Solaris installation program.

Install one or several servers over the network with Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) technology and the following installation methods:

Solaris installation program over the network from remote CD/DVD images

JumpStart installation

Diskless boot

Install using a serial console

Boot from the preinstalled Solaris 10 OS image on the hard drive.

Note - On the Sun X4540 Server, there are four possible boot locations: c0t0 (physical drive slot 0), c0t1 (physical drive slot 1), c1t0 (physical drive slot 8) and c1t1 (physical drive slot 9). These device identifiers are the default with the server configured to boot off of the factory installed SATA storage. If you add additional storage devices (such as a USB storage device), the device identifiers may change depending on which device the operating system looks at first during boot.

Use TABLE 3-1 to identify the steps you need to perform to install the Solaris OS.

TABLE 3-1 Task Map for Initial Solaris OS Installation
Task	Description	Instructions
Set up your server.	Install your server hardware and configure the service processor.	Sun Fire X4500/X4540 Server Installation Guide
Review requirements specific to the Sun Fire X4540 server.	Verify that your server meets the minimum system requirements.	See TABLE 3-2 and the Sun Fire X4500/X4540 Server Installation Guide
Review the Sun Fire X4540 Server Product Notes.	The product notes contain late-breaking news about the Solaris OS software and patches.	Sun Fire X4540 Server Product Notes
Gather the information you need to install the Solaris OS.	The type of information you need to collect depends on your environment and the method you choose to install the Solaris OS.	About Solaris OS Installation
Locate the Solaris OS documentation.	The Solaris OS documentation included with your software contains most of what you need to know about installation.	Where to Find Solaris 10 Information
Install the Solaris OS.	Choose an installation method and locate the installation instructions.	See TABLE 3-3.
Install patches, if necessary.	Patches are available from the SunSolve Patch Portal at `http://www.sunsolve.sun.com.`	Sun Fire X4540 Server Product Notes

TABLE 3-2 Minimum System Requirements for a Solaris OS Installation

Requirement	Description
Hardware requirements	The server hardware and the initial service processor configuration (if used) must be installed before you install the Solaris OS.
Minimum Solaris OS	Solaris 10 5/08 for x86 and x64 platforms or later compatible versions.
Memory to install	256 MB is the recommended size. 64 MB is the minimum size.
Disk space	12 GB or greater.
Swap area	512 MB is the default size.
x86/x64 processor requirements	x86/x64 120-MHz or faster processor is recommended. Hardware floating point support is required.
BIOS	Industry standard x86/x64 BIOS (resident in FLASH). The BIOS must be able to boot from CD/DVD media.

TABLE 3-3 Installation Methods

Method	Description	Instructions
Install from CD/DVD media.	Use the Solaris Installation Program on the CD/DVD media to install one server interactively.	Follow the instructions for x86 installation in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Basic Installations at `http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-0544.`
Install from the network by using PXE.	You need to use PXE to install the Solaris OS over the network from remote CD/DVD images or to automate the installation process and install several systems with a JumpStart installation. To boot over the network by using PXE, you need to set up an install server, a DHCP server, and configure the BIOS on each server to boot from the network.	Follow the instructions for an x86 PXE installation, in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at `http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504.`
Boot from the preinstalled image.	Depending on your configuration, a Solaris OS image might be preinstalled on a hard drive.	Sun Fire X4500/X4540 Server Installation Guide.
Install from a serial console.	Use a serial console to install the Solaris OS in a PXE-based network installation.	Follow the instructions for an x86 PXE installation in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at `http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504.`
Perform a diskless boot.	Boot the Solaris OS on a Sun Fire X4540 server without a hard drive. Use this method with a PXE-based network installation.	Follow the instructions for an x86 PXE installation in Solaris 10 Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations at `http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-5504.`

Note - The Solaris OS provides additional programs for installation, such as booting over a wide area network (WAN), but the Sun Fire X4540 server supports only those methods listed in this document.

Where to Find Solaris 10 Information

Solaris 10 OS documentation is available at:

http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/prod/solaris.10

Select the version-specific documents that describes your installation in the documentation collection. Make sure to follow instructions specific to x86 systems, where specified.

Solaris 10 documentation is also available on the Solaris Documentation DVD included with your Solaris OS software.