The Solaris installation program needs to obtain configuration information about a system (such as the system's peripheral devices, host name, IP address, name service) before it can install the system. Before prompting the user for the configuration information, the installation program looks for the information in either the specified sysidcfg file or the name service databases (in that order).
This section describes how to preconfigure the information in a sysidcfg file or in the name service databases, so you can avoid being prompted for the information every time you install a system. For example, if you have a large number of systems and you don't want to be prompted for the time zone every time you install one of the systems, you can preconfigure the time zone and have it automatically set during each installation. Preconfiguring system configuration information is one of the most important steps to completely automate custom JumpStart installations.
There are two ways to preconfigure system configuration information. You can add the information to:
A sysidcfg file (on a remote system or a diskette).
The name service available at your site.
Use Table 6-1 to determine which method to use to preconfigure system configuration information.
Table 6-1 Methods to Preconfigure System Configuration Information
If You Want to Preconfigure ... |
And Your Platform Is ... |
Can You Preconfigure With the sysidcfg File? | |
---|---|---|---|
Name service Domain name Name server |
All All All |
Yes Yes Yes |
Yes No No |
Network interface Host name IP address Netmask |
All All All All |
Yes Yes [Because this information is system specific, edit the name service rather than create a different sysidcfg file for each system.] Yes1 Yes |
No Yes2 Yes2 No |
Root password |
All |
Yes |
No |
Language (locale) in which to display the install program and desktop |
All |
Yes |
Yes |
Terminal type |
All |
Yes |
No |
Time zone |
All |
Yes |
Yes [This information is automatically preconfigured if you've added clients using Solstice AdminSuiteTM Host Manager.] |
Date and time |
All |
Yes |
Yes |
Monitor type |
x86 |
Yes |
No |
Keyboard language, keyboard layout |
x86 |
Yes |
No |
Graphics card, color depth, display resolution, screen size |
x86 |
Yes |
No |
Pointing device, number of buttons, IRQ level |
x86 |
Yes |
No |
Power Management(TM) (autoshutdown) [This system configuration information cannot be preconfigured through the sysidcfg file or the name service. See "Preconfiguring Power Management Information" for more details.] |
SPARC |
No |
No |
The sysidcfg file preconfigures the information through a set of keywords that specify the pieces of information you want to preconfigure. The keywords are described in Table 6-2. You can choose to provide one or more of the keywords to preconfigure as much information as you want.
Every system that requires different configuration information must have a different sysidcfg file. For example, you could use the same sysidcfg file to preconfigure the time zone for multiple systems if you wanted all the systems to have the same time zone. However, if you wanted to preconfigure a different root password for each of those systems, then each system would need to have its own sysidcfg file.
The sysidcfg file can reside on a shared NFS network directory or the root directory on a UFS or PCFS diskette in the system's diskette drive. If you put the sysidcfg file on a shared NFS network directory, you must use the -p option of the add_install_client command (when you set up the system to install over the network) to specify where the system can find the sysidcfg file when it installs.
If you put the sysidcfg file on a diskette, you must make sure the diskette is in the system's diskette drive when the system boots (on x86 based systems, the sysidcfg file should reside on the Configuration Assistant diskette). Also, if you are using a profile diskette, the sysidcfg file should reside on the profile diskette.
Only one sysidcfg file can reside in a directory or diskette. If you are creating more than one sysidcfg file, each file must reside in a different directory or diskette.
Syntax Rules |
For Example ... |
---|---|
Keywords can be listed in any order. |
pointer=MS-S display=ati {size=15-inch} |
Keywords are not case sensitive. |
TIMEZONE=US/Central terminal=PC Console |
Values can optionally be enclosed in single (`) or double quotes ("). |
network_interface='none' |
Only one instance of a keyword is valid; however, if you specify more than one keyword, only the first one will be used. |
network_interface=none network_interface=le0 |
The following example is a sysidcfg file for a group of SPARC based systems. (The host names, IP addresses, and netmask of these systems have been preconfigured by editing the name service.) Because all the system configuration information has been preconfigured, an automated installation can be created by using a custom JumpStart profile.
system_locale=en_US timezone=US/Central terminal=sun-cmd timeserver=localhost name_service=NIS {domain_name=marquee.central.sun.com name_server=connor(129.152.112.3)} root_password=m4QPOWNY system_locale=C |
The following example is a sysidcfg file created for a group of x86 based systems that all have the same keyboard, graphics cards, and pointing devices. The device information (keyboard, display, and pointer)was captured from running kdmconfig -d. In this example, users would see the prompt to select a language (system_locale) for displaying the rest of the Solaris installation program.
keyboard=ATKBD {layout=US-English} display=ati {size=15-inch} pointer=MS-S timezone=US/Central timeserver=connor terminal=AT386 name_service=NIS {domain_name=marquee.central.sun.com name_server=connor(129.152.112.3)} root_password=URFUni9 |
Open a text file (it must be named sysidcfg) using the editor of your choice.
If you create multiple sysidcfg files, each one must be in a separate directory or diskette.
Enter the sysidcfg keywords shown in Table 6-2 for the system configuration information you want to preconfigure.
Table 6-2 sysidcfg Keywords
Configuration Information |
Platform |
Keywords |
Where to Find Values/Example |
---|---|---|---|
Name service, domain name, name server |
All |
name_service=NIS, NIS+, OTHER, NONE {domain_name=domain_name name_server=hostname(ip_address)} |
name_service=NIS {domain_name=chandy.West.Arp.COM name_server=timber(129.221.2.1)} |
Network interface, host name, IP address, netmask |
All |
network_interface=NONE, PRIMARY, value {hostname=host_name ip_address=ip_address netmask=netmask} |
network_interface=le0 {hostname=feron ip_address=129.222.2.1 netmask=255.255.0.0} |
Root password |
All |
root_password=root_password |
Encrypted from /etc/shadow. |
Language in which to display the install program and desktop |
All |
system_locale=locale |
The /usr/lib/locale directory or Appendix E, Language and Locale Values provides the valid language and locale values. |
Teminal type |
All |
terminal=terminal_type |
The subdirectories in the /usr/share/lib/terminfo directory provide the valid terminal values. |
Time zone |
All |
timezone=timezone |
The directories and files in the /usr/share/lib/zoneinfo directory provide the valid time zone values. The time zone value is the pathname relative to the /usr/share/lib/zoneinfo directory. For example, the time zone value for the Mountain Standard Time in the United States is US/Mountain; the time zone value for Japan is Japan. |
Time and date |
All |
timeserver=localhost, hostname, ip_address |
If you specify localhost as the time server, the system's time is assumed to be correct. If you specify the hostname or ip_address (if you are not running a name service) of a system, that system's time is used to set the time. |
Monitor type |
x86 |
monitor=monitor_type |
Run kdmconfig -d filename; append output to sysidcfg file. |
Keyboard language, keyboard layout |
x86 |
keyboard=keyboard_language {layout=value} |
Run kdmconfig -d filename; append output to sysidcfg file. |
Graphics card, color depth, display resolution, screen size |
x86 |
display=graphics_card {size=screen_size depth=color_depth resolution=screen_resolution} |
Run kdmconfig -d filename; append output to sysidcfg file. |
Pointing device, number of buttons, IRQ level |
x86 |
pointer=pointing_device {nbuttons=number_buttons irq=value} |
Run kdmconfig -d filename; append output to sysidcfg file. |
Save the sysidcfg file.
Make the sysidcfg file available to clients through:
A shared NFS network directory (add_install_client command using the -p option)
The root directory on a PCFS or UFS diskette
Preconfiguring system configuration information by editing the name service (NIS or NIS+) is recommended for SPARC based systems. The following table gives a high-level overview of what you need to do.
To Preconfigure ... |
You Must Edit and Populate These Name Service Databases... |
---|---|
Host name and IP address |
hosts |
Date and time |
hosts (specify the timehost alias next to the host name of the system that will provide the date and time for the systems being installed) |
Time zone |
timezone |
Netmask |
netmasks |
The procedure to preconfigure the language or locale for a system is different for each name service. See "How to Preconfigure Language or Locale Using NIS" or "Preconfigure Language or Locale Using NIS+".
As root on the name server, edit the /var/yp/Makefile file.
Add the following text after the other *.time entries.
locale.time: $(DIR)/locale -@if [ -f $(DIR)/locale ]; then \ sed -e "/^#/d" -e s/#.*$$// $(DIR)/locale \ | awk '{for (i = 2; i<=NF; i++) print $$i, $$0}' \ | $(MAKEDBM) - $(YPDBDIR)/$(DOM)/locale.byname; \ touch locale.time; \ echo "updated locale"; \ if [ ! $(NOPUSH) ]; then \ $(YPPUSH) locale.byname; \ echo "pushed locale"; \ else \ : ; \ fi \ else \ echo "couldn't find $(DIR)/locale"; \ fi |
Add locale to the line starting with the word all and add locale: locale.time on a new line.
all: passwd group host ethers networks rpc services protocols netgroup bootparams aliases \ timezone locale locale: locale.time |
Create the file /etc/locale and make one entry for each domain or a specific system.
locale domain_name |
or
locale system_name |
For example, the following line specifies French to be the default language for the worknet.com domain:
fr worknet.com |
For example, the following line specifies French Belgium to be the default locale for a system named sherlock:
fr_BE sherlock |
See Appendix E, Language and Locale Values for a list of valid language and locale values.
Not all languages or locales are available on all Solaris CDs. The language or locale you select will be used for installation if it is on the Solaris CD.
# cd /var/yp; make |
Systems specified by domain or individually in the locale map are now set up to use the default language or locale. The default language or locale you've specified will be used during the installation and for the desktop after the system is rebooted.
This procedure assumes the NIS+ domain is set up. Setting up the NIS+ domain is documented in the Solaris Naming Administration Guide.
Log in to a name server as root or as a user in the NIS+ admin group.
Use the following nistbladm command to create the locale table.
# nistbladm -D access=og=rmcd,nw=r -c locale_tbl name=SI,nogw= locale=,nogw= comment=,nogw= locale.org_dir.'nisdefaults -d' |
Add an entry to the locale table by typing the following nistbladm command.
# nistbladm -a name=domain_name locale=locale comment=comment locale.org_dir.'nisdefaults -d' |
domain_name |
Is either the domain name or a specific system name for which you want to preconfigure a default language or locale. |
locale |
Is the language or locale you want installed on the system and for displaying the desktop after the system is rebooted. See Appendix E, Language and Locale Values for a list of valid language and locale values. |
comment |
Is the comment field. Use double quotation marks to begin and end comments that are longer than one word. |
Not all languages or locales are available on all Solaris CDs. The language or locale you select will be used for installation if it is on the Solaris CD.
Systems specified by domain or individually in the locale table are now set up to use the default language or locale. The default language or locale you've specified will be used during the installation and for the desktop after the system is rebooted.
The Power Management software provided by Solaris can be used to automatically save the state of a system and power it off after it is idle for 30 minutes. When you install the Solaris software on SPARC based systems of the sun4u platform group (and any other systems that are compliant with Version 2 of the EPA's Energy Star guidelines), the Power Management software is installed by default, and you are prompted after the subsequent reboot to enable or disable the Power Management software.
If you are performing interactive installations, there is no way to preconfigure the Power Management Information and avoid the prompt. However, with custom JumpStart installations, you can preconfigure the Power Management information by using a finish script to create an /autoshutdown or /noautoshutdown file on the system. When the system reboots, the /autoshutdown file enables Power Management and the /noautoshutdown file disables Power Management.
For example, the following line in a finish script enables the Power Management software and avoids the prompt after the system reboots.
touch /a/autoshutdown |
For more information about finish scripts, see "Creating Finish Scripts".