Information Library for Solaris 2.6 (Intel Platform Edition)

Chapter 1 Planning Your Installation

This module describes how to plan and install the Solaris operating environment.

How to Plan Your Installation
  1. Make sure these instructions are for you.

    If You Are Installing Solaris From ... 

    Then Go To ... 

    A CD-ROM drive attached to your system 

    Step 2. 

    A remote CD-ROM drive on the network 

    Solaris Advanced Installation Guide in the Solaris server product box.

  2. Does your system already have a previous version of the Solaris operating environment installed?

    If yes, see the module Upgrading Solaris in this book.

    If no, go to step 3.

  3. Make sure your hardware is supported.

    Go see the module Supported Hardware in this book and check the following sections.

    See This Section ... 

    Which Lists ... 

    General Requirements 

    Minimum requirements such as memory, bus, disk interface, CPU. 

    Supported Systems 

    Systems that are supported 

    Supported Devices 

    If you've added a device, see the module Configuring Devices to see if there is a Device Reference page with additional instructions.

  4. Do you want to preserve the system's existing operating system data?

    Many x86 based systems come preinstalled with an operating system that uses the entire disk. For the existing operating system to co-exist on the same disk with the Solaris operating environment you must:

    • Back up your operating system and/or user data

    • Create an fdisk partition for both operating environments when you're installing the Solaris operating environment

    • Restore the files to the non-Solaris fdisk partition after the Solaris operating environment is installed.

    For detailed instructions, see the module Preserving Existing Operating Systems in this book.

  5. If your system is attached to a network, gather system information.

    Use the following table to gather system information that you may be asked to supply during installation. Collecting this information now will save you time during installation.

    If the system you're installing already has a previous version of the Solaris operating environment, you can find system information by using the commands shown.

    If the system you're installing does not have the Solaris operating environment installed, the only way to get this information is to ask your system administrator or whoever has set up your network.

    Network Information You May Need to Supply 

    Example  

    Command for Finding Information 

    System's name (host name) 

    crater

    /usr/bin/uname -u

    Primary network interface 

    le0

    ifconfig -a

    IP address 

    129.221.2.1

    ypmatch system_name host or

    nismatch system_name hosts.org_dir

    Domain name 

    chandy.West.Arp.COM

    usr/bin/domainname

    System part of a subnet? 

    Yes

    Check for existing subnet in /etc/netmasks

    Netmask 

    255.255.255.0

    more /etc/netmasks

  6. Plan disk space.

    Before installing the Solaris operating environment, use the following tables to determine your disk space needs beyond the required Solaris software group.

    Space for Software 

    For More Information See ... 

    Select a Solaris software group:

    • Entire Distribution: 599 Mbytes

    • Developer System Support: 540 Mbytes

    • End User System Support: 298 Mbytes

    See Table 1-1 for software descriptions.

    Add co-packaged Solaris software 

    Add vendor or third-party software 

    See the module Adding Software After Installation in this book.

    See appropriate documentation. 

    Add space for /home directory applications (for example, mail, personal files, application files)

    n/a  

    Table 1-1 Software Group Contents and Total Sizes

    Software Group 

    Size 

    What It Contains 

    End User System Support 

    298 Mbytes  

    • Windowing software

      • Common Desktop Environment (CDE)

      • OpenWindows(TM) environment

      • Motif runtime libraries

     

     

    • Power Management(TM) (energy saving software)

    • Basic networking support (telnet, rlogin, ftp)

      
    • Basic language and partial locale support

      
    • Standard UNIX\256 utilities (sed, awk, nroff, troff, grep, pipes, ld, ldd, spell)

    • Basic printer support (lp, lpstat, lpr)

      
    • System support for audio playback and record

    • Java(TM) Virtual Machine (ability to run Java applications)

      
    • Patch utilities

    • Removable media support (Volume Management)

    • Platform support for bus-independent, EISA, and ISA drives

    • Additional hardware support (PCMCIA)

    Developer System Support 

    540 Mbytes 

    The End User software plus:

    • Development support (ar command, graphic accelerator support, IPC)

    • CDE/Motif Developer software, runtime software, and manuals

      
    • Java Virtual Machine (ability to develop Java applications)

    • OS demo code

     

     

    • Power Management GUI tools

    • Online man pages

     

     

    • Solaris 1.x compatibility tools

    • Kernel probing support (TNF)

     

     

    • Extended language and partial locale support

    • Programming tools and libraries

     

     

    • Extended terminal support (terminfo)

    • Extended X support (XGL(TM), XIL(TM), XCU4 libraries)

     

     

    • Graphics header (for graphic application development)

    • ISO-8859 required fonts

    Entire Distribution 

    599 Mbytes 

    The End User and Developer software plus:

    • AnswerBook2(TM) (online documentation)

    • Full audio tools and demos

      
    • Enhanced security features (disk quotas, file/directory access monitoring, system accounting)

    • UUCP networking (UNIX-to-UNIX copy)

     

     

    • DHCP server (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

     

     

    • Enhanced networking support (NIS server, point-to-point protocol)

    • Admintool(TM) software

     

     

    • System recovery tools

    • Additional X features (complete fonts, PEX(TM) software)

     

     

    • Additional language and partial locale support (Eastern European)

    • ISO 8559 optional fonts

How to Install the Solaris Operating Environment
  1. Decide which installation method to use for installing the software in your product box.

    With This Method ... 

    You Can ... 

    You Can't ... 

    Solaris Web Start 

    • Install all the software in your product box (the Solaris operating environment and co-packaged software) at once from a single, browser-based tool

    • Install all the software with the default option, or pick only the software you want to install with the customize option

    • Upgrade from a previous version of the Solaris operating environment

    • Customize the software installations at the lowest levels (for example, selecting/deselecting packages)

    • Use this method on systems with less than 48 Mbytes of system memory

    • Use this method on systems with less than a 1.05 Gbyte boot disk [This restriction applies only to the size required to run Solaris Web Start; Solaris Web Start will determine whether your system has enough disk space to install the products you select.]

    Solaris Interactive Installation program, followed by other product installation programs 

    • Install the Solaris operating environment first, and then install the co-packaged software separately

    • Upgrade from a previous version of the Solaris operating environment

    • Customize the software installations at the lowest levels (for example, selecting/deselecting packages)

    • Install on systems with the minimum hardware requirements specified for the Solaris operating environment

    • Install all the software in your product box (Solaris operating environment) and co-packaged software) at once from a single tool

     

  2. Insert the Configuration Assistant diskette into the system's a: diskette drive.

  3. Insert the Solaris CD into the system's CD-ROM drive.

  4. Prepare the system to boot.

    If the System Is ... 

    Then ... 

    Off 

    Turn on the system components. 

    On 

     

    If the system is running the Solaris operating environment, enter the following commands: 

    $ su root

    # init 0

     

    If prompted, type any key to reboot the system, or use the reset button to restart the system if the system is shutdown. 

    Upon turning on your system, a diagnostic program (called the Configuration Assistant) is run to check your hardware for any devices that you've added to a supported system that are in conflict. If there are any, you'll be prompted to fix them before continuing.

  5. Boot the system from the local CD-ROM (CD).


    Boot Solaris
     
    Select one of the identified devices to boot Solaris.
     
    > To make a selection, use the arrow keys, then press Enter to mark it [X]. 
     
     
      Boot Solaris               
      --------------------------------------------------------------------          
      [ ]  NET : Xircom Pocket Ethernet parallel port card
                 Port: 3BC-3BF; IRQ: 7
      [ ]  CD  : IDE(ATA) IBM-H2344-A4
                 Target: 0; Port 1F0-1F7, 3F6-3F7; IRQ: 14  
     
  6. Choose the Interactive or Solaris Web Start option.

    Do not select 2 - Custom JumpStart; this is an advanced installation that requires previous setup to automate installations. It is described in theAdvanced Installation Guide in the Solaris server product box.


    Select the type of installation you want to perform:
     
             1 Solaris Interactive
             2 Custom JumpStart
             3 Solaris Web Start
     
    Enter the number of your choice followed by the <ENTER> key.
     
    If you enter anything else, or if you wait for 30 seconds,
    an interactive installation will be started.
     

    If you experience any problems from this point on, go to the module Troubleshooting During Installation in this book.

  7. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the Solaris operating environment.

    You are now in the hands of the Solaris installation program. This menu-driven, interactive program guides you step-by-step through installing the Solaris operating environment; it also has online help to answer your questions.

  8. Now that you're done installing the Solaris operating environment, you can:

    Task 

    Which Is Found In ... 

    Add other co-packaged software 

    Adding Software After Installation

    Install Solaris online documentation 

    Accessing Online Documentation

    Install patches to the Solaris operating environment 

    Release Notes for Solaris 2.6 or Locale-Specific Release Notes