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Solaris Advanced Installation Guide

Creating a Profile Diskette

You must create a JumpStart directory on a diskette if a system is not connected to a network, because the system won't have access to a profile server. However, the system must have a diskette drive.

When you use a diskette for custom JumpStart installations, the essential custom JumpStart files (for example, the rules file, rules.ok file, and profiles) must reside in the root directory (JumpStart directory) on the diskette. The diskette that contains a JumpStart directory is called a profile diskette. The custom JumpStart files on the diskette should be owned by root and have permissions equal to 755.

The diskette requirements for the profile diskette are different for x86 based systems and SPARC-based systems, so there is a different procedure to create a profile diskette for each platform.

x86: How to Create a Profile Diskette

Follow this procedure to create a profile diskette for x86 based systems, which involves:

Note -

This procedure assumes that the system is running Volume Management. For detailed information about managing CDs without Volume Management, see the System Administration Guide, Volume I.

  1. Log in as root on an x86- or SPARC-based system that has a diskette drive.

  2. Insert the Configuration Assistant diskette into the diskette drive.

  3. Make sure Volume Management knows about the diskette. 


    # volcheck

  4. Copy the Configuration Assistant diskette image to the system's hard disk. 


    # dd if=/vol/dev/aliases/floppy0 of=boot_image

    boot_image

    Is the file name where the Configuration Assistant diskette image is copied. You can specify an absolute path name. 

    For example, the following command would copy the boot diskette to the boot_save file. 


    dd if=/vol/dev/aliases/floppy0 of=boot_save

  5. Manually eject the Configuration Assistant diskette.

  6. Find a blank diskette (or a diskette that can be overwritten) that you can use for a profile diskette and insert it into the diskette drive.

    Any previous information on the diskette is overwritten when you make it into a profile diskette.

  7. Make sure Volume Management knows about the diskette.


    # volcheck

  8. Format the diskette.

    Caution - Caution -

    This step will overwrite any data on the diskette.


    # fdformat -d -U

  9. Copy the Configuration Assistant diskette image from the system's hard disk to the formatted diskette.


    # dd if=boot_image of=/vol/dev/aliases/floppy0

    The boot_image variable should be the same as in Step 4.

  10. Eject the diskette.


    # eject floppy

  11. Insert the copied boot diskette back into the diskette drive.

  12. Make sure Volume Management knows about the diskette. 


    # volcheck

  13. Determine your next step based on where the Solaris CD is located.

    You only need to perform the rest of the steps if you want to copy example custom JumpStart files from the Solaris CD. You are already done creating the profile diskette.

    If You Want to Use The ... 

    Then ... 

    Solaris CD in the local CD-ROM drive 

    1. Insert the Solaris CD into the CD-ROM drive.

    2. Mount the Solaris CD (if needed).

      Note -

      Volume management automatically mounts the Solaris CD on /cdrom/cdrom0/s0 or /cdrom/cdrom0/s2.

    Solaris CD image on local disk

    Change directory to the Solaris CD image on the local disk. For example: 


    cd /export/install

  14. Change directory to the Misc directory on the Solaris CD image. 


    # cd Solaris_2.7/Misc

  15. Copy the example custom JumpStart files into the root directory (JumpStart directory) of the profile diskette. 


    # cp -r jumpstart_sample/* /floppy/floppy0/.

    The files you just copied are only example custom JumpStart files. You must update the files for your own site.

    Caution - Caution -

    File names on PCFS file systems can be only 11 characters long (an 8-character file name and a 3-character extension). When copying JumpStart installation files to a diskette for x86 systems, be aware that the file transfer may truncate file names.

    Note -

    When using a profile diskette, all the custom JumpStart installation files must be in the root directory of the diskette.

Where to Go Next

You have completed creating a profile diskette. Now you can update the rules file and create profiles on the profile diskette to perform custom JumpStart installations. To continue, go to "Creating the rules File".

SPARC: How to Create a Profile Diskette

Follow this procedure to create a profile diskette for SPARC-based systems, which involves:

  1. Log in as root on a SPARC-based system that has a diskette drive and a CD-ROM drive.

  2. Find a blank diskette (or a diskette that can be overwritten) that you can use for a profile diskette and insert it into the diskette drive.

    Any previous information on the diskette will be overwritten when you make it into a profile diskette.

  3. Make sure Volume Management knows about the diskette. 


    # volcheck

  4. If the diskette already has a UFS file system on it, go to Step 10.

    To find out if the diskette has a UFS file system on it, check the /etc/mnttab file for an entry similar to this: 


    /floppy/unnamed_floppy ufs

  5. Format the diskette.

    Caution - Caution -

    This step will overwrite any data on the disk.


    # fdformat -U

  6. Create a UFS file system on the diskette. 


    # newfs /vol/dev/aliases/floppy0

  7. Eject the diskette.


    # eject floppy

  8. Insert the formatted diskette back into the diskette drive.

  9. Make sure Volume Management knows about the diskette. 


    # volcheck

  10. Determine your next step based on where the Solaris CD is located.

    You only need to perform the rest of the steps if you want to copy example custom JumpStart files from the Solaris CD. You are already done creating the profile diskette.

    If You Want to Use The ... 

    Then ... 

    Solaris CD in the local CD-ROM drive 

    1. Insert the Solaris CD into the CD-ROM drive.

    2. Mount the Solaris CD (if needed).

      Note -

      Volume management automatically mounts the Solaris CD on /cdrom/cdrom0/s0 or /cdrom/cdrom0/s2.

    Solaris CD image on the local disk  

    Change the directory to the Solaris CD image on the local disk. For example: 


    cd /export/install

  11. Change directory to the Misc directory on the Solaris CD image. 


    # cd Solaris_2.7/Misc

  12. Copy the example custom JumpStart installation files into the root directory (JumpStart directory) of the profile diskette. 


    # cp -r jumpstart_sample/* /floppy/floppy0/.

    The files you just copied are only example custom JumpStart files. You must update the files for your own site.

    Note -

    When using a profile diskette, all the custom JumpStart installation files must be in the root directory of the diskette.

Where to Go Next

You have completed creating a profile diskette. Now you can update the rules file and create profiles on the profile diskette to perform custom JumpStart installations. To continue, go to "Creating the rules File".