Converting a SunOS 4.x system to the Solaris 7 software involves more than just running the Solaris installation program and loading the software. Usually, there is data on the SunOS 4.x system that needs to be transferred to a Solaris 7 system. This data may be full file systems, such as /home, or locally customized system files, such as /etc/hosts or /etc/passwd.
No matter how you plan to handle the data transfer, you should back up all disk partitions by doing full dumps before you begin the installation process. Because the device naming conventions are different in the Solaris 7 operating environment, you might inadvertently choose the wrong disk when you install the Solaris 7 software. Backing up the file systems before you begin the installation procedure offers some protection should this occur. For information about device naming conventions, see "Device Naming Conventions".
Note about file system formats:
If the Solaris 7 Extended Fundamental Types (EFT) are not used, the SunOS release 4.x file system format is upwardly compatible with, and in some cases identical to that used in, the software.
If you are running SunOS 4.1.1 software with QuickCheck or Backup Copilot(TM) utilities installed or the SunOS 4.1.2 software, the file system formats are identical.
If you are running SunOS 4.1.1 software without QuickCheck or Backup Copilot utilities, SunOS 4.0.x, or SunOS 4.1 software, the file systems are upwardly and backwardly compatible, although not identical in all cases.
Before you begin the installation process, you should save a hard copy of the system's existing disk partitions. It can serve as a reference for many decisions that are made about configuring the Solaris 7 system. The following procedure is one way to obtain the disk partition information.
Obtain the names of the disks attached to the system.
To obtain the names of the disks attached to the system, use the format(8) command.
Save the disk partition information.
To obtain the partition information encoded on each disk, use the dkinfo(8) command. You can pipe the output to a printer or to a file that you can save to another system.
Using the previous command provides you with information only on the configured partitions. All nonconfigured partitions are displayed with the message: "No such device or address."
The mappings between file system names (for example, /usr, /home) and device names (for example, /dev/sd0g) reside in the configuration file /etc/fstab. Before proceeding, you should make a printed copy of the /etc/fstab file to help you construct the Solaris 7 file.
Use this section only if you are upgrading a system running the SPARCserver(TM) Manager or Solstice DiskSuite unbundled products. (These products are used to mirror, concatenate, or stripe multiple disks.)
To upgrade your system without this product, you have to modify your multiple-partition configurations to use single partitions. In particular, a concatenated or striped file system must be reorganized onto a single disk, and partitions and mirrors can no longer be used.
If the system is running SPARCserver Manager or Solstice DiskSuite utilities, you should save the metadevice configuration information before installing Solaris 7 software. This enables you to recover the state of the metadevices when you install Solaris 7 software, and serves as a reference as you construct the list of disks attached to your system.
Use the metastat(8) command to save information, as in the following example.
# /etc/metastat -p | lpr |
Save the output of the metadb(8) command.
For example.
# /etc/metadb -i | lpr |
The output of metadb tells you the state database configuration information. This information is necessary to reconstruct the state databases if you reinstall the Solstice DiskSuite product.
You should create a list of the SunOS 4.x files and file systems that you want to back up and restore after installing Solaris 7 software.
Make a list of all the system components in the existing SunOS release 4.x environment and decide which are critical to the user's system. Consider:
Locally developed applications
Any unbundled software products
Third-party applications
Third-party peripheral devices and drivers (8 mm tape drives and SBus cards, for example)
Use the following guidelines to make the list of file systems to save:
As a general rule, do not transfer file systems containing "system" files (for example, the /usr or / file systems) in their entirety.
Do extract and transfer the data files that have changed locally or those on which the server depends for administrative data, such as some /etc files (for example, /etc/hosts), exported file systems (use the exportfs command to list them), and /tftpboot directory, which you should save as a safety precaution.
Do completely preserve file systems containing only locally generated data, such as spool and user home directories.
Save file systems that contain information about clients if you are migrating a server for SunOS release 4.x clients. Typically, /export would be such a file.
There are a number of SunOS 4.x system configuration files that can be merged or converted for the Solaris platform. Use the example list that follows to help select the system configuration files you want to back up.
The list contains suggestions. You should study the items carefully and add to or delete from the list depending on the configuration at your site. For example, if you have special files in directories from third-party software vendors, you may need to save them.
If the system is an NIS master server, you should save all the files that reside in the NIS master directory (for example, /etc). Additionally, save any other master files that you added to NIS. The suggestions for files to back up include:
./.cshrc
./.profile
./.login
./.logout
./.rhosts
./etc (if the system is an NIS client or has no name service)
./var/spool/calendar
./var/spool/cron
./var/spool/uucp
./var/nis (if the system is an NIS master server)
Boot programs in./tftpboot
Make a list of how much disk space each file system that you want to move to the Solaris 7 upgrade, uses. Refer to this list when installing the Solaris 7 software, since you can partition disk space for your SunOS 4.x file systems when running the Solaris 7 installation program.
If you are converting a network of SunOS 4.x systems to the Solaris 7 software, decide the order of the systems to convert to maximize convenience for the users. For example, you might want to convert all client systems before you convert any servers. The first system you convert should be a standalone system with a locally attached CD-ROM drive.
For a while, you will probably manage a network consisting of both SunOS 4.x and Solaris 7 systems, and part of your planning should involve determining priorities. For example, you may want to convert one domain and use it for system administration testing and for porting internally developed applications before you convert the entire network environment.