Solaris 9 Installation Guide

Chapter 2 Planning for a Solaris Installation or Upgrade (Overview)

This chapter provides you with information about decisions you need to make before you install or upgrade the Solaris operating environment. This chapter contains the following sections:

Note -

This book uses the term slice, but some Solaris documentation and programs might refer to a slice as a partition. To avoid confusion, this book distinguishes between fdisk partitions (which are supported only in Solaris Intel Platform Edition) and the divisions within the Solaris fdisk partition, which might be called slices or partitions.

Task Map: Installing or Upgrading the Solaris Software

The following task map is an overview of the steps necessary to install or upgrade the Solaris operating environment. Use this task map to identify all of the decisions that you need to make to complete the most efficient installation for your environment.

Table 2-1 Task Map: Installing or Upgrading the Solaris Software


Task	Description	For Instructions
Choose initial installation or upgrade.	Decide if you want to perform an initial installation or an upgrade.	“Initial Installation or Upgrade?”
Review system requirements.	Determine if your system meets the minimum requirements to install or upgrade.	“System Requirements”
Choose an installation method.	The Solaris operating environment provides several methods for installation or upgrade. Choose the installation method that is most appropriate for your environment.	Chapter 3, Choosing a Solaris Installation Method (Overview)
Plan and allocate disk space and swap space.	Allocate disk space on your system for the components of the Solaris operating environment that you want to install. Determine the appropriate swap space layout for your system.	Chapter 5, Guidelines for Allocating Disk Space and Swap Space (Planning)
Choose an installation location.	You can install the Solaris software from local media or from the network. Decide on an installation location that is most appropriate for your environment.	“Installing From the Network or From DVD or CDs?”
Gather information about your system.	Use the checklist and complete the worksheet to collect all of the information that you need to install or upgrade.	Chapter 6, Gathering Information Before Installation or Upgrade (Planning)
(Optional) Preconfigure system information.	You can preconfigure system information to avoid being prompted for the information during the installation or upgrade.	Chapter 7, Preconfiguring System Configuration Information (Tasks)
(Optional) Prepare to install the Solaris software from the network.	If you chose to install the Solaris software from the network, create an install server, create a boot server (if necessary), and set up the systems to be installed from the network.	Chapter 12, Preparing to Install From the Network With CD Media (Tasks)
(Upgrade only) Perform the pre-upgrade tasks.	Back up your system, determine if you can upgrade with disk space reallocation, and search for patches that a Solaris Update release might override.	Chapter 8, Upgrading the Solaris Operating Environment (Planning)
Install or upgrade.	Use the Solaris installation method that you chose to install or upgrade the Solaris software.	The chapter or chapters that provide detailed instructions for the installation method

Initial Installation or Upgrade?

You can choose to perform an initial installation or, if your system is already running the Solaris operating environment, you can upgrade your system.

Initial Installation

An initial installation overwrites the system's disk with the new version of the Solaris operating environment. If your system is not running the Solaris operating environment, you must perform an initial installation.

If the system is already running the Solaris operating environment, you can choose to perform an initial installation. If you want to preserve any local modifications, before you install, you must back up the local modifications. After you complete the installation, you can restore the local modifications.

You can use any of the Solaris installation methods to perform an initial installation. For detailed information about the different Solaris installation methods, refer to Chapter 3, Choosing a Solaris Installation Method (Overview).

Upgrade

An upgrade merges the new version of the Solaris operating environment with the existing files on the system's disk. An upgrade saves as many modifications as possible that you have made to the previous version of the Solaris operating environment.

You can upgrade any system that is running the Solaris 2.6, Solaris 7, or Solaris 8 software. Type the following command to see the version of Solaris software that is running on your system:

$ uname -a

You can upgrade the Solaris operating environment by using the following installation methods.

Note -

Use the smosservice patch to upgrade diskless clients. For detailed instructions, refer to System Administration Guide: Basic Administration or to smosservice(1M).

Solaris Upgrade Methods

Table 2-2 SPARC: Solaris Upgrade Methods


Current Solaris Operating Environment	Solaris Upgrade Methods
Solaris 2.6, Solaris 7, Solaris 8, Solaris 9	Solaris^TM Web Start program Solaris `suninstall` program Custom JumpStart^TM method Solaris Live Upgrade

Table 2-3 IA: Solaris Upgrade Methods


Current Solaris Operating Environment	Solaris Upgrade Methods
Solaris 2.6	Installing from DVD media or a net installation image: Solaris Web Start program Solaris `suninstall` program Custom JumpStart method Installing from CD media: Solaris `suninstall` program Custom JumpStart method
Solaris 7	Installing from DVD media or a net installation image: Solaris Web Start program Solaris `suninstall` program Custom JumpStart method Solaris Live Upgrade Installing from CD media: Solaris `suninstall` program Custom JumpStart method Solaris Live Upgrade
Solaris 8, Solaris 9	Installing from DVD or CD media or a net installation image: Solaris Web Start program Solaris `suninstall` program Custom JumpStart method Solaris Live Upgrade

Note -

For limitations on upgrading using Solaris Live Upgrade, see “Solaris Live Upgrade System Requirements”.

You cannot upgrade your system to a software group that is not installed on the system. For example, if you previously installed the End User Solaris Software Group on your system, you cannot use the upgrade option to upgrade to the Developer Solaris Software Group. However, during the upgrade you can add software to the system that is not part of the currently installed software group.

If you are already running the Solaris 9 operating environment and have installed individual patches, upgrading to a Solaris 9 Update release causes the following:

Any patches that were supplied as part of the Solaris 9 Update release are reapplied to your system. You cannot back out these patches.
Any patches that were previously installed on your system and are not included in the Solaris 9 Update release are removed.

You can use the Patch Analyzer to determine which patches, if any, will be removed by upgrading to the Solaris 9 Update release. For detailed instructions about using the Patch Analyzer, refer to “Upgrading to a Solaris Update Release”.

System Requirements

Verify that your system meets the requirements to install or upgrade to the Solaris operating environment.

Memory Requirement

To install or upgrade to the Solaris operating environment, the suggested memory size is 128 Mbytes or greater.

Note -

Some optional installation features are enabled only when sufficient memory is present. For example, if you install from a DVD with insufficient memory, you install through the Solaris Web Start installation program's command-line interface, not through the Web Start graphical user interface.

Requirements When Using the Solaris 9 Installation CD

When you are installing or upgrading by using the Solaris 9 Installation CD, there are special requirements for SPARC slices and IA fdisk partitions. When you are installing from a DVD or a net installation image, these requirements are not necessary.

Table 2-4 Solaris 9 Installation CD Requirements

Platform

Requirements

Slice requirements for upgrading

When you use the Solaris 9 Installation CD and the Solaris Web Start program to upgrade, you must have a slice on the disk that does not store files. The swap slice is preferred, but you can use any slice that is not located in any of the “upgradable” root slices that are listed in /etc/vfstab. The size of this slice must be at least 512 Mbytes.

IA systems fdisk partition requirements

When you use the Solaris 9 Installation CD, the Solaris Web Start program requires two fdisk partitions on the system disk to perform an installation or upgrade.

Solaris fdisk partition

This is the typical Solaris fdisk partition. If you do not have a Solaris fdisk partition on your system, the Solaris Web Start program prompts you to create one.

Caution: If you change the size of an existing fdisk partition, all data on that partition is automatically deleted. Back up your data before you create a Solaris fdisk partition.
x86 boot fdisk partition

This is a 10–Mbyte fdisk partition that enables the Intel architecture to boot the miniroot that is placed on the newly created swap slice that is located on the Solaris fdisk partition.

Caution: Do not create the x86 boot partition manually.

The Solaris Web Start installation program creates the x86 boot partition, removing 10 Mbytes from the Solaris fdisk partition. By allowing the installation program to create the x86 boot partition, you prevent any existing fdisk partitions from being altered.

IA system upgrade limitations

When you use the Solaris 9 Installation CD, you cannot use the Solaris Web Start program to upgrade from the Solaris 2.6 or Solaris 7 operating environments. The Solaris 9 Installation CD requires a separate 10–Mbyte IA boot partition that was not required in the Solaris 2.6 or Solaris 7 releases. You must use the Solaris Web Start program from a DVD or a net installation image, or use the Solaris suninstall program or custom JumpStart to upgrade.

IA systems logical block addressing requirement

Do not use the Solaris 9 Installation CD unless your system can boot across the 1024–cylinder limit. Logical block addressing (LBA) enables the machine to boot beyond the 1024–cylinder limit and across Solaris disk slices. Use the Solaris 9 Installation CD when your system's BIOS and SCSI driver for the default boot disk supports LBA.

To determine if your system supports LBA, type:

# prtconf -pv | grep -i lba

If the BIOS and SCSI driver for the default boot disk support LBA, the following message appears.

lba-access-ok:

If the SCSI driver for the default boot disk does not support LBA, the following message appears.

no-bef-lba-access

If the BIOS and SCSI driver for the default boot disk do not support LBA, use the Solaris 9 DVD or a net installation image to install or upgrade.

Installing From the Network or From DVD or CDs?

The Solaris software is distributed on DVD or CD media so that you can install or upgrade systems that have access to a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive.

If you have systems that do not have local DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drives or if you are installing several systems and do not want to insert the discs into every local drive to install the Solaris software, you can set up the systems to install from remote DVD or CD images.

You can use all of the Solaris installation methods to install a system from the network. However, by installing systems from the network with the Solaris Flash installation feature or with a custom JumpStart installation, you can centralize and automate the installation process in a large enterprise. For more details about the different installation methods, refer to Chapter 3, Choosing a Solaris Installation Method (Overview).

Installing the Solaris software from the network requires initial setup. For detailed instructions on preparing to install from the network, refer to Chapter 12, Preparing to Install From the Network With CD Media (Tasks).

Using DVD Media

When you are using DVD media and are asked to boot from the ok prompt, always type the following command:

ok boot cdrom

Sun ONE Application Server Post-Installation Configuration

If you are using the Sun^TM ONE Application Server, you need to configure the server after installing the Solaris operating environment. For information on configuring the Application Server, see Sun ONE Application Server 7 Standard Edition Getting Started Guide.

IA: Accessing the Solaris 9 Device Configuration Assistant and PXE

The Solaris Device Configuration Assistant is a program that enables you to perform various hardware configuration and booting tasks. You use the Device Configuration Assistant to boot from either a DVD, a CD, a net installation image, or a copy of the software on a diskette. You can access the Solaris Device Configuration Assistant in the following ways:

By booting from the Solaris 9 DVD, Solaris 9 Installation CD, or Solaris 9 Software 1 of 2 CD. Your system's BIOS must support booting from a DVD or CD.
By booting from a net installation image of Solaris Software with Pre-boot eXecution Environment (PXE). PXE enables you to boot a system directly from the network without using the boot diskette. The system must support PXE. Enable the system to use PXE by using the system's BIOS setup tool or the network adapter's configuration setup Tool. For more information on configuring your system for using PXE network boot, see “IA: PXE Network Boot”.
By booting from a diskette. You can copy the Device Configuration Assistant software to a diskette by the following methods:
- Copy the software to a diskette from the Solaris 9 Intel Platform Edition DVD or Solaris 9 Software 2 of 2 Intel Platform Edition CD by using the copy procedure in Appendix E, IA: Preparing to Boot From the Solaris 9 Device Configuration Assistant or the Network (Tasks).
- Download and copy the software to a diskette from the Solaris Developer Connection at http://soldc.sun.com/support/drivers/dca_diskettes.