Solaris 9 Installation Guide

Chapter 20 Solaris Flash (Reference)

This chapter provides a description of Solaris Flash keywords and values and describes the flar create command options in the following sections.

Solaris Flash Keywords

Keywords and values are separated by a single equal sign with only one pair per line. Individual lines can be any length. The keywords are case insensitive.

General Keywords

Each Solaris Flash archive section is defined by the section_begin and section_end keywords. The values for the section_begin and section_end keywords are described in the following table.

Table 20-1 Values for section_begin and section_end Keywords


Archive Section	Value for `section_begin` and `section_end` keywords
Archive cookie	`cookie`
Archive identification	`identification`
User-defined sections	`section_name`
Archive files	`archive`

Identification Section Keywords

This section describes the keywords for use in the Archive Identification section and the values you can define for them.

In addition to the keywords that are defined by the Solaris Flash archive, you can define other keywords. The Solaris Flash archive ignores user-defined keywords, but you can provide scripts or programs that process the identification section and use user-defined keywords. The name of a user-defined keyword must begin with X and can contain any characters other than linefeeds, equal signs, and null characters. For example, X-department is a valid name for a user-defined keyword.

The following table explains keywords that describe the archive.

Table 20-2 Identification Section Keywords


Keywords	Value Definitions
`content_name` (required)	The Solaris Flash archive deployment utilities use the value of the `content_name` keyword to identify the archive. The value can be no longer than 256 characters. You might want the value of the `content_name` keyword to describe the function and purpose of the archive because the `content_name` value might be presented to the user during the archive selection and extraction processes.
`creation_date`	The value of the `creation_date` keyword is a textual timestamp that represents the time that you created the archive. The value must be in the format `YYYYMMDDhhmmss`. For example, 20000131221409 represents January 31st, 2000 10:14:09 p.m. If you do not specify a creation date, the default date is set in Greenwich mean time (GMT).
`creation_master`	The value of the `creation_master` keyword is the name of the master system you used to create the archive. If you do not specify a value for `creation_master`, `flar create` uses the system name that is reported by `uname -n`.
`content_type`	You define the value of the `content_type` keyword to specify a category for the archive. The Solaris Flash archive deployment utilities display the value of the `content_type` keyword during deployment.
`content_description`	You define the value of the `content_description` keyword to provide a description of the contents of the archive. The value of this keyword has no length limit.
`content_author`	You define the value of the `content_author` keyword to identify the creator of the archive. Suggested values include the full name of the creator and the creator's email address.
`content_architectures`	The value of the `content_architectures` keyword is a comma-separated list of the kernel architectures that the archive supports. When you create a Solaris Flash archive, the archive generates the value of the `content_architectures` keyword. If the archive contains this keyword, the Solaris Flash archive deployment utilities validate the kernel architecture of the clone system against the list of architectures that the archive supports. The deployment fails if the archive does not support the kernel architecture of the clone system. If the keyword is not present, the deployment utilities do not validate the architecture of the clone system.
`creation_node`	The value returned from `uname` `-n`. If you create a Solaris Flash archive in which the `root` directory is not `/`, `flar create` uses the contents of the nodename(4) file.
`creation_hardware_class`	The value returned from `uname` `-m`. If you create a Solaris Flash archive in which the `root` directory is not `/`, `flar create` inserts the string `UNKNOWN`.
`creation_platform`	The value returned from `uname` `-i`. If you create a Solaris Flash archive in which the `root` directory is not `/`, `flar create` inserts the string `UNKNOWN`.
`creation_processor`	The value returned from `uname` `-p`. If you create a Solaris Flash archive in which the `root` directory is not `/`, `flar create` inserts the string `UNKNOWN`.
`creation_release`	The value returned from `uname` `-r`. If you create a Solaris Flash archive in which the `root` directory is not `/`, `flar create` attempts to use the contents of `root_directory/var/sadm/system/admin/INST_RELEASE`. If `flar create` cannot read this file, it inserts the string `UNKNOWN`.
`creation_os_name`	The value returned from `uname` `-s`. If you create a Solaris Flash archive in which the `root` directory is not `/`, `flar create` attempts to use the contents of `root_directory/var/sadm/system/admin/INST_RELEASE`. If `flar create` cannot read this file, it inserts the string `UNKNOWN`.
`creation_os_version`	The value returned from `uname` `-v`. If you create a Solaris Flash archive in which the `root` directory is not `/`, `flar create` inserts the string `UNKNOWN`.

Solaris Flash `flar create` Command

Use the Solaris Flash flar create command to create a Solaris Flash archive.

`flar create`

Use the flar create command to create a Solaris Flash archive from a master system. You can use this command when the master system is running in multiuser mode or single-user mode. You can also use flar create when the master system is booted from the Solaris 9 DVD or the Solaris 9 Software 1 of 2 CD or from an image of the Solaris 9 Software and Solaris 9 Languages CDs. The master system should be in as stable a state as possible when you create a Solaris Flash archive. The syntax of the command is as follows:

flar create -n name [-R root] [-S] [-H] [-c] [-x exclude_dir/filename][-y include_dir/filename] [-z list_filename] [-X list_filename] [-t [-p posn][-b blocksize]] [-i date] [-m [-u section [-d dir]] [-f list_filename] [-F] [-U key=val] master] [-a author] [-e descr:-E descr_file] [-T type] path/filename

In this command line, path is the directory in which you want the archive file to be saved. filename is the name of the archive file. If you do not specify a path, flar create saves the archive file in the current directory.

Table 20-3 Command-Line Options for flar create


Option	Description
Required Options
`-n` `name`	The value of this flag is the name of the archive. The `name` you specify is the value of the `content_name` keyword.
Option for Compression
`-c`	Compresses the archive by using `compress(1)`.
Options for Directories and Sizes
`-R` `root`	Creates the archive from the file system tree that is rooted at `root`. If you do not specify this option, `flar create` creates an archive from a file system that is rooted at `/`.
`-S`	Omits sizing information in the archive.
`-H`	Does not generate the hash identifier.
Options for Contents Selection
Caution - Use the `flar create` file-exclusion options with caution. If you exclude some directories, others that you were unaware of might be left in the archive, such as system configuration files. The system would then be inconsistent and the installation would not work. Excluding directories and files is best used with data that can easily be removed without disrupting the system, such as large data files.
`-y` `include_dir/filename`	Adds to the archive those files and directories that are specified on the command line. This option is used when you've excluded a directory, but want to restore individual subdirectories or files. `include_dir/filename` is the name of the subdirectory or file to be included.
`-f` `list_filename`	Adds files and directories from a list to the archive. `list_filename` is the full path to a file that contains a list. The contents of the file are added to the file list unless `-F` is specified. The `list_filename` file must contain one file per line. If you specify a file system with `-R` `root`, the path to each file must be relative to the alternate `root` directory or an absolute path. If `filename` is “-”, `flar create` reads standard input as the list of files. When you use the value “-”, the archive size is not calculated.
`-F`	Uses only the files in `-f` `list_filename` to create the archive. This option makes the `-f` `list_filename` the absolute list, rather than a list that is appended to the normal file list.
`-x` `exclude_dir/filename`	Excludes files and directories from the archive. These files and directories are specified at the command line. You can use multiple instances of this option to exclude more than one file or directory. `exclude_dir/filename` is the name of the directory or file to be excluded.
`-X` `list_filename`	Excludes a list of files or directories from the archive. `list_filename` is the full path to a file that contains the list. The `list_filename` file must contain one file per line. If you specify a file system with `-R` `root`, the path to each file must be relative to the alternate `root` directory or an absolute path. If `list_filename` is “-”, `flar create` reads standard input as the list of files. When you use the value “-”, the archive size is not calculated.
`-z` `list_filename`	Excludes or includes a list of files or directories from the archive. Each file or directory in the list is noted with a plus “+” or minus “-”. A plus indicates an included file or directory and the minus indicates an excluded file or directory. `list_filename` is the full path to a file that contains the list. The `list_filename` file must contain one file per line. If you specify a file system with `-R` `root`, the path to each file must be relative to the alternate `root` directory or an absolute path.
Options Used With User-Defined Sections
`-u` `section`	Includes `section` as a user-defined section. To include more than one user-defined section, `section` must be a space-separated list of section names.
`-d` `dir`	Retrieves the section file that is specified with `-u` from `dir`.
Options Used With Tape Archives
`-t`	Creates an archive on a tape device. The `filename` argument is the name of the tape device.
`-p` `posn`	Use only with the `-t` option. Specifies the position on the tape device for `flar create` to store the archive. If you do not use this option, `flar create` places the archive at the current position of the tape.
`-b` `blocksize`	Specifies the block size `flar create` uses when creating the archive. If you do not specify a block size, `flar create` uses the default block size of 64k.
Options for Archive Identification
`-U` `key=val`	Includes user-defined keywords and values in the Archive Identification section.
`-i` `date`	Uses `date` as the value for the `creation_date` keyword. If you do not specify a date, `flar create` uses the current system time and date.
`-m` `master`	Uses `master` as the name of the master system on which you created the archive. `master` is the value for the `creation_master` keyword. If you do not specify `master`, `flar create` uses the system name that is reported by `uname -n`.
`-e` `descr`	Uses `descr` for the value of the `content_description` keyword. You cannot use this option when you use the `-E` option.
`-E` `descr_file`	Retrieves the value for the `content_description` keyword from the `descr_file` file. You cannot use this option when you use the `-e` option.
`-a` `author`	Uses `author` as the author name in the Archive Identification section. `author` is the value for the `content_author` keyword. If you do not specify an author, `flar create` does not include the `content_author` keyword in the Archive Identification section.
`-T` `type`	Uses `type` as the value for the `content_type` keyword. `type` is user defined. If you do not specify a type, `flar create` does not include the `content_type` keyword.