System Administration Guide: Basic Administration

SPARC: Booting a System (Task Map)

Task 

Description 

For Instructions 

Use the Boot PROM 

The boot PROM is used to boot a system. You might need to do one of the following: 

 

 

Identify the PROM revision number. 

SPARC: How to Find the PROM Revision for a System

 

Identify devices on the system to boot from. 

SPARC: How to Identify Devices on a System

 

Change the default boot device when a new disk is added or when you need to change the system boot method. 

SPARC: How to Change the Default Boot Device

Boot the system 

Select one of the following boot methods: 

 

 

Boot to run level 3 - Used after shutting down the system or performing some system hardware maintenance task.  

SPARC: How to Boot a System to Run Level 3 (Multiuser Level)

 

Boot to run level S - Used after performing some system maintenance task such as backing up a file system. At this level, only local file systems are mounted and users cannot log into the system. 

SPARC: How to Boot a System to Run Level S (Single-User Level)

 

Boot interactively - Used after making temporary changes to a system file or the kernel for testing purposes. 

SPARC: How to Boot a System Interactively

 

Boot from the network - Used to boot a system from the network. This method is used for booting a diskless client. 

SPARC: How to Boot a System From the Network

 

Boot for recovery purposes - Used to boot the system when a damaged file or file system is preventing the system from booting. You might need to do one or both of the following to boot for recovery purposes: 

 

 

First, stop the system to attempt recovery. 

SPARC: How to Stop the System for Recovery Purposes

 

Boot to repair an important system file that is preventing the system from booting successfully. 

SPARC: How to Boot a System for Recovery Purposes

 

Boot kadb - Used to troubleshoot system problems.

SPARC: How to Stop the System for Recovery Purposes

 

Force a crash dump and reboot the system - Used to force a crash dump for troubleshooting purposes. 

SPARC: How to Force a Crash Dump and Reboot the System