SPARC: New sysidkbd Tool Configures Your Keyboard

This installation enhancement is new in the Solaris Express 10/06 release.

For SPARC based platforms, a new sysidtool, sysidkbd, configures your USB keyboard layout during system installation.

Previously, the USB keyboard attached on the SPARC platform always assumed a self-identifying value of one during the installation. Therefore, all of the keyboards that were not self-identifying always configured for a U.S. English keyboard during installation.

With the new sysidkbd tool, the following procedure occurs:

• If the keyboard is self-identifying, the keyboard layout automatically configures during installation.

• If the keyboard is not self-identifying, the sysidkbd tool provides you with a list of supported keyboard layouts during installation, so that you can select a layout for keyboard configuration.

If the keyboard is not self-identifying and you want to prevent being prompted during your JumpStart installation, select the keyboard language in your sysidcfg script. For JumpStart installation, the default is for a U.S. English keyboard layout. To select another language, set the keyboard entry in your sysidcfg script as in this example:

keyboard=German

The value provided for sysidcfg must be a valid value. Otherwise, an interactive response is required during installation. Valid keyboard strings are defined in a file which is referenced in the sysidcfg(4) man page.

For more information, see the sysidcfg(4) man page and the sysidtool(1M) man page.