Oracle Solaris 11 Installation Requirements

Before installing Oracle Solaris 11, refer to the following requirements.

ZFS Root Pool Installation Requirements

Oracle Solaris 11 is installed in a ZFS storage pool called the root pool. The root pool installation requirements are as follows:

• Memory – The minimum memory requirement is 1 GB. The Live Media ISO image, and both the GUI and text installers, are capable of functioning with a limited amount of memory. The exact requirement varies, depending on system specifications.

  If you want to install an Oracle Solaris 11 virtual image on Oracle VM VirtualBox, see the memory requirements listed here:

  http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/solaris11/downloads/virtual-machines-1355605.html

• Disk space – At least 13 GB of disk space is recommended. The space is consumed as follows:

  • Swap area and dump device – The default sizes of the swap and dump volumes created by the Oracle Solaris installation programs vary, based on the amount of memory that is on the system and other variables.

    After installation, you can adjust the sizes of your swap and dump volumes to the sizes of your choosing, as long as the new sizes support system operation. See Managing Your ZFS Swap and Dump Devices in Oracle Solaris Administration: ZFS File Systems.

  • Boot environment (BE) – A ZFS BE is approximately 4–6 GB in size. Each ZFS BE that is cloned from another ZFS BE does not need additional disk space. Consider that the BE size will increase when it is updated, depending on the amount of updates. All ZFS BEs in the same root pool use the same swap and dump devices.

  • Oracle Solaris OS components – All subdirectories of the root file system that are part of the OS image, with the exception of /var, must be in the same dataset as the root file system. In addition, all Oracle Solaris OS components must reside within the root pool, with the exception of the swap and dump devices. For information about specific disk requirements, see Chapter 3, Managing Devices.

• x86 only: Support for running multiple operating systems – You can partition the disk that will contain the OS prior to an installation or during an installation. See Partitioning Your System in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

Oracle Solaris 11 Preinstallation Tasks

Before installing Oracle Solaris 11, review the following information:

• x86: Prepare the boot environment (applies to x86 based systems that will run multiple operating systems) – See Preparing a Boot Environment for Installing Multiple Operating Systems in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

• Partition your OS disk – If necessary, you can partition the disk that will contain the Oracle Solaris 11 OS before or during an installation. See Partitioning Your System in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.

• Ensure that you have the proper device drivers – Before installing Oracle Solaris 11, determine whether the devices on your system are supported. You can use either the Device Driver Utility or the Oracle Device Detection Tool to ensure that your system has the proper devices. The Device Driver Utility can be accessed through the text installer menu options. See Ensuring That You Have the Proper Device Drivers in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems. See also the Hardware Compatibility Lists (HCL) at http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/hcl/index.html.

• x86: Configure the system's date and time (applies to x86 platforms that are installed with AI only) – Oracle Solaris 11 keeps the Real Time Clock (RTC) in Coordinated Universal time (UTC) format. The behavior on x86 platforms is different than in Oracle Solaris 10 and Oracle Solaris 11 Express. AI does not adjust the RTC date and time during an installation. To configure the date and time in the BIOS, see Configuring Date and Time Before and After an Installation.

• Decide whether to disable the default automatic registration of your system immediately after an installation (Optional) – Oracle Configuration Manager automatically uploads anonymous system configuration information to My Oracle Support during the first reboot after an installation by using the Live Media or the text installer. If you choose, you can disable this feature before an installation and then re-enabled it later. See Using Oracle Configuration Manager in Installing Oracle Solaris 11 Systems.