The GUI installer on Live Media and the text installer are simple installation methods.
You can use either method to install Oracle Solaris on the x86 platform. You can also use the text installer to install Oracle Solaris on the SPARC platform.
Both installers can function with a minimum of memory. See Oracle Solaris 11.2 Release Notes for memory requirements.
Both installers enable you to select, create, or modify disk partitions during an installation.
The Live Media contains a set of software that is appropriate for a desktop or laptop. The text installer installs a smaller set of software that is more appropriate for a general-purpose server system.
The text installer has the following advantages over the GUI installer:
Enables you to install the operating system on either SPARC or x86 based systems.
Can be used on systems that do not have, or do not require, graphics cards.
Can require less memory than the GUI installer depending on your system's specifications.
Enables manual configuration of the network and naming services.
If the network is set up to perform automated installations, you can perform a text installation over the network by setting up an install service on the network and selecting a text installation when the client system boots.
Besides the ability to modify partitions, the text installer enables you to create and modify VTOC slices within the Solaris partition.
For further information about performing a simple installation, see Part II, Installing Using Installation Media.