ZFS is the default root file system starting in the Oracle Solaris 11 release. Review the following considerations when installing the Oracle Solaris release.
Installation – You can install and boot from a ZFS root file system in the following ways:
Live CD (x86 only) – Installs a ZFS root pool on a single disk. You can use the fdisk partition menu during the installation to partition the disk for your environment.
Text installation (SPARC and x86) – Installs a ZFS root pool on a single disk from media or over the network. You can use the fdisk partition menu during the installation to partition the disk for your environment.
Automated Installer (AI) (SPARC and x86) – Automatically installs a ZFS root pool. You can use an AI manifest to determine the disk and the disk partitions to be used for the ZFS root pool.
Swap and dump devices – Automatically created on ZFS volumes in the ZFS root pool by all of the above installation methods. For more information about managing ZFS swap and dump devices, see Managing Your ZFS Swap and Dump Devices.
Mirrored root pool configuration – You can configure a mirrored root pool during an automatic installation. For more information about configuring a mirrored root pool after an installation, see How to Configure a Mirrored Root Pool (SPARC or x86/VTOC).
Root pool space management – After the system is installed, consider setting a quota on the ZFS root file system to prevent the root file system from filling up. Currently, no ZFS root pool space is reserved as a safety net for a full file system. For example, if you have a 68-GB disk for the root pool, consider setting a 67–GB quota on the ZFS root file system (rpool/ROOT/solaris) which allows 1 GB of remaining file system space. For information about setting quotas, Setting Quotas on ZFS File Systems.
Root pool migration or recovery – Consider creating a root pool recovery archive for disaster recovery or for migration purposes by using the Oracle Solaris archive utility. For more information, refer to Using Unified Archives for System Recovery and Cloning in Oracle Solaris 11.2 and the archiveadm(1M) man page.