The solaris brand installer supports the following zone installation methods:
The publisher origin.
To install a non-global zone, the repository that you set as the solaris publisher origin must contain at least the same software that is installed in the global zone. The repository can also contain older or newer software, but it must contain the same software that is installed in the global zone.
A Unified Archive file image of an installed system running the Oracle Solaris release or a solaris non-global zone.
A zone BE, using zoneadm install –z zbe. The system performs a package update if necessary.
The installer options are as follows. See How to Install a Configured Zone for example command lines.
The path to an archive used to install a non-global zone. Archives can be compressed using gzip or bzip. The –d and the –a options are incompatible.
When using the –a archive option, a package update is performed if necessary. The zoneadm attach subcommand can be used to reattach the zone to its original host if wanted.
Provides a profile or a directory of profiles to apply during configuration. The file argument must be specified with an absolute path. If a profile is applied, the configuration step occurs non-interactively.
If no profile is provided, the interactive system configuration tool is used for the configuration of the system. All profiles must have an .xml file extension. If you supply a directory option to –c, all profiles in that directory must be valid, correctly formed configuration profiles.
The path to the root directory of an installed system or a non-global zone. A package update is performed if necessary.
If path is a hyphen (-), the zonepath is assumed to be already be populated with the system image. The –d and the –a options are incompatible.
The AI manifest is an XML file that defines how to install a zone. The file argument must be specified with an absolute path.
Preserve system identity after installing the zone. The –p and the –u options are incompatible.
Install silently. The –s and the –v options are incompatible.
Unconfigure the zone after installing it, and prompt for a new configuration on zone boot. The –p and the –u options are incompatible.
Update all packages to the latest versions if necessary to be compatible with the packages installed in the global zone.
Verbose output from the install process. The –s and the –v options are incompatible.
Use force-zpool-import with the –x option to forcibly import any zpools that appear to be in use.
If a storage object contains any preexisting partitions, zpools, or UFS file systems, the install fails and an error message is displayed. The –x option to zoneadm install is used to continue the installation and overwrite any preexisting data. This option is similar to the zpool create –f command.
Use force-zpool-create-all with the –x option to forcibly create all zpool resources. Use force-zpool-create=zpoolname to limit the option to a specific zpool or set of zpools. See the zoneadm (1M) man page for usage.