1. Automatically Installing Oracle Solaris 11.4 Systems
  2. Getting Started With AI Operations
  3. Planning the AI Implementation

Planning the AI Implementation

This section assumes that you have already determined the location of the AI server as described in Components of the Automated Installer. To properly use AI, other factors need to be considered. The following questions serve as guidelines:

  • Are your target clients using the same platform?

    If your data center uses a hybrid of system platforms, then the clients are automatically divided into two groups based on two supported platforms: SPARC and x86. Each group must have its own install service.

  • Do you intend all your clients to use the same Oracle Solaris version?

    If you are installing different Oracle Solaris versions, then your platform based groups are further subdivided according to these versions. Each of those groups also requires its own install service.

  • Within specific groups, are there differences among clients that warrant further subgroupings, such as disk layout or partitions, package requirements, and so on?

    If clients within groups have different installation requirements, then you would use multiple manifests that contain instructions specific to their respective target client groups.

  • Within the groups, do your target clients have certain system identity characteristics that the other clients do not share?

    For example, some target clients might need different time zone configuration, or use default language other than the default English, and so on. In this case, you would need to create system configuration profiles to automatically configure these clients accordingly. The configurations take place when the system reboots after the installation is completed.

  • Are there other post installation configurations that profiles cannot execute automatically?

    You can use first-boot scripts to run these configurations.

By properly identifying groups of clients, you can determine how many install services, manifests, and configuration profiles you would need. See the examples of AI setups in the next section.

For more details on customizing manifests and profiles, see Customizing Automated Installations With Manifests and Profiles.