About Zone Properties

Multiple zone properties can be configured for a zone. Together, these properties characterize the zone as a virtual machine that is distinct from other zones on the host.

When you create a non-global zone without specifying additional options other than the zone name, the zone is created with the following set properties:

• The zone is a solaris branded zone.

• The zonepath, which identifies the zone's dataset, is set to /system/zones/ zonename.

• The datalink name of an automatic network interface (anet) resource is set to net0

• The zone's IP type is exclusive.

Some zone properties are grouped into a resource. For example, aside from linkname, the anet resource also consists of properties such as allowed-address, auto-mac-address, mtu, and so on.

You can install the zone with just the default property settings. However, you can configure additional resources and properties to make the zone more efficient.

Setting zone properties can be performed before or after the zone installation. However, the typical approach is to set basic zone properties before installing the zone, then configure additional properties after installation is completed and the zone is booted and running.

You can set zone properties through a single command line. However, using the interactive method can prevent errors in property configuration. The rest of the documentation uses the interactive method to illustrate zone configuration procedures.

For a list of zone resources and properties, see the zonecfg(8) man page or Oracle Solaris Zones Configuration Resources.