Sun Certified System Administrator for Solaris 10 Study Guide Exams 310-XXX & 310-XXX

The custom JumpStart installation method enables you to automate the Solaris installation on a group of machines with identical configuration and software requirements. You store the configuration requirements in the sysidcfg file, and the software requirements in the profile file. You associate a machine with its profile by combining some system attributes of the machine, such as host name or network address, with the name of the profile file into a rule that is an entry in the rules file. The rules file, the sysidcfg file, and the profile files are all text files that you write. The rules file must have the name rules, but you can give any meaningful name to a profile file. All these files are stored in the JumpStart directory on a server machine, and the location of the directory is reported to the JumpStart client when it is added to the server with the add_install_client command. The images of the Solaris Software are copied from the Solaris Software CDs (or DVD) to the install server by using the setup_install__server command.

If you want to make clones of an already installed system, use the flash archive installation method, which involves using a standard installation method to install the image (flash archive) of an already installed system. This is a quick and robust way of performing a large number of identical installations. If your x86 machine supports Intel Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) and it has no local media to boot from, you can boot it over the network by using PXE boot; you can then install Solaris by using a standard Solaris installation method.

Solaris 10 introduces zone technology to set up multiple Solaris environments called zones on one machine, and applications running in one zone are isolated from application running in other zones as if they had a machine of their own. You use the zonecfg utility to create and configure a zone, and the zoneadm utility to administer the zone after it has been configured.

Inside the Exam

Comprehend

• You create the rules file, but it is the rules.ok file (created by the check script after verifying the correctness of the rules file and the associated profile files) that is actually used by the JumpStart program.

• Before using the Solaris flash archive method, make sure that the planned master and clone systems have the same hardware architecture.

• Solaris flash archive and PXE are not full-fledged independent installation methods. Flash archive refers to using the image of tin already installed system, and PXE refers to booting over the network; the installation in both cases is performed by using a standard installation method, such as the Solaris installation, program.

• If the zoneadmd daemon is not running, it automatically starts when you invoke the zoneadm command.

Look Out

• You can give any name to a profile file, but the rules file must be named rules, and you must verify the correctness of the rules file and the associated profile files by running the check script.

• If a keyword appears multiple times in the sysidcfg file, only the first instance of the keyword is considered valid. The network_interface keyword is an exception to this rule,

• When you change the parameters of a running zone by using the zonecfg command, it does not affect the zone immediately. You must reboot the zone for the changes to take effect.

• This effect of the delete command is instantaneous, no commit is required in this case, and the deleted zone cannot be reverted.

• The verify subcommand is available in both the utilities zonecfg and zonadm.

Memorize

• The begin scripts, the finish scripts, the rules file, and the profile files live in the JumpStart directory on a diskette for a standalone system, and on a server for installation over a network.

• The keywords and values in a profile file are case sensitive, but the keywords in the sysidcfg file are not case sensitive,

• The first line in a profile file must specify the keyword install_type.

• The zone names are case sensitive.