Chapter 4: Solaris 9 Installation

In this chapter, you will

• Learn how to perform preinstallation planning

• Estimate disk space requirements for installation

• Perform a Web Start Wizard installation

• Configure a Solaris system for first time operation

Solaris 9 provides more installation methods than ever before. These include the Web Start Wizard, JumpStart, suninstall , and Live Upgrade. The Web Start Wizard is the easiest method used to install Solaris 9: it uses a Java-based front end that presents a series of configuration choices. For those who prefer a command-line installation, the suninstall program is also available. This is particularly useful for installing servers that are attached to a simple terminal on the console port, using tip , rather than a high-resolution monitor. Large organizations are more likely to create a JumpStart configuration to install a standard operating environment (SOE) on all Solaris 9 systems. Using JumpStart ensures that all systems have an identical installation base, making it easy to manage patches and maintain production systems. Live Upgrade is a new innovation, which minimizes the downtime of production servers: a new boot environment is constructed while the server is still operating under its existing operating environment release. Once the second boot environment has been installed, the system is quickly rebooted into the new operating environment, and the previous version is uninstalled in the background.