Chapter 2: Installation

Overview

SOLARIS 9 EXAM OBJECTIVES COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER:

• Explain how to install the Solaris operating system from CD/DVD, including installation and upgrade options, hardware requirements, Solaris OS software components (software packages, clusters, and groups).

• Explain the purpose of the /var/sadm/install/contents file, and how to administer packages (how to display, add, check, and remove a package, and add a package into the spool directory) using the command-line interface.

• Explain how to obtain, install, and remove patches and patch clusters using either the command-line interface or the Solaris Management Console.

Many people find installing an operating system to be incredibly boring. In fact, installations often rank on the excitement meter somewhere between watching paint dry and watching grass grow. Although no one is going to confuse a Solaris 9 installation with weekend entertainment, Sun has made improvements to the Solaris 9 installation process.

Even though installations might not be the most exciting things to administer, knowing how to properly install an operating system is a critical task. You might know everything there is to know about managing users and security, but if you can't put the operating system on the machine, there won't be any users or security to control.

Sun's exam objectives classify installations into three categories: operating system, packages (software), and patches. This chapter starts by examining how to install Solaris 9, continues with installing and managing software packages, and finishes by showing how to obtain, install, and manage software patches.