This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
JumpStart Installation
The JumpStart installation helps you to automate the installation of the Solaris software on new SPARC systems. This installation uses a default profile to determine the software that needs to be installed. You cannot manually select the software to be installed. The default profile is selected considering the system model and hard disk capacity. The JumpStart installation is used in places, such as training centers and corporate organizations, where you need to install Solaris on a large number of systems that are configured identically. The recent versions of SPARC systems have a pre-installed JumpStart boot image. For JumpStart installation on older SPARC systems, use the re-preinstall command. The re-preinstall command copies the boot image to the system on which Solaris need to be installed.
The Custom JumpStart Installation
The Custom JumpStart installation automatically installs from the Solaris 9 distribution CD in the local CD-ROM drive. A custom profile determines the software that needs to be installed. The Custom JumpStart installation requires a rule file and a profile for systems of each group or platform. A group refers to a set of systems having similar attributes. The rule file is a text file that contains platform-specific or group-specific rules for systems of similar requirements. The rule file distinguishes the systems, based on one or more system attributes, such as the platform name and disk size.
The profile is a text file that contains instructions on how the Solaris software is to be installed on systems of each group or platform. It contains keywords and associated values, which guide the installation process. Keywords are system parameters, such as boot disk, disk size, and so on.
The advantages of JumpStart are as follows:
It enables you to automate the installation process.
Installation can be performed identically on several systems.
Patches can be applied automatically.
JumpStart has some limitations:
It is complex when compared with the WebStart and the interactive methods.
It does not install diskless clients.
It requires a boot server on the local network or subnet.
It requires additional administrative steps. For example, it needs a script to assign the root password. Also, the IP addresses are assigned manually by the administrator.
Set Up the JumpStart Server
The following section lists the steps for setting up the JumpStart server.
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Copy the files from the Solaris distribution CDs to the /JumpStart directory. The following script is supplied when Solaris copies files.
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Next, share the directory where the files are copied. You can share the directory by adding the following syntax to /etc/dfs/dfstab:
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After making the directory shareable, you need to run the shareall script for the changes to take affect. Please note that you will run shareall, only if the machine is an NFS server. If your machine does not have NFS server processes running in it, run the following command:
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Ensure tftp in inetd.conf is enabled. You can do this by checking whether the following statement exists in inetd.conf and is uncommented:
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Set up the new client's name in whatever database you use for naming (NIS/NIS+/hosts) on the JumpStart server:
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You can now boot your client, using the boot net command:
# cd /cdrom/cdrom0/s0/Solaris_9/Tools # mkdir /JumpStart/sol9 # ./setup_install_server /JumpStart/sol9
share -F nfs -o ro,anon=0 -d "JumpStart" /JumpStart
"/etc/init.d/nfs.server start"
tftp dgram udp6 wait root /usr/sbin/in.tftpdin.tftpd -s /tftpboot
# cd /JumpStart/sol9/Solaris_9/Tools # ./add_install_client -e 8:0:20:22:33:44 clientname sun4u
The -e command represents the MAC address of the client machine, which can be obtained by using the banner command at the ok prompt. The clientname command represents the client's hostname, which can be sun4m (SS4/5/10/20), sun4d (SS1000/2000), or sun4u (any Ultra machines).
<#0> ok boot net Boot device: /iommu/sbus/ledma@f,400010/le@f,c00000 File and args: 20800 SunOS Release 5.9 Version Generic_108528-07 32-bit Copyright 1983-2001 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. [..etc..]
Configure the JumpStart Server
After setting up the server, the next step is to configure the server. You can automate the configuration process by setting up the sysidcfg file.
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Set up the client once again to use the sysidcfg file by using the following command:
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Set up a profile for the JumpStart server. To do this, create the files, profiles, rules, and config in the /JumpStart/sol9/conf/server directory.
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Use the check script to confirm that the profile is set up correctly and to create the rules file:
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With the profile set up on the server, point the client config to the rules file by running add_install_client:
# cd /JumpStart/sol9/Solaris_9/Tools # ./add_install_client -e 8:0:20:22:33:44 -p
servername:/JumpStart/sol9/conf/server/sysidcfg27clientname sun4m
The sample profile directs JumpStart to install the complete software in addition to the OEM. The specifications for each partition include a 2000Mb root partition on slice 0, a 1100Mb swap on slice 1, an unused 4Mb partition on slice 3, and a 1100Mb partition on slice 4 for /var.
/JumpStart/sol9/conf/server/server_js1A install_type initial_install system_type server cluster SUNWCXall partitioning explicit filesys rootdisk.s0 2000 / filesys rootdisk.s1 1100 swap filesys rootdisk.s3 4 unnamed filesys rootdisk.s4 1100 /var
The Rules file defines the profile to be used for each server. During the server configuration stage, this file needs only a single entry, listing the name of the client to install and the profile to use. The syntax to create the Rules file is defined as follows:
/JumpStart/sol9/conf/server/rules hostname clientname - server_ js1a_ -
Note that the JumpStart server does not use the Rules file. Instead, it uses the processed version of the Rules file called rules. Please note that to create this file, you need the check script supplied with JumpStart. Copy this file into the /JumpStart/sol9/conf/server/ directory using the following command:
# cp /JumpStart/sol9/Solaris_9/Misc/JumpStart_sample/check
# ./check
# cd /JumpStart/sol9/Solaris_9/Tools # ./add_install_client -e 8:0:20:21:45:e0 \ -c servername:/JumpStart/sol9/conf/server \ -p servername:/JumpStart/sol9/conf/server/sysidcfg27 \ clientname sun4u
This should complete the install without any manual intervention. During the install you should see output similar to the following:
Searching for JumpStart directory... Using rules.ok from xx.xx.xx.xx:/JumpStart/sol9/conf/server. Checking rules.ok file... Using profile: server_ js1A_
This output confirms that your install is using the correct setup files.
Factory JumpStart
The Factory JumpStart installation automatically installs itself on a SPARC system when you insert the Solaris 9 DVD or Solaris 9 Software 1 of 2 CD into the drive and switch on the system.
Based on the model and the disk size of the SPARC system, a default profile is created. Note that you are not prompted for the system configuration information required for all other types of installations. Therefore, you cannot select the software you want installed on your system.