Installing Clients

Boot the client to start the installation. This section describes how to boot a SPARC or x86 client. This section also describes how you can monitor installation progress remotely.

Using Secure Shell to Remotely Monitor Installations

You can enable network access to an automated install client by using ssh. You can use this access to remotely observe an installation in progress by monitoring progress in the /system/volatile/install_log installation log file.

To enable remote access for all clients of a particular install service, set the option livessh to enable in the installation configuration file. When this access is enabled, you can log in to the AI client by using the username jack and password jack.

Individual clients can also set this option on the boot command line.

Monitoring x86 Client Installations

For x86 systems, use the -b option with the create-service subcommand to set boot properties for all clients that use that service, as shown in the following example:

$ pfexec installadm create-service -a i386 -b livessh=enable

The following excerpt shows how the property appears in the /etc/netboot/svcname/grub.cfg file:

$multiboot $kern /platform/i86pc/kernel/amd64/unix -B livessh=enable,...

You can enable ssh for a single x86 client by specifying livessh on the boot command line. For instructions, see Adding Kernel Arguments by Editing the GRUB Menu at Boot Time in Booting and Shutting Down Oracle Solaris 11.1 Systems.

Monitoring SPARC Client Installations

For SPARC systems, access the system.conf file through the service's net image directory mounted under the /etc/netboot directory: /etc/netboot/svcname/system.conf.

In the system.conf file, the options are defined as name-value pairs. In the following example, the livessh option is set to enable:

$ cat /etc/netboot/solaris11_1-sparc/system.conf
...install_service=solaris11_1-sparc
install_svc_address=$serverIP:5555
livessh=enable
...

You can enable ssh for a single SPARC client by specifying livessh on the boot command line. The following examples show two different ways to specify this argument:

ok boot net:dhcp - livessh
ok boot net:dhcp - livessh=enable

The livessh specification on the boot command line overrides any setting specified in the service's system.conf file. For example, if the system.conf file specifies livesssh=enable, you can disable livessh on a particular client by specifying livessh=disable on the boot command line:

ok boot net:dhcp - livessh=disable

Installing a SPARC Client

Network boot SPARC clients from the OBP prompt.

• If you are using DHCP, use the following network boot command:

  ok boot net:dhcp - install

• If you are not using DHCP, use the following command to set the network-boot-arguments variable in the OBP. This variable is set persistently in the OBP:

  ok setenv network-boot-arguments host-ip=client-ip,
  router-ip=router-ip,subnet-mask=subnet-mask,hostname=hostname,
  file=wanboot-cgi-file

  Then use the following command to network boot the client:

  ok boot net - install

  ---

  Note - When you use the network-boot-arguments variable, the SPARC client does not have DNS configuration information. Ensure that the AI manifest used with this client specifies an IP address instead of a host name for the location of the IPS package repository, and for any other URI in the manifest.

  ---

The following events occur during AI boot of a SPARC client:

1. The client boots and gets its network configuration and the location of the wanboot-cgi file from the DHCP server or from the network-boot-arguments variable set in its OBP.

2. The wanboot-cgi program reads wanboot.conf and sends the location of the WAN boot binary to the client.

3. The WAN boot binary is downloaded using HTTP, and the client boots the WAN boot program.

4. WAN boot gets the boot_archive file, and the Oracle Solaris OS is booted.

5. Image archives, solaris.zlib and solarismisc.zlib, are downloaded using HTTP.

6. The AI manifest and system configuration profiles are downloaded from an AI install service specified either from the mDNS lookup or from the system.conf file.

7. The AI install program is invoked with the AI manifest to perform the installation of the Oracle Solaris OS to the client.

Installing an x86 Client

Initiate the x86 client installation by using one of the following methods to boot from the network:

• Press the appropriate function key. For example, some systems use F12 to boot from the network

• Change the boot order in the BIOS.

When the client boots, select the network device to boot from.

The following events occur during AI boot of an x86 client:

1. The client boots and gets an IP address, and the boot file is downloaded from the location provided by the DHCP server.

2. The boot file is loaded and reads a GRUB menu file.

3. The user selects the second option, “Oracle Solaris 11.1 Automated Install,” from the GRUB menu.

4. The boot file gets the boot archive file, and the Oracle Solaris OS is booted using TFTP.

5. The net image archives, solaris.zlib and solarismisc.zlib, are downloaded using HTTP as provided by the GRUB menu.

6. The AI manifest and system configuration profiles are downloaded from an AI install service specified from an mDNS lookup or from the GRUB menu entry that was booted.

7. The AI install program is invoked with the AI manifest to perform the installation.

When the system has successfully PXE booted, the following message is briefly displayed before the GRUB menu is displayed:

Intel(R) Boot Agent PXE Base Code (PXE-2.1 build 0.86)
Copyright(C) 1997-2007, Intel Corporation

CLIENT MAC ADDR 00 14 4F 29 04 12 GUID FF2000008 FFFF FFFF FFFF 7BDA264F1400
CLIENT IP: 10.6.68.29   MASK: 255.255.255.0    DHCP IP:  10.6.68.49
GATEWAY: 10.6.68.1

The GRUB menu appears with two menu entries. Select the second entry to start an automated installation:

Oracle Solaris 11.1 Text Installer and command line
Oracle Solaris 11.1 Automated Install

The default GRUB menu entry, “Text Installer and command line,” boots the image without starting a hands-free automated installation. Select the second entry in the GRUB menu, “Automated Install,” to initiate an automated installation. If you select the first menu entry, then when the client is booted, a menu displays as shown in Starting Installation After Booting Without Initiating an Installation. Use this menu to examine or install the system.

Client Installation Messages

The following messages are common to both SPARC and x86 installations.

Automated Installation Started Message

If the client is able to successfully boot and download the install files, then the following message is displayed:

Automated Installation started
The progress of the Automated Installation will be output to the console
Detailed logging is in the logfile at /system/volatile/install_log
Press RETURN to get a login prompt at any time.

You can log in as root with the password solaris to monitor the installation messages in /system/volatile/install_log.

Automated Installation Succeeded Message

If you see the following message, the installation is successful:

Automated Installation finished successfully
The system can be rebooted now
Please refer to the /system/volatile/install_log file for details
After reboot it will be located at /var/log/install/install_log

If you have set up automatic reboot in the AI manifest, the system reboots at this time. To specify automatic reboot after successful installation, set the auto_reboot attribute of the <ai_instance> tag to true. The default value is false: The client does not automatically reboot after successful installation.