How to use Oracle Solaris

for Linux users

October, 2014 (Revision 1.0)
Fujitsu Limited

Copyright 2014 FUJITSU LIMITED

Introduction
Overview
This document is explained about the operation and the management of
Oracle Solaris for Linux users.

Notes
Oracle Solaris is sometimes referred to as 'Solaris'.
Oracle VM Server for SPARC is sometimes referred to as Oracle VM or 'OVM'.
The commands explained in this document are based on the following system
environments:
Linux
Solaris

: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5

: Oracle Solaris 11.1, SRU14031 (11.1.17.5.0), ESF5.1

Slide that has the Solaris mark explains the Solaris functions:

Solaris

Position
This document
Planning

Oracle Solaris command casebook for Linux users

Implementation

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When Linux Administrators use Solaris

Linux and Solaris have similar command lines, but ...
I don't know how
to restart it.

The file system is

different!

I want to apply the

patch, but which
command should I
use?
How do I change the
IP address?

How do I check the

service status?

This document is for Linux users who need help to operate Solaris
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Contents
Introduction
1. Starting up and Shutting down the OS Environment
2. Package Administration
3. User Administration
4. Network Administration
5. Service Administration
6. File System and Storage Administration
7. Monitoring

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1. Starting up and Shutting down the OS Environment

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From Switching on the Server to Booting the OS

Solaris

Fujitsu M10 servers are operated using XSCF

XSCF (eXtended System Control Facility):
PRIMERGY's iRMC (Remote Management Controller).
XSCF runs on a dedicated processor that is independent of the main unit. It
has a notification mechanism and monitors the status of the hardware and OS.
It can be connected remotely via (XSCF-LAN) and the physical partition power
can be switched on or off.

Booting the OS from the network

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

Using the terminal software, log into XSCF.

Use XSCF commands to start the physical partition.
* :If the OBP parameter (auto-boot?) is false then proceed.
Using XSCF commands, log into the console.
If the parameter is true, then the OS will boot automatically after
the power goes on.
Use OBP commands to boot the Solaris OS. (*)

(1) Log into XSCF

login:
Password:
XSCF>

(2) Start the partition

XSCF> power on -p 0

Oracle Solaris

(4) Boot the OS

{0} boot

Physical partition
OBP

XSCF-LAN

XSCF

(3) Connect to console

XSCF> console -p 0
{0}

Hardware
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Run Level of Linux and Solaris

Run level comparison
Just like Linux, Solaris has run levels from 0 to 6. However, there
are slight differences in their meaning.
Run
Level

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Remarks

Power off

OS off (*1)

* 1: OBP is on

s (S)

Single user

Single user

System Admin

Unused

Multiple users (no NFS)

Multiple users

Multiple users (*2)

Unused

Multiple users (*3)

X Window (*4)

Power off

Restart OS

Restart OS

*2: Solaris default

*3: Usable when necessary
* 4: Linux Default

- Run levels that are important to remember are: 0 (OS off), s (Single User), 3 (Multiple
users), 5 (Power Off), 6 (Restart OS).
- For more information about the changes to the service boot based on the run level,
please see: Section 5. Service Administration.
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Booting the OS
Linux and Solaris OS booting
Linux
Switch on the hardware and select the boot kernel from the GRUB
environment.
Choose boot in single user mode by modifying the GRUB options.

Solaris
Switch the hardware power on, boot via the OBP (Open Boot PROM).
The OBP is a similar environment to the PC server BIOS or Linux GRUB.
Use the exclusive command displayed as ok (referred to as the ok prompt).
Example

Solaris OS boot
{0} ok boot

- The OBP environment allows you to choose the boot disk and boot options (single user
mode, etc.). In addition, you can check all of the connected devices and the settings of
the OBP parameters.
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Booting the Desktop GUI

Solaris

Booting the Solaris desktop GUI

Example

1. Solaris-desktop package installation.

# pkg install solaris-desktop

2. Edit the /etc/gdm/custom.conf file.

3. Restart the gdm service.
# svcadm restart gdm

4. Put the xvnc inetd service into operation.

# inetadm -e xvnc-inetd

5. Make the VNC client available via the

PC and log in.

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Shutting down the OS

Shutting down Linux and Solaris
Both Linux and Solaris can be shutdown using a command.
In options you can choose the shutdown or restart times.
Solaris and Linux options are a little different, so be careful.

Example

Terminating Solaris OS
# shutdown -y -g0 -i0

Terminating Solaris OS (including hardware power off)

# shutdown -y -g0 -i5

Restarting Solaris OS
# shutdown -y -g0 -i6

- Whereas the Linux OS shutdown command is specified using options, such as

-r (Restart) or -h (Shutdown), the Solaris OS shutdown command uses i qualified with a
run level.
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Linux and Solaris Command Comparison (1)

Essential OS boot/shutdown commands
Operation

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Boot OS

Boot via GRUB menu

Boot via OBP (Open Boot PROM)

command
{0} ok boot

Boot in single user

mode

Specify run level via GRUB command

kernel /vmlinuz-... root=... 1

From the OBP (Open Boot PROM),

boot in single user mode
{0} ok boot s

OS shutdown

Use shutdown command and h to

specify termination options
# shutdown -h now

Use shutdown command andi5 to

specify termination options
# shutdown -y -g0 -i5

OS restart

Use shutdown command and r to

specify restart options
# shutdown -r now

Use shutdown command and i6 to

specify restart options
# shutdown -y -g0 -i6

Other Examples

-Terminate at 10:00
# shutdown -h 10:00
-Terminate in 5 minutes
# shutdown -h +5

-Boot via the network

{0} ok boot net:dhcp
-Restart in 30 seconds
# shutdown -y -g30 -i6

For more details please see: Oracle Solaris command casebook for Linux users.

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Reference: Solaris System Locale

Solaris

Solaris standard locale (character encoding) UTF-8

The system locale can be set via the following services property:
svc:/system/environment:init

System locale modification

Example

Locale (character encoding)

Settings

English

Japanese (EUC)

ja_JP.eucJP ,ja

Japanese (Shit-JIS)

ja_JP.PCK

Japanese (UTF-8)

ja_JP.UTF-8

1. system/locale/extra package installation.

* Only when using anything other than the standard locale.
# pkg install system/locale/extra

2. svccfg command modifies the locale (set it to LANG=C).

# svccfg -s system/environment:init setprop environment/LANG = astring: C

3. Refresh the service properties.

# svcadm refresh system/environment:init

4. Check the settings.

# svcprop system/environment:init | grep environment/LANG
environment/LANG astring C

- Locale settings can be confirmed using the locale a command.

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Reference: Boot Environment (BE)

Solaris

Boot administration
Boot Environment (BE) allows you to create/delete/multiply BEs.
You can create a new BE using 'snapshots' acquired through the current BE.
Select the BE and restart the OS and you will be able to change to a new BE.
The use of snapshots means only a small amount of disk space is required.
Linux allows you to use GRUB to select booting of the pre-update kernel. In
Solaris, this can be achieved using the BE functions.
BE image

BE01 data update

Create a new BE

BE01

BE01

BE01
BE02

BE01
BE02

Activate BE02 and

restart
BE02
BE01

BE02

BE02

BE01

BE01

Free
Space
BE01: Current BE
BE02: New BE. Because they refer to
the same area, no extra space is
required at time of creation.

Perform the update on BE01. Additional disk space

is only used for parts that change in the update.
Changing to BE02 takes you back to the
boot environment before the update.

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2. Package Administration

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Package Application Method

Linux and Solaris package application method
The package application methods are essentially the same, but with two
approaches.
Connect the server to media resource and apply on-site.
Connect to a specified website on the internet and apply remotely.
1. Connect to media and apply on-site

Servers

Apply from the media

Package

Media

Linux Server

2. Connect to a website and apply remotely

Source of package

or

Apply via the internet

Red Hat (Customer Portal)

or
Package

Oracle (Release Repository)

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Solaris Server

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Solaris Package Application

Solaris

Local package designated server (local repository server)

When using local repository server
Used for servers that cannot be connected to an external network (release
repository).
It is not necessary to use media on each server, as centralized management of
the package is enabled.
Apply the SRU (support repository update) to the local repository server and
update the specified package.
* Release repository: a package to update is provided for every release of Oracle Solaris.
Repository server utilization
Build directly from media

Media

External network
Unconnected servers

Local repository
server
Package offer

Repository image

Package

SRU

Add update
package

* A support contract is required to get the SRU.

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Linux and Solaris Command Comparison (2)

Essential package administration commands
Operation

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Update confirmation

yum check-update

pkg update -nv

Package update

yum update <package name>

pkg update <package name>

All package updates

yum update

pkg update

Install

yum install <package name>

pkg install <package name>

Search

yum search <search item>

pkg search <search item>

Installed items list

yum list all

pkg list

Package info display

yum info <package name>

pkg info <package name>

For more details please see: Oracle Solaris command casebook for Linux users.

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Reference: Restore Previous Environment 1/2

Solaris

Restoring using Boot Environment (BE)

You can restore to a previous application environment via Solaris BE.
If the OS cannot be restarted after applying a package, select the BE
from prior to the package being applied on the OBP and restart.

BE switch-back image
Failure Occurs

New operation
Operation environment
environment

Active

BE creation

(1)

Inactive

Apply the package

to the new BE, enable
it then restart

(2)

Inactive

Active

OS will boot in the new

operation environment
OS
restart

(3)

Inactive

Active

Specify rollback to
previous environment

(4)

Active

OS
restart

Inactive

Restart using
previous environment

(5)

- The BE is not a system backup. System back ups are still needed to deal with disk or
other failures.
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Reference: Restore Previous Environment 2/2

Solaris

Using BE for OS restoration

(When you specify a BE in your OS)
1. Confirm the BE name from the list.

Example

# beadm list
BE
Active Mountpoint Space Policy Created
------- ---------- ------ ------- ------solaris-1
- 9.67M static 2012-11-06 15:08
solaris-2
NR /
3.82G static 2012-11-06 15:30

Active Status
N: Current BE
R: Next BE

2. Enable the previous environment and restart the OS.

# beadm activate solaris-1
# shutdown -y -g0 -i6

(When you specify a BE on your OBP)

1. Specify the BE to be booted by its number in the list (boot L run)

Example

{0} ok boot -L
Boot device: /virtual-devices@100/channel-devices@200/disk@1 File and args: -L
1 solaris-1
2 solaris-2
Select environment to boot: [ 1 - 2 ]:1

2. Run the restart command given below.

{0} ok boot -Z rpool/ROOT/solaris-1
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3. User Administration

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User Administration Outline

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Operations

Administration by CLI is
standard
* GUI admin is also possible

Administration by CLI is standard

* GUI admin is also possible

Root
User/Role

User
All users can become root
users

Role (can make into user)

Specifically designated users only can
take on the role of a root user.

Group

By default, users belong to

the same group as their
name.

In addition to the group, the user

belongs to a project and this is used as
a unit of resource control for IPC
parameters and so on.

- User administration commands (useradd, usermod, userdel, etc.) are the same as in
Linux, but care is required as the Solaris meanings and options may be different.
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User Verification During Login

Solaris

File for local verification

Account information is stored at /etc/passwd.
Password information is stored at /etc/shadow.
Encryption method:Hash (Solaris:SHA-256, Linux:SHA-512)

Login parameters
Login parameter settings are stored at /etc/default/login.
Variable

Explanation

CONSOLE

Once set, only a super user can login through this device

PATH

The initial shell PATH variable

SUPATH

The initial shell PATH variable for super user

TIMEOUT

Amount of time in seconds until the current session times out

SLEEPTIME

Amount of time in seconds until the login failure message is displayed on screen

RETRIES

Number of times you can attempt login

- There is no need to edit the files (/etc/passwd or /etc/shadow) every time an account or password is
changed. Instead, this is done through the (usermod, passwd) commands.
- The encryption method (Hash) is a default setting, but can be changed.
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User Password Expiry

User password expiry settings
Linux uses the command 'chage' to set password expiry, whereas Solaris
uses the command passwd.
Operation

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Maximum deadline

# chage -M 90 <username>

# passwd -x 90 <username>

Minimum deadline

# chage -m 30 <username>

# passwd -n 30 <username>

Display password
expiry information

# chage l <username>

# passwd -s <username>
admin PS 05/27/14 30 90

Last password change : May 17, 2014

Password expires
: never
Password inactive
: never
Account expires
: never
Minimum number of days between
password change
: 30
Maximum number of days between
password change
: 90
Number of days of warning before
password expires
:7

Username
Status

Date
change
Minimum
deadline

Maximum
deadline

- User password expiration settings in Linux are also available in Solaris. However, the
commands and options are different.
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Linux and Solaris Command Comparison (3)

Essential User Administration Commands
Operation

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Add

useradd <username>

useradd <username>

Update

usermod -u <new UID>

<username>

usermod -u <new UID>

<username>

Delete

userdel <username>

userdel <username>

Display password expiration

chage -l <username>

passwd -s <username>

Set password expiration

chage -m 60 <username>

passwd -x 60 <username>

Change account information

(full name etc)

chfn

passwd -g

For more details please see: Oracle Solaris command casebook for Linux users.

- Basic user administration commands such as add/update/delete are available in Solaris

too but other similar commands might not be.
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Reference: Default Shell at Login

Changing the login default shell

The default shell in both Linux and Solaris is 'bash'.

Linux uses the chsh command
Example

1. Changing the default shell of a User (user01)

# chsh user01
user01 change shell
new shell [/bin/bash]: /bin/sh
shell has been changed.

Solaris uses the passwd command

Example

1. Changing the default shell of a User (user01)

# passwd -e user01
Old shell: /usr/bin/bash
New shell: /bin/sh
passwd: password information changed for user01

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Reference: Solaris Projects

Solaris

Project resource control

Project contents
Solaris is based on the concept of controlling resource by project.
Each user belongs to a project. When a user runs an application or process,
resource control is performed based on the project to which they belong.

Resource control units

Because settings are specified by project, resource control can be managed
independently for each user of an application or middleware.

Project A
User 1

Solaris

Parameter A: 100
Parameter B: 20

Application
Middleware
Application
Middleware

Project B
User 2

Parameter A: 200
Parameter B: 50

- Resources include: CPU run time for processes, core file sizes, maximum heap size and
IPC parameters. Project parameter settings can be changed while the OS is running.
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4. Network Administration

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Network Administration Outline

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Set IP
address

Edit the settings file, restart

the network service.

Set via ipadm command

File is automatically updated after setting.

Network
interface
name

ethXX
e.g.: eth0, eth1

Logical device name that was created

based on the physical device name
(netXX)
e.g.: net0, net1

ethtool command

dladm command
It is possible to create a virtual NIC at
the datalink layer via the network
virtualization function.

IP layer
admin

ifconfig command

ipadm command

Redundancy
function

Bonding

IPMP

Datalink
layer admin

- The Solaris network management system and command mechanisms have changed
significantly since Solaris 11. Network redundancy configuration via standard OS
functions and network virtualization is now possible.
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Network Administration Commands

Solaris dladm and ipadm commands
dladm
Datalink layer administration command.
Create virtual interfaces and set redundancy in networks.

ipadm
IP layer administration command.
IP addresses are administrated, set and deleted as address objects in the
form of an 'interface name/character string'.

Linux ifconfig command comparison

1. Interface creation and IP address setting
Solaris
Linux
# ifconfig <interface> <addr> netmask
<netmask>

2. IP address information confirmation

Linux
# ifconfig

# ipadm create-ip <interface>

# ipadm create-addr -T static -a
local=<addr>/<prefixlen> <interface>/<string>

Solaris
# ipadm show-addr

- Linux: After setup using ifconfig, a definition file must be created to continue using the interface.
- Solaris: The file is automatically updated by the ipadm command.
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Setting the IP Address

Solaris

Solaris network settings

Example

Interface status check

# dladm
LINK
net0
net1

show-link
CLASS MTU STATE OVER
phys 1500 up -phys 1500 up --

STATE: status
up: link up
down: link down

Network interface creation

(Format: ipadm create-ip <interface name>)

# ipadm create-ip net1

IP address setting

(Format: ipadm create-addr -T static -a local=<IP address>/<netmask> <length> <interface> <name>/<string>)

# ipadm create-addr -T static -a local=192.168.1.10/24 net1/v4

IP address confirmation
# ipadm show-addr

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Linux and Solaris Command Comparison (4)

Essential network administration commands
Operation

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Setting IP address

# vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-<device>
# ipadm create-addr -T static -a local=<IP
IPADDR=<IP address>
address>/<mask> <device>
# service network restart

Setting DHCP

# vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-<device>
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
# ipadm create-addr -T dhcp <device>
# service network restart

Confirming IP address

# ifconfig

# ipadm show-addr

Gateway settings

# vi /etc/sysconfig/network
GATEWAY=<IP address>
# service network restart

# route -p add <Network address> <IP

address>

Gateway information
confirmation

# netstat -rn

# netstat -rn

Display network
devices

# ethtool eth0

# dladm show-link
# dladm show-phys (Physical NIC)

For more details please see: Oracle Solaris command casebook for Linux users.

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Reference: Network Redundancy

Solaris

Solaris IP network multi-pass (IPMP)

A standard function on Solaris for configuring NIC redundancy to
improve network reliability
Equivalent of Linux Bonding function.

IPMP
Fault detection
Communication routes are automatically redirected if an NIC fault is detected.

Recovery detection
The communication routes automatically revert to the previous routes when the NIC
fault recovers.

Load balancing
The load is balanced across several NICs to avoid data bottlenecks.

Oracle Solaris Manual:

Managing Oracle Solaris 11.1 Network Performance
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E37932_01/html/E36607/gfkcy.html#scrolltoc
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Reference: Network Redundancy

Solaris

IPMP setting procedure

Example

IPMP (probe-based) settings

Create (net0, net1)

for redundant
interfaces

1. Creating the interface

# ipadm create-ip net0
# ipadm create-ip net1

2. IPMP interface settings

# ipadm create-ipmp ipmp0
# ipadm add-ipmp -i net0 -i net1 ipmp0
# ipadm create-addr -T static -a local=192.168.1.10/24 ipmp0/v4

3. Standby interface setting

Create the IPMP

interface with the
ipadm command

Set it to run in
standby mode

# ipadm set-ifprop -p standby=on -m ip net1

- As above, you can use the ipadm command to set all the IPMP settings. By using subcommands you can carry out further setting changes.
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5. Service Administration

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Service Administration
Linux and Solaris service administration mechanism
Linux
During OS booting, the service startup scripts (rc scripts) in the /etc/init.d
directory are executed in order, in accordance with the run level, as the OS is
booting.
The dependencies between services need to be managed on a per-service basis
(controlled using the startup scripts).

Solaris
SMF (Service Management Facility) manages all the service inter-dependencies. When a
service starts up or shuts down, the interdependent services can be started or shut down
beforehand.
If a service stops due to a system fault or failure, it will restart automatically (self-healing).
You can check the reason for a system shutdown and whether any other services are
affected.
rc scripts are called a legacy scripts, and this old service management mechanism is kept
for compatibility.
- Linux service administration is equivalent to that on Solaris 9 and prior versions.
- The Solaris SMF is not just a boot service. It monitors the status of running services and can be used
to check the cause and identify the consequences if a service stops due to a fault.
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Automatic Service Booting

Differences between automatic service booting on Linux and
Solaris
Linux
The settings for booting services and automatic booting of services are configured using
different commands.
Example
#
#
#
#

service httpd start

service httpd stop
chkconfig httpd on
chkconfig httpd off

- - -start service
- - -stop service
- - -Enable automatic service start
- - -Disable automatic service start

Solaris
svcadm manages everything.
The configuration of services remains unchanged after OS shutdown. When the OS is
next booted the previous settings resume.
Example
#
#
#
#

svcadm
svcadm
svcadm
svcadm

enable -t httpd
disable -t httpd
enable httpd
disable httpd

- - - start service
- - -stop service
- -Enable automatic service start/service start
- -Disable automatic service start/service stop

- On Solaris, the start/stop setting for a service is retained when the OS is next booted.
- To change the start/stop setting for a service temporarily (until next OS shutdown), use the -t option.
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Linux and Solaris Command Comparison (5)

Essential service administration commands
Operations

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Service start

service <service name> start

svcadm enable -t <service name> (FMRI)

Enabling service start and

automatic start

service <service name> start

chkconfig <service name> on

svcadm enable <service name> (FMRI)

Service stop

service <service name> stop

svcadm disable -t <service name> (FMRI)

Disabling service start and

automatic start

service <service name> stop

chkconfig <service name> off

svcadm disable <service name> (FMRI)

Display services

chkconfig --list

svcs a

Display service status

service <service name> status

svcs <service name> (FMRI)

* FMRI (Fault Managed Resource Identifier)

For more details please see: Oracle Solaris command casebook for Linux users.
- FMRI is a method for describing services in terms of category, service name and instance
name.
svc:/network/http:apache22
Category: network
Service name: http
Instance name: apache22
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Reference: Solaris Service Administration

Solaris

SMF (Service Management Facility)

The startup script for a service managed by the SMF resides in the /lib/svc/method
directory, and is controlled by svc.startd (Master restarter daemon).
The manifest file that defines interdependencies between services can be found in
the /var/svc/manifest directory under different groups, and can be
viewed/changed with the svc.configd (repository daemon).
Management logs from the SMF are exported to /var/svc/log for each service
respectively.
init process
inittab entry
Restart each service

svc.startd
A service
(dependence)

C service

B service single user

multi-user
(dependence)

rcS procedure

multi-user-server
(dependence)

rc2 procedure

rc3 procedure

Services that are not interdependent are started in parallel

Services that are interdependent are started accordingly
rc procedures are used to start legacy scripts
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6. File System and Storage Administration

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File System and Storage Administration Outline

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Storage volume
administration

LVM (Logical Volume Manager)

ZFS (Zettabyte File System)

zpool command

File system

ext3 (recommended), ext4

ZFS
zfs command

Maximum file system

size

16TB

256 quadrillion ZB

Maximum file size

2TB (ext3), 16TB (ext4)

256 quadrillion ZB

Redundancy creation

RAID is used on the server itself

and external storage devices.

Either soft RAID depending on the

ZFS or external hard RAID is used.

* RAID card is installed as standard

equipment on the Fujitsu
PRIMERGY series, SVOM (Server
View Operations Manager) used to
monitor the system.

* Hard RAID is supported as a standard

function even on the Fujitsu M10.

- Solaris system volume is formatted by the ZFS.

- The UFS (UNIX File System) from Solaris 10 and prior is useable in the user volume area.
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Linux Storage Administration

LVM (Logical Volume Manager)
Features
Several physical disks (PV) can be combined into one volume group (VG).
Separation of logical volumes (LVs) from volume group (VG).
It is possible to add or expand LVs while the OS is running.
LVs are mounted after the file system is created.
Backups can be acquired using the snapshot function while the OS is running.
File system mounting process
/ (root)

Mount
Logical volume
(LV)

/data

/usr

---

Allocate

Use the created LV as a mount point for /(root

partition), /home and so on.
Use the /etc/fstab file to mount file systems
automatically while the OS booting.

Volume group (VG)

Physical
volume
(PV)

Physical
volume
(PV)

Physical
volume
(PV)

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Solaris Storage Administration

Solaris

ZFS (Zettabyte File System)

Features
Creates a single storage pool out of several physical devices.
The storage pool can be made into a RAID group.
Areas of the storage pool can be allocated as data sets.
When a data set is created, it is mounted as a ZFS file system.
The file system automatically expands up to the available storage pool capacity.
Backups are possible via the snapshot function while the OS is running.

File system mounting process

/ (root)
Mount while creating
/data

/data File System

/usr

---

When ZFS creates a file system, it creates a

directory that has the same name as the file
system and mounts automatically.
Mount point information is saved as a data set
property and can be modified by the zfs command.

Storage pool
RAID
configuration

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RAID Configuration Using ZFS

Solaris

Disk redundancy provided using standard functions

RAID configuration on ZFS

Non-redundant
Striping (RAID-0)

Storage pool

mirror
Multiple mirrors possible (RAID-1)

Physical
disk
Physical
disk

RAID-Z

Physical
disk

Single parity (similar to RAID-5)

RAID-Z2

Select the RAID configuration function

when the disks are registered to the pool.

Double parity (similar to RAID-6)

RAID-Z3

* RAID1+0 configuration possible

Triple parity

- The Solaris storage pool can improve the file system performance and reliability by
forming a RAID and registering the physical disks.
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ZFS Snapshot

Solaris

ZFS snapshot mechanism

Previous
data

Snapshot

Previous data's
update
(change/deletion)

A snapshot always refers to

data that existed at the
point it was created.

Previous
data

(Update)

Snapshot

(Data before
update)

The area of snapshot

increases (corresponding block
increase)
* When a snapshot is created, note that the whole
disk area does not decrease even if the original data
is deleted.

ZFS snapshot features

No need to designate a snapshot area as it is done automatically.

When data is updated, only the corresponding disk block is copied. Therefore
data usage is low.
Possible to return to the point where the snapshot was created (Rollback
function).
File systems can be backed up based on ZFS snapshots (Backup function).
File systems can be cloned using snapshots (Clone function).
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Solaris Backup/Restore

Solaris

Backup/restore with the ZFS command

Backup: 'zfs send'
Snapshots written to standard output using the zfs send command can be used
as backup data.
There is no need to stop the OS.

Restore: 'zfs receive'

File system restore is done by reading the back up data from standard input.
No need to stop the OS, except when restoring the system volume (root pool).

Storage pool
Backup

Snap
shot

zfs send

Backup
Data

zfs receive

Forward
Data

Tape device /
External media

Restore

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Linux and Solaris Command Comparison (6)

Essential file system and storage management commands
Operation

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Linux: Volume Group creation

Solaris: Storage Pool creation

vgcreate <volume group name>

<device name>

zpool create <pool name> <RAID>

<device name>

Linux: Create logical volume

Solaris: Create ZFS file system

lvcreate -L <size> -n <physical volume

name> <volume group name>

zfs create <file system name>

Snapshot creation

lvcreate -s L <size> -n <snapshot

name> <previous device>

zfs snapshot <snapshot name>

Rollback via snapshot

lvconvert --merge <snapshot name>

zfs rollback <snapshot name>

File system backup

dump -0u -f <backup file> <snapshot

name>

zfs send <snapshot name>

File system restore

restore -r -f <backup file>

zfs receive <snapshot stream>

Partition operation

parted (recommended), fdisk

format

For more details please see: Oracle Solaris command casebook for Linux users.

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Reference: Disk Label, Device Path

Solaris

Solaris disk label

Solaris supports the following two disk labels.
SMI (Sun Microsystems Inc.)
Disk label for System Volume - for disks that are less than 2TB in size.

EFI (GPT) (Extensible Firmware Interface GUID Partition Table)

It is a disk label for ZFS other than the system volume.

Solaris device path

A pathname in the /dev/(r)dsk directory specifying the controller, disk
and slice.
/dev/(r)dsk/cvtwdxsy
y: slice number
x: drive number
w: physical path target number

disk device (*)

v: Logical controller number

Device directory

*: dsk indicates block device and rdsk character device (raw device)
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Reference: Disk Partition

Linux and Solaris disk partition differences
Linux
Divides a disk into multiple partitions that can be used as a file system or raw
device.
Partition settings are set with the fdisk command.
SMI label disk

Solaris
A Solaris partition is also known as a slice'.
The number of slices created depends upon the disk label.
s2
Put s0-s7 after the device name to specify a device path
(e.g :/dev/rdsk/c2t0d1s0).
The SMI label s2 is a special slice that represents the entire disk.
Slice settings are set with the format command.

s0
s1
s3
s4
s5
s6
s7

EFI label disk

s0
s1
s2
s3
s4
s5
s6
s8

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Reference: ISO Image File Mount

Linux and Solaris ISO image file format
Linux
Specify iso9660 as file system format.
Example

/ISO/media.iso mounted to the /mnt directory

# mount -o loop -t iso9660 /ISO/media.iso /mnt

- - - ISO file mounted to /mnt

Solaris
Specify hsfs as file system format.
Example

/ISO/media.iso mounted to the /mnt directory

# mount -F hsfs /ISO/media.iso /mnt

- - - ISO file mounted to /mnt

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Reference: File System Organization

Solaris

Solaris file system organization

File systems other than ZFS are automatically mounted during booting
based on the /etc/vfstab file.
Name

Summary

/dev

Directory including special device files

/devices

devfs file system mount point directory

/etc

Directory including system specific managing and configuration files

/bin

Directory including files executable by ordinary users

/sbin

Directory including boot processes and manual system recovery files

/usr/lib

System libraries used by various programs when they are executing

/proc

Process file system mount point directory

/tmp

Directory for temporary file use. tmpfs used for file systems on memory.

- Swap and dump devices created by the ZFS volume.

- Files placed in /tmp use physical memory. These files are lost upon restart.
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7. Monitoring

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System Monitoring
Linux and Solaris log monitoring
Linux
System message log output is defined in /etc/rsyslog.conf.

Solaris
System message log outputs is defined in /etc/syslog.conf.
As under Linux, the system message is displayed to the login user and
administrator and is transferable to other servers.
As under Linux, OS commands are provided for checking the system
performance information (CPU and memory use, etc.).
Some monitoring commands are available only on Solaris.

In the case of on-site monitoring, the most common method is to

install specialized software and an operation monitoring system.

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System Monitoring Log

Linux and Solaris log output differences
Log output address
Log

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

System log output

/var/log/messages

/var/adm/messages

Mail send/receive data log

/var/log/maillog

/var/log/syslog

cron execution log

/var/log/cron

/var/cron/log

Log rotation

As with Linux, Solaris will set items for each log file and is periodically
executed by cron.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris
Settings for each log file to be rotated are set in
-/etc/logadm.conf

-/etc/logrotate.conf defined by file

weekly - - -1 week unit

rotate 4 - - -4 generations
compress - - -compress
/var/log/messages {
sharedscripts
postrotate
/bin/kill -HUP 'cat /var/run/syslogd.pid 2> /dev/null'
2> /dev/null || true
endscript
}

/var/adm/messages -C 4 -a '/usr/sbin/svccfg -s
svc:/system/system-log refresh '
-C : Generation to be saved
-a : After changing the log file name, execute
command enclosed in ' '.
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System Monitoring Commands

Examples of commands used to check current resources
Item to be checked

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

CPU, memory, expansion

card confirmation

cat /proc/cpuinfo
cat /proc/meminfo
lspci

prtdiag

Examples of commands to check anomalies

Confirmation item

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

Network status

ethtool, ping

dladm, ping

Service status

service

svcs

Process status

pstree, ps

ptree, ps

Process trace

strace

truss

Commands to check resource use

Confirmation item

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

System uptime

uptime

uptime

CPU, memory, I/O load

mpstat, vmstat
iostat, iotop, netstat

mpstat, pgstat, vmstat, iostat, fsstat,

netstat, flowstat, dlstat, ipmpstat

Process unit usage

top, pidstat

top, prstat
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Linux and Solaris Command Comparison(7)

Essential monitoring commands
Operation

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Oracle Solaris

CPU, memory, I/O load check

mpstat
vmstat
iostat

mpstat
vmstat
iostat

CPU, memory, expansion card

check

cat /proc/cpuinfo
cat /proc/meminfo
lspci

prtdiag

Network communications check

ping

ping

Process status check

ps -ef

ps -ef

For more details please see: Oracle Solaris command casebook for Linux users.

- Commands such as the top command used to monitor process status are also usable in
Solaris.
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Reference: Solaris cron

Solaris

About cron
Cron editing
cron editing is done via the crontab command.
# crontab -e
10 3 * * * /usr/sbin/logadm

- - - format

m h dd mm day command

Display settings
To display the cron settings, use the crontab command.
# crontab -l
10 3 * * * /usr/sbin/logadm

Sending the results

The results of a cron check are sent to the specified users via email.

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Reference: URL
Oracle company manual
Oracle Solaris 11.1 Information Library
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E37932_01/
- Command Reference and Manual is available to administrators and developers.

Server manual
Fujitsu M10/SPARC M10 Systems System Operation and Administration Guide
http://jp.fujitsu.com/platform/server/sparc/manual/en/c120-e679-06en/index.html
- The manual illustrates necessary basic operations for system deployment and
administration.

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Revision History
Revision
1.0

Release date
October, 2014

Update page

Update contents
First Edition

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Copyright 2014 FUJITSU LIMITED

Trademarks and Copyright

Terms of use
Intellectual property rights, copyright, trademark rights etc.

The contents of this document (images, audio and documents) are protected by intellectual
property rights, copyright, trademark rights, etc. It can be downloaded and printed out for
personal use. However, for other uses (for example, posting on personal websites or
uploading to a server) the permission of the copyright holder or Fujitsu will be required.
Warranty limits
The company will not assume any legal responsibilities that arise from the use of the
contents and does not guarantee compatibility, accuracy, merchantability to purpose of use.
Contents may be changed or discontinued without notice.

Trademarks
UNIX is an open group registered trademark in the United States and other countries.
SPARC Enterprise, SPARC64, SPARC64 Logo and all other SPARC trademarks, are used
under the United Sates SPARC International Inc. license, and are registered trademarks in
the United States and other countries.
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of the Oracle Corporation and its subsidiaries in
the United States and other countries.
All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners. All rights
reserved.

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