NAME

bootparams - boot parameter data base

SYNOPSIS

/etc/bootparams

DESCRIPTION

The /etc/bootparams file contains a list of client entries that diskless clients use for booting. Diskless booting clients retrieve this information by issuing requests to a server running the rpc.bootparamd (1M)program. The /etc/bootparams file may be used in conjunction with or in place of other sources for the bootparams information. See nsswitch.conf(4).

For each client the file contains an entry with the client's name and a list of boot parameter values for that client. Each entry should have the form:

clientname

identifier-pathname-specifier ...

The first item of each entry is the host name of the diskless client. This is followed by one or more whitespace characters and a series of identifier-pathname-specifiers separated by whitespace characters.

Each identifier-pathname-specifier has the form:

identifier=server: pathname

where identifier is a key that is used by diskless clients to identify a file or filesystem, server is the name of the server that will provide the file or filesystem to the diskless client, and pathname is the path to the exported file or filesystem on the specified server. The equal sign ('=') and colon (':') characters are used in the indicated positions. There should not be any whitespace within an identifier-pathname-specifier.

An entry may be split across multiple lines of the file. The backslash ('\') character should be used as the last character of a line to signify that the entry continues on the next line. The line may only be split in places where whitespace is allowed in the entry.

The asterisk ('* ')character may be used as a "wildcard" in place of the client name in a single entry. That entry will apply to all clients for whom there is not an entry that specifically names them.

EXAMPLES

Here is an example of an entry in the /etc/bootparams file:

client1 root=server1:/export/client1/root \
     swap=server1:/export/client1/swap

FILES

/etc/bootparams

SEE ALSO

rpc.bootparamd (1M),nsswitch.conf(4)

x86 only

rpld(1M)

NOTES

Solaris diskless clients use the identifiers "root", "swap", and "dump" to look up the pathnames for the root filesystem, a swap area, and a dump area, respectively. These are the only identifiers meaningful for SPARC diskless booting clients.

For x86 booting clients, the additional keyword identifiers "numbootfiles," "bootfile," and "bootaddr" are used (see rpld(1M)).