Glossary

active boot environment

The boot environment that is currently booted.

archive

A file that contains all of the files that were copied from a master system. The file also contains identification information about the archive, such as name and the date you created the archive. When you select to install an archive on a system, the system then contains the exact configuration of the master system you used to create the archive.

arrow keys

One of the four directional keys on the numeric keypad.

boot

To load the system software into memory and start it.

boot environment

A bootable Solaris environment that consists of a set of disk slices and associated mount points and file systems. These disk slices might be on the same disk or distributed across multiple disks.

checksum

The result of adding a group of data items that are used for checking the group. The data items can be either numerals or other character strings that are treated as numerals during the checksum calculation. The checksum value verifies that communication between two devices is successful.

clone system

A system that you installed by using a Web Start Flash archive. The clone system has the exact same installation configuration as the master system.

command line

A string of characters that begin with a command, often followed by arguments, including options, file names, and other expressions, and terminated by the end-of-line character.

critical file systems

File systems that are required by the Solaris operating environment and are separate mount points in the vfstab of the active and inactive boot environments. Examples are root (/) /usr, /var or /opt. These file systems are always copied from the source to the inactive boot environment.

disk

A round platter, or set of platters, of a magnetized medium organized into concentric tracks and sectors for storing data such as files.

/export

A file system on an OS server that is shared with other systems on a network. For example, the /export file system can contain the root file system and swap space for diskless clients and the home directories for users on the network. Diskless clients rely on the /export file system on an OS server to boot and run.

fallback

A reversion to the environment that ran previously. Use fallback when you are activating and the boot environment that is designated for booting fails (or shows some undesirable behavior).

fdisk partition

A logical partition of a disk drive that is dedicated to a particular operating system on IA based systems. To install the Solaris software, you must set up at least one Solaris 8 fdisk partition on an IA based system. IA based systems allow up to four different fdisk partitions on a disk. These partitions can be used to hold individual operating systems. Each operating system must be located on a unique fdisk partition. A system can only have one Solaris fdiskpartition per disk.

file system

In the SunOS^TM operating system, a tree-structured network of files and directories that you can access.

format

To put data into a structure or divide a disk into sectors for receiving data.

function key

One of the 10 or more keyboard keys that are labeled F1, F2, F3, and so on that are mapped to particular tasks.

hard link

A directory entry that references a file on disk. More than one such directory entry can reference the same physical file.

HTTP

(Hypertext Transfer Protocol) (n.) The Internet protocol that fetches hypertext objects from remote hosts. This protocol is based on TCP/IP.

inactive boot environment

Any boot environment that is not currently booted and not designated for activation on next reboot.

job

A user-defined task to be completed by a computer system.

JumpStart directory

When you use a profile diskette for custom JumpStart installations, the JumpStart directory is the root directory on the diskette that contains all the essential custom JumpStart files. When using a profile server for custom JumpStart installations, the JumpStart directory is a directory on the server that contains all the essential custom JumpStart files.

JumpStart installation

A type of installation in which the Solaris 8 software is automatically installed on a system by using the factory-installed JumpStart software.

master system

A system that you use to create a Web Start Flash archive. The system configuration is saved in the archive.

metadevice

See volume.

mount

The process of accessing a directory from a disk that is attached to a machine making the mount request or remote disk on a network. To mount a file system, you need a mount point on the local system and the name of the file system to be mounted (for example, /usr).

mount point

A workstation directory to which you mount a file system that exists on a remote machine.

name server

A server that provides a name service to systems on a network.

network installation

A way to install software over the network—from a system with a CD-ROM drive to a system without a CD-ROM drive. Network installations require a name server and an install server.

networked systems

A group of systems (called hosts) that are connected through hardware and software, so they can communicate and share information; referred to as a local area network (LAN). One or more servers are usually needed when systems are networked.

non-networked systems

Systems that are not connected to a network or do not rely on other systems.

/opt

A file system that contains the mount points for third-party and other software.

package

A collection of software that is grouped into a single entity for modular installation. The Solaris 8 software is divided into software groups, which are each composed of clusters and packages.

profile

A text file that defines how to install the Solaris software (for example, which software group to install). Every rule specifies a profile that defines how a system is to be installed when the rule is matched. You usually create a different profile for every rule. However, the same profile can be used in more than one rule. See also rules file.

profile diskette

A diskette that contains all the essential custom JumpStart files in its root directory (JumpStart directory).

/ (root)

In a hierarchy of items, the one item from which all other items are descended. The root item has nothing above it in the hierarchy. The base directory from which all other directories stem, directly or indirectly. The root directory contains the directories and files critical for system operation, such as the kernel, device drivers, and the programs that are used to start (boot) a system.

shareable file systems

File systems that are user-defined files such as /export/home, and /swap that are shared between the active and inactive boot environment. Shareable file systems contain the same mount point in the vfstab in both the active and inactive boot environments. Updating shared files in the active boot environment also updates data in the inactive boot environment. Shareable file systems are shared by default, but you can specify a destination slice, and then the file systems are copied.

slice

The unit into which the disk space is divided by the software.

Solaris 8 CD images

The Solaris 8 software that is installed on a system, which you can access on the Solaris 8 CDs or an install server's hard disk to which you have copied the Solaris 8 CD images.

swap space

A slice or file that temporarily holds the contents of a memory area till it can be loaded back into memory. Also known as the /swap or swap file system.

unmount

The process of removing access to a directory on a disk that is attached to a machine or a remote disk on a network.

/usr

A file system on a standalone system or server that contains many of the standard UNIX programs. Sharing the large /usr file system with a server rather than maintaining a local copy minimizes the overall disk space required to install and run the Solaris 8 software on a system.

utility

A standard program, usually furnished at no charge with the purchase of a computer, that does the computer's housekeeping.

/var

A file system or directory (on standalone systems) that contain system files that are likely to change or grow over the life of the system. These include system logs, vi files, mail files, and uucp files.

volume

A group of physical slices accessed as a single logical device by concatenation, striping, mirroring, settup RAID5 volumes, or logging physical devices. After they are created, volumes are used like slices. The volume maps logical block address to the correct location on one of the physical devices. The type of mapping depends on the configuration of the particular volume.

Also known as pseudo, or virtual device in standard UNIX terms.

Volume Manager

A program that provides a mechanism to administer and obtain access to the data on CD-ROMs and diskettes.