Installing Solaris

[mariocq]

Hello:

Perhaps this is an easy question but I am beginner in linux world. I have installed red-hat 7.1 in my system and the partition table is the following:

[root@cache1 /root]# fdisk -l /dev/sda

Disk /dev/sda: 64 heads, 32 sectors, 8678 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 21 21488 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 22 8678 8864768 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 22 3094 3146736 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 3095 4119 1049584 82 Linux swap

I want to install Solaris in this system. Does anyone know if this is a valid configuration? I don´t know if Solaris need a primary partition of if it´ll accept to create a logical partition in the extended partition.

Best regards,
Mario.

 

[ifincham]

Hi,

Intel Solaris is a bit restricted in how it can be installed and co-exist with other operating systems. You must install it on the first hard drive and in one of the four primary partitions. When you do the install you will end up with a graphical Solaris boot manager in your MBR that allows you to boot an O/S in any one of the (up to) four primary partitions on that disk.

With your partitions as they are, you would have to have /dev/sda5 as your linux /boot and /root (and everything else) partition and install lilo in the partition boot record of /dev/sda5 (vs master boot record).

If you have free space on that drive you can create another primary partition and try to install solaris there. Otherwise, you could install in /dev/sda1 but you would need to do some resizing of partitions to free up enough space. You only need one partition for Solaris because it then does its' own partitioning within the physical partition to create various 'slices' in the same way as you'd have under Sparc architecture.

Have a look at the howto -->

http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/Linux+Solaris.html

. Also, remember to make a boot floppy for your linux system before you start any actual installs.....

Hope this helps

 

[bluedevils]

Ummm....isn't linux swap the same as the solaris fs? For that reason you would need a second disk to install solaris or you will have to get rid of the linux swap.

 

[ifincham]

Hi,



What bluedevils says is partly true - the hex partition id value for solaris is 82 and so is a linux swap partition.

What used to be the problem on earlier redhat versions was that you would install Solaris in a specific partition and it would leave the linux swap alone during the install and after (assuming you didn't pick the wrong partition at install time!). However, when you rebooted to redhat linux, redhat init scripts would use all x'82' partitions on all attached disks as swap space - thereby destroying your solaris much to many people's annoyance. I am fairly sure that this behaviour has now been fixed and redhat will only use swap (x'82') partitions that have been listed in /etc/fstab .



Good point - I'd forgotten that
one! I am fairly sure 7.1 is OK though. Try it out I guess.

Regards