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Chapter 33
Installing, Booting, Halting, Uninstalling and Cloning lx Branded Zones (Tasks)
This chapter describes how to install and boot an lx branded zone. The following other tasks are also addressed:
Using clone to install a zone on the same system
Halting, rebooting, and uninstalling zones
Removing a zone from a system
lx Branded Zone Installation (Task Map)
Task | Description | For Instructions |
|---|---|---|
Obtain the Linux achives. | Before you can install the lx branded zone, you must first obtain the Linux archives. | |
Install a configured lx branded zone. | Install a zone that is in the configured state. | |
(Optional) Install a subset of the available packages. | When installing from CD or ISO images, you can install a subset of the packages on the install media. | |
(Optional) Enable networking in the zone. | Networking is disabled by default and must be enabled if you want this functionality. | |
Obtain the universally unique identifier (UUID) for the zone. | This separate identifier, assigned when the zone is installed, is an alternate way to identify a zone. | |
(Optional) Transition an installed zone to the ready state. | You can skip this procedure if you want to boot the zone and use it immediately. | (Optional) Placing an Installed lxBranded Zone in the Ready State |
Boot an lx branded zone. | Booting a zone places the zone in the running state. A zone can be booted from the ready state or from the installed state. | |
Boot a zone in single-user mode. | Boots only to milestone svc:/milestone/single-user:default. This milestone is equivalent to init level s. See the init(1M) and svc.startd(1M) man pages. |
Installing and Booting lx Branded Zones
Use the zoneadm command described in the zoneadm(1M) man page to perform installation tasks for a non-global zone.
How to Obtain the Linux Archives
Before you can install the lx branded zone, you must first obtain the Linux archives. The archives are distributed in the following forms:
A compressed tar archive (a tarball)
A set of CD-ROM or DVD discs
A group of ISO images
Obtain the Linux distribution using one of the following methods:
To download a tarball, go to http://opensolaris.org/os/community/brandz/downloads. Follow the instructions on the downloads site.
To obtain a set of CD-ROM or DVD discs, go to the CentOS site at http://www.centos.org or the Red Hat site at http://www.redhat.com.
To obtain an ISO image, go to the CentOS site at http://www.centos.org or the Red Hat site at http://www.redhat.com.
How to Install an lx Branded Zone
This procedure is used to install a configured lx branded zone. Once the zone is installed, all software configuration and management has to be done by the zone administrator using Linux tools from inside the zone.
See Example 33-1, Example 33-2, and Example 33-3 for examples of zone installation command lines using the different distribution paths. If you install from discs or from an ISO image, you must specify Sun package cluster categories. See lx Branded Zone Installation Methods for information on package cluster categories.
Note that you can verify a zone prior to installing it. If you skip this procedure, the verification is performed automatically when you install the zone. The procedure is documented in (Optional) How to Verify a Configured Zone Before It Is Installed.
You must be the global administrator in the global zone to perform this procedure.
Note - In Step 2, if the zonepath is on ZFS, the zoneadm install command automatically creates a ZFS file system (dataset) for the zonepath when the zone is installed. You can block this action by including the -x nodataset parameter.
Become superuser, or assume the Primary Administrator role.
To create the role and assign the role to a user, see "Using the Solaris Management Tools With RBAC (Task Map)" in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.
(Optional) If you intend to install from DVD or CD, enable volfs on your system and verify that it is running.
global# svcadm enable svc:/system/filesystem/volfs:default
global# svcs | grep volfs
You will see a display similar to the following:
online 17:30 svc:/system/filesystem/volfs:default
Install the configured zone lx-zone by using the zoneadm command with the install option and the path to the archive.
Install the zone, automatically creating a ZFS file system if the zonepath is on ZFS.
global# zoneadm -z lx-zone install -d archive_path
The system will display:
A ZFS file system has been created for this zone.
Install the zone that has a zonepath on ZFS, but do not automatically create the ZFS file system.
global# zoneadm -z lx-zone install -x nodataset -d archive_path
You will see various messages as the files and directories needed for the zone's root file system, as well as the package files, are installed under the zone's root path.
Note - If you do not specify archive_path, the default is CD.
(Optional) If an error message is displayed and the zone fails to install, type the following to get the zone state:
global# zoneadm -z lx-zone list -iv
If the state is listed as configured, make the corrections specified in the message and try the zoneadm install command again.
If the state is listed as incomplete, first execute this command:
global# zoneadm -z lx-zone uninstall
Then make the corrections specified in the message, and try the zoneadm install command again.
When the installation completes, use the list subcommand with the -i and -v options to list the installed zones and verify the status.
global# zoneadm list -iv
You will see a display that is similar to the following:
ID NAME STATUS PATH BRAND 0 global running / native - lx-zone installed /export/home/lx-zone lx
Example 33-1 Install Command Using a CentOS Compressed tar Archive
global# zoneadm -z lx-zone install -d /export/centos_fs_image.tar.bz2 |
Example 33-2 Install Command Using CentOS CDs
For CD or DVD installation, volfs must be enabled on your system. You must specify a software cluster package. For example, use development to install a full environment, or type the names of particular clusters. If you do not specify a cluster package, desktop is installed by default. The CD device is /cdrom/cdrom0.
global# zoneadm -z lx-zone install -d /cdrom/cdrom0 development |
Example 33-3 Install Command Using CentOS ISO Images
You must specify a software cluster package. Use development to install a full environment, or specify particular clusters. If you do not specify a cluster package, desktop is installed by default. The CentOS ISO images reside in the directory /export/centos_3.7.
global# zoneadm -z lx-zone install -d /export/centos_3.7 development |
See Also
For more information on datasets, see Solaris ZFS Administration Guide
Troubleshooting
If a zone installation is interrupted or fails, the zone is left in the incomplete state. Use uninstall -F to reset the zone to the configured state.