I am sponsoring this case for myself. I believe it qualifies
for self-review with automatic approval and I've marked it as
such, but if anyone disagrees, it can be promoted to a fast-track.
I am requesting minor/patch binding for this change.
Background
----------
The boot architecture introduced by PSARC 2004/454 was originally
only implemented on x86, with bootadm(1M) hard-wired to manage
only x86 platforms, either natively or as a diskless client on
a server. PSARC 2006/525 introduced the same boot architecture
on sparc, modifying bootadm(1M) to manage boot administration on
either sparc or x86.
Problem
-------
With the sparc introduction of the new boot architecture, bootadm
can no longer be used to manage a diskless client of a platform
implementation other than the server. Bootadm(1M) presently assumes
the client is of the same platform implementation as the server.
The platform implementation needs to be made explicit as a client's
implementation cannot be intuited from a client's root path alone.
Proposal
----------
Support a command-line argument to bootadm(1M) to specify the client's
platform implementation for boot administration of a client.
Analogous updates to the create_ramdisk and extract_boot_filelist
utilities, invoked by bootadm, are needed.
The diskless administration tools such as smosservice(1M) are
aware of a client's platform and can invoke bootadm appropriately.
The miniroot construction process uses the root_archive tool
and would not be impacted by this change.
Minor release/patch binding is requested.
Interfaces
----------
________________________________________________________________________________
| Interfaces Exported |
|______________________________|________________|______________________________|
|Interface | Classification| Comments |
|______________________________|________________|______________________________|
| | | |
|bootadm(1M) | Stable | |
| -p platform | Stable | diskless client management |
| | | |
|create_ramdisk: | Cons. Priv. | |
| -p platform | Cons. Priv. | diskless client management |
| | | |
|extract_boot_filelist: | Cons. Priv. | |
| -p platform | Cons. Priv. | diskless client management |
|______________________________|________________|______________________________|
References
----------
PSARC 2005/198 Install Interface Changes Under New Boot
PSARC 2004/454 Solaris Boot Architecture
Documentation
-------------
System Administration Commands bootadm(1M)
NAME
bootadm - manage bootability of GRUB-enabled operating sys-
tem
SYNOPSIS
- /sbin/bootadm update-archive [-vn] [-R altroot]
+ /sbin/bootadm update-archive [-vn] [-R altroot] [-p platform]
- /sbin/bootadm list-archive [-vn] [-R altroot]
+ /sbin/bootadm list-archive [-vn] [-R altroot] [-p platform]
x86 only
- /sbin/bootadm set-menu [-R altroot] key=value
+ /sbin/bootadm set-menu [-R altroot] [-p platform] key=value
- /sbin/bootadm list-menu [-R altroot]
+ /sbin/bootadm list-menu [-R altroot] [-p platform]
DESCRIPTION
The bootadm command manages the boot archive and, with x86
boot environments, the GRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader) menu.
The update-archive option provides a way for user to update
the boot archive as a preventative measure or as part of a
recovery procedure. The set-menu subcommand allows you to
switch the auto-boot timeout and default boot entry in the
GRUB menu.
The list-menu subcommand displays the location of the GRUB
menu and the current GRUB menu entries. While the typical
location of the GRUB menu is /boot/grub/menu.lst, depending
on the install method used the active GRUB menu might be
located somewhere else. Use the list-menu subcommand to
locate the active GRUB menu. For example, if a system was
installed using Live Upgrade, the GRUB menu might not be
located in the current boot environment. See the EXAMPLES
section for typical output from the list-menu option.
Note that OpenBoot PROM (OBP)-based machines, such as SPARC
systems, do not use GRUB and have no boot menu manageable by
bootadm.
The bootadm command determines dynamically the options sup-
ported by the image to be managed, so that bootadm invoked
on one platform can be used to manage diskless clients of a
different platform type.
SUBCOMMANDS
The bootadm command has the following subcommands:
update-archive
Updates current boot archive if required. Applies to
both SPARC and x86 platforms.
list-archive
Lists the files and directories to be included in the
boot archive. Applies to both SPARC and x86 platforms.
set-menu
Maintain the GRUB menu. The current GRUB menu is
boot/grub/menu.lst, relative to root. Do not depend on
this location, because it is subject to change. Applies
to x86 platforms only.
list-menu
Lists the location of the active GRUB menu, as well as
the current GRUB menu entries. This includes the
autoboot-timeout, the default entry number, and the
title of each entry. Applies to x86 platforms only.
OPTIONS
The bootadm command has the following options:
-v
In an update-archive operation, stale files are
displayed on stderr.
-n
In an update-archive operation, archive content is
checked but not updated.
-R altroot
Operation is applied to an alternate root path.
Note -
The root file system of any non-global zones must not
be referenced with the -R option. Doing so might dam-
age the global zone's file system, might compromise
the security of the global zone, and might damage the
non-global zone's file system. See zones(5).
+
+ -p platform
+
+ The platform, or machine hardware class, of the client.
+ The platform type can only be specified together with
+ -R, and is designed for use when managing a diskless
+ client where the client is of a different platform
+ hardware class than the server. Currently supported
+ platform classes are i86pc, sun4u and sun4v.
+
key=value
Possible values are:
default=entrynum
The item number (for example, 0, 1, or 2) in the
GRUB menu designating the operating system to boot
when the timer expires.
timeout=seconds
The number of seconds before the operating system
designated by the default item number is booted. If
the value is -1, auto boot is disabled.
EXAMPLES
Example 1 Updating the Current Boot Archive
The following command updates the current boot archive:
# bootadm update-archive
Example 2 Updating the Boot Archive on an Alternate Root
The following command updates the boot archive on an alter-
nate root:
# bootadm update-archive -R /a
Example 3 Listing Installed OS Instances
The following command lists the installed operating system
instances in a GRUB menu:
# bootadm list-menu
default=0
timeout=10
(0) Solaris10
(1) Solaris10 Failsafe
(2) Linux
Example 4 Switching Default Boot Entry
The following command refers to the menu displayed in the
previous example. The user selects Linux (item 2).
# bootadm set-menu default=2
Example 5 Listing GRUB Menu Entries and Location of GRUB
Menu
The following command lists the GRUB menu entries and the
location of the GRUB menu:
# bootadm list-menu
The location for the active GRUB menu is: /stubboot/boot/grub/menu.lst
default 0
timeout 10
0 Solaris10
1 Solaris10 failsafe
2 Linux
Example 6 Displaying Location of GRUB Menu
The following command displays the location of the GRUB
menu:
# bootadm list-menu
The location for the active GRUB menu is: /dev/dsk/c0t1d0s0 (not mounted)
The filesystem type of the menu device is <ufs>
default 2
timeout 10
0 c0t1d0s3
1 c0t1d0s3 failsafe
2 Solaris10
3 Solaris10 failsafe
In this example, the active GRUB menu is located on a device
which is not mounted. To access the GRUB menu, mount the
device and access the GRUB menu at
<mountpoint>/boot/grub/menu.lst.
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are returned:
0
The command completed successfully.
1
The command exited due to an error.
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-
butes:
____________________________________________________________
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
| Availability | SUNWcsu |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
| Interface Stability | Committed |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
SEE ALSO
boot(1M), installgrub(1M), attributes(5)
Consult the GRUB home page, under:
http://www.gnu.org/
