Creating an OS Profile

Provisioning Operating Systems and Firmware Graphic Creating an OS Profile

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An OS profile specifies how to configure the OS when provisioning the OS on a set of target systems. The OS profile includes information like what software packages or distributions to install, what disk partitions to use, and various network settings. And, each OS profile is tied to a specific OS image that is actually installed by the OS profile.

For Solaris systems, the OS profile is similar to a JET Template, and it actually uses the underlying JET technology for provisioning. By default, the SUNWjet (base_config) module is installed on the proxy server and is available for the OS profiles. If you want to use other modules, you must install them on the proxy server. A Solaris OS profile can also use a Flash archive (FLAR) to initialize the target OS on the system.

The JETflash module and a custom module are also pre-installed to provide support for FLARs and scripts if you specify those options in an OS profile.

For Solaris, you can create a Solaris OS profile in one of three ways:

  • Create an OS profile exclusively from a JET template.
  • Create an OS profile that includes additional JET module and name/value parameter functionality.
  • Create an OS profile without providing any specific JET information.

To View the Available OS Profiles

You can view the available OS profiles that have already been created.

  1. From the Provisioning menu, choose Operating System.
    The OS Profile dashboard is displayed, which provides the following information about the available OS Profiles:
    Name, State, Date Last Provisioned, and Provisioned Host
  2. From the OS Profiles menu, choose View OS Profiles.
    The available OS profiles are listed, which provides the following information and enables you to view, edit, clone, or delete the OS profiles:
    Name, Description, and OS Image

To Create an OS Profile

You can create an OS profile that you can use to provision (install) an OS on one or more servers.

You can use this procedure when you want to create an OS profile without providing any specific JET information or when you want to create an OS profile that includes additional JET modules other than the default (base_config module).

Before You Begin

  • You must load or import an OS image before you can create an OS Profile for a particular OS.
  • If you plan to use a JET module that is not provided by default (base_config module), then you must install the JET module using the pkgadd command on the proxy server before you can use it for an OS profile.
  • You can also specify JET parameters for the default base_config module.
  • OS profile names can consist of up to 100 characters and may include numbers, letters, and some special symbols. The following special symbols are prohibited: comma, asterisk, single quote, double quote, parenthesis, question mark, equal sign, and newline.
  1. From the Provisioning menu, choose Operating System.
  2. From the OS Profiles menu, choose Create OS Profiles.
    The Create OS Profile wizard is displayed.
  3. Click Next.
    The Define Profile screen is displayed.
  4. Enter a name for the new OS profile and description.
    For example, profile name is Solaris and description is Solaris 10 6/08.
  5. Choose the OS image for which you want to create the profile.
    For example, Solaris (solaris10soarc.iso)
  6. (Optional) If you want to specify additional JET parameters, choose the Specify Jet Parameters check box and click Next.
  7. Provide the name and value pairs for the JET parameters and click Next.
  8. Choose the OS distribution type and click Add.
    For example, Entire Distribution plus OEM support.
  9. Specify the language, time zone, root password, and confirm the root password.
    For example, language is U.S.A. (en_US.ISO8859–15), time zone is America/Havana, root password is admin.
  10. (Optional) Specify the NIS settings, LDAP settings, and new scripts that will be installed by this profile.
  11. Add new file system partitions for the OS image that will be installed by this profile.
    For example, mount point is /, device is rootdisk.s0, file system is ufs, size option is the remaining unused space.
  12. Click Save OS Profile.
    The OS profile created can be viewed as an entry in the View OS Profiles page.

To Import a JET Template

You can create a Solaris OS profile by importing an existing JET template, then use the OS profile to provision (install) an OS on one or more servers.

You can use this procedure when you want to create an OS profile exclusively from a JET template.

Before You Begin

  • This task is available only for a Solaris OS profile.
  • The JET template must be accessible by the satellite server. The template may be stored on the local file system or an NFS mounted file system.
  1. From the Provisioning menu, choose Operating System.
  2. From the OS Profiles menu, choose Import JET Template.
    The Import JET Template wizard is displayed.
  3. In the Introduction screen, click Next.
  4. Enter a name for the new OS profile and description.
    For example, profile name is Solaris and description is Solaris 10 Update 4.
  5. Choose the OS image for which you want to create the profile.
    For example, Solaris (solaris10soarc.iso)
  6. Specify the JET template and click Next.
    The JET template must be accessible by the satellite server.
  7. Review the details in the Summary Screen and click Import.
    The OS profile created can be viewed as an entry in the View OS Profiles page.

To Edit an OS Profile

You can edit an existing OS profile.

Before You Begin

  • When you create an OS image, a default OS profile for a Sun Fire x4200 is created automatically. Most likely, you will need to edit the default profile for your specific hardware and configuration parameters.
  • If you plan to use a JET module that is not provided by default (base_config module), then you must install the JET module using the pkgadd command on the proxy server before you can use it for an OS profile.
  • You can also specify JET parameters for the default base_config module.
  1. From the Provisioning menu, choose Operating System.
  2. From the OS Profiles menu, choose View OS Profiles.
  3. Find the Profile you want to edit in the list and double-click on the OS profile name.
    The OS profile entry expands to a Profile Details window.
  4. Click Edit.
    The Edit OS Profiles wizard is displayed. This wizard is the same as the Create OS Profile wizard.
  5. Edit the required parameters in the wizard.
  6. Click Save OS Profile in the Summary screen of the wizard.

To Clone an OS Profile

You can copy (clone) an existing OS profile to use as a starting base for a new OS profile.

  1. From the Provisioning menu, choose Operating System.
  2. From the OS Profiles menu, choose View OS Profiles.
  3. Find the Profile you want to clone in the list and double-click on the OS profile name.
    The OS profile entry expands to a Profile Details window.
  4. Enter a name for the new OS profile and click Clone.
    The new OS profile is created with the name you specified, and it is an exact copy of the OS profile you selected.
  5. Edit the new OS profile.

To Delete an OS Profile

You can delete an existing OS profile.

Before You Begin

  • You cannot delete an OS profile that is currently being used to provision an OS on a server.
  1. From the Provisioning menu, choose Operating System.
  2. From the OS Profiles menu, choose View OS Profiles
  3. Find the Profile you want to delete in the list and double-click on the OS profile name.
    The OS profile entry expands to a Profile Details window.
  4. Click Delete.
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