Chapter 3. Perform System Boot and Shutdown Procedures

Objectives

The following objectives for the Solaris System Administrator Exam are covered in this chapter:

Explain boot PROM fundamentals, including OpenBoot Architecture Standard, boot PROM, NVRAM, POST, Abort Sequence, and displaying POST to serial port on SPARC systems.

Explain the BIOS settings for booting, abort sequence, and displaying POST.

Execute basic boot PROM commands for a SPARC system.

Perform system boot and shutdown procedures, including identifying the system's boot device, creating and removing custom device aliases, viewing and changing NVRAM parameters, and interrupting an unresponsive system.

Explain the Service Management Facility and the phases of the boot process.

Use Service Management Facility or legacy commands and scripts to control both the boot and shutdown procedures.

• You need to understand the primary functions of the OpenBoot environment, which includes the programmable read-only memory (PROM). You need to have a complete understanding of how to use many of the OpenBoot commands and how to set and modify all the configuration parameters that control system bootup and hardware behavior.

• You must understand the entire boot process, from the proper power-on sequence to the steps you perform to bring the system into multi-user mode.

• You must be able to identify the devices connected to a system and recognize the various special files for each device.

• Occasionally, conventional shutdown methods might not work on an unresponsive system or on a system that has crashed. This chapter introduces when and how to use these alternative shutdown methods to bring the system down safely.

• You must understand how the Service Management Facility (SMF) controls which processes and services are started at various stages of the boot process. You need to understand how to use SMF or legacy commands and scripts to control both the boot and shutdown procedures.