An in-depth discussion of Solaris 2.6 features, changes, and administration issues

Solaris 2.6 is the latest 32-bit release of the Solaris operating system from Sun Microsystems and runs on both SPARC (Sun) and Intel microprocessors. Read this article for information on the new enhancements and improvements in Solaris 2.6, reasons why you should consider using Solaris 2.6, as well as some handy administration information.

Questions and comm ents regarding the approach outlined in this article should be directed to the author at wilson@sju.edu .

What is Solaris 2.6, and who do I contact to purchase it?

What are some of the new features in Solaris 2.6?

What are some Solaris administration tips and important issues?

What is the future direction of Solaris?

What is Solaris 2.6, and who do I contact to purchase it?

Solaris 2.6 is the newest version of the Solaris operating system from Sun Microsystems, Inc. It runs on Intel and SPARC microprocessors, and is an ideal choice for networks that demand high upti me and scalability from their servers. Solaris was meant to be run on powerful machines, so even though the minimum system requirement for a SPARC install is a SPARCclassic, a higher-end machine will be needed to function comfortably. The minimum install requires up to 300 Mbytes of disk space and 16 Mbytes of RAM, but in order to utilize some of the new Solaris features, a machine should have at least 48 Mbytes of RAM.

Solaris 2.6 promises to be more ``Web-based'' as well as being ``reliable, fast, expandable, easy to use, and accessible.'' as described on Sun's Web-enhanced Solaris page
(<URL:http://www.sun.com/solaris/strengths.html>)

Sun offers many ways to obtain Solaris 2.6, with a variety of licensing and purchasing options. Sun's preferred method of purchasing Solaris is their `` Get Current/Stay Current '' subscription, which requires organizations to purchase a two-year contract with Sun, af ter which they will receive all major Solaris releases within that two years, as well as all Sun patches. This is perhaps the best purchase plan for any organization that is either fully using, or is considering a move to Solaris. Sun also offers other plans, including a one year Sun contract, as well as one-time purchasing options. More information on Solaris subscriptions can be found on Sun's Solaris Subscriptions for Sun SPARC Hardware Customers Web page .
(<URL:http://www.sun.com/software/subscription/sun/>)

Solaris 2.6 costs about $695 for limited-user licenses, and $1,295 for an unlimited right-to-use license. It is very important to note that Solaris support is NOT included in the price of the Solaris licenses and software. For more information on pricing and ordering Solaris 2.6, or Solaris support, call Sun at 1-800-SUNSOFT (1-800-786-7638).

Extensive product information and documentati on can be found on Sun's Solaris Products Web page (<URL:http://www.sun.com/solaris/>), including FAQs, tip sheets, white papers, as well as product road maps. Furthermore, Sun has decided to publish all of the Solaris 2.6 documentation on their Documentation Web site (<URL:http://docs.sun.com/>). These two Web sites have proven invaluable to Solaris users who are looking for more Solaris information or support.

What are some of the new features in Solaris 2.6?

General Solaris improvements

Sun has made many improvements in Solaris 2.6 over previous versions. Some of the ones that should be noted include:

Vastly improved Web server performance with Sun's Web server
Improvements in virtual memory and large file support
Improved network throughput by widening the pipes in TCP, as well as changes to NFS (incl uding WebNFS)
Increased focus on Java with a Java installer, Web browser, and Java-based answerbook
Full year 2000 compliance out of the box (previous versions require Y2K patches available on Sun's Access Site (<URL:http://access1.sun.com/>) - search for `` y2000 '' under FAQ & Patch Search)
TotalNET server software that allows connections from any type of client on the network

Web Install

One of Sun's more crowning achievements with Solaris 2.6 has been a Web-based version of their installation program. Prior to 2.6, users were forced to use command-line installation, which required users to answer a series of questions from either the command line, or in OpenWindows. Sun has taken this exact same process, but moved it to the Web via a Java-based installer. The installation process now looks much more appealing and is much easier to use. An interactive demo of the Web install can be fou nd at Sun's Web Start page (<URL:http://www.sun.com/solaris/webstart/>).

Although the Web installation is an excellent interface to the install program, it does have some major drawbacks. First, the Web install program itself requires a shocking 48 Mbytes of RAM. While most servers should meet this requirement, many workstation machines may fall short, and thus can't use the Web install program. Another major drawback is that you can not upgrade from a previous version of Solaris using the Web install program. It was designed only to be used on machines doing a fresh install of Solaris 2.6. Furthermore, users also have less options when trying to customize the software they want to install on the system when doing a Web install.

Overall the Web install is a definite step in the right direction. Users who enjoy using Solaris will certainly want to try out this excellent new feature. Users who have systems that do not meet the minimum Web install requirements can still do the old familiar interactive command-line or OpenWindows-based install, depending on what kind of monitor is being used.

WebNFS

It has always been Sun's primary goal to provide its users with a better, more stable, and more secure way to access data with its NFS protocol. In the past, Solaris clients had built-in NFS support, with the ability to do automounting, mounting with fall-over capabilities, and cache mounting. PC clients had to add a separate layer of software to access NFS, usually with Sun's various NFS clients. As part of Sun's WebTone initiative, their latest method of accessing NFS partitions on an NFS server is through the Web using WebNFS.

The concept is simple: if a browser supports HTTP- and FTP-protocol transfers, then why not support NFS-protocol transfers? This way clients capable of running a Web browser could access NFS partitions without the need for extra software. Sun has made this NFS transition to the Web an easy one. There is only one extra administrative step that needs to be taken to enable WebNFS access, namely:

Edit the /etc/dfs/dfstab file so that the NFS share you want to make Web-accessible has the new ``public'' option, as in:


share -F nfs -o -ro,public /export/sharedir

This allows any user to access the /export/sharedir partition over the Web. Finally, run the shareall program.

Again there are a few drawbacks to this new feature. The most obvious is that you need an ``NFS-capable'' Web browser that supports the NFS protocol. As of now, the only browser that does support this protocol is Sun's own HotJava browser . Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator do not support this protocol yet, making WebNFS inaccessible to most of the people who would need it the most. Furthermore, using NFS from the command line had its own security implications, publishing these shares to the Web should cause administrators to re-examine the security of their Web and WebNFS sites.

Sun's WebServer (SWS)

Solaris 2.6 is the first version of Solaris to include a Web server bundled with the OS. Sun WebServer 1.0 is Sun's Solaris-native Web server designed to offer superior Web server performance. The Sun Web Server offers multithreaded Web serving, as well as support for SSL and virtual hosting.

Setup and administration of the SWS could not be easier. After installation, a Web site could be up within minutes. Online administration makes customizing the Web server very easy. In order to access the online administration, you must make a connection to http:// your-server-hostname /admin/admin.html, which will then launch the Java-based administration tool. However, there have been some problems getting this Java program to work properly, see administration tip s section below .

SWS 1.0 is available for free to Solaris licensees from Sun's WebServer page (<URL:http://www.sun.com/webserver/>), and will run on Solaris 2.5.1.

TotalNET Advanced Server software

One of the more intriguing new additions to Solaris is the inclusion of the TotalNET Advanced Server software (TAS). TotalNET is software that Sun has licensed from Syntax, Inc. (<URL:http://www.syntax.com/>) for use in Solaris 2.6. TAS mimics different file servers using different protocols. Specifically, TAS can effectively create an NT (NetBEUI), Netware (IPX), and AppleShare (AppleTalk) server.

TAS is is an incredibly useful and powerful bit of software, as Solaris administrators can create these various file servers so that any client on their network can connect to it, without adding extra software. PC clients with NetBEUI or IPX installed can browse the server as if it were an NT or Netware server. Macintosh clients can access the server through the Chooser as though it were a native AppleShare server.

As with the Sun WebServer, administration of TAS can be done very easily through a Web browser interface. In order to administer TAS, all you need to do is connect to the server at http:// your-server-hostname :7777. The TAS software listens on port 7777 for any incoming connections, and then returns to the administration interface.

What are some Solaris administration tips and important issues?

One of the more important Solaris 2.6 considerations is the issue of minimum hardware requirements. The documentation claims that a SPARCclassic with 16 Mbytes of RAM is the minimum requirement to run 2.6. But with all of the advanced functions that Solaris servers must now perform (Web serving, TAS functions), it is obvious that more is better. Solaris 2.6 is best suited for the Ultra line of machines from Sun, or high end Pentiums in the x86 world. The more memory the better, with 96 Mbytes of RAM and plenty of swap space being recommended.

Sun licensing remains a mystery and a concern to many Solaris users. An extra booklet is included with Solaris 2.6 outlining what components of the OS you have the right to use, along with license numbers that may or may not be required. The licensing is confusing and convoluted, often requiring the administrator to call Sun and receive a license number. In some cases (as with TAS), the licensing information in the booklet contradicts the TAS documentation itself.

If at all possible, try out the new Web-based install program. It is very well written and is easy to use. It makes installing a Solaris server a fairly comfortable experience.

Much of the networking in 2.6 has been taken directly from 2.5.1. Experimentation can be done with tuning the kernel variables in /etc/system as well as tuning the nfsd daemon. Remember, the numeric argument to the nfsd daemon specified on the invocation command line should equal the maximum number of clients that will access the NFS server at any one time. Experiment with this value to optimize the system's performance.

SWS and TAS are two of the more important improvements in Solaris 2.6. Take the opportunity to experiment with both of them. Consider using WebNFS as an alternate way to access NFS file systems. Consider using TAS server software, and native Microsoft client software to access NFS file systems on a PC.

Both SWS and TAS offer little or no compatibility with NIS or NIS+. This can be a problem when trying to export existing users into an SWS or TAS user list. Sun is considering offering more integrated support of the NIS naming system.

The SWS Java administration tool seems to have a bug that causes it not to run or authenticate properly when using the Netscape Communicator browser. This bug does not affect Internet Explorer clients connecting to the SWS administration tool.

There is a separate section in the Solaris 2.6 documentation regarding 2.6 and SPARC Storage Arrays. Read this section very carefully if you are upgrading or installing a Storage Array as it contains critical information.

As always, it is critical to stay current with Sun's patches. These patches fix many performance and security issues. Patches are available on Sun's Access Site (<URL:http://access1.sun.com/>).

What is the future direction of Solaris?

Sun has definitely committed a large majority of its resources to the development and support of Solaris. The next major release of Solaris, Solaris 2.7, is due out in the second half of 1998. While information on this release is not readily available, one of the major changes is that 2.7 will be a fully 64-bit system. Sun is making the focus of 2.7 fast computation, with t otal support for 64-bit applications. It can also be surmised that 2.7 will have more emphasis on Java, and be even more tightly integrated with the Web.

Summary of Solaris 2.6

Solaris 2.6 is an excellent release of the Solaris operating system. When used on high-end machines, it can provide the power and scalability that is so important in today's network environment. The new features in Solaris 2.6, namely Web Install, WebNFS, TotalNET, and Sun WebServer, make Solaris an excellent package solution for any network with multiple clients. Network administrators should definitely investigate Solaris for use on their own networks.

Author Biography

I work at Saint Joseph's University as a network analyst, where we are currently evaluating Solaris 2.6 for use on our network. I am a Certified Solaris Administrator who has spent many years working with Solaris and Sun products. .