So far I used to work with VMWare/xVM for Unix/Solaris OS on Windows XP. This was a fantastic approach to run multiple operating systems parallel, this is useful especially in testing your software in different environments. The only concern is, it is not as fast as the original Operating System.
Recently I thought of working on Solaris Desktop, so started making my machine dual booting in which one partition is dedicated to Windows XP where as the other one is allocated to Open Solaris. I thought of sharing the steps that I have taken to make my system dual booting.
Firstly my system was installed with Windows XP one one partition (C drive).
User has to make some unformatted space for the solaris to be installed on one of the drive.
Insert the Open Solaris bootable CD in to the CD Drive and re-boot the system.
Ensure that the system loads from CD drive (F12 or F2 keys will be helpful to set this setting during booting)
System will start installing Open solaris from the CD on the unformatted drive. During installation it prompts user for root password, another user and password and host name. User can give the values for his/her choice. Once the installation completes, the system re-boots and prompts user for the login name and password to enter in to the solaris desktop.
NETWORK SETUP
In order to setup the network on Solaris OS, user has to install the network driver first. As a pre-requisite, get the network driver from the net ( http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driverId=180 ) into the USB driver or CD and install the same from that media.
After installation of the driver, setup the network
Go to System → Administration → Network option and enter the values for IP address, Subnet mask and Gateway IP and DNS Server addresses. Alternatively user can change the following files manually.
Edit /etc/hosts file and add an entry with IP address
Edit /etc/nsswitch.conf file and change the value “hosts: files” to “hosts: files dns”
Add new file under /etc with the name defaultrouter and with the following contents
nameserver xx.xx.xx.xx where xx is the DNS server IP address (Primary)
nameserver xx.xx.xx.xx (Secondary DNS IP)
Run the below commands on the terminal
ifconfig -a plumb
ifconfig yukonx0 xx.xx.xx.xx/24 up where xx.xx.xx.xx is IP address of the system
route add default xx.xx.xx.xx where xx.xx.xx.xx is IP address of the Gateway
With this setup, the network should be enabled, please remember that this is static IP network not a DHCP. BTW, ifconfig -a should tell you the configured IP addresses
Internet also should come by default after configuring the network. In any case, if you are unable to connect to the Internet from the browser, follow the below steps
Run the command on terminal, svcadm disable network/physcial:default
Change the file /etc/nwam/llp by adding the below line
yukonx0 static xx.xx.xx.xx/24 where xx.xx.xx.xx is the static IP address
Run the command on terminal svcadm enable network/physical:nwam
That's it. You are ready to use the Solaris desktop with net and internet configured.
