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bootparams - boot parameter data base

/etc/bootparams

The bootparams file contains a list of client entries that diskless clients use for booting. Diskless booting clients retrieve this information by issuing requests to a server running the rpc.bootparamd(8) program. The bootparams file may be used in conjunction with or in place of other sources for the bootparams information. See nsswitch.conf(5).

For each client the file contains an entry with the client's name and a list of boot parameter values for that client. Each entry has the form:

clientname keyword=value...

The first item of each entry is the host name of the diskless client. You can use the asterisk ('*') character as a "wildcard" in place of the client name in a single entry. A wildcard entry applies to all clients for which there is not an entry that specifically names them.

In a given entry, the host name or asterisk is followed by one or more whitespace characters and a series of keyword\(emvalue pairs separated by whitespace characters. There must not be any whitespace within a keyword\(emvalue pair.

Each keyword\(emvalue pair has the syntax:

keyword=value

The preceding form breaks out further as:

keyword=server:value

Where server can be null and value can be a pathname.

An example that includes a server is:

client1 root=server1:/export/client1/root

An example where server is null is:

client1 rootopts=:vers2

A minor variation of the keyword=value syntax is used for the domain keyword. Unlike the forms shown above, this syntax does not use a colon. For example:

client1 domain=bldg1.example.com

Entries can span multiple lines. Use the backslash ('\e') character as the last character of a line to continue the entry to the following line. For multiple-line entries, you can split a line only in places where whitespace is allowed. For example, you can use a backslash to split the following entry between the end of the path (root) and the keyword domain:

client1 root=server1:/export/client1/root domain=bldg1.example.com

In entries that specify a server, server is the name of the server that will provide the file or filesystem to the diskless client and value is the pathname of the exported file or filesystem on that server.

In entries that use the domain keyword, the domain name specified must be the client's domain name. The algorithm for determining a client's domain name is to first check for a domain keyword in the client-specific entry and then in "wildcard" entry. If none is found, the server's domain name is used.

For the JumpStart installation of machines that do not have video displays, use the term keyword to identify the terminal type of the boot server. Terminal types are listed in /usr/share/lib/terminfo (see terminfo(5)).

An entry with the ns keyword associates a server (a name server) with, instead of a pathname, a specific name service (NIS+, NIS, LDAP, or none) and, if that server is not on a local subnet, the netmask needed to reach it. For example:

ns=hoot:nisplus(255.255.255.0)

An ns entry forces sysidtool to use the specified name service. By default, sysidtool uses NIS+ in preference to NIS or LDAP if it can find an NIS+ server for the system's domain on the subnet. An ns entry might be necessary if you are trying to set up a hands-off installation, or if the name server is on a different subnet, which is common with NIS+.

If an ns keyword is not used, sysidtool uses broadcast to attempt to bind to either a NIS+, NIS, or LDAP server. If a name server is not on the local subnet, which is possible for NIS+ or LDAP, the bind will fail, automatic configuration of the name service will fail, and an interactive screen is displayed, prompting the user to specify the name service.

The ns keyword can be set in add_install_client or by Host Manager.

Example 1 Sample bootparams Entry

Here is an example of an entry in the bootparams file:

 client1 root=server1:/export/client1/root rootopts=:vers=2 \e
 domain=bldg1.example.com
 client2 root=server2:/export/client2/root ns=:nis
 client3 root=server2:/export/client3/root ns=watson:
 client4 root=server2:/export/client4/root \e
 ns=mach:nisplus(255.255.255.0)

Example 2 Sample Entry for JumpStart

The following is an example of an entry that might be used for the JumpStart installation of diskless clients that do not have displays.

mozart root=haydn:/export/install/sparc/os/latest/Solaris_9/boot \e
install=haydn:/export/install/sparc/os/8.1/latest boottype=:in \e
install_config=haydn:/usr/local/share/lib/jump-net \e
ns=otis:nisplus(255.255.255.0) term=:xterms domain=eu.cte.example.com

/etc/bootparams nsswitch.conf (5), rpc.bootparamd (8) The NIS+, sysidtool, and jumpstart facilities are not present in illumos. They are documented here solely for users who wish to use illumos as a jumpstart server for older Solaris releases.

Solaris diskless clients use the keywords root and rootopts to look up the pathname for the root filesystem and the mount options for the root filesystem, respectively. These are the only keywords meaningful for diskless booting clients. See mount_ufs(8).