Introduction

Compared to Linux, Solaris is quite similar except for certain aspects which I will clarify here. This guide will not only cover Solaris but also include general information about disk architecture and filesystems.

Physical Operation

Files, Inodes and Blocks

On your hard drive, where you store your data, there is a hierarchical structure:

  • Directories and files
  • Inodes
  • Blocks

Inodes are what know exactly where each directory/file is located. When you create or call a file, it points to an inode. This inode is then able to identify which data block it belongs to (binary slice). Here’s a small explanation with an image:

Hdd function

Hardware Recognition

To recognize where a specific device is located on our system, here’s a brief explanation: Assuming we have a file in /dev like: c0t0d0s0. This means:

  • c0: On Controller 0
  • t0: On SCSI Target 0
  • d0: I have Disk 0
  • s0: And I am positioned on Slice 0

Here are some examples:

SCSI

Sun hdd scsi

IDE

Sun hdd ide

Slices

Then, the slices (also called partitions) are defined as follows for better performance optimization:

Sun slice

What About My Machine?

To start, you should know what’s on your machine. For this, there are 3 solutions:

path_to_inst 

1

cat /etc/path_to_inst
#
#       Caution! This file contains critical kernel state
#
"/pseudo" 0 "pseudo"
"/options" 0 "options"
"/xsvc" 0 "xsvc"
"/objmgr" 0 "objmgr"
"/scsi_vhci" 0 "scsi_vhci"
"/isa" 0 "isa"
"/isa/i8042@1,60" 0 "i8042"
"/isa/i8042@1,60/keyboard@0" 0 "kb8042"
"/isa/i8042@1,60/mouse@1" 0 "mouse8042"
"/isa/lp@1,378" 0 "ecpp"
"/isa/asy@1,3f8" 0 "asy"
"/isa/asy@1,2f8" 1 "asy"
"/isa/fdc@1,3f0" 0 "fdc"
"/isa/fdc@1,3f0/fd@0,0" 0 "fd"
"/ramdisk" 0 "ramdisk"
"/pci@0,0" 0 "pci"
"/pci@0,0/display@f" 0 "vgatext"
"/pci@0,0/pci8086,7191@1" 0 "pci_pci"
"/pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1" 0 "pci-ide"
"/pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ide@0" 0 "ata"
"/pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ide@0/cmdk@0,0" 0 "cmdk"
"/pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ide@1" 1 "ata"
"/pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ide@1/sd@0,0" 16 "sd"
"/pci@0,0/pci1000,30@10" 0 "mpt"
"/pci@0,0/pci1022,2000@11" 0 "pcn"
"/iscsi" 0 "iscsi"

Prtconf 

1

prtconf | grep -v not
System Configuration:  Sun Microsystems  i86pc
Memory size: 512 Megabytes
System Peripherals (Software Nodes):
 
i86pc
    scsi_vhci, instance #0
    isa, instance #0
        i8042, instance #0
            keyboard, instance #0
            mouse, instance #0
        fdc, instance #0
    pci, instance #0
        pci8086,7191, instance #0
        pci-ide, instance #0
            ide, instance #0
                cmdk, instance #0
            ide, instance #1
                sd, instance #16
        display, instance #0
        pci1000,30, instance #0
        pci1022,2000, instance #0
    iscsi, instance #0
    pseudo, instance #0
    options, instance #0
    xsvc, instance #0
    objmgr, instance #0

Format 

1

format
Searching for disks...done


AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
       0. c0d0 <DEFAULT cyl 4174 alt 2 hd 255 sec 63>
          /pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ide@0/cmdk@0,0

Adding a Device

With Reboot

To have our disk detected at boot, we need to create a /reconfigure file:

1

touch /reconfigure

Then, simply connect your device and restart your machine. Once done, configure the slices.

Without Reboot

If it’s a “critical” machine, you need to run the “devfsadm” command. This command will try to match the loaded kernel drivers with the devices in /devices.

Here are some usage examples:

  • Defining devices such as disk, tape, port, audio or pseudo:
1

devfsadm -c disk -c tape -c audio
  • Configure only one device based on the driver:
1

devfsadm -i driver_name
  • Configure disks only supported by certain controllers (dad, st or sd)
1

devfsadm -i dad
  • For verbose mode
1

devfsadm -v
  • To flush (clear) symbolic links that point to non-existent devices:
1

devfsadm -c

Partitioning

The disk partitioning is made of slices that are delimited by cylinders. Indeed, a slice occupies a strip of cylinders (ex: 1 to 2850). Then the next slice will go from 2850 to 5000.

The partitions are therefore determined from the first cylinder of each slice:

  • Slice 1: Cylinder 0 to 2850
  • Slice 2: Cylinder 2850 to 5000

…

Waste

Wasting cylinders creates a potentially empty slice. You can use it later. However, in case of defective sectors, it is possible that the partition will shrink due to lost cylinders.

Overlapping

Overlapping occurs when multiple slices access the same cylinder (usually one slice encroaching on another). To fix this problem, when you edit your partition, use the “modify” command:

1

modify
        Select partitioning base:
                0. Current partition table (unnamed)
                1. All Free Hog
        Choose base (enter number) [0]? 0
        Warning: Overlapping partition (1) in table.
        Warning: Fix, or select a different partition table.

Defining Partitions

The format command automatically handles partitioning according to data in /etc/format.dat. The advantage is that it’s super fast and easy when adding a disk. Now, manually, here’s how to do it:

1

format
Searching for disks...done

AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
       0. c0t0d0 <ST38410A cyl 16706 alt 2 hd 16 sec 63>
          /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ide@3/dad@0,0
       1. c1t3d0 <SUN9.0G cyl 4924 alt 2 hd 27 sec 133>
          /pci@1f,0/pci@1/scsi@1/sd@3,0
Specify disk (enter its number):

Now we have the list of detected disks. We’ll choose the second disk and continue:

Specify disk (enter its number): 1
selecting c1t3d0
[disk formatted]

FORMAT MENU:
        disk       - select a disk
        type       - select (define) a disk type
        partition  - select (define) a partition table
        current    - describe the current disk
        format     - format and analyze the disk
        repair     - repair a defective sector
        label      - write label to the disk
        analyze    - surface analysis
        defect     - defect list management
        backup     - search for backup labels
        verify     - read and display labels
        save       - save new disk/partition definitions
        inquiry    - show vendor, product and revision
        scsi       - independent SCSI mode selects
        cache      - enable, disable or query SCSI disk cache
        volname    - set 8-character volume name
        !<cmd>     - execute <cmd>, then return
        quit
format>

In the menus that we can see, change or confirm partition choices, we have:

ElementsFunctions
partitionDisplays the partition menu
labelWrites the current partition name list to the disk
verifyReads and displays disk names
quitExit the format utility

Then type partition to see the menu:

1

format> partition
PARTITION MENU:
        0      - change '0' partition
        1      - change '1' partition
        2      - change '2' partition
        3      - change '3' partition
        4      - change '4' partition
        5      - change '5' partition
        6      - change '6' partition
        7      - change '7' partition
        select - select a predefined table
        modify - modify a predefined partition table
        name   - name the current table
        print  - display the current table
        label  - write partition map and label to the disk
        !<cmd> - execute <cmd>, then return
        quit

Here are the options offered:

ElementsFunctions
0-7Specify partition size and offset
selectChoose a predefined slice in /etc/format.dat
modifyChange current partition in the table
quitUsed to identify the partition table in /etc/format.dat
printDisplay the current partition table
labelWrite the current partition table
!Execute an external command at the shell level

To display the new partition table, type print:

1

partition> print
Current partition table (original):
Total disk cylinders available: 4924 + 2 (reserved cylinders)

Part      Tag    Flag   Cylinders     Size            Blocks
  0 unassigned    wm     0            0         (0/0/0)           0
  1 unassigned    wm     0            0         (0/0/0)           0
  2     backup    ru     0 - 4923     8.43GB    (4924/0/0) 17682084
  3 unassigned    wu     0            0         (0/0/0)           0
  4 unassigned    wm     0            0         (0/0/0)           0
  5 unassigned    wm     0            0         (0/0/0)           0
  6 unassigned    wu     0            0         (0/0/0)           0
  7 unassigned    wm     0            0         (0/0/0)           0

Here is the meaning of the columns:

Column NameDescription
PartSlice number of the disk
TagPredefined tag (optional)
FlagPredefined flag (optional)
CylindersStart and end cylinder of the slice
SizeSize of the slice in blocks (b), cylinders (c), Mbytes (MB), or Gbytes (GB)
BlocksTotal number of cylinders and sectors per slice

To start configuring the disk, type 0:

1

partition> 0
Part      Tag    Flag  Cylinders    Size        Blocks
  0 unassigned    wm    0           0     (0/0/0)           0

Type ? to get the list of possible choices:

1

Enter partition id tag[unassigned]: ?
Expecting one of the following: (abbreviations ok):
        unassigned    boot          root          swap
        usr           backup        stand         var
        home          alternates    reserved
Enter partition id tag[unassigned]:

Type alternates:

1

Enter partition id tag[unassigned]: alternates

Type ? to get the list of possible choices:

1

Enter partition permission flags[wm]: ?
Expecting one of the following: (abbreviations ok):
        wm    - read-write, mountable
        wu    - read-write, unmountable
        rm    - read-only, mountable
        ru    - read-only, unmountable

Enter partition permission flags[wm]:

Press the “Enter” key:

1

Enter partition permission flags[wm]:

Press “Enter” again to accept cylinder 0 as starting point:

1

Enter new starting cyl[0]:

Enter the size of the partition (here 980mb):

1

Enter partition size[0b, 0c, 0e, 0.00mb, 0.00gb]: 980mb

Let’s check:

1

partition> print
Current partition table (unnamed):
Total disk cylinders available: 1965 + 2 (reserved cylinders)

Part      Tag    Flag   Cylinders     Size            Blocks
  0 alternates    wm     0 -  558   980.16MB    (559/0/0)   200736
  1 unassigned    wm     0            0         (0/0/0)          0
  2     backup    ru     0 - 4923     8.43GB    (4924/0/0) 17682084
  3 unassigned    wm     0            0         (0/0/0)          0
  4 unassigned    wm     0            0         (0/0/0)          0
  5 unassigned    wm     0            0         (0/0/0)          0
  6 unassigned    wu     0            0         (0/0/0)          0
  7 unassigned    wm     0            0         (0/0/0)          0

We can see the changes. Let’s adjust the start cylinder of slice 1:

1

partition> 1
Part      Tag    Flag   Cylinders    Size        Blocks
  1 unassigned    wm     0           0     (0/0/0)          0

Enter “swap”:

1

Enter partition id tag[unassigned]: swap

Type “wu”:

1

Enter partition permission flags[wm]: wu

Enter the start cylinder of slice 1:

1

Enter new starting cyl[0]: 559

Enter the new size of the partition:

1

Enter partition size[0b, 0c, 603e, 0.00mb, 0.00gb]: 512mb

Let’s check:

1

partition> print
Current partition table (unnamed):
Total disk cylinders available: 1965 + 2 (reserved cylinders)

Part      Tag    Flag   Cylinders     Size          Blocks
  0 alternates    wm     0 -  558   980.16MB  (559/0/0)   2007369
  1       swap    wu   559 -  851   513.75MB  (293/0/0)   1052163
  2     backup    ru     0 - 4923     8.43GB  (4924/0/0) 17682084
  3 unassigned    wm     0            0       (0/0/0)          0
  4 unassigned    wm     0            0       (0/0/0)          0
  5 unassigned    wm     0            0       (0/0/0)          0
  6 unassigned    wu     0            0       (0/0/0)          0
  7 unassigned    wm     0            0       (0/0/0)          0

Let’s do the same for slice 7:

1

partition> 7
Part      Tag    Flag     Cylinders        Size            Blocks
  7 unassigned    wm       0               0         (0/0/0) 0

Type “home”:

1

Enter partition id tag[unassigned]: home

Press the “Enter” key:

1

Enter partition permission flags[wm]:

Enter the starting cylinder:

1

Enter new starting cyl[0]: 852

Enter the value “$” to occupy all available free space in this partition:

1

Enter partition size[0b, 0c, 694e, 0.00mb, 0.00gb]: $

Let’s check:

1

partition> print
Current partition table (unnamed):
Total disk cylinders available: 1965 + 2 (reserved cylinders)

Part      Tag    Flag   Cylinders      Size            Blocks
  0 alternates    wm     0 -  558    980.16MB    (559/0/0)   2007369
  1       swap    wu   559 -  851    513.75MB    (293/0/0)   1052163
  2     backup    ru     0 - 4923      8.43GB    (4924/0/0) 17682084
  3 unassigned    wm     0             0         (0/0/0)          0
  4 unassigned    wm     0             0         (0/0/0)          0
  5 unassigned    wm     0             0         (0/0/0)          0
  6 unassigned    wu     0             0         (0/0/0)          0
  7       home    wm   852 - 4923      6.97GB    (4072/0/0) 14622552

After checking that there are no errors, type label:

1
2

partition> label
Ready to label disk, continue? y

Checking Labels

To check labels (also called VTOC), there are 2 solutions:

  • Use verify in the format utility
  • Use the prtvtoc command

Reading the VTOC with Format

Open the format utility, then type verify:

1

format> verify
Primary label contents:

Volume name = <        >
ascii name  = <SUN9.0G cyl 4924 alt 2 hd 27 sec 133>
pcyl        = 4926
ncyl        = 4924
acyl        =    2
nhead       =   27
nsect       =  133
Part      Tag    Flag     Cylinders        Size            Blocks
  0 alternates    wm       0 -  558      980.16MB    (559/0/0)   2007369
  1       swap    wu     559 -  851      513.75MB    (293/0/0)   1052163
  2     backup    ru       0 - 4923        8.43GB    (4924/0/0) 17682084
  3 unassigned    wu       0               0         (0/0/0)           0
  4 unassigned    wm       0               0         (0/0/0)           0
  5 unassigned    wm       0               0         (0/0/0)           0
  6 unassigned    wu       0               0         (0/0/0)           0
  7       home    wm     852 - 4923        6.97GB    (4072/0/0) 14622552

To quit, type q.

Reading the VTOC with Prtvtoc

Run the command on a disk:

1

prtvtoc /dev/dsk/c1t3d0s0
* /dev/dsk/c1t3d0s0 partition map
*
* Dimensions:
*     512 bytes/sector
*     133 sectors/track
*      27 tracks/cylinder
*    3591 sectors/cylinder
*    4926 cylinders
*    4924 accessible cylinders
*
* Flags:
*   1: unmountable
*  10: read-only
*
*                          First     Sector    Last
* Partition  Tag  Flags    Sector     Count    Sector  Mount Directory
       0      9    00          0   2007369   2007368
       1      3    01    2007369   1052163   3059531
       2      5    11          0  17682084  17682083
       7      8    00    3059532  14622552  17682083

Here are some explanations:

FieldDescription
DimensionsDescribes the logical dimensions of the disk
FlagsDescribes the flags listed in the partition table
PartitionThe slice number described later in the partition table
TagValue used to specify how the disk will be used, described later in the partition table
FlagsFlag 00 is for “read/write, mountable”; 01 is “read/write, unmountable”; and 10 is “read only”
First SectorDefines the first sector for the slice
Sector CountDefines the total number of sectors in the slice
Last SectorDefines the last sector in the slice
Mount DirectoryIf this field is empty, no entry will be defined in “/etc/vfstab” and the slice will not be mounted at startup

In Case of Problems

Relabeling Disks

The fmthard command allows you to relabel disks. First, let’s save the current VTOC in a file:

1

prtvtoc /dev/dsk/c1t3d0s0 > /var/tmp/c1t3d0.vtoc

We can save the VTOC of another disk in a file to relabel it on a new disk:

1

fmthard -s datafile /dev/rdsk/c#t#d#s2

Open format, select the disk and give it the desired name. Then reinject the saved VTOC:

1

mthard -s /var/tmp/c1t3d0.vtoc /dev/rdsk/c1t3d0s2

Finally, to initialize the disk:

1

fmthard -s /dev/null /dev/rdsk/c1t3d0s2

FileSystems

There are 4 types of FileSystems in Solaris:

  • ufs: The most used FileSystem in Solaris. It can easily go up to Terabits, is based on the Berkeley system
  • hsfs: A somewhat special Sierra system
  • pcfs: For FAT32 and DOS
  • udfs: Universal Disk File System, this is for CD/DVD media…

Here is a description of UFS:

Sun ufs

As well as how inodes work:

Sun ufs inodes

Creating the FileSystem

The newfs command allows you to do this:

1

newfs /dev/rdsk/c1t3d0s7

Answer y to this confirmation:

1

newfs: construct a new file system /dev/rdsk/c1t3d0s7: (y/n)?

It now displays information about the filesystem creation:

/dev/rdsk/c1t3d0s7: 6295022 sectors in 1753 cylinders of 27 tracks, 
133 sectors 3073.7MB in 110 cyl groups (16 c/g, 28.05MB/g, 3392 i/g)
super-block backups (for fsck -F ufs -o b=#) at:
 32, 57632, 115232, 172832, 230432, 288032, 345632, 403232, 460832,
 518432, 5746208, 5803808, 5861408, 5919008, 5976608, 6034208, 6091808,
 6149408, 6207008, 6264608,

We display the free space

1

fstyp -v /dev/dsk/c0t1d0s6 |head
(output omitted for brevity)
minfree 10%     maxbpg  2048    optim   time

The -m option defines the percentage of disk space we want to use:

1

newfs -m 2 /dev/dsk/c0t1d0s6
newfs: construct a new file system /dev/rdsk/c0t1d0s6: (y/n)? y
(output omitted for brevity)

Here’s the result:

1

fstyp -v /dev/dsk/c0t1d0s6 |head
(output omitted for brevity
minfree 2%      maxbpg  2048    optim   time

Verification:

fstyp -v /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s0 | head
ufs
magic   11954   format  dynamic time    Fri Oct 22 10:09:11 2004
sblkno  16      cblkno  24      iblkno  32      dblkno  456
sbsize  5120    cgsize  5120    cgoffset 72     cgmask  0xffffffe0
ncg     110     size    3147511 blocks  3099093
bsize   8192    shift   13      mask    0xffffe000
fsize   1024    shift   10      mask    0xfffffc00
frag    8       shift   3       fsbtodb 1
minfree 2%      maxbpg  2048    optim   time
maxcontig 128   rotdelay 0ms    rps     120

To change the available space:

1

tunefs -m 1 /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s0
minimum percentage of free space changes from 10% to 1%

Checking Disk Status

The fsck command, like in Linux, allows you to check the integrity of the filesystem to repair any orphaned inodes (don’t forget to unmount the partition before performing this operation):

1

fsck /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s7
** /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s7
** Last Mounted on /export/home
** Phase 1 - Check Blocks and Sizes
INCORRECT BLOCK COUNT I=743 (5 should be 2)
CORRECT?

If there are files that can be recovered, you will find them in “lost+found”. Check if they are correct with the “file” command. It is estimated that if “file” can determine what type of file it is, then it’s correct.

Vfstab

The /etc/vfstab file is the equivalent of /etc/fstab in Linux. It lists all partitions and their mount points.

#device         device          mount           FS      fsck    mount   mount
#to mount       to fsck         point           type    pass    at boot options
#
fd      -       /dev/fd fd      -       no      -
/proc   -       /proc   proc    -       no      -
/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s1       -       -       swap    -       no      -
/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0   /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s0   /      ufs     1       no      -
/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s6   /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s6   /usr   ufs     1       no      -
/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s3   /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s3   /var   ufs     1       no      -
/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s7   /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s7   /export/home  ufs   2  yes     -
/devices        -   /devices        devfs   -       no      -
ctfs    -       /system/contract        ctfs    -       no      -
objfs   -       /system/object  objfs   -       no      -
swap    -       /tmp    tmpfs   -       yes -

mtab

The /etc/mtab file informs us about mountings in relation to the kernel:

1

more /etc/mnttab
/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0    /    ufs     rw,intr,largefiles,logging,xattr,onerror=panic,dev=2200008  1098604644
/devices        /devices        devfs   dev=4a80000     1098604620
ctfs    /system/contract        ctfs    dev=4ac0001     1098604620
proc    /proc   proc    dev=4b00000     1098604620
mnttab  /etc/mnttab     mntfs   dev=4b40001     1098604620
swap    /etc/svc/volatile       tmpfs   xattr,dev=4b80001       1098604620
objfs   /system/object  objfs   dev=4bc0001     1098604620
/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s6       /usr    ufs     rw,intr,largefiles,logging,xattr,onerror=panic,dev=220000e  1098604645
fd      /dev/fd fd      rw,dev=4d40001  1098604645
/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s3       /var    ufs     rw,intr,largefiles,logging,xattr,onerror=panic,dev=220000b  1098604647
swap    /var/run        tmpfs   xattr,dev=4b80002       1098604647
swap    /tmp    tmpfs   xattr,dev=4b80003       1098604647
/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s7       /export/home    ufs     rw,intr,largefiles,logging,xattr,onerror=panic,dev=220000f   1098604661
-hosts  /net    autofs  nosuid,indirect,ignore,nobrowse,dev=4dc0001     1098604678
auto_home       /home   autofs  indirect,ignore,nobrowse,dev=4dc0002    1098604678
sys-01:vold(pid491)     /vol    nfs     ignore,noquota,dev=4e00001      1098604701
1

mount
/ on /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0 read/write/setuid/devices/intr/largefiles/logging/xattr/onerror=panic/dev=2200008 on Sun Oct 24 08:57:24 2004
/devices on /devices read/write/setuid/devices/dev=4a80000 on Sun Oct 24 08:57:00 2004
/system/contract on ctfs read/write/setuid/devices/dev=4ac0001 on Sun Oct 24 08:57:00 2004
/proc on proc read/write/setuid/devices/dev=4b00000 on Sun Oct 24 08:57:00 2004
/etc/mnttab on mnttab read/write/setuid/devices/dev=4b40001 on Sun Oct 24 08:57:00 2004
/etc/svc/volatile on swap read/write/setuid/devices/xattr/dev=4b80001 on Sun Oct 24 08:57:00 2004
/system/object on objfs read/write/setuid/devices/dev=4bc0001 on Sun Oct 24 08:57:00 2004
/usr on /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s6 read/write/setuid/devices/intr/largefiles/logging/xattr/onerror=panic/dev=220000e on Sun Oct 24 08:57:25 2004
/dev/fd on fd read/write/setuid/devices/dev=4d40001 on Sun Oct 24 08:57:25 2004
/var on /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s3 read/write/setuid/devices/intr/largefiles/logging/xattr/onerror=panic/dev=220000b on Sun Oct 24 08:57:27 2004
/var/run on swap read/write/setuid/devices/xattr/dev=4b80002 on Sun Oct 24 08:57:27 2004
/tmp on swap read/write/setuid/devices/xattr/dev=4b80003 on Sun Oct 24 08:57:27 2004
/export/home on /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s7 read/write/setuid/devices/intr/largefiles/logging/xattr/onerror=panic/dev=220000f on Sun Oct 24 08:57:41 2004

Mounting Partitions

To manually mount partitions, there is the mount command. Here are some examples:

Mount the filesystem as read-only:

1

mount -o ro /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s7 /export/home

Set sticky bits across the entire partition:

1

mount -o ro,nosuid /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s7 /export/home

Remove access dates for each file, which optimizes access times

1

mount -o noatime /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s7 /export/home

If this partition only contains small files, use this option:

1

mount -o nolargefiles /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s7 /export/home

To mount all the contents of your /etc/vfstab file, use this command:

1

mountall

To only mount what is local:

1

mountall -l

Determining the Mount Type

To know which options to pass, here are some interesting files:

  • /etc/vfstab for FS
  • /etc/default/fs for a local filesystem
  • /etc/dfs/fstypes for remote filesystems

To know the characteristics of a partition:

1

fstyp /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s7
ufs

You can specify during partition mounting if it’s hsfs or pcfs:

1

mount -F hsfs -o ro /dev/dsk/c0t6d0s0 /cdrom

To unmount a partition, do this:

1

umount mount_point

And to force, use the -f option:

1

umount -f mount_point

What’s Happening on My Partition?

fuser is what allows in Solaris to know what’s happening on the partition. In Linux, it’s lsof. To list all processes running on this partition:

1

fuser -cu mount_point

To kill all processes:

1

fuser -ck mount_point

Check that no processes are on the partition:

1

fuser -c mount_point

Problems with My Root Partition

If you want to fsck the root partition, insert the Sun CD/DVD then type this:

1

ok boot cdrom -s
Boot device: /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ide@3/cdrom@2,0:f File and args -s
SunOS Release 5.10 Generic 64 bit 
Copyright 1983-2004 by Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Booting to milestone "milestone/single-user:default"
Configuring /dev and /devices
Use is subject to license terms
Using RPC Bootparams for network configuration information.
Skipping interface hme0
-
INIT: SINGLE USER MODE

Run fsck on your root partition:

1

fsck /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s0

If everything worked well, you should be able to mount everything:

1

mount /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0 /a

Otherwise, you need to fine-tune /etc/vfstab:

1
2
3

TERM=sun
export TERM
vi /a/etc/vfstab

Then we exit and restart:

1
2

cd /
umount /a

Access to Removable Devices

With Vold

Where to find the peripherals:

MediaFilesystem AccessMounted Access
diskette/floppy/floppy0/vol/dev/aliases/floppy0
CD-ROM/cdrom/cdrom0/vol/dev/aliases/cdrom0
Jaz/rmdisk/jaz0/vol/dev/aliases/jaz0
Zip/rmdrive/zip0/vol/dev/aliases/zip0
PCMCIA/pcmem0/vol/dev/aliases/pcmem0

There are 2 files that manage actions during media insertion/ejection:

  • /etc/vold.conf
  • /etc/rmmount.conf

Vold is a service (start, stop…):

1

/etc/init.d/volmgt restart

If it really doesn’t want to quit:

1

pkill -9 vold

Without Vold

Obviously you have to do everything manually:

1
2

mount -F hsfs -o ro /dev/dsk/c0t6d0s0 /cdrom
mount -F pcfs /dev/diskette /pcfs
Edit this page

Last updated 30 Jan 2012, 11:07 +0200. history