The sysidcfg File

When a JumpStart client boots for the first time, the booting software first tries to obtain system identification information (such as the system’s hostname, IP address, locale, time zone, and root password) from a file named sysidcfg and then from the name service database. If you’re not using a name service, you’ll use this file to answer system identification questions during the initial part of the installation. If you’re using a name service, you’ll want to look over the section “Setting Up JumpStart in a Name Service Environment” later in this chapter.

You’ll use the sysidcfg file to answer system identification questions during the initial part of the installation. If the JumpStart server provides this information, the client bypasses the initial system identification portion of the Solaris 9 installation process. Without the sysidcfg file, the client displays the appropriate interactive dialog to request system identification information. You must create a unique sysidcfg file for every system that requires different configuration information.

The sysidcfg file can reside on a shared NFS directory or the root (/) directory on a UFS file system. In can also reside on a PCFS file system located on a diskette. Only one sysidcfg file can reside in a directory or on a diskette. The location of the sysidcfg file is specified by the –p argument to the add_install_client script used to create a JumpStart client information file.

Creating a sysidcfg file requires the system administrator to specify a set of keywords in the sysidcfg file to preconfigure a system. There are two types of keywords you use in the sysidcfg file: independent and dependent. Here’s an example illustrating independent and dependent keywords:

name_service=NIS {domain_name=pyramid.com name_server=server(192.168.0.1)} 

In this example, name_service is the independent keyword, whereas domain_name and name_server are the dependent keywords.

To help explain sysidcfg keywords, I’ll group them in categories and describe each of them in detail.