Need Solaris 10 without GUI or Desktop - Just server

Discussions about using Solaris guests in VirtualBox.
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dimarra
Posts: 3
Joined: 8. Jan 2011, 02:17
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Solaris 10

Need Solaris 10 without GUI or Desktop - Just server

Post by dimarra »

Hi all,
Im new to installing solaris but have used it for a while. Im now on Virtualbox 4 and would love to run solaris on it. However all my installation attempts end up having a gui desktop or some form of desktop. I dont need this. I just want it to run as a server which i can ssh to it. Can someone post some step by step or a short tips to get me on the right direction.
Thanks
dimarra
Posts: 3
Joined: 8. Jan 2011, 02:17
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Solaris 10

Re: Need Solaris 10 without GUI or Desktop - Just server

Post by dimarra »

jwilliams108
Posts: 15
Joined: 23. Sep 2009, 21:13
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: CentOS

Re: Need Solaris 10 without GUI or Desktop - Just server

Post by jwilliams108 »

OpenIndiana has a text only install:
http://openindiana.org/download/
dimarra
Posts: 3
Joined: 8. Jan 2011, 02:17
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Solaris 10

Re: Need Solaris 10 without GUI or Desktop - Just server

Post by dimarra »

So I did the "Reduced Networking Support Software Group" install to run a headless (no GUI, no Desktop) Solaris guest. Taking this route will allow me to save on disk space immediately at the beginning.

This install option gave me an island - a solaris guest which does not have access to the network (to or from) the hosts. I needed to figure out how to get to the internet to update this system and make it usable.

1. VirtualBox has Shared Folders which should allow you to move file across host and guest without ftp or scp. As long as you can mount it. :lol:
2. VirtualBox has Guest Additions (GA) also that enhances the integration/interface between the host and guest. Nice stuff if you can install it. :lol:
You need to get these to work in order to connect the 'island'.

When you have a 'terminal' only guest OS, the Devices -> Install Guest Additions... menu simply does not work. All the instructions i found to install this involves the GUI (which i didnt have).

I figured that, if i can 'mount' the GA, I can get shared folders to work.

finding the right mount options was tricky and tedious. This command worked for me.
iostat -En
mount -F hsfs /dev/dsk/c0t1d0s0 /cdrom

Once the cdrom was mounted and showing the contents of the VBoxGuestsAdditions.iso, install it with
cd /cdrom
./autorun.sh
Follow the prompts and complete it.

The shared folders was easier - commands are in the manual.
mount -F vboxfs dropzone /dropzone

To update solaris you need to get pkg-get to work. Follow this link http://www.sunfreeware.com/pkg-get.html

When it says - Install 'wget' yourself - you will download and install the following packages yourself.
BOLTpget.pkg
libgcc-3.4.6-sol10-x86-local
libiconv-1.13.1-sol10-x86-local
libidn-1.19-sol10-x86-local
libintl-3.4.0-sol10-x86-local
openssl-0.9.8q-sol10-x86-local
wget-1.12-sol10-x86-local

At this point, I can say the island is now part of the network.
My vdi size is 939mb compare with 3.17GB with a desktop.

Hope this helps.
pablomguevara
Posts: 1
Joined: 27. Apr 2010, 02:29
Primary OS: Fedora other
VBox Version: OSE Fedora
Guest OSses: Windows 2000

Re: Need Solaris 10 without GUI or Desktop - Just server

Post by pablomguevara »

I've been looking for Solaris 10 "Reduced Networking Support Software Group", but can not find where to download it from. Could you please share the link?
Thanks.
jimklimov
Posts: 83
Joined: 7. Jul 2009, 08:28
Primary OS: OpenSolaris other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, OSOL, Windows

Re: Need Solaris 10 without GUI or Desktop - Just server

Post by jimklimov »

Ummm... For Solaris 10 and older that's one of the install-mode options in the installer (different sets of packages, from small to huge footprint), on the single DVD of installation media for the given CPU platform.
So you download one DVD (x86/x86_64), start your VM with the installer, follow the menu, select the preset software group, customize selections as needed (ignore some unreasonable package dependency failures), install, reboot, be happy ;)
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