Anyone who hasn't went 2.5 yet, here is some encouraging info. This is
pretty long because it also includes a summary from somebody else, but
it is worth the read. If your manager is holding out on 2.5 because
he/she is hesitant for whatever reason, show them this.
I've included all "From" lines in the mail header with each msg instead
of the top, so thanks to all of you for responding.
Thanks dzambon@hawkeye.afit.af.mil for sending that summary. Very
helpful!
ORIGINAL;
: I am about to go from 2.3 to 2.5 on a bunch of SS1000s and
: hundreds of clients. Looking for your experiences with the
: upgrade, preferably using jumpstart, and comments on the
: stability of 2.5.
========================================================================
>From ted@ssl.Berkeley.EDU
On our SS1s, 5, and 20s, 2.5 has been noticeably more stable than 2.4
and _much_ better than 2.3. I've had to do about a half-dozen
forced reboots since I upgraded all fifteen of our machines at the
beginning of January. The upgrades were done with Jumpstart and the
upgrade option. That worked fine except that /usr has grown (even if
you don't install CDE), and so I had to do a repartition/reinstall on
a number of machines. There are two software problems I've had since:
the license manager for Autocad won't let me do a new install (though
our existing licenses keep running), and a couple of parts of the
CAP Mac<-->Unix software don't work any more.
========================================================================
>From sys013@abdn.ac.uk
Dont try 'upgrade' a re-install will turn out to be quicker. You'd think Sun
would get this right eventually....
========================================================================
>From tjtraino@to.mobil.com
Our guys used it here...There's a book on it....Automating Solaris
Installations..from Prentice hall...available from Computer Literacy Book store
at www.clbokks.com...
========================================================================
>From gfaus@osi.com
So far, it's highly stable for me. No suggested patches yet.
No problems.
I cannot confirm it's use in regards to commercial software. i.e. databases etc..
========================================================================
>From lopez@abqato.scs.philips.com
For the most part 2.5 is MUCH better. If you run SunnConnect DNI there is
a BIG problem though. If you run DNI make sure you call the DNI support
team or write me before you upgrade.
I think it is easiest to carefully set up a jump start server and install
the other systems from that server. If you have different subnets there
is need for additional attention to the process.
Following is a recent posting from a group that covers jumpstart issues.
Check out the ftp site for a while before you start. Be aware you will
have to set up a lot of scripts to customize installations. The more
your environment differs from out of the box Solaris, the more scripts;
the more types of configurations you have, the more scripts.
In my case I never looked at using jumpstart to do upgrades. I do installs.
In my case (maybe I am slow :-) I had to work with the jumpstart server
and a "trail" workstation and did a few weeks of trial and error before
I could actually re-install users with out having to do post-install
hand fixes. Even then, I did run into customizations the users did that I
did not consider. But in each case, an immediate coding session modified the
profile so that the problem will not be repeated.
I looked at other friend's install scripts and at posted scripts and I found
that my site was unique enough I could not use anyone else's "system".
I suspect that may be common that sites are rather unique.
==========================================================================
I've put up a tar file containing all the submissions
to auto-net. It's at:
ftp://ftp.math.gatech.edu/pub/users/coleman/auto-net-archive.tar.gz
Eventually I'll set up something more automatic. I also plan to
eventually make all this available on the web, when I get the time.
============================================================================
>From mather@mprgate.mpr.ca
I have not had any experience with 2.5 on a server with clients,
but we have implemented a major cutover from SunOS 4.1.x to Solaris 2.5
in the past few months.
Currently I have a machine set up with Jumpstart to do the installs.
The only problems I had setting up Jumpstart (and using it) was due
to installing it on a non-2.5 machine. Although Sun implies that
you can make any machine a Jumpstart server, this doesn't seem to be
the case.
On the whole I have found Jumpstart to be worth the effort. It used to
take me 2-2.5 hours to install and customize a SPARC 5 workstation
from CD. With Jumpstart (and the OS CD copied to hard disk), it takes
40 minutes from start to full customization (via the finish script)
with Jumpstart over our network.
Some notes about 2.5: Although it has been very stable, we have had
some problems from vendors who won't support their products under
2.5. We have been hit by two: FrameMaker 4.x, and Ingres 6.4.
If you are tied to some specific pieces of software (and version) you
may want to check with the vendor's technical support to make sure
they support it under 2.5.
============================================================================
>From kevin@uniq.com.au
Stability is good, memory footprint looks better (well, other than
OpenWindows :-) and some nice new features.
I'd recommend installing from scratch if possible, but I have done
upgrades from 2.4->2.5 that were fine.
============================================================================
>From ratinox@unilab.dfci.harvard.edu
Solaris 2.5 (SunOS 5.5) is definitely worth upgrading to, especially if
you are currently running 2.3. Many problems with 2.3 are fixed in 2.4
and 2.5; it runs much faster, especially in smaller RAM footprints.
The jumpstart upgrade process is fairly painless, if your disk
partitions have enough space. Not having enough room on /opt or / is
perhaps the biggest problem an upgrade faces; you may need to backup and
repartition your disks. The upgrade takes about 3-3.5 hours on a
SPARCclassic, faster on the bigger machines, depending on what options
you install. All 2.3 files that are not part of "packages", such as the
sendmail binary and your configuration files, are renamed with a ":2.x"
extension (x being the OS version being installed over) so you will have
your old configurations to fall back on.
If you are using GCC you will need to recompile, or at least rerun
fixincludes (always a good idea when upgrading your OS). Same may go
for things like perl (use h2ph) which rely upon the C header files.
============================================================================
>From spp@psisa.com
I've taken about 25 of my client machines from 2.4 to 2.5. I'm quite
pleased with the way things worked. Of course, all my clients are FRU
(Field Replacable Units), so there isn't anything special on them. At my
last client site, I went from 2.3 to 2.4. Marked improvement in
performance and 2.5 seems to be a little snappier than 2.4. You should
really like it.
============================================================================
>From mark@darkhorse.cv.com
I was involved in the 2.5 Beta programme. I have yet to have my 4-way 90Mhz hyperSPARC SS10 crash on me in the 9 months I've been using it.
However, I *have* discovered a problem with sendmail in 2.5. Apparently this is actually a bug in sendmail.cf, but I backed down to the sendmail in 2.4 and this has been fine, so I haven't stepped back up again.
IMHO, 2.5 is FAR faster and more reliable than 2.3, and comes with lots more useful code - like CDE and Wabi 2.1.
============================================================================
>From leideck@pi3.informatik.uni-mannheim.de
I have lately upgraded my suns to solaris2.5. I have used jumpstart and it works fine. All modified system files are being saved and only a minor cleanup after upgrading is necessary. But don't forget, if you using nis+, to add the new tcp port for the nfs daemon in the services tab. Until now there are no problems about the stability.
============================================================================
>From tmornini@sun630mp-le0.infomania.com
The 2.3 to 2.4 upgrade was such a disaster that I didn't even
attempt it... Just backed up the data, wiped the machines clean,
and re-installed.
2.5 is wonderful! Small(er) 1 Megabyte smaller kernel, faster
(you'll notice right away), and there hasn't been a single
kernel patch to date!
I've had uptimes of over 70 days so far, and the only reason
they weren't higher is because of some nasty power outages,
equipment moving, RAM upgrades, etc...
I think SunOS 4.1.x has met its match!
============================================================================
>From wolfgang@nosc.mil
Don;t know about jumpstart, never had to use it.
But 2.5 is MUCH better/stable/faster than 2.3. You'll
like it. I'd stay away from AutoClient though. It performs
poorly.
============================================================================
>From mrbill@ionet.net
We "power tested" 2.5 on a "playtoy" SS1 with 28mb RAM around
here (hit it hard, abused it, tried to crash it, etc) for a month when we
got 2.5, and it's definitely worth it . . I haven't managed to crash the
system yet, deliberately, short of hitting stop-a-"sync"<enter>!
We're upgrading all of our machines (SS20, SS10, SS5, SS4,
and another SS1, along with 2 x86 boxes) to 2.5 in the next two
weeks. Well worth it.
============================================================================
>From dzambon@hawkeye.afit.af.mil
Here is the summary I mentioned.....
****************************************************
Hi Netters,
The following is a summary based on responses I've received with regards
to a post on "going from SunOS 4.1.3U1 to Solaris2.5 - heaven help us all" that
I submitted on February 13th.
I have removed the identifying information of the posters so they
won't be bothered with more questions. I have also tried to snopsize
(is that REALLY a word?) their responses to make this easier to read.
Below are some of my comments on the information I received. Keep
in mind they are my intrepretations, so your milage may vary....
*************************** My Comments ***************************
-Many said that they had no real problems with the upgrade, and that
I shouldn't be hesitant to go through with it
-Others mentioned that I should start with one machine (probably one
that is lightly used) then go on from there. Use it as a test base
to see what of your existing software works and what doesn't. This
is what we are currently doing and so far, with very little
difficulties.
-I had some mention that SunOS was a swap space hog, and that the
Solaris was more efficient. I had more than one person mention that
Matlab (we use this heavily) ran quicker. There was also a mention
of a problem when using disk quotas.
-I got useful information on sites for 2.5 binaries. I myself found
the http://www.sun.com/smcc/solaris-migration site where I ordered
free a solaris 2 Migration Kit CD, which I am still examining. Others
also mentioned this site to me, as well as recommending I take a
Solaris admin class.
-More than a few mentioned that the normal commands
we are used to in SunOS 4.1.x are different in Solaris. I found
a couple of texts to be useful: Solaris System Administrator's Guide
(ISBN 1-56276-080-7) and Solaris Advanced System Administrator's Guide
(ISBN 1-56276-131-5) by Janice Winsor. I am still, however,
looking for a COMPLETE chart with SunOS 4.1.x commands and their Solaris 2.5
counterparts.
-Solaris 2.5 apparently comes without a C compiler. We are addressing
that issue in the meantime with the GNU packages (site at ftp.quintus.com
- thanks George!).
-One disturbing piece of news was that our 630MP (Model 140) will NOT
run in the MP mode in Solaris 2.5 if it contains 40MHz Ross Cy605 CPUs
with Sparc revision 7. I am verifying this now, but I think this IS
our current configuration of our main server. Many thanks to Martin
for this information.
-With Solars 2.5, there is a feature called NIS+, which is very
different from NIS, as far as administration is concerned. There is
a problem with converting NIS servers to Solaris 2.x, as there is
no ypserv. This is taken car of by acquiring NISKIT from Sun.
Supposedly, it includes a 2.x compatible ypserv replacement. (Thanks
Jay!).
-I received a summary concerning questions/installation of NIS+.
I have included it below.
------
Conslusion:
I received a lot of very useful information. I am always
impressed by total strangers taking the time to part with some of their
knowledge just to try and help another person out.
I hope this summary will be useful to you. Again, I appreciate
very much the people who took the time and effort to respond.
This list is a great resource for information!
Dan
*********************** Original Post ********************************
Hi Netters,
It looks like I can delay this no longer. The gun is to my head....:>(
We are going to upgrade our existing network (630MP/SS1000 servers, 65 clients of
various combinations of SS2/5/10/20s) from SunOS 4.1.3U1 to.....Solaris 2.5.
Sigh....
I know this has been mentioned before on this fabulous list. I'm hoping someone may
have a summary or two stashed away and would be kind enought to email it to me.
I am most concerned with our current software base, existing of items such
as Matlab and Refine. I am also concerned about our public domain base of programs that
must be recompiled before working under the new platform.
Any thoughts/ideas/experiences/summaries/blank checks/visa cards or anything else that
you feel might benefit us would be greatly appreciated. As always, this list provides
an absolute super way of getting information from the people who know best.
Thanks for your time,
Dan
------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan A. Zambon email: dzambon@afit.af.mil
Air Force Institute of Technology phone: (513) 255-6565, ext
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering 4280
Wright Patterson AFB, Oh 45433-7765 fax: (513) 476-4055
------------------------------------------------------------------
******************** Start of Responses ********************************
Don't be afraid of this upgrade. There are actually a lot of benefits
to Solaris 2.x. Since using it on my personal workstation for about
three years now I actually prefer it!
Anyway, I'd suggest starting small and working up. Upgrade a couple of
the system admin's workstations first and get a feel for what you need
to install, how best to configure things, etc. This also allows you to
port or compile your public domain stuff. Just about every bit of PD
software has been ported to Solaris 2.x so in most cases it is simply a
matter of re-compiling or getting an updated version.
Then I'd start upgrading the workstations and getting then converted
over. If necessary you may need to do some workstations a second time
to get them just right.
When you feel really comfortable then is the time to do th efile
servers. I suggest doing them last because by that time you will have a
good feeling for how to install and configure Solaris 2.x right first
time.
The other bonus is that once you have Solaris 2.x up and running
upgrading to newer versions works easily and reliably so future
upgrades won't be such a pain.
------------------------------------------------------------------
We have upgraded our Matlab machine from Solaris 1.X to Solaris 2.4, I am in general quite pleased. Solaris 2.4 seems to have a better memory management machanism, our Matlab processes range from 10Mb to 120Mb in size. Under SunOs this required a LOT of swap space whereas under Solaris 2.4 less is required.
We also use the machine as an NFS server and it is quite fast - SS20 712 with 128Mb RAM 256Mb swap, 4 scsi disks on two controllers.
We don't use the machine for anything else.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Good Luck! At least 2.5 is much more compatible than 2.3 or 2.4 ... We have
had good luck with the upgrade. The only problems have been in going from
sunOS cc to SParcworks compiler.... We are 25% converted
------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know how much you use Matlab and what type of work you do. I noticed that matlab processes under Solaris 2.4 require less swap space than they did with SunOs, about 30% less. This allowed us to reclaim quite a bit of disk space.
Will you be upgrading to Solaris 2.4 or 2.5 ? I have 2.4 but have had to install about 12 patches (all the recommended + others).
I am using quotas on our machine, there is one annoying bug: whenever you turn quotas off and back on for a file system (for example to fix the quota usage table) the mode on the file /etc/mnttab is changed so that group and world no longer have read permission.
When this happens users can no longer find out their quota thresholds with the quota -v command. You have to manually do a chmod go+r /etc/mnttab to fix things.
------------------------------------------------------------------
You can install Matlab for both sunos & solaris and it uses a wrapper script to
figure out the binary you need. Framemaker does the same thing.
For PD binaries for 2.5, check out:
http://smc.vnet.net/solaris_2.5.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------
We run a similar configuration of servers and clients. About a year
ago we made the transition to Solaris2.x from SUNOS4.1.x Before we
began to plan the upgrade, I attended a one-week course at Sun. The
course was designed specifically for system administrators moving from
SUNOS to Solaris2. My advice: Attend that course.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I assisted in such a task. While I cannot address the software issues
you raise, I can say that most if not all GNU software, plus Berkeley
sendmail and BIND compile fine using GNU C.
Solaris2 does not bundle a compiler, but you can get a fairly complete
GNU suite at ftp.quintus.com. These are precompiled binaries which
are installed using pkgadd. GNU C/C++, Emacs, Perl, etc. are
included. I don't think these packages have been compiled for
Solaris2.5, but they will probably work.
If you have Sun software (SUNpro compilers, etc.) you will note that
Solaris2 wants it installed in the /opt tree, instead of /usr/lang.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
If your 630MP is an old model 120 or 140 (40MHz Ross CY605 CPUs with
Sparc revision 7) it will not run in MP mode in Solaris 2.5
Solaris 2.4/2.5 will only do MP with Sparc revision 8 CPUs.
Below is the boot log from a SunOS 4.1.4 670MP model 140 which
will NOT run in MP mode under Solaris 2.4/2.5.
Feb 12 19:48:42 GPD0 vmunix: cpu = SUNW,Sun 4/600
Feb 12 19:48:42 GPD0 vmunix: mod0 = Cypress,CY605 (mid = 8)
Feb 12 19:48:42 GPD0 vmunix: mod1 = Cypress,CY605 (mid = 9)
Feb 12 19:48:42 GPD0 vmunix: mod2 = Cypress,CY605 (mid = 10)
Feb 12 19:48:42 GPD0 vmunix: mod3 = Cypress,CY605 (mid = 11)
If you have one or two SuperSparc CPUs in your 630MP you have
no problem with Solaris 2.5. OK SuperSparc CPU models in a 630MP
are 41, 51 and 61 or 412 (2*41), 512 (2*51) and 612 (2*61).
HyperSparc CPUs should also be OK.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I thought the conversion was a lot easier than people made it out
to be. Most of the gnu stuff build out of the box. They
only things I had trouble building were elm and pine.
Make sure you get the path to the sun compiler right. It will
be like /opt/SunXXX/bin/cc or something like that. If you
get /usr/ucb/cc first, you will have headaches that take days to
figure out.
Keep in mind that the Sun cc compiler is an add on package that
costs extra. It doesnt come with the OS any more.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't have a cookbook for you, but here are some things
for you to consider.
It sounds like you have a short time frame for accomplishing this. So I
would advise that you don't kill yourself over recompiling everything
for Solaris 2. Just run the older binaries in compatibility mode and
worry about recompiling them after you've migrated. We took all our
public domain stuff from our SunOS 4.1.3 system and initially NFS
mounted it on our first Solaris 2.4 machine and never ran into
problems. I can't say we tried every single binary, but we only ran
into trouble with a couple of X apps. Your mileage may vary. Also
Solaris 2 comes with no useful compiler support built in for rebuilding
your apps. You can muck around with getting gcc going, but again that's
one more thing you don't need to deal with during your migration. Of
course if you have some core public domain programs that you'll be dead
without unless you can guarantee they'll run under Solaris 2, then get
new versions now and get compilers on at least one 2.x system. In terms of
software you'd be better off figuring out what's going to happen with
your commercial packages like Matlab, which most likely you will not
want to run (or will not be able to run) under the new OS. I'd start
lobbying for buying new releases if they're available.
Additionally, if you haven't dealt with Solaris 2 yet you'll feel like
a fish out of water initially. Start by getting a complete set of
Solaris 2 hardcopy documents. If you're like me you'll find using the
Answerbook is a great way to look for specifics on a particular
problem, but is a lousy way to learn about the new OS in general. Read
the Solaris 1.x to Solaris 2.x Transition Guide cover to cover and
you'll have at least a background to begin understanding how to migrate
your environment. The biggest hurdle I found was understanding the rc
script hierarchy (no more rc.boot and rc.local). That and getting used
to the new print spooling mechanism.
Obviously, you'll want to select a single, non-critical system for your
first upgrade and use that as centerpoint for your migration and
recompiling programs as necessary. With the numbers of systems you have
you may want to consider JumpStart for your workstations, but I've
never used it myself so I can't speak for how reliable this will be.
You should check out the Solaris Migration web documents at Sun's
corporate pages. The specific URL for migration tools is
http://www.sun.com/smcc/solaris-migration/index.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
We recently updated from SunOS to Solaris. I recommend that you update one
machine and get to know Solaris before diving in. Be sure to get AnswerBook and
the Solaris guides from Ziff-Davis by Janice Windsor.
The mail servers, gateways, and name servers are a particular pain to upgrade.
The compatibility package works pretty well with most SunOS programs. Solaris
2.5 is relatively new. Be sure the key software is updated for it or you could
have big problems.
We use morningstar PPP, for example, and it doesn't support 2.5 yet. It seems to
work OK most times but we had to modify the install scripts to get it to install
because it checks version numbers and refused to load on a 2.5 system.
We also use UShare from IPT. After loading the Solaris version and having a
disaster, their Tech Support told us "oh you need the 2.5 drivers from our ftp
site". Gee thanks. It hosed the whole system and I had to re-install Solaris,
then their software, then the 2.5 drivers before trying to start their software.
Solaris uses totally non-standard serial port and print spooler setups. SVR4
experience on other platforms doesn't help.
In addition Solaris 2.5 now ships with CDE, the common desktop environment
(Motif). You add it on top of OpenWindows, takes another 100 meg of disk space.
If you have 440 meg boot hard drives, don't plan on putting much more than
Solaris on them.
Plan on repartitioning your boot drives. It will read other drives fine but the
disk and partition naming is different in Solaris so be sure you list the SCSI
number and partition names and numbers of each disk partition.
There was a bug in SunOS that caused it to see SCSI Drive 1 as sd3 and SCSI
drive 3 as sd1.
This switches back in Solaris so don't accidently re-partition the wrong hard
drive. It's better to turn off or disconnect your non-boot drives to protect
them during the upgrade process. Your boot drive is probably SCSI ID 3.
Be advised, your Solaris version tape backup software may not be able to read
your SunOS tapes, so keep a SunOS machine with a tape drive alive until you have
a good set of backups under Solaris.
Well, I think that covers most of the land mines I stepped on, but there are
several others out there.
The SunOS and Solaris machines coexist quite nicely on the net so I would
suggest gradual implementation. Then you will have only one machine at a time
dead while you try to find out what's wrong.
We don't use NIS but I understand there are some issues there since Solaris
comes with NIS+ and the aren't totally compatible.
The old rules of thumb about swap space and such that you learned under SunOS
don't really apply to Solaris, so read up on it before you start space planning.
In general, Solaris needs less swap and swapp and /tmp space can be shared.
The upside is that your multi-processor systems will perform better and 2.5 has
NFS version 3 which is a lot faster.
You may need to set up classes for your users to learn Motif. You don't have to
do it now, but OpenWindows is dead and will go away eventually.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>OK. Is this Transistion Guide a part of the Solaris distribution? Where
>do I get it?
It came with the full hardcopy document set we purchased if I remember
correctly. The full document set is a separate product. All you get
with the OS distribution is the CD and an installation guide. You could
check with your local Sun sales rep to see if it can be purchased
individually, but I doubt it. Sun doesn't do that anymore. There are a
couple of other books in the set that are worth having anyway, although
most of it I've never looked at. One nice thing about the transition
guide is that in the back it has an index of all SunOS commands and
their equivalents under Solaris. This alone saved me a lot of
flailing.
My sales guy sent me a blurb on some sites that have precompiled versions
of some popular public domain packages. I'll dig it up and forward it
to you. It may save you some time over recompiling as long as you can
set up your directory hierarchy to match whatever hardwired paths
the binaries expect (gcc will certainly be one of those).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
> I am most concerned with our current software base, existing of items such
> as Matlab and Refine. I am also concerned about our public domain base of programs that
> must be recompiled before working under the new platform.
For the most part, this may not be true. We're a 4.1.3+ shop, and I
just benchmarked an Ultra-1/170. My conclusion was that from the
users' POV, it would drop in to the existing environment without
disruption. I ran every user application we have, and the only failures
were workman (that damn vold) and some old obsolete copies of
sunview-based Wingz and Framemaker (I've been telling people to stop
using those for years). Every other user application (Cadence Composer/
Virtuoso/ Diva/Verilog, Hspice, less/gzip/gtar/mpack/pine/elm/etc. all
worked fine.
All the sysadmin-type utilities you would expect to fail did (but
many of these are already kernel arch sensitive, anyway): top, lsof,
nfswatch, scsiping.
> Any thoughts/ideas/experiences/summaries/blank checks/visa cards or anything else that
> you feel might benefit us would be greatly appreciated. As always, this list provides
> an absolute super way of getting information from the people who know best.
It's not painless, but not to be feared. 2.5 is really a pretty
nice OS. If you're running NIS, beat up your local field office for
NISKIT (that's what Sun runs internally!). I would advise *not* to
switch over simultaneously. Move several clients, make sure everything
works, then gradually and regularly switch over all clients. By
that time you'll feel comfortable enough to start switching over
servers.
Make sure you put /usr/ucb first in your path!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
> Super advice! I was not aware of NISKIT. What, exactly is it? Benefits?
With 5.X, Sun switched from NIS to NIS+. Where NIS is a single, flat
name/server space, NIS+ allows a hierarchical server space, somewhat
like DNS.
This is all wonderful except that:
- NIS+ is *very* different from NIS to administer.
- NIS clients cannot be served from NIS+ servers.
- Early versions (Solaris 2.1-2.3) of NIS+ were very buggy.
- If NIS is working well for you, why change?
As it turns out, a Solaris 2.X host *can* be an NIS client (ypbind);
this is trivial, documented, and effective. So you can drop Solaris
2.X clients into an otherwise 4.1.X environment and they work fine.
But if you are an NIS user, your NIS servers cannot be converted to
Solaris 2.X (no ypserv). Yuck.
Fortunately, Sun Consulting will provide a widget called NISKIT, which
includes a 2.X-compatible ypserv replacement. I was talking to a
SunLabs Java developer in the Sun booth at the Design Automation
Conference last June, and bitching about the NIS+ pain of converting to
2.X. He said "well, that's not a problem, just run NISKIT, like we
do!". :-)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have not used or seen NISKIT myself. Following are a couple of
relevant sun-managers summaries.
The answer was to buy the NISKIT (Naming Services Transition Kit)
from SUN.(about ~125$).There is also a patch for this : 101363-06
For who is interesting I received also files to setup Solaris 2.x
as slave NIS on Binary Compatibility Mode.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am running NIS master on 4.1.3 and a slave with Slowaris 2.4 I had to
get version of ypserv that would run on solaris and then added ypserv to
the init.d directory. Be sure to run ypserv before ypbind This is what my
/etc/init.d/rc file looks like:
$YPDIR/ypserv > /dev/null 2>&1
echo " ypserv\c"
$YPDIR/ypbind -broadcast > /dev/null 2>&1
echo " ypbind\c"
I put ypserv in /usr/lib/netsvc/yp directory
Also make the directory /var/yp/`domainname`
This should work.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am working on setting (or re-setting) up our two SS20's running
Solaris 2.4. NIS (or NIS+) is _somewhat_ running on these systems. I want
to completely remove it (like it was never there.)
First, could someone please tell me how I could find out which NIS or
NIS+ was installed. Second, recommendations on how exactly I can get it
out cleanly.
>>>>
>>>>
=============================================
fix was:
ps -ef | grep rpc.nisd (NIS+)
ps -ef | grep ypbind (NIS)
mv /etc/nsswitch.conf /etc/nsswitch.conf.nisplus
cp /etc/nsswitch.files /etc/nsswitch.conf
rm /etc/defaultdomain
rm /etc/.rootkey
passwd -d root
keylogout -f
rm /var/nis/*
reboot
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> First, could someone please tell me how I could find out which NIS or
> NIS+ was installed.
If you are running ypbind ( ps -ef | grep ypbind - solaris,
ps -augx | grep ypbind - sunos) you are running YP. If there is
a file /var/nis/NIS_COLD_START, you are running NIS+. If neither
is true, you are not running NIS+ nor NIS. Also look into
/etc/nsswitch.conf (see /etc/nsswitch.conf(4) ).
> Second, recommendations on how exactly I can get it
> out cleanly.
Just
cp /etc/nsswitch.files /etc/nsswitch.conf
rm -rf /var/nis/*
reboot
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As root, do a "ps -ef" and check for ypbind or nis_cachemgr. If you have
the former, you're a YP (NIS) client. If you have the latter, you're an
NIS+ client.
To get rid of either, do the following:
# rm -rf /var/nis/
# rm -rf /var/yp/
# rm /etc/defaultdomain
# reboot
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You need to shutdown the nis_ client first (i.e. bind), go to the server
and shuitdown the daemon (i.e. rpc.nisd), remove all the files under the
nis_cache under /var directory. Also you need to remove /etc/.rootkey.
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1) nis and nis+ packages are:
SUNWnisr Network Information System, (Root)
SUNWnisu Network Information System, (Usr)
you can check whether they were copied at install time with
`pkginfo <pkg_name> `
2) check the man pages for nisfiles(4) and ypfiles(4), there you'll find
the files and directories used by NIS+ and NIS (formerly YP)
3) you can see wheter NIS+ is running in your system with the command
ps -ef | grep "rpc.nisd"
if NIS+ is running you should have a process for the `rpc.nisd` daemon.
if you are running NIS+ you can used the commands nisrm(1) and nisrmdir(1)
to remove objects and directories in the NIS+ table (see man pages for
more information)
4) if you are running NIS then you will have the daemon `ypbind' running
ps -ef | grep "ypbind"
removing NIS database must be done by hand, most of the files are
stored under `/var/yp'
5) both services are started at boot time using the script in
`/etc/init.d/rpc' , you should take a look to it to find out the
files and directories used to set up these services and the daemons in
charge of them
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Check out the /etc/nsswitch.conf file on your system. If it says nis in
it, then that is that you have. Or it may say nisplus instead. To reset
things, you can run the script which sets up the server and that will
restart things. It will also give you the command you need to restore
your systems to no NIS/NIS+ use.
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It all centres around the /etc/nsswitch.conf file,
for nis, it will have lines like
networks: nis [NOTFOUND=return] files
for nis+:
networks: nisplus [NOTFOUND=return] files
for neither:
networks: files
Here is how to remove it .. but I would advise you to read the Name service
configuration guide and name service Administration guide before you attempt
anything. Also, do you fully understand the implications ? eg. Does the
automounter get it's maps from a NIS table ? If so, you could be in trouble
if you remove it. Always ensure you have a FULL BACKUP of your root
partition before starting.
Anyway....
To remove whichever nameservice
a) cp /etc/nsswitch.files /etc/nsswitch.conf
b) kill nis daemons ( rpc.nisd and niscachemgr )
c) cd /var/nis ; rm -r *
d) change root passwd ;rm /etc.rootkey; keylogout -f
e) reboot
You can also remove /usr/lib/nis .. if you want to be thorough
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The simplest way of determining as to whether or not you are running NIS or NIS + is to look at the /var directory. If you are running NIS+ there will be a directory /var/nis with another directory under that with the same name as the hostname of
the machine, (assuming your machine is a NIS+ server).
NIS + is to look at the /var directory. If you are running NIS+ there will be a directory /var/nis with another directory under that with the same name as the hostname of the As far as removing NIS+ goes, it is simply a case of removing the directory /va
r/nis, changing the domain name to noname and rebooting. If you are running NIS+ in YP compat mode you may need to remove the directory /var/yp. WHen you reboot the nis server demon shouldn't start and you can then do as you will with the machine.
If the machine is running NIS then you just remove the /var/yp directory and change the domainname before rebooting.
PS There is a command called nisrmdir on Sol 2.4 systems which can be used as well, but I've always used the above and it's worked.
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You can determine which protocol is running by looking at a ps -ef output. NIS+
will have a rpc.nisd running and I think that NIS will have something yp****
getting rid of it is pretty easy. remove the directory under /var nis=NIS+ &
yp=NIS. If you aren't feeling particularly brave rename the directory.
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If you didn't puchase the NISkit you are running NIS+
You can do it with NIS compatibility with the option -Y.
To remove it just do the following:
cp /etc/nsswitch.files /etc/nsswitch.conf
rm -f /etc/defaultdomain
rm -f /var/nis/*
Done...
Just reboot
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If you want the machines to just use /etc files
then just change the /etc/nsswitch.conf file on each
of them and that will stop them using nis,nis+
Have a look at the man page for nsswitch.conf.
Basically all you have to do is change all entries
to just "files". I don't know if there is a way
to deinstall the code but that doesn't matter really
once its disabled in this way. Oh and you must reboot
after altering the file.
Are you *sure* this is what you want though? Using
files is pretty awkward when you have more than a couple
of machines. A separate passwd file for every host
is needed for example.
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Try running sys-unconfigure. Read the man pages to see all the effects that
this has but I think it will do the trick....
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2. Generally speaking /usr/sbin/sys-unconfig always brings
you system to "blank" state and after rebooting
you have a chance to configure it according to your wish.
1. Look in /etc/nsswitch.conf.
It may give you a hint of what your system is using now.
Also look at ps output. If you see nis_cachemgr running
then it is NIS+ environment definitly. And if you'll see
ypbind it is NIS.
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If you use NIS+ naming service there is deamon rpc.nisd
You should must delete the directory /var/nis
( ps -ef | grep rpc.nisd )
If there is DNS naming service there is deamon in.named
In this case the file /var/named/ and /etc/named.boot and /etc/resolv.conf
( for server ) or /etc/resolv.conf ( if your machine is client DNS )
You must killed the deamon and if you wish delete the file.
Perhaps the files not delete ( It is useful file for remenber set )
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First, could someone please tell me how I could find out which NIS or
NIS+ was installed.
use pkginfo to find which packages are installed on your system, then use
the -l option to find out all about them.
pkginfo -l SUNWnisr
pkginfo -l SUNWnisu
Second, recommendations on how exactly I can get it
out cleanly.
swap nsswitch.conf files
cd /etc
mv nsswitch.conf nsswitch.conf.nisplus
cp nsswitch.files nsswitch.conf
remove the NIS+ startup key
rm /var/nis/NIS_COLDSTART
reboot
I think this does it all, but check for the credentials file, you may have to
remove or rename it, check man pages nis+ and nisfiles
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We've just done this upgrade and it's MOSTLY going smoothly. Problems so far:
- corruption caused by the NFS version 3 daemon with Microstation :
use the "nfs=2" option on all exported/shared filesystems
to workaround!
- corruption on some INGRES databases - still working on this !!!
- problems compiling some public-domain software - need to ensure
that all "BSD" stuff/flags is switched off.
- printing is a pain mostly cf. SunOS - use the "Admintool" to make
it easier to understand if possible ....
Pluses:
- "automount" finally works well & easily
- CDE is great - faster than "brokenwindows" on my IPX - though
it does still get unusual crashes :^(
- "jumpstart" is excellent - we can automatically rebuild a lost
OS direct from our server in no time flat
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I'm not familiar with the software packages that you are running, but haven't
undertaken a SunOS 4.1.3 to Solaris 2.3 upgrade years ago (only god would now
know were my notes were), I found that one manual, only existing in the Solaris
2.2 manually to helpful in describing the upgrading. This manual titled
'Transition Guide' provided a comprehensive cross reference between SunOS and
Solaris 2.x.
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In info.sun-managers you wrote:
> I know this has been mentioned before on this fabulous list. I'm hoping
> someone may have a summary or two stashed away and would be kind
> enought to email it to me. I am most concerned with our current
> software base, existing of items such as Matlab and Refine. I am also
> concerned about our public domain base of programs that must be
> recompiled before working under the new platform.
Well, I have recently done the same thing (to just one networked
SPARCstation 10, though), and have three summaries to share. They are
available via anonymous FTP from ftp.core-dump.com in the /pub/sun
directory. The files are:
MigrationChronicle Someone else's story of migration from SunOS to
Solaris. I don't remember if there was a name
attached, so I can't really give anyone credit.
Regardless, it was not me.
MigrationFAQ The (official?) SunOS -> Solaris Migration FAQ.
MyMigration My own personal tale of sleeplessness and caffeine
injections.
It was not really all that difficult (and Sun is quite helpful if they're
needed). I did have the assistance of _Solaris Implementation: A Guide
for System Administrators_ by Becker/Morris/Slattery. It may be even more
helpful to you if you plan on automating your multilpe installations. It
can be ordered for ~$22 from SunSoft Press.
As for Matlab, I am positive there is a Solaris version; I profess
ignorance of Refine, though. Admittedly, it will take a while to
recompile all of your old public-domain binaries, but at least most of the
old ones will work in the meantime (I still haven't completed all of the
installations yet).
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Hi,
I saw your posting and thought that you might be interested in our
ReadyPaks. These contain a number of utilties already ported to Solaris.
If you'd like more information please let me know.
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-With Solars 2.5, there is a feature called NIS+, which is very
different from NIS, as far as administration is concerned. There is
a problem with converting NIS servers to Solaris 2.x, as there is
no ypserv. This is taken car of by acquiring NISKIT from Sun.
Supposedly, it includes a 2.x compatible ypserv replacement. (Thanks
Jay!).
As of Solaris2.5 the NIS server is included in the OS distribution.
I am still, however,
looking for a COMPLETE chart with SunOS 4.1.x commands and their Solaris 2.5
counterparts.
The Solaris2.5 System administration answerbook contains the Solaris1.x
to Solaris2.x transition guide. It lists all the user utility commands
and what their counterparts are if not the same. It also lists all
C library calls and Unix system calls in a similiar fashion.
The ST tool (Source transition tool) is lacking documentation on the
migration kit cd. you can get it on sun's web page.
******************* End of Responses ******************************
>From dzambon@hawkeye.afit.af.mil
We are currently installing 2.5 on about 65 clients and one of our two servers.
Clients are Sparc2/5/10/20/Ultra 170 boxes. Servers are a 630MP and a SS1000. We have about
7 of the clients done. The product seems very stable. We have had little problems,
both with the install of the program and with it crashing. We especially like the
CDE interface that 2.5 provides.
So far, so good. We are about to install it on the SS1000 next Monday. I might
be pulling out what little hair I have left after that. We'll see....
We did not use Jumpstart. We did complete installs for each client so far, as for our
configurations this seems to be the best/easiest/most complete way.
I made a post asking a similar question to this net just before we started our upgrade.
I still have a copy of the summary, which I will send you now.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Fri Sep 28 2001 - 23:10:56 CDT