A challenge

[sbix]

I have used Unix System V for some years, then I moved to UnixWare SCO, then to AIX for another five years ... I worked a while with Sun ....
I can't find a way to obtain a tape which can reconstruct totally a root volume from scratch ... i.e. for a system disk substitution.
In AIX there is mksysb, which produces an installation tape which can be used for a real system cloning ... only insert the tape and boot from it .... is there something like in Sun Solaris?

 

[KenCunningham]

There are a couple of suggestions (including Jumpstart, Liveupgrade) in Thread60-803212

I agree though, that Sun does seem to lag behind AIX in this field, particularly in offering an all-in-one solution.

 

[jad]

1) ufsdump the system to tape
2) boot to single usermode from cdrom/net
3) ufsrestore the system.

we've done it before a fair amount of times ... if it helps.

only heartache is remembering the size of slices if you have to use a completely new disk of a small size.

 

[sbix]

That's the problem jad!!!
In System V normally there isn't a procedure which saves the disk's layout on the same tape, futhermore there isn't nothing capabel to read this saved data and apply to the new disk!!!
AIX in this is ages beyond

 

[Annihilannic]

You could just prtvtoc to a file and then use fmthard -s to restore that VTOC to the new disk.

Granted, it's not on the same tape, but it's not too much trouble.

Annihilannic.