Customer Reviews

Automating Solaris Installations: A Custom Jumpstart Guide (Bk/Disk)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book sucks..It is primarily a word for word copy of the Solaris installation manual that comes with every copy of the OS. Except for one detail, the author re-arranged all the step so it is the most confusing this that I have ever read, and I have 4-5 years experience with Unix installs. I do not recommend buying this book. Call your V.A.R or Sun and have them send you the Solaris Advanced Installation Guide instead. You will be glad you did....

Very well written but SERIOUSLY out of date. I gave it away a couple of weeks after buying it and reading Sun's Advanced Installation Guides

Maybe it's because the book is 5 yrs old, but I have found it to be of little to no use. The std Sun books and the man pages are giving me far more info. I have been especially disappointed in the total lack of info on the sysidcfg file. This is an essential file, and the book doesn't even mention it.

This book is essential if your task is to create a custom Jumpstart server. The important term here is the word "custom". If all you need is to set up a server to build standard Solaris distributions from, the electronic documentation provided on your Solaris CD will suffice.

If, however, you need to produce multiple systems with additional layered products, have a fixed number of different configurations that must be frequently built or have unusual site requirements, then you won't find the information you need to build a custom Jumpstart server anywhere else. That exclusivity of information makes this book a must in such circumstances.

It is quite plain from reading the book that the author knows his subject intimately, but he doesn't overlook the small details required to give newcomers focus. The book is nailed tightly to its subject - you'll find extensive detail and examples on all aspects of Jumpstart. However, this is perhaps the only flaw in this book. While Jumpstart itself hasn't changed much since publication of this book, the typical Solaris system has, and it is beginning to show. Future editions could do with the benefit of a chapter on installing and pre-configuring DiskSuite (a bundled technology used in most server environments) for example.

Highly recommended.

If the authors decided to look at the sunsolve bugs online, may they might get the hint that the book is out of date.

If I had a choice of less than one star .....

Like one needs the NIS+ book from Sun for NIS+, one needs this jumpstart book from Sun for practical jumpstart installations. It contains all those details of how to make, that the new machine does not ask for the language or which variables are preset for the finish script etc. Belongs to the survival kit of the Solaris admin.