Chapter 34

IA: Adding a Disk (Tasks)

This chapter describes how to add a disk to an IA based system.

For information on the procedures associated with adding a disk to an IA based system, see "IA: Adding a System Disk or a Secondary Disk (Task Map)".

For overview information about disk management, see Chapter 31, Managing Disks (Overview). For step-by-step instructions on adding a disk to a SPARC based system, see Chapter 33, SPARC: Adding a Disk (Tasks).

IA: Adding a System Disk or a Secondary Disk (Task Map)

Task	Description	For Instructions
1. Connect the disk and boot	System Disk Connect the new disk and boot from a local or remote Solaris CD.	"IA: How to Connect a System Disk and Boot"
	Secondary Disk Connect the new disk and perform a reconfiguration boot, so that the system will recognize the disk.	"IA: How to Connect a Secondary Disk and Boot"
2. Create slices and label the disk	Create disk slices and label the disk if the disk manufacturer has not already done so.	"IA: How to Create a Solaris fdisk Partition" and "IA: How to Create Disk Slices and Label a Disk"
3. Create File Systems	Create UFS file systems on the disk slices with the newfs command. You must create the root (/) or /usr file system (or both) for a system disk.	"IA: How to Create File Systems"
4. Restore File Systems	Restore the root (/) or /usr file system (or both) on the system disk. If necessary, restore file systems on the secondary disk.	Chapter 48, Restoring Files and File Systems (Tasks)
5. Install Boot Block	System Disk Only. Install the boot block on the root (/) file system so that the system can boot.	"IA: How to Install a Boot Block on a System Disk"

IA: Adding a System or Secondary Disk

A system disk contains the root (/) or /usr file systems, or both. If the disk that contains either of these file systems becomes damaged, you have two ways to recover:

• You can reinstall the entire Solaris environment.

• Or, you can replace the system disk and restore your file systems from a backup medium.

A secondary disk doesn't contain the root (/) and /usr file systems. A secondary disk usually contains space for user files. You can add a secondary disk to a system for more disk space, or you can replace a damaged secondary disk. If you replace a secondary disk on a system, you can restore the old disk's data on the new disk.

IA: How to Connect a System Disk and Boot

This procedure assumes that the system is down.

1. Disconnect the damaged system disk from the system.

2. Make sure that the disk you are adding has a different target number than the other devices on the system.

   You will often find a small switch located at the back of the disk for this purpose.

3. Connect the replacement system disk to the system and check the physical connections.

   Refer to the disk's hardware installation guide for installation details.

4. Follow steps a-e if you are booting from a local Solaris CD or a remote Solaris CD from the network.

   If you are booting from the network, skip step a.

   1. If you are booting from local Solaris CD, insert the Solaris installation CD into the CD-ROM drive.

   2. Insert the Solaris boot diskette into the primary diskette drive (DOS drive A).

   3. Press any key to reboot the system if the system displays the Type any key to continue prompt. Or, use the reset button to restart the system if the system is shut down.

      The Boot Solaris screen is displayed after a few minutes.

   4. Select the CD-ROM drive or net(work) as the boot device from the Boot Solaris screen.

      The Current Boot Parameters screen is displayed.

   5. Boot the system in single-user mode.

      Select the type of installation: b -s

      After a few minutes, the root prompt (#) is displayed.

IA: Where to Go From Here

After you boot the system, you can create an fdisk partition. Go to "IA: How to Create a Solaris fdisk Partition".

IA: How to Connect a Secondary Disk and Boot

1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

2. If the disk is unsupported by the Solaris software, add the device driver for the disk by following the instructions included with the hardware.

3. Create the /reconfigure file that will be read when the system is booted.

   # touch /reconfigure

   The /reconfigure file causes the SunOS software to check for the presence of any newly installed peripheral devices when you power on or boot your system later.

4. Shut down the system.

   # shutdown -i0 -gn -y

   -i0	Brings the system down to run level 0, the power-down state.
   -gn	Notifies logged-in users that they have n seconds before the system begins to shut down.
   -y	Specifies that the command should run without user intervention.

   The Type any key to continue prompt is displayed.

5. Turn off the power to the system and all external peripheral devices.

6. Make sure that the disk you are adding has a different target number than the other devices on the system.

   You will often find a small switch located at the back of the disk for this purpose.

7. Connect the disk to the system and check the physical connections.

   Refer to the disk's hardware installation guide for installation details. For specific disk compatibility issues, see Solaris 9 (Intel Platform Edition) Hardware Compatibility List.

8. Turn on the power to all external peripherals.

9. Turn on the power to the system.

   The system boots and displays the login prompt.

IA: Where to Go From Here

After you boot the system, you can create an fdisk partition. Go to "IA: How to Create a Solaris fdisk Partition".