Managing Server and Client Support (Overview)
This chapter describes the management of server and client support on a network, and it provides overview information about each system configuration (referred to as a system type) that is supported in the Solaris environment. This chapter also includes guidelines for selecting the appropriate system type to meet your needs.
This is a list of the overview information in this chapter.
For step-by-step instructions about how to manage diskless client support, see Chapter 8, Managing Diskless Clients (Tasks).
What's New in Server and Client Management?
This section describes new server and client management features.
Diskless Client Support
In this Solaris 9 release, you can manage diskless clients with the smosservice and smdiskless commands. Diskless clients are systems with no disks that depend on servers for all their services.
These commands are part of the Solaris Management Console tool suite. You cannot use the Solaris Management Console to manage diskless clients. You can only use the smosservice and smdiskless commands to manage diskless clients.
For more information on managing diskless clients, see "Diskless Client Management Overview" and Chapter 8, Managing Diskless Clients (Tasks).
Where to Find Server and Client Tasks
Use this table to find step-by-step instructions for setting up server and client support.
Server/Client Services | For More Information |
|---|---|
Install or JumpStart clients | Solaris 9 Installation Guide |
Diskless client systems in the Solaris 9 environment | "Diskless Client Management Overview" and Chapter 8, Managing Diskless Clients (Tasks) |
Diskless client systems and Solstice AutoClient systems in previous Solaris releases | Solstice AdminSuite 2.3 Administration Guide |
AutoClient 3.0.1 systems in the Solaris 8 or Solaris 9 environments | Call your service provider |
What Are Servers, Clients, and Appliances?
Systems on the network can usually be described as one of the following:
System Type | Description |
|---|---|
Server | A system that provides services to other systems in its network. There are file servers, boot servers, web servers, database servers, license servers, print servers, installation servers, appliance servers, and even servers for particular applications. This chapter uses the term server to mean a system that provides boot services and file systems for other systems on the network. |
Client | A system that uses remote services from a server. Some clients have limited disk storage capacity, or perhaps none at all, and they have to rely on remote file systems from a server to function. Diskless systems, AutoClient systems, and appliance systems are examples of this type of client. Other clients might use remote services (such as installation software) from a server, but they don't rely on a server to function. A standalone system, which has its own hard disk containing the root (/), /usr, and /export/home file systems and swap space, is a good example of this type of client. |
Sun Cobalt Server Appliance | The Sun Cobalt server appliance provides an integrated set of pre-configured Internet services. Users of the server appliance just need a web browser and an IP address. Administration on the servers is centralized and the appliance users require no client administration. For more information, see http://www.sun.com/hardware/serverappliances. |
Appliance | A network appliance such as the Sun Ray appliance provides access to applications and the Solaris environment. An appliance gives you centralized server administration and no client administration or upgrades. Sun Ray appliances also provide hot desking, which is the ability to instantly access your computing session from any appliance in the server group, exactly where you left off. For more information, see http://www.sun.com/products/sunray. |
What Does Client Support Mean?
Support for a client means providing software and services to help the client function. Support can include the following:
Making a system known to the network (host name and Ethernet address information)
Providing installation services to remotely boot and install a system
Providing operating system (OS) services and application services to a system with limited disk space or no disk space
Overview of System Types
System types are sometimes defined by how they access the root (/) and /usr file systems, including the swap area. For example, standalone systems and server systems mount these file systems from a local disk, while other clients mount the file systems remotely, relying on servers to provide these services. This table lists some of the characteristics of each system type.
Table 7-1 Characteristics of General System Types
System Type | Local File Systems | Local Swap? | Remote File Systems | Network Use | Relative Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Server | root (/) /usr /home /opt /export/home /export/root | Yes | - None - | High | High |
Standalone System | root (/) /usr /export/home | Yes | - None - | Low | High |
Diskless Client | - None - | No | root (/) swap /usr /home | High | Low |
AutoClient System | Cached root (/) Cached /usr | Yes | /var | Low | High |
Appliance | None | None | None | High | High |
Servers
A server system contains the following file systems:
The root (/) and /usr file systems, plus swap space
The /export and /export/home file systems, which support client systems and provide home directories for users
The /opt directory or file system for storing application software
Servers can also contain the following software to support other systems:
Operating system (OS) services for diskless systems or AutoClient systems that are running a different release or clients that are a different platform than the server
Solaris CD image software and boot software for networked systems to perform remote installations
JumpStart™ directory for networked systems to perform custom JumpStart installations
Standalone Systems
A networked standalone system can share information with other systems in the network, but it can continue to function if detached from the network.
A standalone system can function autonomously because it has its own hard disk that contains the root (/), /usr, and /export/home file systems and swap space. The standalone system thus has local access to operating system software, executables, virtual memory space, and user-created files.
Note - A standalone system requires sufficient disk space to hold its necessary file systems.
A non-networked standalone system is a standalone system with all the characteristics listed above, except it is not connected to a network.