Installing From the Network or From DVD or CDs?

The Solaris software is distributed on DVD or CD media so that you can install or upgrade systems that have access to a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive.

You can set up the systems to install from the network with remote DVD or CD images. You might want to set up systems this way for the following reasons:

If you have systems that do not have local DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drives
If you are installing several systems and do not want to insert the discs into every local drive to install the Solaris software

You can use all of the Solaris installation methods to install a system from the network. However, by installing systems from the network with the Solaris Flash installation feature or with a custom JumpStart installation, you can centralize and automate the installation process in a large enterprise. For more details about the different installation methods, refer to Choosing a Solaris Installation Method.

Installing the Solaris software from the network requires initial setup. For information about preparing to install from the network, choose one of the following options.

For detailed instructions about preparing to install from a local area network	Chapter 6, Installing From the Network With CD Media (Tasks), in Solaris Express Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations
For instructions about preparing to install over a wide area network	Chapter 11, Installing With WAN Boot (Tasks), in Solaris Express Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations
For instructions about how to install x86 based clients over the network by using PXE	Overview of Booting and Installing Over the Network With PXE in Solaris Express Installation Guide: Network-Based Installations