System Administration Guide: Virtualization Using the Solaris Operating System
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Adding Non-Global Zone Access to Specific File Systems in the Global Zone

How to Add Access to CD or DVD Media in a Non-Global Zone

This procedure enables you to add read-only access to CD or DVD media in a non-global zone. The Volume Management file system is used in the global zone for mounting the media. A CD or DVD can then be used to install a product in the non-global zone. This procedure uses a DVD named jes_05q4_dvd.

  1. Become superuser, or assume the Primary Administrator role.

    To create the role and assign the role to a user, see Using the Solaris Management Tools With RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.

  2. Determine whether the Volume Management file system is running in the global zone.
    global# svcs volfs
    STATE          STIME    FMRI
    online         Sep_29   svc:/system/filesystem/volfs:default
  3. (Optional) If the Volume Management file system is not running in the global zone, start it.
    global# svcadm volfs enable
  4. Insert the media.
  5. Check for media in the drive.
    global# volcheck
  6. Test whether the DVD is automounted.
    global# ls /cdrom

    You will see a display similar to the following:

    cdrom   cdrom1   jes_05q4_dvd
  7. Loopback mount the file system with the options ro,nodevices (read-only and no devices) in the non-global zone.
    global# zonecfg -z my-zone
    zonecfg:my-zone> add fs
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set dir=/cdrom
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set special=/cdrom
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set type=lofs
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> add options [ro,nodevices]
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> end
    zonecfg:my-zone> commit
    zonecfg:my-zone> exit
  8. Reboot the non-global zone.
    global# zoneadm -z my-zone reboot
  9. Use the zoneadm list command with the -v option to verify the status.
    global# zoneadm list -v

    You will see a display that is similar to the following:

    ID  NAME     STATUS       PATH                           BRAND      IP
     0  global   running      /                              native     shared
     1  my-zone  running      /export/home/my-zone           native     shared
  10. Log in to the non-global zone.
    global# zlogin my-zone
  11. Verify the DVD-ROM mount.
    my-zone# ls /cdrom

    You will see a display similar to this:

    cdrom   cdrom1   jes_05q4_dvd
  12. Install the product as described in the product installation guide.
  13. Exit the non-global zone.
    my-zone# exit

    Tip - You might want to retain the /cdrom file system in your non-global zone. The mount will always reflect the current contents of the CD-ROM drive, or an empty directory if the drive is empty.


  14. (Optional) If you want to remove the /cdrom file system from the non-global zone, use the following procedure.
    global# zonecfg -z my-zone
    zonecfg:my-zone> remove fs dir=/cdrom
    zonecfg:my-zone> commit
    zonecfg:my-zone> exit

How to Add a Writable Directory under /usr in a Non-Global Zone

In a sparse root zone, /usr is mounted read-only from the global zone. You can use this procedure to add a writable directory, such as /usr/local, under /usr in your zone.

You must be the global administrator in the global zone to perform this procedure.

  1. Become superuser, or assume the Primary Administrator role.

    To create the role and assign the role to a user, see Using the Solaris Management Tools With RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.

  2. Create the directory /usr/local in the global zone.
    global# mkdir -p /usr/local
  3. Specify a directory in the global zone to serve as the backing store for the zone's /usr/local directory.
    global# mkdir -p /storage/local/my-zone
  4. Edit the configuration for the zone my-zone.
    global# zonecfg -z my-zone
  5. Add the loopback-mounted filesystem.
    zonecfg:my-zone> add fs
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set dir=/usr/local
            zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set special=/storage/local/my-zone
            zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set type=lofs
            zonecfg:my-zone:fs> end
            zonecfg:my-zone> commit
            zonecfg:my-zone> exit
  6. Boot the zone.

How to Export Home Directories in the Global Zone Into a Non-Global Zone

This procedure is used to export home directories or other file systems from the global zone into non-global zones on the same system.

You must be the global administrator in the global zone to perform this procedure.

  1. Become superuser, or assume the Primary Administrator role.

    To create the role and assign the role to a user, see Using the Solaris Management Tools With RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.

  2. Add the loopback-mounted filesystem.
    global# zonecfg -z my-zone
    zonecfg:my-zone> add fs
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set dir=/export/home
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set special=/export/home
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set type=lofs
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set options=nodevices
    zonecfg:my-zone:fs> end
    zonecfg:my-zone> commit
    zonecfg:my-zone> exit
  3. Add the following line to the zone's /etc/auto_home file:
    $HOST:/export/home/&
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