Resources for the OpenSolaris OS for System Administrators

last updated on 2009-06-19

Are you running the OpenSolaris Operating System? Or are you thinking about running OpenSolaris and wondering what the advantages might be?

OpenSolaris is the open source version of the Solaris Operating System, and it offers unique features like Time Slider, ZFS as the default file system, an enhanced Image Packaging System (IPS), COMSTAR, DTrace-enabled packages for extreme observability and performance tuning, D-Light, and much more. OpenSolaris supports more than 1000 systems, from laptops to the latest multicore servers.

OpenSolaris 2009.06, the latest release of the OpenSolaris OS, is a powerful and complete operating environment for users, developers, and deployers that is secure, stable, and highly scalable. It is freely re-distributable and provides all the tools users expect from a modern computing environment, both installed by default and available in online network package repositories. OpenSolaris 2009.06 is also the first official release for the SPARC platform.

The OpenSolaris 2009.06 press release describes new features and enhancements in OpenSolaris 2009.06, such as open networking, advanced network virtualization and resource management, storage enhancements, performance enhancements, and more.

Download it now*. Then, check out the resources we've gathered here to help you learn about and get the most from OpenSolaris.

Getting Started With OpenSolaris

Here are some resources to help you get started with OpenSolaris:

• What's New in OpenSolaris 2009.06*, especially the What's New for Administrators section

• FAQ*, which answers common questions, such as "Is OpenSolaris 2009.06 available for SPARC?"

• Getting Started With OpenSolaris 2009.06, which provides info on exploring the OpenSolaris software and Live CD, understanding users and roles, managing system services, troubleshooting, plus the following installation info:

  • Installing OpenSolaris 2009.06 From the Live CD (x86/x64)
  • Running OpenSolaris 2009.06 in VirtualBox
  • Running OpenSolaris on a Mac OS X System With Parallels Installed
  • Running OpenSolaris 2009.06 in VMware

• OpenSolaris Automated Installer Guide (x86/x64/SPARC), which describes how to use the automated installer (AI) to perform "hands-free" network installations of the OpenSolaris OS on multiple client systems

• OpenSolaris Information Center, which provides links to OpenSolaris resources for getting started and mastering OpenSolaris, with a special section of links to sys admin resources

More Resources

Also see the following sections of this web site for additional resources:

• Helpful Web Sites and Communities for OpenSolaris
• BigAdmin Tools and Applications for OpenSolaris
• Documentation and How-To Info for OpenSolaris
• Training and Support Resources for OpenSolaris
• Other Resources for OpenSolaris