Solaris Software Companion CD Download for the Solaris 8 2/02 Operating Environment

Welcome to Sun's Companion CD download site for the Solaris 8 2/02 Operating Environment for SPARC and Intel Architecture platforms. Sun is working to make the Solaris platform and GNU/Linux operating system seamlessly interoperate so that users can maintain productivity in mixed environments.

The software on this site is for downloading the Solaris Software Companion CD. Included are hundreds of Linux and other Free and Open Source applications, tools, and commands built and packaged for the Solaris 8 Operating Environment. The software is available in pre-compiled binary and source code format.

Given the size of the Companion CD download (~440 Mbytes), we recommend that this option be considered only by those with a fast connection (such as DSL or a cable modem). Others should consider using the Solaris 8 Companion CD individual packages download site.

Note: The Solaris Software Companion CD corresponds to the specific Solaris 8 OE update release. Freeware for earlier releases of the Solaris OE, as well as a number of additional packages, are available at http://sunfreeware.com, an independent Web site maintained by Steve Christensen.

Users must have root access and must be able to extract "zip" archive files. Also, users must be able write (burn) CDs, with the following exception: If you have Solaris 8 experience, rather than burning a CD, you might find the "lofiadm" method more convenient. See below for more information on lofiadm.

1. Select the appropriate version of the Companion CD for your hardware platform (at the bottom of this page).

2. Complete customer registration ("SIGN ON").

3. Download the Solaris Software Companion CD (ISO) image. Two types of download are available:

   • A single, large (~440 Mbytes), zipped CD (ISO) image file.
   • Multiple, zipped "segment" files (~125 MBytes each) that must be unzipped and assembled (concatenated) into a CD image file after the download.

4. A. If you downloaded the single, large CD image file, extract the file using unzip software. For example, on a Solaris 8 platform type the following command:
   
   

   • For SPARC platforms:
     /usr/bin/unzip s8ccd-2_02-sparc.iso.zip

   • For Intel Architecture (i386) platforms:
     /usr/bin/unzip s8ccd-2_02-i386.iso.zip

   The result will be a file with the same name as the file you downloaded, but without the .zip extension. Make sure you have sufficient space on your hard drive before you start the unzip process.

   B.If you downloaded the segment files, follow these steps to assemble them into a single CD image file:

   • Make sure there are 4 downloaded files in your download destination directory and no other files.

   • Go to a command-line (shell) prompt, change directories to the download destination directory, and type the following commands:

     • For SPARC platforms:
       /usr/bin/unzip \*.zip
/bin/cat *[abcd] > s8ccd-2_02-sparc.iso

     • For Intel Architecture (i386) platforms:
       /usr/bin/unzip \*.zip
/bin/cat *[abcd] > s8ccd-2_02-intel.iso

     Make sure you have sufficient space on your hard drive before you start the unzip process.

   
   
   
   5. (Optional) Following is information pertaining to file sizes and md5sum information:

      Arch:	SPARC
      File Name:	s8ccd-2_02-sparc.iso
      Size:	498728960 bytes
      md5sum:	489340f9406ed27a5b0faa13112e0433
      Arch:	Intel
      File Name:	s8ccd-2_02-i386.iso
      Size:	499056640 bytes
      md5sum:	db7c6f4893f844ffe13ba0984287cc56

      The md5sum utility is typically distributed as a component of "textutils", a free software package from the GNU Project. On a Solaris 8 platform with the Solaris Companion CD installed, the md5sum executable is in the /opt/sfw/bin directory and is called gmd5sum.

   6. Create a CD from the CD (ISO) image file using your favorite CD creation software.

      The following paragraph describes an alternative to burning a CD. It is not a required step. If you plan to burn the image to a CD, which is probably a more straight-forward method for most people, skip the next paragraph and go on to step 7.

      The Solaris 8 lofiadm(1M) utility allows you to access and mount an ISO image file directly rather than burning it to a CD first. This method creates a device node that maps to the ISO image file and can be mounted using mount(1M). Please read the lofiadm(1M) man page -- which includes several examples -- for more information. Once the image is mounted, you can start the graphical installer by executing `installer' from the top-level directory or you can install the packages from the command-line using pkgadd (see step 7).

   7. Install the CD you just created onto your Solaris system by loading it into the CD drive. An install window will appear that will walk you through the installation process.

      Alternatively, because the Companion CD software packages are in SVR4 pkgadd format, you can also install them from a command-line (shell) prompt using the pkgadd utility. The packages are located in the following directory:

      • For SPARC platforms:
        /cdrom/s8_software_companion/components/sparc/Packages

      • For Intel Architecture (i386) platforms:
        /cdrom/s8_software_companion/components/intel/Packages

      Note: For detailed instructions on using pkgadd see the Software Administration of the Solaris 8 System Administration Guide, Volume 1.

      Select the platform on which you will be installing the Companion CD:

   • Solaris 8 2/02 Companion CD, SPARC Platform Edition
   • Solaris 8 2/02 Companion CD, Intel Platform Edition