what is the difference between /etc/mnttab and /etc/vfstab???? what are these files used for

one time i removed mnttab file from my solaris box. infact i renamed it and my solaris box was not booting properly.

/etc/vfstab contains definitions of filesystem that can be mounted (at boot or later manually). It is maintained by system administrator.
/etc/mnttab contains list of filesystems that are already mounted. It is maintained by kernel and shouldn't be touched by anyone.

Thanks for the quick response mate.. can i change the permissions for mnttab? i tried but it didnt allow me to do it. i logged in as root .

Why would you want to do that? Solaris is protecting this file, so it will refuse to change permission rights for it.

bartus11 i am newbie. i have installed vmware and have installed solaris in it. with this setup i can take all risks. so that i can learn from my mistakes which wont create a problem. i mean i can make a mistake that wont harm anyone.

so is there any way to change the permission?

i have few doubts about vmware also can you help me with that also?

Thanks in advance

I think you could boot your Solaris host from CD, then mount root slice and change permissions there, then reboot. But I think you won't notice the change after reboot, as /etc/mnttab is a mountpoint for mnttab memory based filesystem (after mounting it by the system, permissions on the mountpoint change to those of the mounted FS).

i will try that. and regarding vmware doubts? can i ask about them to you