Solaris

folks,

I have a query. Can we create Kernel zone with the earlier Solaris OS?
More precisely Can i create kernel zone with any different OS than that of OS in global zone. As of now in sol11U2 if we create kernel zone, there will be sol11u2 OS in kernel zone since the same is in global.
But tomorrow if sol11u3 releases, can i create kernel zone with both sol11u2 and sol11u3 provided i have sol11u3 in global zone.
Please suggest.

Thanks,
Vaishey

Interesting question. I know that Sun used to build profiles for older full releases (e.g. a Solaris 8 zone on a Solaris 10), then they stopped. Not sure about updates. My guess is "no" because there is "no need" (??)

No, at least currently as the prerequisite for a kernel zone is to be running Solaris 11.2 and the prerequisite for a host to support kernel zones is also Solaris 11.2.
More than likely. One feature of kernel zones is the ability to be patched independantly so I see no reason why you won't be able to get a Solaris 11.2 kernel zone running on top of a Solaris 11.3 host, and reciprocally, a Solaris 11.3 kernel zone running on a Solaris 11.2.

---------- Post updated at 21:49 ---------- Previous update was at 21:30 ----------

Supporting branded zones didn't stop, Solaris 11 supports Solaris 10 branded zones. This support is still true for a kernel zone which can host Solaris 10 branded zones.

@jlliagre, but can a Solaris 11 support a Solaris 8 branded zone? Can you see my point? Back when Sun was still around I was forced to use have both a Solaris 10 and Solaris 11 env. to handle all of my (then) container needs.

Just saying...

And personally, I still think it might be harder to get all of the "u" variations. But, I'm ok if that's not correct information.

I see it but I guess the demand is tiny given the fact Solaris 10 will support these Solaris 8 and 9 branded zones till 2021. In any case, if you are running on modern SPARC machine, you might have on the same box, a Solaris 11.2 ldom with kernel and Solaris 10 zones, and a Solaris 10 ldom with Solaris 9 and 8 branded zones.
There are no more u variations like it used to be with Solaris 10 and older. The way the OS is updated is very different. With Solaris 10, it was possible to patch packages independently and stay in a given update. With Solaris 11, there are no more patches but consistent SRU that contain full packages that replace the olders. It is much more linear and you can update to the latest minor version (eg: Solaris 11.1 -> Solaris 11.2) while with Solaris 10, an upgrade was required.