platform(4)							   File Formats 						       platform(4)

NAME

       platform - directory of files specifying supported platforms

SYNOPSIS

       .platform

DESCRIPTION

       The  Solaris  operating	environment release includes the .platform directory, a new directory on the Solaris CD image. This directory con-
       tains files (created by Sun and Solaris OEMs) that define platform support. These files are generically referred to as platform	definition
       files. They provide a means to map different platform types into a platform group.

       Platform  definition  files  in	the  .platform directory are used by the installation software to ensure that software appropriate for the
       architecture of the system will be installed.

       Sun provides a platform definition file named .platform/Solaris . This file is the only one that can define platform groups to which  other
       platform  definition files can refer. For example, an OEM platform definition file can refer to any platform group specified in the Solaris
       platform definition file.

       Other platform definition files are delivered by OEMs. To avoid name conflicts, OEMs will name their platform definition file with an  OEM-
       unique  string.	OEMs  should  use whatever string they use to make their package names unique. This unique string is often the OEM's stock
       symbol.

       Comments are allowed in a platform definition file. A "#" begins a comment and can be placed anywhere on a line.

       Platform definition files are composed of keyword-value pairs, and there are two kinds of stanzas in the file: platform	group  definitions
       and platform identifications.

	   o	  Platform group definitions:

		  The keywords in a platform group definition stanza are:

		  PLATFORM_GROUP    The  PLATFORM_GROUP  keyword  must	be  the  first	keyword in the platform group definition stanza. The value
				    assigned to this keyword is the name of the platform group, for example:

				    PLATFORM_GROUP=sun4c

				    The PLATFORM_GROUP name is an arbitrary name assigned to a group of platforms. However,  PLATFORM_GROUP  typi-
				    cally  equals  the output of the uname -m command. PLATFORM_GROUP value cannot have white space and is limited
				    to 256 ASCII characters.

		  INST_ARCH	    The instruction set architecture of all platforms in the platform group, for example:

				    INST_ARCH=sparc

				    The INST_ARCH keyword value must be the value returned by the uname -p command on all platforms in	the  plat-
				    form group.

	   o	  Platform identifications:

		  The keywords in a platform identification stanza are:

		  PLATFORM_NAME        The  PLATFORM_NAME  keyword  must  be  the  first  keyword in the platform identification stanza. The PLAT-
				       FORM_NAME is the name assigned to the platform, for example:

				       PLATFORM_NAME=SUNW,SPARCstation-5

				       Typically, this name is the same as the value returned by the uname -icommand on the machine, but  it  need
				       not be the same.

				       The  PLATFORM_NAME  value  cannot  have	white space and is limited to 256 ASCII characters. If it contains
				       parentheses, it must contain only balanced parentheses. For example. the string "foo(bar)foo"  is  a  valid
				       value for this keyword, but "foo(bar" is not.

				       The  other keywords in the platform identification stanza can be in any order, as long as the PLATFORM_NAME
				       keyword is first.

		  PLATFORM_ID	       The value returned by the uname -i command on the machine, for example:

				       PLATFORM_ID=SUNW,SPARCstation-5

		  MACHINE_TYPE	       The value returned by the uname -m command on the machine, for example:

				       MACHINE_TYPE=sun4c

		  IN_PLATFORM_GROUP    The platform group of which the platform is a member, for example:

				       IN_PLATFORM_GROUP=sun4c

				       The platform group name must be specified in the same file as the platform identification stanza or in  the
				       platform definition file with the name .platform/Solaris .

				       The  IN_PLATFORM_GROUP  keyword	is  optional.  A platform doesn't have to belong to a platform group. If a
				       platform is not explicitly assigned to a platform group, it essentially forms its own platform group, where
				       the platform group name is the PLATFORM_NAME value. The IN_PLATFORM_GROUP value typically equals the output
				       of the uname -m command.  IN_PLATFORM_GROUP value cannot have white space and is limited to 256 ASCII char-
				       acters.

		  INST_ARCH	       The instruction set architecture of the platform, for example:

				       INST_ARCH=sparc

				       This  field  is	only  required	if the platform does not belong to a platform group. The INST_ARCH keyword
				       value must be the value returned by the uname -i command on all platforms in the platform group.

COMPATIBILITY

       The installation program will remain compatible with the old Solaris CD format. If a Solaris CD image does not contain any platform defini-
       tion  files,  the  installation	and  upgrade  programs	will select the packages to be installed based on machine type, that is, the value
       returned by the uname -p command.

EXAMPLES

       Example 1 Platform Group Definitions

       The following example shows platform group definitions from the .platform/Solaris platform definition file.

	 #
	 PLATFORM_GROUP=sun4u
	 INST_ARCH=sparc

       Example 2 Platform Identification Stanzas

       The following example shows platform identification stanzas, which define systems  that	belong	in  a  platform  group,  from  the  .plat-
       form/Solaris platform definition file.

	 #
	 PLATFORM_NAME=SUNW,SunFire
	 PLATFORM_ID=SUNW,SunFire
	 IN_PLATFORM_GROUP=sun4u
	 PLATFORM_NAME=SUNW,Ultra-80
	 PLATFORM_ID=SUNW,Ultra-80
	 IN_PLATFORM_GROUP=sun4u
	 #
	 PLATFORM_NAME=SUNW,SunFire
	 PLATFORM_ID=SUNW,SunFire
	 IN_PLATFORM_GROUP=sun4u
	 #
	 PLATFORM_NAME=SUNW,Ultra-80
	 PLATFORM_ID=SUNW,Ultra-80
	 IN_PLATFORM_GROUP=sun4u

FILES

       The .platform directory must reside as /cd_image/Solaris_vers/.platform, where

       cd_image        Is the path to the mounted Solaris CD (/cdrom/cdrom0/s0 by default) or the path to a copy of the Solaris CD on a disk.

       Solaris_vers    Is the version of Solaris, for example, Solaris_2.9.

NOTES

       Typically, a platform identification stanza contains either a PLATFORM_ID or a MACHINE_TYPE stanza, but not both.

       If both are specified, both must match for a platform to be identified as this platform type. Each platform identification stanza must con-
       tain either a PLATFORM_ID value or a MACHINE_TYPE value. If a platform matches two different  platform  identification  stanzas--one  which
       matched	on  the  value	of  PLATFORM_ID and one which matched on the value of MACHINE_TYPE , the one that matched on PLATFORM_ID will take
       precedence.

       The .platform directory is part of the Solaris CD image, whether that be the Solaris CD or a copy of the Solaris  CD  on  a  system's  hard
       disk.

SunOS 5.11							    19 Nov 2002 						       platform(4)