kernel(1M)                                                                                                                              kernel(1M)

NAME

       kernel - UNIX system executable file containing basic operating system services

SYNOPSIS

       kernel-name [-asrvx] [-m smf_options] [-i altinit]

       The  operating  system image, or kernel, is the collection of software comprising the image files (unix and genunix) and the modules loaded
       at any instant in time. The system will not function without a kernel to control it.

       The kernel is loaded by the boot(1M) command in a machine-specific way. The kernel may be loaded from disk, CD-ROM, or DVD (diskfull  boot)
       or  over  the  network  (diskless boot). In either case, the directories under /platform and /kernel must be readable and must contain exe-
       cutable code which is able to perform the required kernel service. If the -a flag is given, the user is able to supply different  pathnames
       for the default locations of the kernel and modules. See boot(1M) for more information on loading a specific kernel.

       The  moddir  variable contains a list of module directories separated by whitespace. moddir can be set in the /etc/system file. The minimal
       default is:

       /platform/platform-name/kernel /kernel /usr/kernel

       This default can be overridden by a specific platform. It is common for many SPARC systems to override the default path with:

       /platform/platform-name/kernel:/platform/hardware-class-name
            /kernel:/kernel:/usr/kernel

       where platform-name can be found using the -i option of uname(1), and hardware-class-name can be found using the -m option of uname(1).

       The kernel configuration can be controlled using the /etc/system file (see system(4)).

       genunix is the platform-independent component of the base kernel.

       The following options are supported:

       -a

           Asks the user for configuration information, such as where to find the system file, where to mount root, and even override the name  of
           the  kernel  itself.  Default  responses  will be contained in square brackets ([ ]), and the user may simply enter <RETURN> to use the
           default response (note that <RETURN> is labeled <ENTER> on some keyboards). To help repair a damaged /etc/system file, enter  /dev/null
           at the prompt that asks for the pathname of the system configuration file. See system(4).

       -i altinit

           Select an alternative executable to be the primordial Process. altinit is a valid path to an executable. The default primordial process
           is init(1M).

       -m smf_options

           The smf_options include two categories of options to control booting behavior of the service management facility: recovery options  and
           messages options.

           Message  options  determine  the  type  and amount of messages that smf(5) displays during boot. Service options determine the services
           which are used to boot the system.

           Recovery options

           debug

               Boot in serial mode, with status logging of service success or failure to the console. The stdout and stderr streams of each method
               invoked will be connected to the console, as well as to any logging facilities smf(5) provides.

           milestone=[milestone]

               Boot  to  the  subgraph  defined  by the given milestone. Legimate milestones are "none", "single-user", "multi-user", "multi-user-
               server", and "all".

           Messages options

           quiet

               Prints standard per-service output and error messages requiring administrative intervention.

           verbose

               Prints standard per-service output with more informational messages.

           debug

               Prints standard per-service output and all svc.startd messages to log.

       -r

           Reconfiguration boot. The system will probe all attached hardware devices and configure the logical namespace in /dev. See  add_drv(1M)
           and rem_drv(1M) for additional information about maintaining device drivers.

       -s

           Boots only to init level 's'. See init(1M).

       -v

           Boots  with verbose messages enabled. If this flag is not given, the messages are still printed, but the output is directed to the sys-
           tem logfile. See syslogd(1M).

       -x

           Does not boot in clustered mode. This option only has an effect when a version of Sun Cluster software that supports  this  option  has
           been installed.

       See boot(1M) for examples and instructions on how to boot.

       /kernel

           Contains  kernel  components common to all platforms within a particular instruction set that are needed for booting the system. of the
           core image file.

       /platform/platform-name/kernel

           The platform-specific kernel components.

       /platform/hardware-class-name/kernel

           The kernel components specific to this hardware class.

       /usr/kernel

           Contains kernel components common to all platforms within a particular instruction set.

       The directories in this section can potentially contain the following subdirectories:

       drv      Loadable device drivers

       exec     The modules that execute programs stored in various file formats.

       fs       File system modules

       misc     Miscellaneous system-related modules

       sched    Operating system schedulers

       strmod   System V STREAMS loadable modules

       sys      Loadable system calls

   SPARC
       cpu      Processor specific modules

       tod      Time-Of-Day hardware interface modules

       Additionally, some of the subdirectories mentioned above contain sparcv9 subdirectories that contain 64-bit versions  of  the  same  module
       classes. For example, /kernel/drv/sparcv9 and /platform/sun4u/kernel/cpu/sparcv9.

       mach      hardware support

       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |      ATTRIBUTE TYPE         |      ATTRIBUTE VALUE        |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Availability                 |SUNWcar, SUNWcarx            |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

       uname(1),  isainfo(1),  add_drv(1M),  boot(1M),  init(1M),  kadb(1M),  rem_drv(1M),  savecore(1M),  svc.startd(1M), syslogd(1M), system(4),
       attributes(5), smf(5), devfs(7FS)

   SPARC Only
       monitor(1M)

       The kernel gives various warnings and error messages. If the kernel detects an unrecoverable fault, it will panic or halt.

       Reconfiguration boot will, by design, not remove /dev entries for some classes of devices that have been physically removed from  the  sys-
       tem.

                                                                    5 Apr 2005                                                          kernel(1M)