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)