File System Enhancements
Feature Description | Release Date |
|---|---|
Extended File Attributes The UFS, NFS, and TMPFS file systems have been enhanced to include extended file attributes, which enable application developers to associate specific attributes to a file. For example, a developer of a file management application for a windowing system might choose to associate a display icon with a file. Extended attributes are logically represented as files within a hidden directory that is associated with the target file. You can use the extended file attribute API and a set of shell commands to add and manipulate file system attributes. See the fsattr(5), openat(2), and runat(1) man pages for more information. Many Solaris file system commands have been modified to support file system attributes by providing an attribute-aware option that you can use to query, copy, or find file attributes. For more information, see the specific file system command in the man pages. See also the System Administration Guide: Basic Administration for more information. | Solaris 9 |
Improved UFS Direct I/O Concurrency The performance of direct I/O, which is used by database applications to access unbuffered file-system data, has been improved by allowing concurrent read and write access to regular UFS files. Previously, an operation that updated file data would lock out all other read or write accesses until the update operation was completed. See the System Administration Guide: Basic Administration and the man page, mount_ufs(1M), for more information. | Solaris 8 1/01 |
DNLC Improvements The directory name look-up cache (DNLC) is enhanced to provide improved performance when you access files in large directories with 1000 or more files. The DNLC is a general file-system service that caches the most recently referenced directory names and their associated vnodes. UFS directory entries are stored linearly on disk. This means that locating an entry requires searching each entry for the name. Adding a new entry requires searching the entire directory to ensure the name does not exist. To solve this performance problem, entire directories are cached in memory by the DNLC. Another feature in this release is that DNLC caches file objects that have been looked up, but do not exist. This feature is known as negative caching, and is useful because some applications repeatedly test to check if a file exists. New tunable parameters are associated with the DNLC improvements. These parameters are set optimally and should not be changed casually. See the Solaris Tunable Parameters Reference Manual for further information. | Solaris 8 6/00 |
UFS Snapshots (fssnap) You can use the fssnap command to create a snapshot of a file system. A snapshot is a file system's temporary image that is intended for backup operations. When the fssnap command is run, it creates a virtual device and a backing-store file. You can back up the virtual device, which looks and acts like a real device, with any of the existing Solaris backup commands. The backing-store file is a bitmapped file that contains copies of pre-snapshot data that has been modified since the snapshot was taken. See the System Administration Guide: Basic Administration and the man page, fssnap(1M), for more information. | Solaris 8 1/01 |
Updated mkfs Command The mkfs command has been updated to improve performance when you create file systems. Improved mkfs performance is often 10 times faster than in previous Solaris releases. Performance improvements are seen on systems when you create both large and small file systems. However, the biggest mkfs performance improvements occur on systems with high-capacity or high-speed disks. | Solaris 8 1/01 |
Installation
Feature Description | Release Date |
|---|---|
Solaris Live Upgrade 2.0 Solaris Live Upgrade provides a method of upgrading that substantially reduces the usual service outage that is associated with an operating system upgrade. You can duplicate your current running boot environment, then while the original boot environment continues to run, you can upgrade the duplicate. The duplicate boot environment is then activated to become the active boot environment when the system is rebooted. If a failure occurs, you can quickly fall back to the original boot environment with a simple reboot, thereby eliminating the downtime for the production environment associated with the normal test and evaluation process. In addition to upgrading a boot environment, you can install a Web Start Flash archive on an inactive boot environment. When you reboot the system, the configuration that you installed on an inactive boot environment is active. The Solaris 9 release includes several Live Upgrade enhancements that apply to the command-line interface only. The enhancements affect the following:
For information on these command-line enhancements, see "Live Upgrade Command-Line Features". For further information on Solaris Live Upgrade, see "Solaris Live Upgrade Topics" in the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 8 7/01 Updated in Solaris 9 |
Web Start Flash Installation Feature The Web Start Flash installation feature enables you to create a single reference installation of the Solaris operating environment on a machine and then replicate that installation on several machines. For further information, see "Web Start Flash Installation Feature Topics" in the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 8 4/01 |
Web Start Flash Archive Retrieval Using FTP The Web Start Flash program has been updated to allow you to retrieve a Web Start Flash archive by using FTP. When installing an archive, you can specify the location of an archive on an FTP server. For more details about how to retrieve an archive from an FTP server, see the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 9 |
Minimal Installation Files that constitute several features in the core software group, or metacluster, are now moved into separate, more logically organized packages. You can optionally exclude these packages from the Solaris operating environment when you install the Solaris software. You can also remove these packages by using pkgrm(1M) after installation. Files that constitute the following features are moved into new or existing packages:
| Solaris 9 |
Longer Package Names The pkgmk utility can now be used to create packages with names up to 32 characters in length. See the pkgmk(1) and pkgadd(1M) man pages. | Solaris 9 |
Installation From the Solaris DVD You can now install the Solaris operating environment and additional software from the Solaris DVD. The DVD enables you to perform either a Solaris™ Web Start installation or a custom JumpStart™ installation. The Solaris DVD includes the Solaris software, ExtraValue software, and the Solaris documentation. For detailed instructions, see the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 8 2/02 |
Solaris Web Start Program Uses sysidcfg File The Solaris Web Start installation method has been modified to use the sysidcfg file to configure system information during an installation or upgrade. If you create a sysidcfg file with configuration information for your system, the Solaris Web Start program does not prompt you to enter the system information during installation. For detailed instructions, see the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 8 2/02 |
Solaris Web Start Program Enhancements The Solaris Web Start installation method was updated to enable you to perform the following functions during the Solaris installation or upgrade:
For detailed instructions, see the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 8 2/02 |
Additions to Time Zone Selections The number of time zones available in the Solaris 9 operating environment has dramatically increased. When you install the Solaris operating environment, you can select time zones by geographic region. The time zone selections in the lists of continents and countries have been expanded. For detailed instructions, see the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 9 |
Solaris Web Start Wizards SDK 3.0.1 Solaris Web Start Wizards™ SDK simplifies the installation, setup, and administration of native Solaris, Java™, and non-Java applications. With Solaris Web Start Wizards software, developers can copackage both Solaris versions and Microsoft Windows versions of their applications. The installation wizard manages the platform specifics. The Web Start Wizards SDK 3.0.1 is now included with the Solaris 9 release and can be installed by using the Solaris Web Start installation program. | Solaris 9 |
New Boot Options for a Custom JumpStart Installation New options have been added for use with the boot command when you perform a custom JumpStart installation. With the boot command, you can specify the location of the configuration files to use to perform the installation. You can specify a path to an HTTP server, an NFS server, or a file that is available on local media. If you do not know the path to the files, you can require that the installation program prompt you for the path after the machine boots and connects to the network. The nowin option enables you to specify that the custom JumpStart program not begin the X program. You do not need to use the X program to perform a custom JumpStart installation, so you can shorten the installation time by using the nowin option. For detailed instructions about how to use these new options, refer to "Custom JumpStart Installation Topics" in the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 8 7/01 |
Upgrading Mirrors The Solaris 9 release now supports operating environment upgrades of root mirrors and metadevices that were created by Solaris Volume Manager (formerly Solstice DiskSuite). If you are upgrading a system that has a metadevice that was created by Solaris Volume Manager, you no longer need to edit the system's vfstab. As for root mirrors, the mirror is detected and the operating environment on the mirror is upgraded just as would happen in a typical upgrade without metadevices. | Solaris 9 |
Default Routing With System Identification Utilities The system identification utilities automatically attempt to determine the default router during installation. For installation information, see the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 8 4/01 |
Configuration With System Identification Utilities During system identification, the system identification utilities can configure systems to be LDAP clients. Prior Solaris releases allowed the configuration of a machine only as an NIS, NIS+, or DNS client. For installation information, see the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 8 1/01 |
Patch Analyzer The Patch Analyzer is now available when you use the Solaris Web Start program to upgrade to a Solaris Update release. The Patch Analyzer performs an analysis on your system to determine which (if any) patches will be removed or downgraded by upgrading to a Solaris Update release. You do not need to use the Patch Analyzer when you upgrade to the Solaris 9 release. For further installation information, see the Solaris 9 Installation Guide. | Solaris 8 1/01 |
System Performance Enhancements
Feature Description | Release Date |
|---|---|
Multiple Page Size Support Multiple Page Size Support (MPSS) allows a program to use any hardware-supported page sizes to access portions of virtual memory. Previously only 8-KB pages were available for a program's stack, heap, or anonymous memory mapped with mmap(). You can use MPSS to run legacy applications with specific memory page size settings where they benefit from this sort of performance tuning. The use of larger page sizes might significantly improve the performance of programs that intensively use large amounts of memory. For more information, see the man pages for pagesize(1), mpss.so.1(1), and ppgsz(1). | Solaris 9 |
Improved Multithreading Library This release includes an improved and faster multithreading library, which was available as the alternate libthread in previous Solaris software releases. For further information, see the Multithreaded Programming Guide and the threads(3THR) man page. | Solaris 9 |
Solaris Network Cache and Accelerator (NCA) The Solaris Network Cache and Accelerator (NCA) has been improved with the addition of a sockets interface to NCA through which any web server can communicate with NCA with minimal modifications. See "Networking". | Solaris 8 7/01 |
Performance Improvement for Servers Enhancements have been made to the algorithm that controls virtual/physical pages and how they are cached. These enhancements deliver increased system performance of around 10% for general user loads in servers. | Solaris 8 1/01 |
Dynamic Intimate Shared Memory (DISM) Dynamic Intimate Shared Memory (DISM) allows a database to dynamically extend or reduce the size of the shared data segment, eliminating the misconfiguration problem and denial-of-service security vulnerability present with Intimate Shared Memory (ISM). The ISM is a shared memory segment consisting of large locked memory pages. The ISM number of locked pages remains constant (cannot be changed). Dynamic ISM (DISM) is pageable ISM shared memory, where the number of locked pages is variable (can be changed). Therefore, the DISM supports releasing or adding more physical memory to the system during dynamic reconfiguration. The size of the DISM can span available physical memory plus disk swap. See the man page shmop(2). | Solaris 8 1/01 |
Server and Client Management
Feature Description | Release Date |
|---|---|
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service enables host systems to receive IP addresses and network configuration information at boot time from a network server. The Solaris DHCP service has been enhanced in several ways to enable it to support larger numbers of clients:
In addition, the Solaris DHCP server now supports dynamic DNS updates. You can enable the DHCP service to update the DNS service with the host names of DHCP clients that request a specific host name. The Solaris DHCP client can now be configured to request a specific host name. For more information, see the System Administration Guide: IP Services. | Solaris 8 7/01 |
Diskless Client Management Diskless client management is available through the command line. You can manage diskless clients, list OS services for diskless clients, and manage patches on all existing diskless clients. For information on diskless client management, see "Managing Diskless Client Support (Tasks)" in the System Administration Guide: Basic Administration. | Solaris 8 1/01 |
Security Enhancements
Feature Description | Release Date |
|---|---|
Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Protocol Internet Key Exchange (IKE) automates key management for IPsec. IKE replaces manual key assignment and refreshment on an IPv4 network, which enables the administrator to manage larger numbers of secure networks. System administrators use IPsec to set up secure IPv4 networks. The in.iked daemon provides key derivation, authentication, and authentication protection at boot time. The daemon is configurable. The administrator sets up the parameters in a configuration file. After the parameters are set up, no manual key refreshment is required. For further information, see "Internet Key Exchange" in the System Administration Guide: IP Services. | Solaris 9 |
Solaris Secure Shell Secure Shell allows a user to securely access a remote host over an unsecured network. Data transfers and interactive user network sessions are protected from eavesdropping, session hijacking, and intermediary attacks. Solaris 9 Secure Shell supports SSHv1 and SSHv2 protocol versions. Strong authentication is provided that uses public key cryptography. The X Window System and other network services can be tunneled safely over Secure Shell connections for additional protection. | Solaris 9 |
Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) and Administration Tools System administrators can improve system security by using Kerberos V5 authentication, privacy, and integrity. NFS is an example of an application that is secured with Kerberos V5. The following list highlights the new features of Kerberos V5.
For further information, see "Administering the Kerberos Database" in the System Administration Guide: Security Services. | Solaris 9 |
Secure LDAP Client The Solaris 9 release includes new features for LDAP client-based security. A new LDAP library provides for SSL (TLS) and CRAM-MD5 encryption mechanisms. These encryption mechanisms enable customers to deploy methods for encryption over the wire between LDAP clients and the LDAP server. For further information about the iPlanet Directory Server 5.1, the LDAP directory server, see "Networking". | Solaris 9 |
Encryption Maximum of 128 Bits In the Solaris 9 release, strong encryption with a maximum size of 128 bits is available as a default for certain functionality. This default can be used to create secure customer solutions. | Solaris 9 |
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) Enhancements Role-based access control (RBAC) databases can be managed through the Solaris Management Console graphical interface. Rights can now be assigned by default in the policy.conf file. In addition, rights can now contain other rights. For further information about RBAC, see "Role-Based Access Control". For further information, see "Role-Based Access Control" in the System Administration Guide: Security Services. | Solaris 8 1/01 |
Xserver Connection Security Options New options enable system administrators to allow only encrypted connections to the Solaris X server. For further information, see "Xserver Features". | Solaris 9 |
Generic Security Services Application Programming Interface (GSS-API) The Generic Security Services Application Programming Interface (GSS-API) is a security framework that enables applications to protect the data they transmit. The GSS-API provides authentication, integrity, and confidentiality services to applications. The interface permits those applications to be entirely generic with respect to security. That is, they do not have to check for the underlying platform (such as the Solaris platform) or security mechanism (such as Kerberos) being used. This means that applications that use the GSS-API can be highly portable. For more information, see the GSS-API Programming Guide. | Solaris 8 6/00 |
Additional Security Software For information about SunScreen™ 3.2, a firewall product, see "Additional Software". See also "Freeware" for information about the Tcp-wrappers 7.6 freeware in the Solaris 9 release. Tcp-wrappers 7.6 are small daemon programs that monitor and filter incoming requests for network services. | Solaris 9 |
Xserver Features
Feature Description | Release Date |
|---|---|
X11 Support for IPv6 on Solaris The Solaris X Window System servers and client libraries now support the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) in addition to the Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4). This extension enables you to use IPv6 addresses and connections when displaying X applications across the network. | Solaris 9 |
Xserver Connection Security Options New options enable system administrators to control which transport methods are used by the Solaris X server. Administrators who need to secure a host can now disable remote TCP connections directly to the Xserver, while allowing encrypted connections to be tunneled through Secure Shell. See the description of the -nolisten option in the Xserver(1) man page for further details. | Solaris 9 |
Xsun Keyboard Bell Option The Xsun server can now be configured to play a tone through an audio device instead of ringing the keyboard bell when a program emits a beep. By using this option, users can customize the volume, pitch, and length of beeps through the Xset program or CDE control panel. Users adjust the beep to match their hearing ability and personal preferences. See the description of the -audiobell option in the Xsun(1) man page for further details. | Solaris 9 |
Using Xsun Server as a Display-only Device New options enable the Xsun server to run without a keyboard or a mouse. You can run the Solaris window manager in display-only mode, without a mouse or a keyboard, in the following ways:
See the Xsun man page for further information. | Solaris 8 2/02 |
Removable Media Management
Feature Description | Release Date |
|---|---|
Write CD File Systems With the cdrw Command The cdrw command enables you to write CD file systems in ISO 9660 format with Rock Ridge or Joliet extensions on CD-R or CD-RW media devices. You can use the cdrw command to do the following:
Go to the following Web site for information on recommended CD-R or CD-RW devices: http://www.sun.com/io_technologies/pci/removable.html See the cdrw(1) man page for information on using this command. | Solaris 9 |
Improved Removable Media Management Volume management features have been improved in this release to fully support removable media. This improvement means that DVD-ROMs, Iomega and Universal Serial Bus (USB) Zip drives and Jaz drives, CD-ROMs, and diskettes are mounted and available for reading when they are inserted. With Common Desktop Environment (CDE) and Solaris command-line enhancements, you can:
See the System Administration Guide: Basic Administration for information on managing removable media with the command-line interface. See the Solaris Common Desktop Environment: User's Guide for information on managing removable media with CDE's File Manager. | Solaris 8 6/00 Updated in Solaris 8 10/00 |