Install Solaris 8 zone using flar-archive

solaris# zoneadm -z solaris8 install -u -a /export/solaris8.flar
Log File: /var/tmp/solaris8.install.13597.log
Source: /export/solaris8.flar
Installing: This may take several minutes…
Postprocessing: This may take several minutes…
WARNING: zone did not finish booting.
Result: Installation completed successfully.
Log File: /export/solaris8/root/var/log/solaris8.install.13597.log

In my case the Solaris 8 zone got stuck on sys-unconfig, and so I had to connect to the virtual console of the zone to help it move on:

Here’s how you connect to a zone’s console:

solaris# zlogin -C solaris8

That’s it! The rest was easy – just a few minutes of configuring the network parameters and DNS/NIS settings. Finally, I was able to ssh into the new zone and run uname:

solaris8 #uname -a
SunOS solaris8 5.8 Generic_Virtual sun4u sparc SUNW,Sun-Fire-V490

I liked Solaris 8 Migration Assistant very much. It’s an incredibly quick and easy way to have a whole bunch of Solaris 8 systems virtualized and running under on one of the most advanced servers with the most advanced OS – Solaris 10u4.