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1. SUNWtcpd (tcp_wrappers for network services)
2. SUNWman (man pages)

Zone Packages

This has been production proven but I've only stayed with sparse zones (there are also full-root zones). Below is Since ~ Jan 2007 - Feb 2008 we've had production proven use of container technology. Before we used to hack "cloning" but since becoming a feature in build 33 (date?), I would say we are not cutting edge (rather than bleeding edge).

Note we've are comfortable with other types of zone, but our enterprise production proven use case has been sparse zones. As of this article, the technology is brand new so here is a quick excerpt,

The default zone filesystem model is called sparse-root. This model emphasizes efficiency at the cost of some configuration flexibility. Sparse-root zones optimize physical memory and disk space usage by sharing some directories, like /usr and /lib. Any updates and programs installed in the global zone (where all the other zones site) for the most part affect the sparse-root zones. Further, sparse-root zones have their own private file areas for directories like /etc and /var (this is where your service software like Apache Web Server go).

Whole-root zones increase configuration flexibility but increase resource usage. They do not use shared filesystems for /usr, /lib, and a few others. http://opensolaris.org/os/community/zones/faq/#basic_zonetypes. We do not use Whole-root zones as it increaes maintenance (more systems to update).

...

su - root
cd /var
mkdir zones

Packages to Allow IHS 6.x Running Inside of Zones

In order to run IHS (IBM HTTP Server) 6.x on zones you must have GSKit which is packaged with IHS.

Check if GSKit is installed on the global zone.

cd /usr/bin
ls gsk7*

If you do not see gsk7 files then you must install it.

GSKit must be installed using root on the global zone,

su -
 
# unpackage
mkdir tmp
cd tmp
tar -xvpf ./ihs.6020.solaris.sparc.tar
 
# run installer
./IHS/gskit.sh
# Expect the following ERROR message,
SunOS
This is an SPARC Series machine.
We are moving appropriate library into place.
exec failed. errno=2.
Installation of <gsk7bas> was successful.

Misc Package

SUNWsndmr SUNsndmu (sendmail used for alerting verify if this is needed in the global zone)

Package Installation - Freeware

Our packages are taken from Sunfreeware. Use the versions of package on this wiki unless:

• There is a security issue resolved in the newer version (but you must still go through testing)
• You really want the new features and you are building a system there will be extensive testing

Any freeware new packages or updated packages must be approved by Dickson or Tony.

Here is the list of Freeware packages we use,

1. Top - top-3.6.1-sol10-sparc-local.gz
2. GNU Grep - to provide install instructions

Example of Freeware Install - Top

The top program gives a high level view of the system.

Download top-3.6.1-sol10-sparc-local.gz to the global zone.

When running the command to install, do NOT put ., ./, or the directory name in front of the file name in pkgadd,

su -
gunzip top-3.6.1-sol10-sparc-local.gz
pkgadd -Gd top-3.6.1-sol10-sparc-local # notice no . ./ or directory name

References

Found this article in 2016 which has similar practice - http://deer-run.com/~hal/SolarisWebcast.pdf and given time compare to see if they covered anything we missed here.