C H A P T E R  1

Introduction to Sun Fire High-End Software

The Sun Fire high-end systems are members of the Sun Fire high-end server system family. Sun Fire high-end system software runs in the Solaris 8 and 9 Operating Environments.

The Sun Fire high-end system is often referred to as the platform. System boards within the platform can be logically grouped together into separately bootable systems called dynamic system domains, or simply domains. Up to 18 domains on the Sun Fire 15K system can exist simultaneously on a single platform. Up to 9 domains on the Sun Fire 12K system can exist simultaneously on a single platform. System Management Services (SMS) software lets you control and monitor domains, as well as the platform itself.

The system controller (SC) in the Sun Fire high-end system is a multifunction printed circuit board (PCB) that provides critical services and resources required for the operation and control of the Sun Fire system. SMS software packages are installed on the SC.

You can interact with the SC and the domains on the Sun Fire high-end system by using SMS commands. SMS provides a command-line interface (CLI) to the various functions and features it contains. See Chapter 5 for more information about SMS software.

An alternative graphical user interface (GUI) for many of the commands in SMS is provided by Sun Management Center software. See Chapter 7 for more information about Sun Management Center software.

Dynamic reconfiguration (DR) software enables you to reconfigure a domain dynamically, so that currently installed system boards can be logically attached to, or detached from, the operating system, while the domain continues running in multiuser mode. A system board can be physically swapped in and out when it is not attached to a domain, even while the system continues running in multiuser mode. See Chapter 6 for more information about dynamic reconfiguration software.