Windows PowerShell command on Get-command flash

Manual Pages for UNIX Operating System command usage for man flash_archive

File Formats flash_archive(4)

NAME

flash_archive - format of flash archive

SYNOPSIS

flash_archive

DESCRIPTION

A flash archive is an easily transportable version of a

reference configuration of the Solaris operating environ-

ment, plus optional other software. Such an archive is used for the rapid installation of Solaris on large numbers of machines. The machine that contains a flash archive is referred to as a master system. A machine that receives a copy of a flash archive is called a clone system.

There are two types of flash archives: full and differen-

tial. A full archive is used for initial installation or whenever a complete, fresh installation is called for. A differential archive is used to update an installation. A full archive contains all of the files from a master and overwrites the installed software on a clone completely. A differential archive contains only the differences between the software on a master and on a clone. These differences include new files, changed files, and deleted files. (These

will be deleted on clones, as well). Installation of a dif-

ferential archive is faster and consumes fewer resources than installation of a full archive. You create a flash archive, full or differential, with the flar(1M) or flarcreate(1M) command. You view information about a given flash archive with flar. flar also enables you to split or combine the sections of a flash archive. Flash archives are monolithic files containing both archive identification information and the actual files that have been copied from a master system and that will be extracted onto a clone system. The standard extension for a flash archive is .flar. The flash archive is laid out in the following sections: o archive cookie o archive identification o manifest (for differential archives only)

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

o predeployment o postdeployment o reboot o summary

o user-defined (optional)

o archive files The only assumptions regarding section number and placement that an application processing the archive can make is that there is an identification section located immediately after the archive cookie and that the last section in the archive is an archive files section. These sections are described in the following subsections. Archive Cookie The very beginning of the archive contains a cookie, which serves to identify the file as a flash archive. It is also

used by the deployment code for identification and valida-

tion purposes.

The case-sensitive, newline-terminated cookie that identi-

fies version 1.n flash archives, is FlAsH-aRcHiVe-1.n, where

n is an integer in the range 0 through 9.

The archive version is designed to allow for the future evo-

lution of the flash archive specification while allowing applications that process flash archives to determine

whether specific archives are of a format that can be han-

dled correctly. The archive version is a number of the form x.y, where x is the major version number, and y is the minor version number. When an application encounters a flash archive with an

unknown major version number, it should issue an error mes-

sage and exit. Archive Identification Section The archive identification section is plain text, delimited with newline characters. It is composed of a series of

keyword/value pairs, with one pair allowed per line. Key-

words and values are separated by a single equal sign. There

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

are no limits to the length of individual lines. Binary data to be included as the value to a keyword is base64 encoded.

The keywords themselves are case-insensitive. The case-

sensitivity of the values is determined by the definition of

the keyword, though most are case-insensitive.

The global order of the keywords within the identification

section is undefined, save for the section boundary key-

words. The identification section must begin with

section_begin=ident and must end with section_end=ident.

In addition to the keywords defined for the flash archive and enumerated below, users can define their own. These

user-defined keywords are ignored by the flash mechanisms,

but can be used by user-provided scripts or programs that

process the identification section. User-defined keywords

must begin with X, and contain characters other than linefeeds, equal signs, and null characters. For example,

X-department is a valid user-defined keyword. department,

which lacks the X- prefix, is not. Suggested naming conven-

tions for user-defined keyword include the underscore-

delimited descriptive method used for the pre-defined key-

words, or a federated convention similar to that used to name Java packages. Applications that process the identification section will

process unrecognized non-user-defined keywords differently,

depending on whether the archive version is known. If the application recognizes the archive specification version, it

will reject any unrecognized non-user-defined keyword. If

the application does not recognize the specification ver-

sion, that is, if the minor version number is higher than

the highest minor version it knows how to process, unrecog-

nized non-user-defined keywords will be ignored. These

ignored keyword are reported to the user by means of a non-

fatal warning message. The keywords defined for this version of the Flash archive specification are listed below. Keyword Value Required

section_begin text yes

section_end text yes

archive_id text no

files_archived_method text no

files_compressed_method text no

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

files_archived_size numeric no

files_unarchived_size numeric no

creation_date text no

creation_master text no

content_name text yes

content_type text no

content_description text no

content_author text no

content_architectures text list no

creation_node text no

creation_hardware_class text no

creation_platform text no

creation_processor text no

creation_release text no

creation_os_name text no

creation_os_version text no

Future versions of the identification section might define additional keywords. The only guarantee regarding the new

keywords is that they will not intrude upon the user-defined

keyword namespace as given above. The following is an example identification section:

section_begin=identification

files_archived_method=cpio

files_compressed_method=compress

files_archived_size=259323342

files_unarchived_size=591238111

creation_date=20000131221409

creation_master=pumbaa

content_name=Finance Print Server

content_type=server

content_description=Solaris 8 Print Server

content_author=Mighty Matt

content_architectures=sun4u

creation_node=pumbaa

creation_hardware_class=sun4u

creation_platform=SUNW,Sun-Fire

creation_processor=sparc

creation_release=5.9

creation_os_name=SunOS

creation_os_version=s81_49

x-department=Internal Finance

section_end=identification

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

The following are descriptions of the identification section keywords:

o section_begin

o section_end

These keywords are used to delimit sections in the archive

and are not limited exclusively to the identification sec-

tion. For example, the archive files section includes a

section_begin keyword, though with a different value. User-

defined archive sections will be delimited by section_begin

and section_end keywords, with values appropriate to each

section. The currently defined section names are given in

the table below. User-defined names should follow the same

convention as user-defined identification sections, with the

additional restriction that they not contain forward slashes ( / ). Section Boundary

__________________________________________________________

identification identification archive files archive archive cookie cookie Note that while the archive cookie does not use section boundaries, and thus has no need for a section name within the archive itself, the flar(1M) command uses section names when splitting the archive, and thus requires a section name for the archive cookie. The name cookie is reserved for that purpose. The following keywords, used in the archive identification section, describe the contents of the archive files section.

archive_id This optional keyword uniquely

describes the contents of the archive. It is computed as a unique hash value of the bytes representing the archive. Currently this value is

represented as an ASCII hexade-

cimal 128-bit MD5 hash of the

archive contents. This value is used by the installation software only to validate the contents of

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

the archive during archive ins-

tallation. If the keyword is present, the hash value is recomputed during extraction based on the contents of the archive being extracted. If the recomputed value does not match the stored value in the identification section, the archive is deemed corrupt, and appropriate actions can be taken by the application. If the keyword is not present, no integrity check is performed.

files_archived_method This keyword describes the

archive method used in the files section. If this keyword is not present, the files section is assumed to be in cpio(1) format

with ASCII headers (the -c option

to cpio). If the keyword is

present, it can have the follow-

ing value: pax The archive format in the files section is pax(1) with extended tar(1) interchange format. Also allows archiving and extracting files whose size is greater than 4 GB. cpio The archive format in the files section is cpio with ASCII headers. The compression method indicated

by the files_compressed_method

keyword (if present) is applied to the archive file created by the archive method. The introduction of additional archive methods will require a change in the major archive specification version number, as

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

applications aware only of cpio/pax will be unable to extract archives that use other archive methods.

files_compressed_method This keyword describes the

compression algorithm (if any) used on the files section. If this keyword is not present, the files section is assumed to be uncompressed. If the keyword is present, it can have one of the following values: none The files section is not compressed. compress The files section is compressed using compress(1). The compression method indicated by this keyword is applied to the archive file created by the archive method indicated by the value of the

files_archived_method keyword (if

any). gzip compression of the flash archive is not currently

supported, as the gzip decompres-

sion program is not included in the standard miniroot. Introduction of an additional compression algorithm would require a change in the major archive specification version number, as applications aware only of the above methods will be unable to extract archives that use other compression algorithms.

files_archived_size The value associated with this

keyword is the size of the archived files section, in bytes.

This value is used by the deploy-

ment software only to give extraction progress information to the user. While the deployment

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

software can easily determine the

size of the archived files sec-

tion prior to extraction, it can-

not do so in the case of archive

retrieval via a stream. To deter-

mine the compressed size when extracting from a stream, the extraction software would have to

read the stream twice. This dou-

ble read would result in an unac-

ceptable performance penalty com-

pared to the value of the infor-

mation gathered. If the keyword is present, the

value is used only for the provi-

sion of status information. Because this keyword is only advisory, deployment software must be able to handle extraction of archives for which the actual file section size does not match the size given in

files_archive_size.

If files_archive_size is not

present and the archive is being read from a stream device that

does not allow the prior determi-

nation of size information, such as a tape drive, completion status information will not be generated. If the keyword is not present and the archive is being

read from a random-access device

such as a mounted file system, or from a stream that provides size information, the compressed size will be generated dynamically and used for the provision of status information.

files_unarchived_size This keyword defines the cumula-

tive size in bytes of the extracted archive. The value is

used for file system size verifi-

cation. The following verifica-

tion methods are possible using this approach:

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

No checking If the

files_unarchived_size

keyword is absent, no space checking will be performed. Aggregate checking If the

files_unarchived_size

keyword is present and

the associ-

ated value is an integer, the integer will be compared against the aggregate free space created by the requested file system

configura-

tion. The following keywords provide descriptive information about the archive as a whole. They are generally used to assist

the user in archive selection and to aid in archive manage-

ment. These keywords are all optional and are used by the

deployment programs only to assist the user in distinguish-

ing between individual archives.

creation_date The value of the creation_date key-

word is a textual timestamp representing the time of creation for the archive. The value of this keyword can be overridden at archive creation time through the flarcreate(1M). The timestamp must

be in ISO-8601 complete basic

calendar format without the time

designator (ISO-8601, jf5.4.1(a)) as

follows:

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

CCYYMMDDhhmmss For example: 20000131221409 (January 31st, 2000 10:14:09pm) The date and time included in the value should be in GMT.

creation_master The value of the creation_master

keyword is the name of the master machine used to create the archive. The value can be overridden at archive creation time.

content_name The value of the content_name key-

word should describe the archive's function and purpose. It is similar

to the NAME parameter found in

Solaris packages.

The value of the content_name key-

word is used by the deployment utilities to identify the archive and can be presented to the user

during the archive selection pro-

cess and/or the extraction process. The value must be no longer than 256 characters.

content_type The value of this keyword specifies

a category for the archive. This category is defined by the user and is used by deployment software for display purposes. This keyword is the flash analog of the Solaris packaging CATEGORY keyword.

content_description The value of this keyword is used

to provide the user with a descrip-

tion of what the archive contains and should build on the description

provided in content_name. In this

respect, content_description is

analogous to the DESC keyword used

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

in Solaris packages. There is no length limit to the

value of content_description. To

facilitate display, the value can contain escaped newline characters. As in C, the escaped newline takes the form of 0 Due to the escaped newline, backlashes must be included as \. The description is

displayed in a non-proportional

font, with at least 40 characters available per line. Lines too long for display are wrapped.

content_author The value of this keyword is a

user-defined string identifying the

creator of the archive. Suggested values include the full name of the creator, the creator's email address, or both.

content_architectures The value of this keyword is a

comma-delimited list of the kernel

architectures supported by the given archive. The value of this keyword is generated at archive

creation time, and can be overrid-

den by the user at that time. If this keyword is present in the archive, the extraction mechanism validates the kernel architecture of the clone system with the list of architectures supported by the archive. The extraction fails if the kernel architecture of the clone is not supported by the archive. If the keyword is not present, no architecture validation is performed. The keywords listed belowhave values filled in by uname(2) at the time the flash archive is created. If you create a flash archive in which the root directory is not /, the flash archive software inserts the string UNKNOWN for all of

the creation_* keywords except creation_node,

creation_release, and creation_os_name. For creation_node,

the flash software uses the contents of the nodename(4)

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

file. For creation_release and creation_os_name, the flash

software attempts to use the contents of

/var/sadm/system/admin/INST_RELEASE. If it

is unsuccessful in reading this file, it assigns the value UNKNOWN. Regardless of their sources, you cannot override the values

of the creation_* keywords.

creation_node The return from uname -n.

creation_hardware_class The return from uname -m.

creation_platform The return from uname -i.

creation_processor The return from uname -p.

creation_release The return from uname -r.

creation_os_name The return from uname -s.

creation_os_version The return from uname -v.

Manifest Section The manifest section is used only for differential flash archives. It contains a filter that specifies selection of an operating environment image and a list of the files to be retained in, added to, and deleted from a clone system. The list contains permissions, modification times, and other

information on each file. The flash software uses this sec-

tion to perform a consistency check prior to deployment of

an archive on a clone. If the user who created the differen-

tial archive used the -M option to flar(1M) or

flarcreate(1M), this section will not be present. The manifest section is for the exclusive use of the flash software. The format of this section is internal to Sun and is subject to change. Predeployment, Postdeployment, and Reboot Sections Contain internal information that the flash software uses before and after deploying an operating environment image. These sections are for the exclusive use of the flash

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File Formats flash_archive(4)

software. Summary Section Contains a summary of archive creation. This section records the activities of predeployment and postdeployment scripts.

User-Defined Sections

Following the identification section can be zero or more

user-defined sections. These sections are not processed by

the archive extraction code and can be used for any purpose.

User-defined sections must be line-oriented, terminated with

newline (ASCII 0x0a) characters. There is no limit on the length of individual lines. If binary data is to be included

in a user-defined section, it should be encoded using base64

or a similar algorithm. Archive Files Section The archive files section contains the files gathered from the master system. While the length of this section should

be the same as the value of the files_archived_size keyword

in the identification section, you should not assume that these two values are equal. This section begins with

section_begin=archive, but it does not have an ending sec-

tion boundary.

ATTRIBUTES

See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-

butes:

____________________________________________________________

| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |

|_____________________________|_____________________________|

| Availability | SUNWinst |

|_____________________________|_____________________________|

| Interface Stability | Committed |

|_____________________________|_____________________________|

Manual Pages for UNIX Operating System command usage for man flash_archive

File Formats flash_archive(4)

NAME

flash_archive - format of flash archive

SYNOPSIS

flash_archive

DESCRIPTION

File Formats flash_archive(4)

File Formats flash_archive(4)

File Formats flash_archive(4)

File Formats flash_archive(4)

File Formats flash_archive(4)

File Formats flash_archive(4)

File Formats flash_archive(4)

File Formats flash_archive(4)

File Formats flash_archive(4)

to the NAME parameter found in

File Formats flash_archive(4)

File Formats flash_archive(4)

File Formats flash_archive(4)

ATTRIBUTES

| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |

SEE ALSO