Manual Pages for UNIX Operating System command usage for man kernel

System Administration Commands                         kernel(1M)



NAME
     kernel  -  UNIX  system  executable  file  containing  basic
     operating system services

SYNOPSIS
     kernel-name [-asrvx] [-m smf_options] [-i altinit]


DESCRIPTION
     The operating system image, or kernel, is the collection  of
     software  comprising  the image files (unix and genunix) and
     the modules loaded at any instant in time. The  system  will
     not function without a kernel to control it.


     The kernel is loaded by the boot(1M) command in  a  machine-
     specific way. The kernel may be loaded from disk, CD-ROM, or
     DVD (diskfull boot) or over the network (diskless boot).  In
     either  case,  the  directories  under /platform and /kernel
     must be readable and must contain executable code  which  is
     able  to perform the required kernel service. If the -a flag
     is given, the user is able to supply different pathnames for
     the  default  locations  of  the  kernel  and  modules.  See
     boot(1M) for more information on loading a specific kernel.


     The moddir variable contains a list  of  module  directories
     separated   by   whitespace.   moddir  can  be  set  in  the
     /etc/system file. The minimal default is:

       /platform/platform-name/kernel /kernel /usr/kernel



     This default can be supplemented by a specific platform.  It
     is  common  for  many  SPARC systems to override the default
     path with:

       /platform/platform-name/kernel:/platform/hardware-class-name\
            /kernel:/kernel:/usr/kernel




     where platform-name can be found  using  the  -i  option  of
     uname(1),  and hardware-class-name can be found using the -m
     option of uname(1).


     The  kernel  configuration  can  be  controlled  using   the
     /etc/system file (see system(4)).




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System Administration Commands                         kernel(1M)



     genunix is the platform-independent component  of  the  base
     kernel.

OPTIONS
     The following options are supported:

     -a

         Asks the user for  configuration  information,  such  as
         where  to find the system file, where to mount root, and
         even override the name of  the  kernel  itself.  Default
         responses  will  be  contained in square brackets ([ ]),
         and the user may simply enter RETURN to use the  default
         response (note that RETURN is labeled ENTER on some key-
         boards). To help  repair  a  damaged  /etc/system  file,
         enter /dev/null at the prompt that asks for the pathname
         of the system configuration file. See system(4).


     -i altinit

         Select an alternative executable to  be  the  primordial
         process.  altinit must be a valid path to an executable.
         The default primordial process is init(1M).


     -m smf_options

         The smf_options include two  categories  of  options  to
         control  booting  behavior  of  the  service  management
         facility: recovery options and messages options.

         Message options determine the type and  amount  of  mes-
         sages  that smf(5) displays during boot. Service options
         determine the services which are used to boot  the  sys-
         tem.

         Recovery options

         debug

             Prints   standard   per-service   output   and   all
             svc.startd messages to log.


         milestone=[milestone]

             Boot with some SMF services temporarily disabled, as
             indicated  by  milestone.  milestone  can be "none",
             "single-user", "multi-user", "multi-user-server", or
             "all". See the milestone subcommand of svcadm(1M).




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System Administration Commands                         kernel(1M)



         Messages options

         quiet

             Prints standard per-service output  and  error  mes-
             sages requiring administrative intervention.


         verbose

             Prints standard per-service output with more  infor-
             mational messages.



     -r

         Reconfiguration boot. The system will probe all attached
         hardware  devices and configure the logical namespace in
         /dev. See add_drv(1M)  and  rem_drv(1M)  for  additional
         information about maintaining device drivers.


     -s

         Boots only to init level 's'. See init(1M).


     -v

         Boots with verbose messages enabled. If this flag is not
         given, the messages are still printed, but the output is
         directed to the system logfile. See syslogd(1M).


     -x

         Does not boot in clustered mode. This option only has an
         effect  when a version of Sun Cluster software that sup-
         ports this option has been installed.


EXAMPLES
     See boot(1M) for examples and instructions on how to boot.

FILES
     /kernel

         Contains  kernel  components  common  to  all  platforms
         within  a particular instruction set that are needed for
         booting the system. of the core image file.




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System Administration Commands                         kernel(1M)



     /platform/platform-name/kernel

         The platform-specific kernel components.


     /platform/hardware-class-name/kernel

         The kernel components specific to this hardware class.


     /usr/kernel

         Contains  kernel  components  common  to  all  platforms
         within a particular instruction set.



     The directories in this section can potentially contain  the
     following subdirectories:

     drv

         Loadable device drivers


     exec

         The modules that execute programs stored in various file
         formats.


     fs

         File system modules


     misc

         Miscellaneous system-related modules


     sched

         Operating system schedulers


     strmod

         System V STREAMS loadable modules






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System Administration Commands                         kernel(1M)



     sys

         Loadable system calls


  SPARC
     cpu

         Processor specific modules


     tod

         Time-Of-Day hardware interface modules



     As only 64-bit SPARC platforms are supported, all SPARC exe-
     cutable  modules are contained within sparcv9 directories in
     the directories listed above.

  x86
     mach

         x86 hardware support



     Modules comprising the 32-bit x86 kernel  are  contained  in
     the above directories, with the 64-bit x86 kernel components
     contained within amd64 subdirectories.

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



     ____________________________________________________________
   |        ATTRIBUTE TYPE       |        ATTRIBUTE VALUE      |
   | ____________________________|_____________________________|_
   |  Availability               |  system/library/processor,  |
   |                             |  system/library/processorx  |
   |_____________________________|_____________________________|


SEE ALSO
     kmdb(1),  uname(1),   isainfo(1),   add_drv(1M),   boot(1M),
     init(1M),    rem_drv(1M),    savecore(1M),   svc.startd(1M),
     svcadm(1M), syslogd(1M), system(4),  attributes(5),  smf(5),
     devfs(7FS)




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System Administration Commands                         kernel(1M)



  SPARC Only
     monitor(1M)

DIAGNOSTICS
     The kernel gives various warnings and error messages. If the
     kernel  detects  an  unrecoverable  fault,  it will panic or
     halt.

NOTES
     Reconfiguration  boot  will,  by  design,  not  remove  /dev
     entries  for  some  classes of devices that have been physi-
     cally removed from the system.











































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