What is a Solaris Kernel Zone
The solaris-kz brand uses the branded zones framework to run zones with a separate kernel and OS installation from that used by the global zone. A solaris-kz installation is independent of that of the global zone; it is not a pkg linked image and can be modified regardless of the global zone content. A solaris-kz zone can be installed in the same manner as other brands directly from the global zone, or via a boot media as described below.
When specifying a manifest for installation, the manifest used should be the one suitable for a global zone installation. As kernel zones
always install into a known location for the root pool, an installation target disk should not be specified.
If an AI manifest is used to install a different version of Solaris than the one that is installed in the global zone, the installation
must be performed using installation media that matches the version of Solaris being installed. A typical command line would resemble:
# zoneadm -z kzone1 install -b [ai.iso] -m [manifest.xml]
How to Verify Kernel Zone Support on a Host
Use the command “virtinfo” on the solaris host to know if it supports the Kernel Zones. For example:
# virtinfo NAME CLASS non-global-zone supported kernel-zone supported ### Kernel zone is supported on the host
Below are some hardware and software pre-requisites for kernel zones.
SPARC systems
– A SPARC T4 system with at least System Firmware 8.5.1.
– A SPARC T5, SPARC M5, or SPARC M6 system with at least System Firmware 9.2.11
– A Fujitsu M10/SPARC M10 system with at least XCP Firmware 2230.
X86 systems
– Nehalem+ (Intel) or Barcelona+ (AMD) based x86 machines with CPU virtualization (for example, VT-x) enabled in the BIOS.
– Specifically, kernel zones on x86 require Extended/Nested Page Table support, also referred to as EPT, NPT, or RVI (Rapid Virtualization Indexing).
Hardware Requirement
In addition, both SPARC and x86 systems require the following:
– A minimum of 8 GB of physical RAM
– The kernel zone brand package software package, brand/brand-solaris-kz.