Add Illumos/OpenIndiana Disk Management Scripts #3

atiq-cs · 2025-09-06T03:03:04Z

This PR introduces two comprehensive scripts for preparing and partitioning disks for illumos/OpenIndiana systems, addressing specific compatibility requirements that standard Linux tools don't handle.

Scripts Added

`wipe_pt.sh` - Complete Disk Sanitization

Purpose: Thoroughly wipe disk metadata to prevent illumos partition tool issues
Key Features:
- Removes filesystem signatures, GPT/MBR structures
- Zeros critical disk areas (first/last 16MB) required for illumos compatibility
- Automated sector calculations with safety validation
- Generic device handling via configurable DISK_DEVICE variable
Rationale: illumos tools (prtvtoc, fmthard, format, zfs) can behave unpredictably when encountering residual partition metadata from previous installations

`create_gpt_parts.sh` - Optimized GPT Layout Creation

Purpose: Create standardized GPT partition layout for OpenIndiana/illumos systems
Partition Layout:
1. ESP (512MB FAT32) - UEFI boot partition
2. Solaris Root (configurable, default 128GB) - System ZFS pool (type BF00)
3. Data Partition (remaining space) - User data/additional pools (type BF05)
4. Solaris Reserved (8MB at disk end) - Traditional compatibility marker (type BF07)
Key Features:
- Proper Solaris partition type codes for illumos recognition
- Automatic space calculation and alignment
- Configurable root pool size
- Compatible with both NVMe and SATA device naming

Technical Notes

Scripts use generic device variables (DISK_DEVICE) instead of hardcoded device names
Includes comprehensive error checking and user confirmation prompts
Follows Solaris/illumos best practices for partition alignment and type codes
Designed to run from Linux before illumos installation for maximum compatibility

Usage Workflow

Run disk_hammer_illumos.sh to completely sanitize target disk
Run create_gpt_parts.sh to create optimized partition layout
Proceed with OpenIndiana/illumos installation

Both scripts include detailed documentation and are designed for review by senior illumos engineers.

Test Results
wipe_pt.sh

PT (partition table) before 'wipe_pt'

$ sudo sgdisk --print /dev/sda
Disk /dev/sda: 3907029167 sectors, 1.8 TiB
Model: BUP Slim
Sector size (logical/physical): 512/4096 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): A11049BF-9778-2B49-B682-1B72C929286F
Partition table holds up to 9 entries
Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 4
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 3907029133
Partitions will be aligned on 8-sector boundaries
Total free space is 222 sectors (111.0 KiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1             256          524543   256.0 MiB   EF00  loader
   2          524544      3907012749   1.8 TiB     BF01  zfs
   9      3907012750      3907029133   8.0 MiB     BF07

launch the script :)

$ sudo solaris/admin/wipe_pt.sh --target-disk /dev/sda
Target device: /dev/sda

WARNING: This operation will COMPLETELY DESTROY all data on /dev/sda
This includes:
  - All partitions and their data
  - Filesystem signatures
  - Boot sectors and partition tables
  - First and last 16MB of disk content

Are you absolutely sure you want to proceed? (y/N): y
Installing required tools...
... apt update verbose output ...
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

Step 1: Wiping filesystem signatures...
/dev/sda: 8 bytes were erased at offset 0x00000200 (gpt): 45 46 49 20 50 41 52 54
/dev/sda: 8 bytes were erased at offset 0x1d1c1115c00 (gpt): 45 46 49 20 50 41 52 54
/dev/sda: 2 bytes were erased at offset 0x000001fe (PMBR): 55 aa
Step 2: Destroying partition tables...
Creating new GPT entries in memory.
GPT data structures destroyed! You may now partition the disk using fdisk or
other utilities.
Step 3: Zeroing first 16MB of disk...
16+0 records in
16+0 records out
16777216 bytes (17 MB, 16 MiB) copied, 0.00577996 s, 2.9 GB/s
Step 4: Calculating disk size and zeroing last 16MB...
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Total sectors: 3907029167
Sectors per MB: 2048
Seek offset (MB): 1907713
16+0 records in
16+0 records out
16777216 bytes (17 MB, 16 MiB) copied, 0.0066163 s, 2.5 GB/s
Step 5: Final cleanup of last 1MB with sector precision...
Final sector offset: 3907027119
2048+0 records in
2048+0 records out
1048576 bytes (1.0 MB, 1.0 MiB) copied, 0.0286873 s, 36.6 MB/s
SUCCESS: Disk cleanup complete!

/dev/sda is now ready for illumos installation or zfs/zpool creation commands.
After running this script, illumos partition management tools should work
without issues.

PT (partition table) after 'wipe_pt'

$ sudo sgdisk --print /dev/sda
Creating new GPT entries in memory.
Disk /dev/sda: 3907029167 sectors, 1.8 TiB
Model: BUP Slim
Sector size (logical/physical): 512/4096 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 6644B5F7-A0C4-4E2F-A007-5C9878ED3535
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 33
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 3907029133
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 3907029100 sectors (1.8 TiB)
... blank here.... # no part. table entries

as per output above, all partition table entires are cleared out.

create_gpt_parts.sh
Let's create fresh new partition table and 4 entries

Disk information:
  Device: /dev/sda
  Logical sector size: 512 bytes
  Total sectors: 3907029167

Creating GPT partition layout optimized for OpenIndiana/illumos

Planned partition layout:
  1. ESP (EFI System Partition) - 512MB FAT32 for UEFI boot
  2. Solaris root ZFS pool - 128GB for system
  3. Data partition - remaining space for user data/additional pools
  4. Solaris reserved - 8MB traditional marker at end of disk

NOTE: Ensure you have run wipe_pt.sh first for clean disk state

Proceed with creating partition layout? (y/N): y

Initializing GPT label on /dev/sda...
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.


Creating partition 1: EFI System Partition (512MB)...
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

mkfs.fat 4.2 (2021-01-31)
Creating partition 2: Solaris root pool (128GB)...
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

The operation has completed successfully.

NOTE: The Solaris reserved partition is a traditional 8MB placeholder
and intentionally does not require 1MiB alignment for performance.
Parted may display an alignment warning - this is expected and safe
to ignore. If prompted, press 'i' to ignore the alignment warning.

Creating partition 4: Solaris reserved (8MB at end of disk)...
Calculated reserved partition:
  Start sector: 3907010734
  End sector: 3907027118
  Size: 16384 sectors (8MB)
Warning: The resulting partition is not properly aligned for best performance: 3907010734s % 2048s != 0s
Ignore/Cancel? i
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

The operation has completed successfully.
Creating partition 3: Data partition (remaining space)...
Data partition end: 1907720MiB
Information: You may need to update /etc/fstab.

The operation has completed successfully.
Sorting partitions to proper numerical order...
The operation has completed successfully.

SUCCESS: Partition layout created successfully!

Disk /dev/sda: 3907029167 sectors, 1.8 TiB
Model: BUP Slim
Sector size (logical/physical): 512/4096 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 09322E45-7C24-4355-81FC-CAD86DBB40AD
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 33
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 3907029133
Partitions will be aligned on 8-sector boundaries
Total free space is 4203 sectors (2.1 MiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1            2048         1050623   512.0 MiB   EF00  EFI System Partition
   2         1050624       269486079   128.0 GiB   BF00  solaris
   3       269486080      3907010559   1.7 TiB     BF05  data
   4      3907010734      3907027118   8.0 MiB     BF07  solaris_reserved

Final partition type codes:
  Partition 1: ESP (EFI System Partition)
  Partition 2: BF00 (Solaris root)
  Partition 3: BF05 (Solaris /home - data)
  Partition 4: BF07 (Solaris reserved)

Ready for OpenIndiana/illumos installation!
You can now proceed with ZFS pool creation and OS installation.

add disk cleaner and gpt partitions creator scripts

solaris/admin/create_gpt_parts.sh

tsoome · 2025-09-06T08:19:51Z

solaris/admin/create_gpt_parts.sh

+sleep 5
+
+# Prerequisite: Clean/hammer GPT partition table using disk_hammer_illumos.sh
+echo "NOTE: Ensure you have run disk_hammer_illumos.sh first for clean disk state"


its better to use something like basename $0

that is a separate script, basename $0 won't work.

Did I get this right?

solaris/admin/disk_hammer_illumos.sh

for both scripts - sector size wise generic computations, handles 4K native, 512 all disks taking inputs - take device/disk from user as cmd arg - Interactively ask for confirmation before running destructive data loss operations / zeroing out create_gpt_parts.sh - use correct partition numbers for setting type code - added sorting of partition numbers since they are not sorted - added sgdisk print command to show the newly created part. table

Solaris/Illumos administration:

32223c2

add disk cleaner and gpt partitions creator scripts

atiq-cs changed the title ~~Add illumos/OpenIndiana Disk Management Scripts~~ Add Illumos/OpenIndiana Disk Management Scripts Sep 6, 2025

tsoome reviewed Sep 6, 2025

View reviewed changes

atiq-cs self-assigned this Sep 7, 2025

atiq-cs requested a review from tsoome September 7, 2025 02:58

atiq-cs force-pushed the solaris_init_part branch from 1fc32df to 2375ebd Compare September 7, 2025 03:46

atiq-cs force-pushed the solaris_init_part branch from 2375ebd to 0b47e2f Compare September 7, 2025 03:51

atiq-cs force-pushed the dev branch 4 times, most recently from 10e84c0 to 44ba882 Compare October 2, 2025 19:40

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Add Illumos/OpenIndiana Disk Management Scripts #3

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atiq-cs commented Sep 6, 2025 •

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Scripts Added

wipe_pt.sh - Complete Disk Sanitization

create_gpt_parts.sh - Optimized GPT Layout Creation

Technical Notes

Usage Workflow

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tsoome Sep 6, 2025

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atiq-cs commented Sep 6, 2025 •

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`wipe_pt.sh` - Complete Disk Sanitization

`create_gpt_parts.sh` - Optimized GPT Layout Creation

atiq-cs Sep 7, 2025 •

edited

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