OpenSolaris on USB

The Distribution Constructor project includes a few very useful scripts to make the latest OpenSolaris LiveCD build bootable on a USB drive. To get these scripts, download the source by following the instructions here, and naturally, you can only use them on a OpenSolaris build.

Once you got the source, cd to the tools directory and you'll find the usbgen and usbcopy scripts. The usbgen script will convert the OpenSolaris ISO image to a UFS image and modify the GRUB entries.

$ ./usbgen os200805.iso os200805.usb /tmp

Then use the usbcopy script to copy the image to your USB stick.

$ ./usbcopy os200805.usb

This script will format your USB drive, copy the USB content and install GRUB. Once complete, you're good to go! Reboot your system and set your BIOS to allow booting from USB. I used a 2GB USB stick on my Acer laptop and the OpenSolaris boot up in less than a minute and I believe it should be much faster than booting from the CD/DVD. However, the session is not persistent so any configuration and data will be gone once you reboot. I'm now trying to see how I can modify it to have session persistence. Someone has already come up with a script to add this, I will try it soon.