The OpenBoot PROM
We've mentioned that when a Solaris server is switched on, we are presented with the OK prompt of the PROM, or monitor program, as it is also known. Its purpose is to enable us to:
Identify basic system information
Set the boot device
Boot the system from local disk
Boot the system across the network
Perform hardware checks
Modify Electrically Erasable/Programmable ROM (EEPROM) parameters
Recover from a hung system
Since revision 2, the Solaris PROM has been called the OpenBoot PROM (OBP). The aim of this was to end up with a firmware that could probe hardware devices installed within the system and automatically download the required device driver from the device into the PROM.
The PROM actually consists of a chip on the system board ...
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