The Solaris OE consists of a hierarchy of critical system directories and files that are necessary for the operating system to function properly. The following is a list of some of the critical system directories and subdirectories that are found in the Solaris OE.
/ The root of the overall file system namespace.
/bin A symbolic link to the /usr/bin directory. It is the directory location for the binary files of standard system commands.
/dev The primary directory for logical device names. The contents of this directory are symbolic links that point to device files in the /devices directory.
/devices The primary directory for physical device names.
/etc The directory that holds host-specific configuration files and databases for system administration.
/export The default directory for commonly shared file systems,such as users’ home directories, application software, or other shared file systems.
/home The default directory or mount point for a user’s home directory.
/kernel The directory of platform-independent loadable kernel modules that are required as part of the boot process.
/mnt A convenient, temporary mount point for file systems.
/opt The default directory or mount point for add-on application packages.
/platform The directory of platform-dependent loadable kernel modules.
/sbin The single-user bin directory that contains essential executables that are used during the booting process and in manual system-failure recovery.
/tmp The directory for temporary files. This directory is cleared during the boot sequence.
/usr The directory that contains programs, scripts, and libraries that are used by all system users. The directory name is an acronym for UNIX® system resources.
/var The directory for varying files, which usually includes temporary, logging, or status files.
Primary Subdirectories Under the /dev Directory
Subdirectoryies and their Description
/dev/cua Dial-out device files for UNIX-to-UNIX Copy Protocol (UUCP) and Point-to-Point Protocol(PPP)
/dev/dsk Block disk devices
/dev/fbs Frame buffer device files
/dev/fd File descriptors
/dev/md Logical volume management metadisk devices
/dev/pts Pseudo terminal devices
/dev/rdsk Raw disk devices
/dev/rmt Raw magnetic tape devices
/dev/sound Audio device and audio-device control files
/dev/term Serial devices
Primary Subdirectories Under the /etc Directory
Subdirectoryies and their Description
/etc/acct Configuration information for the accounting system
/etc/cron.d Configuration information for the cron utility
/etc/default Default information for various programs
/etc/inet Configuration files for network services
/etc/init.d Scripts for starting and stopping services, used while changing between run levels
/etc/lib Dynamic linking libraries needed when the
/usr file system is not available
/etc/lp Configuration information for the printer subsystem
/etc/mail Configuration information for the mail subsystem
/etc/nfs Configuration file for NFS server logging
/etc/opt Configuration information for optional packages
/etc/rc#.d Scripts that are when entering or leaving a specific run level
/etc/skel Default shell initialization files for new user accounts
Primary Subdirectories Under the /usr Directory
Subdirectories and their Description
/usr/bin Standard system commands
/usr/ccs C-compilation programs and libraries
/usr/demo Demonstration programs and data
/usr/dt Directory or mount point for Common Desktop Environment (CDE) software
/usr/include Header files (for C programs, and so on)
/usr/java Directories that contain Java technology programs and libraries
/usr/kernel Platform-independent loadable kernel modules that are not generally required during the boot process
/usr/lib Architecture-dependent databases, various program libraries, and binaries that are not invoked directly by the user
/usr/opt Configuration information for optional packages
/usr/sbin System administration commands
/usr/spool Symbolic link to the /var/spool directory
