Objective of this lesson

In this lesson, we will set up a complete Solaris 11 practice lab using VMware on your laptop or desktop. This way you can practice everything from this course safely without touching any production system.

We will go through 3 main parts: installing VMware → downloading Solaris ISO → creating & installing Solaris VM.

System requirements for the lab

Before starting, make sure your machine is capable of running a virtual machine smoothly.

Host Machine

Windows / Linux desktop or laptop with virtualization support enabled in BIOS (Intel VT-x / AMD-V).

CPU, RAM & Disk

Recommended: 4 CPU cores, minimum 8 GB RAM, and at least 60–80 GB free disk space for VMs.

Software

VMware Workstation Pro / Player (on Windows or Linux) and Solaris 11 ISO image for x86 platform.

Step 1 – Install VMware Workstation / Player

VMware will act as the hypervisor where we will create our virtual Solaris machine.

Download & install VMware

Open VMware website and download VMware Workstation Pro or VMware Workstation Player (free for non-commercial use).
Choose the installer for your host OS (Windows / Linux).
Run the installer and follow the default steps (Next → Next → Finish).
After installation, launch VMware and verify it opens without error.

If you already have another hypervisor like VirtualBox, you can use that too, but this course will demo using VMware so screenshots and videos will match VMware UI.

Step 2 – Download Solaris 11 ISO

Next we need the installation media (ISO file) for Solaris 11. This is similar to having a bootable DVD, but in file form.

Getting the Solaris ISO

Go to Oracle’s official website and search for 'Oracle Solaris 11 ISO download'.
Create or sign in with an Oracle account (free registration).
Accept the license agreement before downloading.
Make sure you download the ISO for x86 platform (not SPARC) since we are using a normal PC / laptop.

Tip: Put the ISO in a dedicated folder like D:\ISOs\Solaris so it’s easier to locate from VMware later.

Step 3 – Create a new Solaris VM in VMware

Now we will create a virtual machine and attach the Solaris ISO to it.

Basic VM configuration

In VMware, click on 'Create a New Virtual Machine'.
Choose 'Typical' configuration (enough for this lab).
Select 'I will install the operating system later' if VMware cannot detect the ISO automatically.
Choose Guest OS type as 'Solaris' and appropriate version (Solaris 11).

Hardware resources

Assign 2 virtual CPUs (or 1 if your laptop is low on resources).
Allocate 4 GB RAM if possible (2 GB minimum).
Create a new virtual disk of around 40–60 GB (split or single file is fine).
Keep the default virtual network as NAT or Bridged based on your preference.

After finishing the wizard, you should see a new VM entry for Solaris in your VMware interface.

Step 4 – Attach ISO and install Solaris

With the VM created, we now attach the ISO file and perform the normal OS installation inside VMware.

Booting from ISO

Open VM settings and go to the CD/DVD drive section.
Select 'Use ISO image file' and browse to your downloaded Solaris ISO.
Ensure 'Connect at power on' is checked.
Power on the VM – it should boot into the Solaris installer from the ISO.

Solaris installation flow (high level)

Choose language and keyboard layout as per your preference.
Select the target disk (the virtual disk we created earlier).
Configure basic network settings (or use automatic / DHCP for now).
Set root password and create a normal user (non-root).
Review the summary and start the installation. Once complete, the VM will reboot into your new Solaris system.

What you should have after this lesson

VMware installed and working on your host machine.
A Solaris 11 ISO downloaded and stored safely.
A fully installed Solaris 11 virtual machine that you can boot into anytime.

From the next lessons onwards, we will use this same VM to explore commands, users, groups, ZFS, SMF and much more.