OpenSolaris, first install, first impressions

The Live Boot iso means that trying out OpenSolaris is easy, very easy. However, I wanted to really test out the "easy to use" ZFS set-up. I've been using VirtualBox, another Sun Microsystems product oddly enough, for a while and setup a new virtual machine to test out the OpenSolaris. I work in an office that does mostly server administration and support, and often I've heard the word Solaris thrown around as a curse word in the few occasions it is worked on, so I was skeptical. But right away, the familiar GRUB boot loader began, and then into the familiar Gnome desktop. First off, let me point out that I've tried a lot of distros of Linux, both KDE and Gnome, and I must say that the default desktop caught me off guard by how clean yet attractive it was. The default profile was eyecatching and new! What else could I ask for? To start the install there is a nice easy install icon shortcut on the desktop, like many recent live distros. The install was very quick, very easy, and before I knew it I was watching the bar as it installed itself. Granted I was using a virtual machine, and it was an iso image, the install was quick. A quick reboot and off I went to OpenSolaris-land.

I added four small drives to the virtual machine and within 5 minutes had what is called a raid-z2 array. It was really really easy. I was impressed. Next step was trying it out at home.