Add ZFS file system to Solaris non-global zone

Ever wanted to add a ZFS file system to a Solaris 10 non-global zone but ran into the following error:

could not verify fs /test: zfs ‘tank/test’ mountpoint is not “legacy”

zoneadm: zone non-global-zone failed to verify

The fix would be to update/create the ZFS dataset as a legacy mount point. For this post, I assume that you have both basic understanding of Solaris zone technology and zfs file systems.

In the version of Solaris that I run, (Solaris 10 11/06, sparc) here are the steps you would need to follow in order to add a ZFS file system to a Solaris non-global zone.

1. Create a legacy zfs pool from the global zone

   # zpool create tank c0t0d0s0

2. Create a zfs dataset using the new tank zfs pool

   # zfs create tant/test
   

3. Display the zfs pool

   # zfs list
   NAME                USED  AVAIL  REFER  MOUNTPOINT
   tank               6.57G   120G  26.5K  /tank
   test
   tank/test          24.5K   120G  24.5K  /tank
   /
   

4. Set the new tank/test dataset as a legacy mount point

   # zfs set mountpoint=legacy tank/test
   

5. Display the zfs pool

   # zfs list
   NAME                USED  AVAIL  REFER  MOUNTPOINT
   tank               6.57G   120G  24.5K  /tank
   
   tank/test          24.5K   120G  24.5K  legac
   y
   

Notice the mount point for tank/test changed from the actual mount point /tank/test to legacy.
6. Create a Solaris non-global zone with similar options as below

   # zonecfg -z non-global-zone info
   ...
   fs:
           dir: /test
          raw not specified
    
   special: tank/test
   
           type: zfs
           options: []
   dataset:
   name: tank/test
   ...
   

After the zone has been created and booted, login into the non-global-zone and running a “df”will show you the new ZFS pool is mounted and ready to satisfy your ZFS needs.