Using "sneep" to find/set the chassis serial number

Updated   Read time 1 min 55 sec(s)   (945 views).  Solaris  

There are a number of Solaris commands and utilities that allow you to retrieve the serial number from a server (eeprom, prtconf, prtpicl) to name a few, and possibly many more exist...

In this article we take a look at sneep.

Under Solaris, we can use the sneep utility to retreive the Chasis Serial Number (CSN) or the Product Serial Number (PSN).

sneep searches for the serial number in several data sources, including the system eeprom, platform-specific hardware-based sources, the Sun explorer configuration files, and other locations.

Download and Install sneep

sneep is NOT installed by default in Solaris. However, you can download the latest version from SunSolve via the link http://www.sun.com/sneep. (requires an active sunsolve account)

(as of writing the latest version of sneep is 2.6)

  1. Download sneep from SunSolve
  2. Decompress the downloaded file 
    # uncompress SUNWsneep2.6.tar.Z
  3. Extract the tar image 
    # tar -xf SUNWsneep2.6.tar
  4. Install the sneep package 
    # pkgadd -d . SUNWsneep
  5. NOTE: If you didn?t accept to create a link file in /usr/sbin during the pkgadd, Add the symbolic link as follows; 
    # /opt/SUNWsneep/bin/add_sneep_to_bin
    This will create a symbolic link in /usr/sbin unless you specify a directory name.

Examples

  • Display serial number
    To display the serial number previously assigned, simply run sneep with no arguements. For example: 
    # sneep
0A1B2C3D4E
  • Display serial number and Associated tag
    To display the serial number and it's associated tag stored in the EEPROM (displayed all stored tags/values), simply run: 
    # sneep -T
"ChassisSerialNumber"    "0A1B2C3D4E"
  • Store serial number in EEPROM
    To store the serial number in the EEPROM, simply execute: 
    sneep -s <serial-number>
    For example: 
    # sneep -s 9F8E7D6E5D
# sneep
9F8E7D6E5D
  • Storing additional information
    As well as the serial number, you can store other information in the EEPROM simply by adding a value and it's associated tag: 
    sneep -t <tag> -s <value>
    For example, lets add an 'Asset Tag', the 'Location' and 'Site Name' for our system: 
    # sneep -t "AssetTag" -s 0084838
    • # sneep -t "Location" -s GB-England
    # sneep -t "SiteName" -s EGMP03
    # sneep -T
"ChassisSerialNumber"    "9F8E7D6E5D"
"AssetTag"    "0084838"
"Location"    "GB-England"
"SiteName"    "EGMP03"

Additional resources