Oracle Solaris 11 Express: is it 32-bit or 64-bit?

Question

The download for Oracle Solaris 11 Express says the image is for x86. I can't find anything specific on the Oracle documentation site that states if this is 32-bit or 64-bit. Any pointers?

Answer 1

x86 is their way of stating it is for both the x86-32 and the x86-64 architectures; in other words, it supports both 32-bit and 64-bit in the same install package. According to this, it actually installs both kernels:

If you choose Solaris, the system will boot the 32-bit kernel. If you choose Solaris 64-bit, it will choose the 64-bit kernel. Only a single install is required because both the 32 and 64-bit kernel are installed. In fact, you can change this parameter after installing Solaris 11 Express and it will automatically boot the correct kernel.

Answer 2

Both. Solaris 10 and later has both 32-bit and 64-bit binaries. On boot the CPU is detected and a 32-bit or 64-bit kernel is automatically chosen. When you run a program, similar detection occurs as to whether to use the 32-bit or 64-bit (if available) binary.