[pca] Solaris Update Patch Bundle updates /etc/release

[Glenn Satchell]

On 09/06/10 19:43, Martin Paul wrote:
> Rajiv Gunja wrote:
>> That was one of the hurdles I
>> met when I wanted to get php, mysql and apache on my U4 server. The SUN
>> package would not install, as it looked at /etc/release and did not take
>> into consideration that the U4 was patched to U8 level.
>
> Oh, I didn't know that. For that using the patch from the cluster might
> be helpful indeed.
>
>> You update to every release? How do you handle your applications?
>> Don't they
>> have to be reinstalled and data imported? Let me know. Thanks
>
> I've got a research environment here, so there are few real production
> servers. The software we use for HPC gets installed via jumpstart
> scripts or is in a network wide /usr/local directory, data is mostly
> code, kept in home directories or global directories on a central
> server. So I'm in the lucky situation that I can re-install many
> machines automatically at night, and on those it's easiest to run the
> newest release to keep patching to a minimum.

I use the Solaris upgrade procedure to get the next release. I boot 
using Solaris using a net boot, then let Solaris detect the existing OS 
and it asks if I want to do an upgrade.

Solaris 10 is now smart enough to handle mirrored disks, so it is not 
necessary to break the mirrors before upgrading. The upgrade replaces 
all the OS packages with new ones. After that you can manually add any 
that you're interested in. Alternatively you could create a jumpstart 
profile that does the upgrade and adds packages in one go.

I wouldn't recommend this if you have a lot of systems as the upgrade is 
slower than a fresh install. It needs to remove all the old packages 
before it installs new ones.

-- 
regards,
-glenn
--
Glenn Satchell                            |  Miss 9: What do you
Uniq Advances Pty Ltd, Sydney Australia   |  do at work Dad?
mailto:glenn.satchell at uniq.com.au         |  Miss 6: He just
http://www.uniq.com.au tel:0409-458-580   |  types random stuff.