Repost: Solaris Live Upgrade: questions about /var/sadm

From: G Dahler (gd-nntp_at_spamex.com)
Date: 02/03/05 

Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005 10:25:00 -0500

Sorry for the report, seems like my news reader misbehaved (Ah, MSFT!)

 According to the solaris FAQ:

--------8<-----------------

|3.40) Why does installing patches take so much space in /var/sadm?

    All the files that are replaced by a patch are stored under
    /var/sadm/patch/<patch-id>/save so the patch can be safely
    backed out. Newer patches will save the old files
    under /var/sadm/pkg/<pkg>/save/<patch-id>/undo.Z, for each package
    patches.

    You can remove the <patchdir>/save directory provided you also
    remove the <patchdir>/.oldfilessaved file. Newer patches will not
    install a .oldfilessaved file.

    Alternatively, you can install a patch w/o saving the old
    files by using the "-d" flag to installpatch.

|3.41) Do I need to back out previous versions of a patch?

    No, unless otherwise stated in the patch README.
    If the previous patch installation saved the old
    files, you may want to reclaim that space.

    Patches can be backed out with (Solaris 2.6+):
     patchrm <patch-id>

    or in earlier releases:

     /var/sadm/patch/<patch-id>/backoutpatch <patch-id>

    Backoutpatch can take an awful long time, especially when the
    patch contained a lot of files. This is fixed in later versions
    of backoutpatch.

---------------->8---------------------------

Prior to doing the live upgrade, I would like to minimize the size of my
root partition
(containing /var in my case) Can I safely remove all patches (not just the
save directories)
from /var/sadm/patches or will live upgrade do it automatically ?

I presume that after a solaris upgrade, the liste of installed patches on
the system will be NULL ?

Another last point, does "back out patch" mean to go back to the state
BEFORE the patch was applied ?
I don't understand the 3.41 paragraph. What does it mean ? It seems to mean
that whenever you apply a new
patch, you should go back to the previous version before installing ?

Ex: Original package = blabla-01

Apply patch blabla-02 (BlaBla-01 saved)

You now want to apply patch blabla-03.

Does question 3.41 ask: "if you need to install patch blabla-03 you should
first back ou to blabla-01 ?"

If so, what do you do if the README tells you that you have to, but you
REMOVED the save directory ?

Thanks !

Relevant Pages

  • 9_Recommended error codes (specifically return code 5)
    ... * "return code 2" indicates patches are already installed. ... * "return code 25" means a patches requires another patch that is not yet installed. ... With or without using the save option, the patch installation process ... Installing 114008-01... ...
    (SunManagers)
  • Patch Check Advanced
    ... I developed my own script - Patch Check Advanced (PCA). ... downloading and installing of patches from Sunsolve. ...
    (comp.unix.solaris)
  • RE: new IIS worm? (rcp lsass.exe)
    ... Some good examples of this are some SQL patches. ... not actually installing the files? ... require a work around and not a patch. ... by the patch are at the proper versions. ...
    (Incidents)
  • Re: reinstall patch
    ... You have WinXP SP1 installed, the fixes in which supersede KB328310. ... Your reply also tells me that you're not up-to-date with IE/OE patches, ... alone installing WinXP SP2). ... > hi i get these patch: ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Solaris Live upgrade: questions about /var/sadm/patch
    ... Newer patches will save the old ... you can install a patch w/o ... blabla-02 (BlaBla-01 saved)You now want to apply patch blabla-03.Does ...
    (comp.unix.solaris)