Installing Solaris Recommended Patch Clusters
Solaris Recommended Patch Clusters contain all operating system and
security patches for the Solaris Operating Environment "deemed to
be of universal interest." They may be safely applied on most Solaris
installations, and should be installed on a regular basis--quarterly,
if possible.
Installation of Recommended Patch Clusters requires approximately two
hours of system downtime. Installation is performed in
single-user mode, and a reboot of the system is required when Patch
Cluster installation is finished.
To determine your current patch level, run the showrev command. The bottom line of showrev
output indicates the version of the kernel you are running (e.g.
117350-27). When others ask for your current patch level, they
generally are referring to the kernel version number.
The following is a step-by-step method for retrieving and installating Solaris Recommended Patch Clusters.
1. Download the latest Patch Cluster and README for your release of the Solaris Operating Environment.
For most users, it will be easiest to download these from SunSolve. If you would like to download them from the command line, create a Sun Online Account and follow the instructions below. Read Document 82023 for more information.
Solaris 10 (requires an account with a valid Sun Service Plan):
$ wget --http-user=Sun_Online_user --http-passwd=Sun_Online_password
--no-check-certificate
"https://sunsolve.sun.com/private-cgi/pdownload.pl?target=10_Recommended.zip&method=h"
-O 10_Recommended.zip
$ wget --http-user=Sun_Online_user --http-passwd=Sun_Online_password
--no-check-certificate
"https://sunsolve.sun.com/private-cgi/pdownload.pl?target=10_Recommended.README&method=h"
-O 10_Recommended.README
Solaris 9:
$ wget
--http-user=Sun_Online_user --http-passwd=Sun_Online_password
--no-check-certificate
"https://sunsolve.sun.com/private-cgi/pdownload.pl?target=9_Recommended.zip&method=h"
-O 9_Recommended.zip
$ wget
--http-user=Sun_Online_user --http-passwd=Sun_Online_password
--no-check-certificate
"https://sunsolve.sun.com/private-cgi/pdownload.pl?target=9_Recommended.README&method=h"
-O 9_Recommended.README
Solaris 8:
$ wget
--http-user=Sun_Online_user --http-passwd=Sun_Online_password
--no-check-certificate
"https://sunsolve.sun.com/private-cgi/pdownload.pl?target=8_Recommended.zip&method=h"
-O 8_Recommended.zip
$ wget
--http-user=Sun_Online_user --http-passwd=Sun_Online_password
--no-check-certificate
"https://sunsolve.sun.com/private-cgi/pdownload.pl?target=8_Recommended.README&method=h"
-O 8_Recommended.README
Solaris 7:
$ wget
--http-user=Sun_Online_user --http-passwd=Sun_Online_password
--no-check-certificate
"https://sunsolve.sun.com/private-cgi/pdownload.pl?target=7_Recommended.zip&method=h"
-O 7_Recommended.zip
$ wget
--http-user=Sun_Online_user --http-passwd=Sun_Online_password
--no-check-certificate
"https://sunsolve.sun.com/private-cgi/pdownload.pl?target=7_Recommended.README&method=h"
-O 7_Recommended.README
Solaris 2.6
$ wget
--http-user=Sun_Online_user --http-passwd=Sun_Online_password
--no-check-certificate
"https://sunsolve.sun.com/private-cgi/pdownload.pl?target=2.6_Recommended&method=h"
-O 2.6_Recommended.tar.Z
Solaris 2.5.1
$ wget
--http-user=Sun_Online_user --http-passwd=Sun_Online_password
--no-check-certificate
"https://sunsolve.sun.com/private-cgi/pdownload.pl?target=2.5.1_Recommended&method=h"
-O 2.5.1_Recommended.tar.Z
Deprecated URIs:
Solaris 2.5.1:
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/2.5.1_Recommended.tar.Z
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/2.5.1_Recommended.README
Solaris 2.6:
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/2.6_Recommended.tar.Z
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/2.6_Recommended.README
Solaris 7:
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/7_Recommended.zip
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/7_Recommended.README
Solaris 8:
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/8_Recommended.zip
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/8_Recommended.README
Solaris 9:
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/9_Recommended.zip
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/9_Recommended.README
Solaris 10:
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/10_Recommended.zip
ftp://patches.sun.com/patchroot/clusters/10_Recommended.README
2. View the README file before proceeding with Cluster installation.
3. Move the Patch Cluster archive onto a file system with sufficient free space in which to extract the archive.
To determine the number of kilobytes needed to extract a .zip file, run:
$ unzip -l $FILE | tail -1 | awk '{ print $1 / 1024 }'
Example:
$ unzip -l 8_Recommended.zip | tail -1 | awk '{ print $1 / 1024 }'
489285529
To determine the number of kilobytes needed to extract a .tar.Z file, run:
$ zcat $FILE.tar.Z | tar tvf - | awk '{ KILOBYTES += $3 / 1024 } END { print KILOBYTES }'
Example:
$ zcat 2.6_Recommended.tar.Z | tar tvf - | awk '{ KILOBYTES += $3 / 1024 } END { print KILOBYTES }
128420
4. Extract the Patch Cluster archive.
To extract a .zip file, run:
$ unzip $FILE.zip
To extract a .tar.Z file, run:
$ zcat $FILE.tar.Z | tar xvf -
5. Login as the root user on the system console, and bring the system
to single-user mode. Although Patch Cluster installation may be
performed in multi-user mode (e.g. run level 3), it may cause problems
with running programs and services.
# init S
6. Backup the configuration files for the Sun SCSI disk (sd) and
SCSI tape (st) drivers. Patch Cluster installation will overwrite the
drivers' configuration files. If your system uses SCSI disks with
non-zero LUNs (common with RAIDs or external storage arrays) or "wide"
SCSI tape devices (i.e. SCSI IDs 8-15), these devices will not be
recognized by the operating system after system reboot.
# cp /kernel/drv/sd.conf /kernel/drv/sd.conf.pre_cluster_installation
# cp /kernel/drv/st.conf /kernel/drv/st.conf.pre_cluster_installation
7. Install the Recommended Patch Cluster.
$ cd $PATCH_CLUSTER_DIRECTORY
# ./install_cluster
During Cluster installation, you may see failures when installing individual patches.
Example:
Installation of patch failed. Return code 2.
Installation of patch failed. Return code 8.
Return code 2 indicates that the patch has already been installed.
This message is common when installing the Recommended Patch Cluster on
a regular basis.
Return code 8 indicates that the patch is for a package that is not installed on your system.
Both of these return codes are common, and may be safely ignored. For information on other return codes, examine the /usr/sbin/patchadd file.
8. Restore the Sun SCSI disk and SCSI tape driver configuration files.
# mv /kernel/drv/sd.conf.pre_cluster_installation /kernel/drv/sd.conf
# mv /kernel/drv/st.conf.pre_cluster_installation /kernel/drv/st.conf
9. Reboot the system.
# shutdown -i6 -g0 -y
After rebooting, you may verify your new patch level with the showrev command. To list of all patches installed on your system, run the showrev -p command.
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Last modified: 2007/03/23