System Administration Guide: Basic Administration

Managing Patches in the Oracle Solaris Operating System

Use the following information to identify tasks for managing patches. Each task points to additional tasks.

Task	Description	For Instructions
Determine whether to apply signed or unsigned patches.	Determine whether applying signed or unsigned patches is best for your environment.	Determining Whether to Apply Signed or Unsigned Patches to Your System
Apply a patch to your system.	Use the `patchadd` command on Solaris 2.6, Solaris 7, Solaris 8, Solaris 9, or Oracle Solaris 10 systems to apply unsigned patches.	Managing Patches by Using the `patchadd` Command (Task Map)

Determining Whether to Apply Signed or Unsigned Patches to Your System

The key factor when determining whether to apply signed or unsigned patches to your system is whether you trust the source of patches.

If you trust the source of patches, for example, a patch CD from a known distributor or an HTTPS connection to a trusted Website, you can use unsigned patches. However, if you do not trust the source, use signed patches.

If you are unsure about whether to trust the source of patches, use signed patches.

Importing and Exporting Trusted Certificates to Your Package Keystore

To apply signed patches to your system by using the patchadd command, you must add Oracle's Root CA certificate, at the very least, to verify the signature of your signed patch. You can import this certificate from the Java keystore to the package keystore.

For instructions on importing and exporting trusted certificates, go to http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17476_01/javase/1.4.2/docs/tooldocs/solaris/keytool.html.