Upgrading a Boot Environment Overview

After you have created a boot environment, it remains unchanged until you are ready to upgrade it. You can perform an upgrade on the boot environment at any time. The upgrade does not affect any files in the active boot environment. When you are ready, you then activate to the new release.

Figure 30-4 shows an upgrade to an inactive boot environment. For procedures on upgrading a boot environment, see Chapter 33, Upgrading With Solaris Live Upgrade (Tasks).

Figure 30-4 Upgrading an Inactive Boot Environment

Rather than an upgrade, you can install a Web Start Flash archive on a boot environment. The Web Start Flash installation feature enables you to create a single reference installation of the Solaris operating environment on a system that is called the master system. Then you can replicate that installation on a number of systems that are called clone systems. In this situation, the inactive boot environment is a clone. For more information about the Web Start Flash installation feature, see Chapter 16, Web Start Flash Installation Feature (Topics).

When you install the Web Start Flash archive on a system, the archive replaces all the files on the existing boot environment as an initial installation would. Figure 30-5 shows an installation of a Web Start Flash archive on an inactive boot environment. For procedures on installing a Web Start Flash archive, see "Installing Web Start Flash Archives on a Boot Environment".

Figure 30-5 Installing a Web Start Flash Archive