This notice is for users of the SunSM Update Connection web application. If you use this service, available at to remotely manage patches to Solaris 10 systems, you must take action before February 20, 2006.
Sun Update Connection is updating the certificates SunTM uses to secure our communication channels. To ensure your continued service, you must apply the appropriate special software update before February 20, 2006.
These patches, which will be publicly available after February 15, can be obtained and installed using the Sun Update Connection web application. Alternatively, you can use either the SunTM Update Manager or smpatch tool, or you can download the patch from SunSolveTM and manually install the patch.
We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this might cause, and we appreciate your cooperation.
The Sun Update Connection Team
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
This document describes the bugs and issues you might encounter when you use the SunTM Update Manager application and the SunSM Update Connection web browser application to manage updates on your Solaris[tm] 10 system. The Sun Update Manager application and the Sun Update Connection web browser application are part of the Sun Update Connection 1.0 product, previously referred to as the Sun Update Connection, System Edition 1.0 product.
These release notes have been updated with Sun Update Connection release 1.0.4 information and supplement the detailed product information in the product documentation:
The Sun Update Connection includes the following limitations:
Solaris Support. Sun Update Connection 1.0.x is designed for Solaris 10 systems. Continue to use Sun Patch Manager 2.0 to perform update-management tasks on your Solaris 8 systems and on your Solaris 9 systems.
Solaris 10 Zones Support. Starting with Sun Update Connection 1.0.4, the Sun Update Manager application and the patchadd command support the default patchadd behavior from a global zone on a system where one or more non-global zones are installed.
This default behavior means that the application or command can be run from a global zone to analyze, download, install, and remove updates in all applicable zones. You rely on the application to determine where selected updates are installed. You cannot specify into which zones the updates are installed.
Selecting one or more patches to be installed on or removed from one or more specified non-global zones rather than allowing the application to determine and proceed with the default process in all applicable zones is not supported with this release.
Sun Online Account Issues. Note these suggestions while using the Sun Update Connection suite of products.
Supply a valid email address when you register for a Sun Online Account. The application sends all email to the address you supply during registration.
For example, if you forget your password and have Sun send you a new one, the password is reset and sent to the email address you supplied. Without a Sun Online Account, you cannot access the Update Connection web application.
Save your language preference during registration or in the Update Manager User Preferences page. A language preference saved in the Sun Update Connection web browser application is not retained.
CLI System Registration. Upgrading your Sun Update Connection application to release 1.0.3 or 1.0.4, or upgrading your Solaris 10 operating system to Solaris 10 1/06, installs an enhanced system registration capability which includes the ability to register your system at the command line.
For more information about using the registration CLI, see http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-9-82688-1.
Sun Subscription Key. Sun Update Connection 1.0.x uses subscription key to mean the alphanumeric identification (ID) string of your Sun service contract that includes software support. Other terms that refer to this same ID include Sun services plan ID, token, and service contract number.
Your Sun Services representative can help you purchase a support contract that includes software support and can also provide you with your current contract ID.
Bugs and issues are grouped in the following categories:
If you register your preferred language in the Sun Update Connection web browser application, the selection is not retained when you access the Update Manager application. If you register your language preference during registration or update your User Preferences in Update Manager, the selection is retained.
Set your language preference during registration or update your User Preferences in Update Manager.
Fixed in the 1.0.3 release.
When you click the Manage at Sun Update Connection button, Update Manager opens a new window in your MozillaTM 1.7 browser. Your existing browser window is not used.
If you are working in Firefox, when you click the Manage at Sun Update Connection button, a new instance of Mozilla 1.7 is opened, instead of the browser you have open and instead of Firefox.
Instead of using your existing web browser window, Update Manager starts a new instance of the web browser specified as the default in the /usr/dt/bin/sdtwebclient file.
None
On the Dependencies pop-up window, all Installation Instructions appear as False: False = Not download only. The Installation Instructions for those updates which are download only are incorrect.
View the installation instructions on other screens, such as the README and in the Update Manager.
Fixed in the 1.0.3 release.
When you click the browser Back button, you might see the following error:
Warning: Page has Expired
The page you requested was created using information you
submitted in a form. This page is no longer available. As
a security precaution, Internet Explorer does not automatically
resubmit your information for you. To resubmit your information
and view this Web page, click the Refresh button.
To clear the error, follow the instructions to refresh the page. You might not be able to return to the page that you requested, and the tab might not be correctly aligned with the page content.
Instead of using browser navigation, use the navigational tabs, buttons, and links provided by the web browser application to navigate between pages.
The Update Manager installation icon is automatically installed on the GNOME desktop when you install the Solaris 10 Operating System. The icon remains even if you uninstall the Update Manager application.
Manually delete the icon by clicking the right mouse button on the icon and selecting the "Remove from Desktop" option.
Cache in the Update Manager application needs to be invalidated when patches are installed and when the subscription details are updated. The issue occurs with this sequence of commands:
Update Manager thinks that the patches you just installed still need to be installed.
Run installations in update manager or with the CLI.
Fixed in 1.0.3.
If you launch the Update Manager when there is no valid cache to use, Update Manager attempts to do a new analysis. If that fails because of incorrect proxy preference or update source, Update Manager reports the error to you. Then you try the following:
The Check for Updates button is disabled, so you have no way to check for available updates again.
You must exit and restart the Update Manager application.
Fixed in 1.0.3.
If you cancel from the Dependencies pop-up, the dependencies might be installed even though the selected patch requiring the dependencies is not installed.
Restart the Update Manager to clear dependencies from the list of updates to be installed.
Fixed in 1.0.3.
When you click the Help and About menu choices, the Update Manager 1.0 release information appears.
None.
Fixed in 1.0.3.
Even if you already have an open browser window, when you click the Learn More link, a new browser window opens.
None.
If you register your system with no subscription key, the Sun Update Manager application lists only free updates, security updates, and the Sun Update Connection web browser application is not available.
If you later update your system registration to add a valid subscription key, for-fee updates do not appear on the Available Updates page of the Update Manager application.
All available updates will be visible in Update Manager and Update Connection within 24 hours.
Allow all processes to run for 24 hours before you use Update Manager or Update Connection to manage for-fee updates.
Fixed in 1.0.3.
If you run the smpatch update command, updates that require special handling are installed at the next system restart.
If you use the reboot command or use the Sun JavaTM Desktop System reboot mechanism as superuser (log out, and choose Restart from the Logout dialog box), the pending updates are not installed. These updates are still pending installation.
Use the init 6 command or the shutdown -i 6 command to restart system and install the pending updates.
If you enter the ID of a non-existing update, the error message can be confusing.
None
Fixed in 1.0.3 release.
You see the ProviderException: Could not obtain session exception on your Sun Update Connection Proxy.
You might also encounter SSL connection problems when using smpatch to download and install patches.
A bad interaction between Java and the metaslot provider of the kernel cryptographic framework (kcfd) prevents a token from being used more than 16 times. As a result, long-lived processes, such as those that run on the Sun Update Connection Proxy, might reach this limit and you might see these exceptions.
Disable the metaslot provider on the system that is running your Sun Update Connection Proxy.
Perform these steps as superuser:
Stop the proxy.
# patchsvr stop
Disable the metaslot provider.
# cryptoadm disable metaslot
Restart the proxy.
# patchsvr start
If disabling the metaslot provider does not solve the problem, disable the kcfd services instead by performing these steps as superuser:
Stop the proxy.
# patchsvr stop
Disable kcfd.
# svcadm disable svc:/system/cryptosvc
Verify that kcfd is no longer running.
# pgrep kcfd
Restart the proxy.
# patchsvr start
After performing either of these workarounds, you should be able to connect to the delivery servers without problems.
This bug has been fixed and will not occur in future releases of the Solaris Operating System.
Using Update Manager or the smpatch command to change your network proxy preferences fails to change the network proxy preferences you set during registration.
If the original network proxy preferences become invalid, you can no longer manage updates from the Sun Update Connection web application.
This workaround is only required if managing from the Sun Update Connection web application. Update Manager and smpatch are unaffected.
After system registration, if you use Update Manager or smpatch to change the network proxy from its initial setting, you must manually update the transport proxy.
Run the following commands as superuser on the managed system to update the transport proxy:
ip-addr is the URL of the proxy host and port is the port number of the network proxy.
user-name:password is the user name and password used by the network proxy as authorization credentials.