A description of the desired end state of the system is constructed. In the case of updating all packages in the image, the desired end state might be something like “all the packages currently installed, or newer versions of them.” In the case of package removal, the desired end state is “all the packages currently installed without this one.”
IPS attempts to determine what the user intends this end state to look like. In some cases, IPS might determine an end state that is not what the user intended, even though that end state does match what the user requested.
When troubleshooting, it is best to be as specific as possible. The following command is not specific:
$ pkg update
If this command fails with a message such as “No updates available for this image,” then you might want to try a more specific command such as the following command:
$ pkg update "*@latest"
This command defines the end state more precisely, and can produce more directed error messages.