This chapter covers the following topics:

• The Patch Management Module
• Available Commands

The Patch Management Module

The Patch Management module generates alarms on uninstalled patches. The alarm level depends on the type of patch. It requires an external file to exist on the host being monitored. This external file is called patch.xref or the cross reference patch matrix. Based on the content of a patch.xref file, the Patch Management module detects the number of patches that are available but not installed and generates alarms against those counts. The module also lists the suggested patches in a table. The table can be filtered on the suggested patch category.

This module performs the following functions:

• Checks installed patches and detects uninstalled patches.
• Displays the list of missing patches in a table and enables you to run a command to get the list of packages and patches installed on the system.
• Displays important categories buried within the patch.xref file. It displays this information in the Patch Matrix table. (Refer to Patch Matrix for more information.) It also displays the number of uninstall patches of the following type:
  • recommended security
  • security
  • recommended
  • regular
• Generates alarms when the number of uninstall patches reaches a certain threshold. These thresholds are configured through the Attribute Editor window.

The patch.xref File

The patch.xref file is bundled with the module. It is a formatted version of the patchdiag.xref file that is available from SunSolve^SM, a group within Sun that provides its contract customers with up-to-date patches.

To Access the Patch Management Module

• Patch Matrix
• Patch List Filtering Options
• Patch List

FIGURE  4-1 Patch Management Module

Patch Matrix

At the top of the window, a property table displays the number of patches from each type that are missing from the monitored system. The first field lists the properties and the second column displays their color-coded values to represent each state:

TABLE  4-1   Patch Matrix State

Patch Matrix State	Description
Patch matrix state	One of the following: OK UNUSABLE: This patch matrix state means that the patch.xref file in /var/opt/SUNWsymon/cfg is either missing or corrupted. For more information, refer to Alarms.
Recommended security patches	The number of patches of this type.
Security patches	The number of patches of this type.
Recommended patches	The number of patches of this type.
Regular Patches	The number of patches of this type.

Patch List Filtering Options

The Patch List Filtering Options table presents a filter combo box where you can select the type of missing patches to be displayed in the table. It is initialized to "Recommended Security."

You can select one of the following values:

• Recommended Security
• Security
• Recommended
• Regular
• All

FIGURE  4-2 Patch List Filtering Options

Suggested Patch List

This table lists the missing patches and the following information about them.

TABLE  4-2   Missing Patch Information

Patch ID	The identification number of the patch.
Patch revision	The revision number of the patch.
Patch type	One of the following: Recommended Security Security Recommended Regular If "(UPGRADE)" appears next to the patch type, it means that an older revision of the patch is already installed on your system. We however recommend that you install and access a newer version.
Patch date	The date the patch was created.
Packages affected	The packages that are impacted.
Patch description	The description of the patch.

Alarms

The Patch Management module generates the following alarms:

• If the patch.xref cannot be opened or read or if it seems corrupted, for example, when an entry does not contain the expected number of fields, SysRM generates a warning alarm. Basically, if the patch matrix state is unusable, the module generates a warning alarm. To correct the problem, make sure that the patch.xref file is identical to the one installed in Sun Management Center. Correct the problem by making the necessary changes or by running the add-on setup and overwriting the patch.xref file already present in
  /var/opt/SUNWsymon/cfg (you will be prompted for confirmation).

FIGURE  4-3 Alarm to Reflect Problem

• The module generates an alarm when the number of un-installed patches in each category reaches a certain threshold.
  
  

  Recommended Security	error-gt = 0
  Security patches	error-gt = 0
  Recommended patches	warning-gt = 0
  Regular patches	info-gt = 0

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Note - You can configure these thresholds through the Attribute Editor window.

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Available Commands

A new window is launched to display the output of the different commands.

At the Managed Object Level

To View Installed Patches and Packages

FIGURE  4-4 Show Installed Patches Results

FIGURE  4-5 Show Installed Packages Results

At the Suggested Patch List Table Level

To View the Suggested Patch List Table Commands

FIGURE  4-6 Available Commands at the Row Level of the Patch List Table

FIGURE  4-7 References to Selected Patch in patch.xref

FIGURE  4-8 Example of Installed Patches making Reference to the Selected Patch

The following example illustrates the result when there is no installed patch making reference to the selected patch ID.

FIGURE  4-9 Example When There is No Installed Patch Making any Reference

At the Patch List Filtering Options Level

To Filter the Category of Suggested Patches to Be Displayed

Downloading a New Matrix

The patch matrix is updated when patches are released. Customers with support contracts receive notices of such updates through their regular channels. As a customer, you can download the matrix from the SunSolve web site.

To Download a New Matrix

ftp://sunsolve.Sun.COM/pub/patches/patchdiag.xref 

/opt/SUNWsymon/util/bin/sparc-sun-solaris2.7 

/var/opt/SUNWsymon/cfg/patch.xref

When running setup, you can choose to have the above file overwritten by the one in the following location:

$BASEDIR/base/cfg