Selecting the Best Method for Applying Updates (Sun Update Connection System 1.0.8 Administration Guide)

Sun Update Connection System 1.0.8 Administration Guide

Selecting the Best Method for Applying Updates

You can use several different methods to download or apply one or more updates to your system. Use the following table to determine which method is best for your needs.

Note –

The version of the smpatch command described in this table was first available for Solaris 8 systems.

Table 1–3 Comparison of Update Methods


Command or Tool	Description	For More Information
Update Manager GUI	Use this tool when you want the convenience of a GUI to manage updates. Following are some features of this GUI: Analyzing your system to determine the appropriate updates Updating the system with one or more updates Removing updates Viewing the list of applied updates Configuring your update management environment Notifying you when new updates are available for your system	Chapter 4, Managing Solaris Updates by Using the Update Manager GUI
Sun Update Connection Hosted web application	Use this web application, which is hosted at Sun, to remotely manage updates on all of your Solaris 10 systems.	Chapter 5, Managing Solaris Updates by Using the Sun Update Connection Hosted Browser Interface
`smpatch update`	Use this command to analyze your system to determine the appropriate updates, and to automatically download and apply the updates. Note that this command will not apply an update that has the `interactive` property set. For Solaris 8 systems, only the local mode `smpatch` is available.	smpatch(1M) man page
`smpatch analyze` and `smpatch update`	First, use `smpatch analyze` to analyze your system to determine the appropriate updates. Then, use `smpatch update` to download and apply one or more of the updates to your system. Note that this command will not apply an update that has the `interactive` property set. For Solaris 8 systems, only the local mode `smpatch` is available.	smpatch(1M) man page
`smpatch analyze`, `smpatch download`, and `smpatch add`	First, use `smpatch analyze` to analyze your system to determine the appropriate updates. Then, use `smpatch download` to download them. This command also downloads any prerequisite updates. Then, use `smpatch add` to apply one or more of the updates to your system while the system is in single-user or multiuser mode. For Solaris 8 systems, only the local mode `smpatch` is available.	smpatch(1M) man page
`patchadd`	Starting with Solaris 2.6 release – Apply unsigned updates to your system. Starting with Solaris 9 12/03 release – Use this command to apply either signed or unsigned updates to your system. To apply signed updates, you must first set up your package keystore.	patchadd(1M) man page

If you choose to use the smpatch command-line interface or the Update Manager graphical user interface to apply updates, see Getting Started With the Sun Update Connection System for additional information that might affect which method you select.