New Functionality in the 1.1.1 Release

The following new functionality is available in the 1.1.1 release:

• Firmware Recommendations

• New Notification Policy

• New Job Preference

• Print Progress in Single User Mode

• Change in CLI Commands

Firmware Recommendations

Beginning with version 1.1.1, Sun Connection will detect your system's firmware level. The components are visible in the Hardware category.

When you start a Bug Fixes job, Sun Connection will perform a firmware level check and it will recommend the installation of required firmware patches.

The firmware recommendation depends on the knowledge base. The firmware knowledge base is expected by June 15 2007.

New Notification Policy

Beginning with version 1.1.1, the notification feature is available as a policy. Before 1.1.1 you had to answer each 'Notifications' question interactively, and then save the policy for later reuse. Now you can set up a notification policy.

To use the new notification policy for a job, perform the following steps:

1. In the Policy Editor, select the Notifications node.

2. Select a predefined answer (Ask Me, Yes, No) for the Apply Fix action.

3. Click OK to save the policy change.

If a task requires mandatory notifications and you set the Apply Fix parameter to No, the job will fail.

New Job Preference

Sun Connection jobs contain one or more tasks. Each task is made up of actions, such as installing (or uninstalling) a patch, package, configuration file, or script.

In versions before the 1.1.1 release, when an action (such as a patch or package install or uninstall) within a task failed, the entire task failed. Beginning with version 1.1.1, Sun Connection will continue to apply actions within a task, even when one or more actions within a task fails. If, for example, a patchadd fails within a task, the task and job will continue. This new default behavior applies to Solaris OS install or uninstall failures for either patches or packages. The behavior is configurable.

Some Solaris patches and packages should only be installed on the global zone. If you attempt to install Solaris global zone patches or packages on a local zone, the task will be marked as failed. In Sun Connection 1.1, these were logged as successful tasks and the job continued to run. In Sun Connection 1.1.1, the tasks are correctly identified as failures, but you now have the option to continue the job.

To disable the behavior and fail the job when a task fails, perform the following steps:

1. From the Tools menu, select Preferences, then Host.

2. Deselect the check box to disable the default behavior.

   The following is the default behavior:

   • Patch policy – Continue task if patch install fails

   • Packages – Continue task if package install fails

Print Progress in Single User Mode

When an agent is running in single user mode, a simple text progress is printed to the sytem's console.

Change in CLI Commands

The following command line options are no longer available:

• User name, -u, option

• Password, -p, option

You can still opt to type your user name and password interactively. If you want to call the CLI without interactive prompts, for example when you use a script, use the new Store Password, -sp, option.

When you use the -sp option, you are prompted for your user name and password. Sun Connection will encrypt the information and save it in your personal .uce.rc file. Once your information is saved, Sun Connection will automatically retrieve the information from your .uce.rc resource file when you run commands from the CLI.