Planning to Create the Solaris Flash Differential Archive for an Update

If you have a clone system that is already installed with an archive and want to update it, you can create a differential archive that contains only the differences between two images, the unchanged master image and an updated master image. The differences between these two images is the differential archive.

• One image is running on the master system that was the original software installed on the clone system. This image might need be installed on the master system if it was saved in a directory for future use.

• Another image is to be accessed and used for comparison. This image contains the new additions or deletions that will be installed on the clone systems.

After you update a clone system with a differential archive, only the files that are in the differential archive are changed on the clone system. Scripts can be used to customize the archive before or after installation, which is especially helpful for reconfiguration.

You can install a Solaris Flash differential archive with the custom JumpStart installation method. Or, you can use Solaris Live Upgrade to install a differential archive on an inactive boot environment.

An unchanged master image should be saved after the initial installation so this image can be accessed by any of the following methods.

• A Solaris Live Upgrade boot environment, mounted on some directory that uses the lumount command. For a description of a Solaris Live Upgrade boot environment, see Chapter 2, Solaris Live Upgrade (Overview), in Solaris 10 5/08 Installation Guide: Solaris Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning.

• A clone system that is mounted over Network File System (NFS) with root permissions.

• A system backup that can be restored with the ufsdump command.

For step-by-step instructions, see To Create a Solaris Flash Differential Archive With an Updated Master Image.