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System Administration Guide, Volume 1

Patch Distribution

All Sun customers can access security patches and other recommended patches via the World Wide Web or anonymous ftp. Sun customers who have purchased a service contract can access an extended set of patches and a complete database of patch information. This information is available via the World Wide Web, anonymous ftp, and it is regularly distributed on a CD-ROM (See the table below).

Table 22-2 Customer Patch Access Information

If You Are ... 

Then ... 

A Sun Service customer 

You have access to the SunSolve database of patches and patch information. These are available via the World Wide Web or anonymous ftp, as described in "Patch Access Via the World Wide Web" and "Patch Access Via ftp".

These patches are updated nightly. You also receive a patch CD-ROM every 6 to 8 weeks.  

Not a Sun Service customer 

You have access to a general set of security patches and other recommended patches. These are available via the World Wide Web or anonymous ftp, as described in "Patch Access Via the World Wide Web" and "Patch Access Via ftp".

What You Need to Access Sun Patches

You can access Sun patches via the World Wide Web or anonymous ftp. If you have purchased a Sun service contract, you will also be able to get patches from the patch CD-ROM that is regularly distributed.

To access patches on the World Wide Web, you need a machine that is:

To access patches via anonymous ftp, you need a machine that is:

Patch Access Via the World Wide Web

To access patches via the World Wide Web, use this uniform resource locator (URL):

http://www.sun.com

After reaching the Sun home page, click on the Sales and Service button and navigate your way to the SunSolve patch database.

The patch database for publicly available patches are labeled "Public patch access." The patch database for the comprehensive set of patches and patch information available to contract customers is labeled "Contract customer patch access." You will be prompted for a password to access this contract customer database.

You can also access publicly available patches using this URL:

http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/sun-info/sun-patches/

Scroll to the bottom of this list to display the Solaris patch reports at this site.

Patch Access Via ftp

To access patches via ftp, you can use the ftp command to connect to either the sunsolve1.sun.com (provided by Sun Service) or sunsite.unc.edu (maintained by the University of North Carolina). When ftp prompts you for a login, enter anonymous as the login name. Use your complete email address when prompted for a password. After the connection is complete, you can find publicly available patches in the /pubs/patches directory.

Note -

To transfer patches, you will need to change the ftp transfer mode to binary. To do this, enter bin at the ftp prompt.