Installing TLP Baselines

The TLP tool uses patch baselines to enable the standardized patching of multiple systems in large data centers. Within the TLP tool, baselines are sometimes referred to as snapshots. Baselines are well-tested. Therefore, the risk of change is minimized. In TLP, a baseline is defined by the date that it was created. The baseline for a given date includes a list of patches that belong to that patch baseline. Baselines are consistent and complete. Baselines do not have any external dependencies. When installing a baseline, the TLP tool checks for any external dependencies and resolves them.

Baseline installation consists of two primary phases:

• Load phase

  During the load phase, the Sun baseline is copied to the local repository to create the snapshot. You then load the snapshot.

• Update phase

  The command that you run during the update phase assigns a name and a color code to the snapshot. Each phase has a creation date that is assigned to it. By default, the TLP tool assigns the date of the creation of the EIS-CD to the snapshot.

In the following procedure you use the tlp repo command during the update phase. This command reads the repo section in the tlp.cfg file to determine the name and starting date of the phase. TLP uses an aging mechanism that enables you to install snapshots before they are assigned to a phase. By default, the first phase, GREEN, is defined to be at least 30 days old. The tlp repo phase update command determines the age of the snapshot and assigns an appropriate name and color code to it. If the baseline that was just copied to the system is not 30 days old, modify the conf/tlp.cfg file to a shorter time period. See How to Modify the TLP Configuration File for more information.

TLP is capable of maintaining multiple phases in parallel. This functionality enables you to track the history of each system's status. TLP automatically assigns a color status to systems in the data center, according to the phase in which each of the systems was patched. For more information, see TLP Reporting.

How to Install TLP Baselines

This procedure describes how to install a TLP patch baseline on the server. This procedure assumes that the current working directory is the TLP installation directory, /opt/SUNWtlp.

Before You Begin

Before you begin the baseline installation, ensure that the following activities have taken place:

• The TLP server software has been installed.

• The selected baseline (EIS-CD) is available.

  ---

  Note –

  The baselines that are used in this procedure are the EIS-CDs. The baselines that used are subject to change.

  ---

Steps

1. To create a snapshot in the repository from an EIS-CD, log in to the system as the tlp-user.

2. Copy the EIS-CD to the local repository.

   $ tlp snapshot load

   TLP uses the creation date of the EIS-CD as the creation date of the snapshot. If you do not have the EIS-CD in the /cdrom/cdrom0 location, you can provide another location by using the --source command-line option.

   $ tlp snapshot load --source=/mnt/cdrom0

3. Repeat the previous step for each EIS-CD from the set of EIS-CDs.

   ---

   Note –

   An alternative to using the EIS-CD as a snapshot is to create a custom snapshot by using this method:

   $ tlp snapshot create --patch-list patch-list --date \ YYYY-MM-DD [--name name]

   Or, you can use the following method:

   $ tlp snapshot current

   This method always uses the most current patches from the SunSolve web site.

   ---

4. Run the tlp repo command for the update phase.

   $ tlp repo [--date date] phase update

5. Verify and list the available phases by typing:

   $ tlp repo list

   All of the installed snapshots and their associated names (phases) are listed.

Example 2–5 Installing the TLP Baselines

This example shows how to install a TLP baseline.

./tlp snapshot load

 Copying EIS-CD 1 from 2003-05-27
 --------------------------------

    + Should EIS-CD 1 be copied (yes/no) ? [yes] : yes
    + Copying patches /export/home/user1/eis1/ --> 
                   data/repository/2003-05-27/patch
 100% [===========================================]
    + Creating CONTENT
 100% [===========================================]
    + Installing tools
    + Copying patch information

 ./tlp repo phases update

 Updating phases
 ---------------

 Reference date: 2003-08-12
 Creating phase link GREEN --> 2003-05-27

./tlp repo list

 Repository Snapshots
 --------------------

 Phases                      Id             Nr. Patches
 =======================================================
 GREEN                       2003-05-27             817