Tools For Managing Patches

There are two utilities for managing patches:

• patchadd - use to install directory-format patches to a Solaris 7 system.

• patchrm - use to remove patches installed on a Solaris 7 system. This command restores the file system to its state before a patch was applied.

Detailed information about how to install and back out a patch is provided in the Install.info file with each patch. Each patch also contains a README file that contains specific information about the patch.

Before installing patches, you might want to know more about patches that have previously been installed. Table 18-1 shows commands that provide useful information about patches already installed on a system.

Table 18-1 Helpful Commands for Patch Administration

Command	Function
showrev -p	Shows all patches applied to a system.
pkgparam pkgid PATCHLIST	Shows all patches applied to the package identified by pkgid.
pkgparam pkgid PATCH_INFO_patch-number	Shows the installation date and name of the host from which the patch was applied. pkgid is the name of the package: for example, SUNWadmap.
patchadd -R client_root_path -p	Shows all patches applied to a client, from the server's console.
patchadd -p	Shows all patches applied to a system.