Upgrading a Boot Environment Overview

After you have created a boot environment, it remains unchanged until you are ready to upgrade it. You can perform an upgrade on the boot environment at any time. The upgrade does not affect any files in the active boot environment. When you are ready, you then activate to the new release.

Figure 30–4 shows an upgrade to an inactive boot environment. For procedures on upgrading a boot environment, see Chapter 33, Upgrading With Solaris Live Upgrade (Tasks).

Figure 30-4 Upgrading an Inactive Boot Environment

Rather than an upgrade, you can install a Solaris Flash archive on a boot environment. The Solaris Flash installation feature enables you to create a single reference installation of the Solaris operating environment on a system that is called the master system. Then, you can replicate that installation on a number of systems that are called clone systems. In this situation, the inactive boot environment is a clone. For more information about the Solaris Flash installation feature, see Chapter 16, Solaris Flash Installation Feature (Topics).

When you install the Solaris Flash archive on a system, the archive replaces all the files on the existing boot environment as an initial installation would. Figure 30–5 shows an installation of a Solaris Flash archive on an inactive boot environment. For procedures on installing a Solaris Flash archive, see “Installing Solaris Flash Archives on a Boot Environment”.

Figure 30-5 Installing a Solaris Flash Archive