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Sun Patch Manager 2.0 Administration Guide for the Solaris 9 Operating System

Managing Patches in the Solaris Operating System (Road Map)

Use this road map to identify all the tasks for managing Solaris patches. Each task points to a series of additional tasks such as managing signed or unsigned patches.

Task 

Description 

For Instructions 

Determine whether to apply signed or unsigned patches. 

Determine whether applying signed or unsigned patches is best for your environment. 

Determining Whether to Apply Signed or Unsigned Patches to Your System

Apply a patch to your system. 

You can apply patches in the following ways: 

  • Use the smpatch command on Solaris 8 or Solaris 9 systems to apply signed or unsigned patches.

  • Use the Sun Patch Manager browser interface on Solaris 9 systems.

  • Use the patchadd command on Solaris 2.6, Solaris 7, Solaris 8, or Solaris 9 systems to apply unsigned Solaris patches.

    Starting with the Solaris 9 12/03 release – Use the patchadd command to apply either signed or unsigned patches.

Determining Whether to Apply Signed or Unsigned Patches to Your System

The key factor when determining whether to apply signed or unsigned patches to your system is whether you trust of the source of patches.

If you trust the source of patches, for example, a patch CD from a known distributor or an HTTPS connection to a trusted web site, you can use unsigned patches. However, if you do not trust the source, use signed patches.

If you are unsure about whether to trust the source of patches, use signed patches.