Chapter 4 Getting Started With Sun Patch Manager (Overview)

Sun Patch Manager has two user interfaces: the smpatch command-line interface and the Patch Manager browser interface.

This chapter covers the following topics:

• Patch Manager Installation Requirements

• Working Within Your Patch Management Environment

• Comparison of Sun Patch Manager User Interfaces

Patch Manager Installation Requirements

To use the Patch Manager tool, you must install at least the Developer Solaris Software Group of Solaris 9 software. You must also obtain the Patch Manager software from the Sun Download Center at http://wwws.sun.com/software/download.

As of June 2005, not all Sun patches are available through Sun Patch Manager. Such patches include those that do not conform to PatchPro standards, and those that have third-party contract restrictions.

Working Within Your Patch Management Environment

To determine which method is best for downloading and applying patches to your system, see Selecting the Best Method for Applying Patches.

To get started using Patch Manager, find the situation that best describes your patch management environment.

• Your client system is directly connected to the Internet.

  You are ready to manage patches by using the smpatch command-line interface or the Patch Manager browser interface. See Accessing the Sun Patch Manager Command-Line Interface or Accessing the Sun Patch Manager Browser Interface.

• Your client system is connected to the Internet by means of a web proxy.

  You must first specify the host name and port of the web proxy. If required, also specify the user name and password associated with the web proxy. See How to Specify Your Web Proxy (Command Line) or How to Specify Your Web Proxy (Web Browser).

  After you change your configuration, see Accessing the Sun Patch Manager Command-Line Interface or Accessing the Sun Patch Manager Browser Interface.

• You want to have several client systems obtain patches from a local patch server on your intranet.

  You must first configure a system to act as your local patch server. See Configuring Your Local Patch Server (Task Map).

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  Note –

  The local patch server is an optional Sun Patch Manager 2.0 feature that you can obtain at no charge if you are a contract customer in the SunSpectrum program.

  For information about becoming a contract customer or obtaining the local patch server distribution, go to http://sunsolve.sun.com and click Patch Portal.

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  Next, configure each client system to obtain patches from the local patch server by specifying the local patch server as the source of patches. See How to Specify the Source of Patches (Command Line) or How to Specify the Source of Patches (Web Browser).

  Finally, after you configure a local patch server and change the configuration of your client systems, see Accessing the Sun Patch Manager Command-Line Interface or Accessing the Sun Patch Manager Browser Interface.

• You need a user name and a password to access patches from the Sun patch server.

  If you need to obtain a user name and password, register at http://sunsolve.sun.com.

  Then, specify the user name and password for each client system or local patch server on which you run Patch Manager. See How to Specify a User Name and Password With Which to Obtain Patches (Command Line) or How to Specify a User Name and Password With Which to Obtain Patches (Web Browser).

  After you change your configuration, see Accessing the Sun Patch Manager Command-Line Interface or Accessing the Sun Patch Manager Browser Interface.

Comparison of Sun Patch Manager User Interfaces

The following table summarizes the Sun Patch Manager 2.0 features and tasks that are supported by the command-line interface (smpatch) and the browser interface.

While you can use the browser interface to perform the basic patch management tasks, you can use the smpatch command to perform those tasks and many others.

The browser interface that was originally released with the Sun Patch Manager 2.0 product for Solaris 9 systems has been withdrawn.

The Patch Manager product will be replaced by the new Sun Update Manager product.