Appendix B Additional SVR4 Packaging Requirements (Reference)

This appendix is for system administrators who install or remove packages, especially third-party packages. Following these packaging requirements enables the following:

• Avoids modifying the currently running system so you can upgrade with Solaris Live Upgrade and create and maintain non-global zones and diskless clients

• Prevents a package from being interactive to automate installations when using installation programs such as custom JumpStart

This chapter contains the following sections:

• Preventing Modification of the Current OS.

• Preventing User Interaction When Installing or Upgrading.

• Setting Package Parameters For Zones

Preventing Modification of the Current OS

Following the requirements in this section keeps the currently running OS unaltered.

Using Absolute Paths

For an installation of an operating system to be successful, packages must recognize and correctly respect alternate root (/) file systems, such as a Solaris Live Upgrade inactive boot environment.

Packages can include absolute paths in their pkgmap file (package map). If these files exist, they are written relative to the -R option of the pkgadd command. Packages that contain both absolute and relative (relocatable) paths can be installed to an alternative root (/) file system as well. $PKG_INSTALL_ROOT is prepended to both absolute and relocatable files so all paths are resolved properly when being installed by pkgadd.

Using the pkgadd -R Command

Packages being installed by using the pkgadd -R option or being removed using the pkgrm -R option must not alter the currently running system. This feature is used by custom JumpStart, Solaris Live Upgrade, non-global zones and diskless client.

Any procedure scripts that are included in the packages being installed with the pkgadd command -R option or being removed by using the pkgrm command -R option must not alter the currently running system. Any installation scripts that you provide must reference any directory or file that is prefixed with the $PKG_INSTALL_ROOT variable. The package must write all directories and files with the $PKG_INSTALL_ROOT prefix. The package must not remove directories without a $PKG_INSTALL_ROOT prefix.

Table B–1 provides examples of script syntax.

if [ -f ${PKG_INSTALL_ROOT}\
/etc/myproduct.conf ] ; then

if [ -f /etc/myproduct.conf ] ; \
 then

/bin/rm -f ${PKG_INSTALL_ROOT}\
/etc/myproduct.conf

/bin/rm -f /etc/myproduct.conf 

echo "test=no" > ${PKG_INSTALL_ROOT}\
/etc/myproduct.conf

echo "test=no" > \
/etc/myproduct.conf

Differences Between $PKG_INSTALL_ROOT and $BASEDIR Overview

$PKG_INSTALL_ROOT is the location of the root (/) file system of the machine to which you are adding the package. The location is set to the -R argument of the pkgadd command. For example, if the following command is invoked, then $PKG_INSTALL_ROOT becomes /a during the installation of the package.

# pkgadd -R /a SUNWvxvm

$BASEDIR points to the relocatable base directory into which relocatable package objects are installed. Only relocatable objects are installed here. Nonrelocatable objects (those that have absolute paths in the pkgmap file) are always installed relative to the inactive boot environment, but not relative to the $BASEDIR in effect. If a package has no relocatable objects, then the package is said to be an absolute package (or nonrelocatable), and $BASEDIR is undefined and not available to package procedure scripts.

For example, suppose a package's pkgmap file has two entries:

1 f none sbin/ls 0555 root sys 3541 12322 1002918510
1 f none /sbin/ls2 0555 root sys 3541 12322 2342423332

The pkginfo file has a specification for $BASEDIR:

BASEDIR=/opt

If this package is installed with the following command, then ls is installed in /a/opt/sbin/ls, but ls2 is installed as /a/sbin/ls2.

# pkgadd -R /a SUNWtest

Guidelines for Writing Scripts

Your package procedure scripts must be independent of the currently running OS to prevent modifying the OS. Procedure scripts define actions that occur at particular points during package installation and removal. Four procedure scripts can be created with these predefined names: preinstall, postinstall, preremove, and postremove.

Maintaining Diskless Client Compatibility

Packages must not execute commands delivered by the package itself. This is to maintain diskless client compatibility and avoids running commands that might require shared libraries that are not installed yet.

Verifying Packages

All packages must pass pkgchk validation. After a package is created and before it is installed, it must be checked with the following command.

# pkgchk -d dir_name pkg_name

dir_name

Specifies the name of the directory where the package resides

pkg_name

Specifies the name of the package

Example B–1 Testing a Package

After a package is created, it must be tested by installing it in an alternate root (/) file system location by using the -R dir_name option to pkgadd. After the package is installed, it must be checked for correctness by using pkgchk, as in this example.

# pkgadd -d . -R /a SUNWvxvm
# pkgchk -R /a SUNWvxvm

No errors should be displayed.

Example B–2 Testing a Package on /export/SUNWvxvm

If a package exists at /export/SUNWvxvm, then you would issue the following command.

# pkgchk -d /export SUNWvxvm

No errors should be displayed.

Other commands can check the package when you are creating, modifying, and deleting files. The following commands are some examples.

• For example, the dircmp or fssnap commands can be used to verify that packages behave properly.

• Also, the ps command can be used for testing daemon compliance by making sure daemons are not stopped or started by the package.

• The truss, pkgadd -v, and pkgrm commands can test runtime package installation compliance, but might not work in all situations. In the following example, the truss command strips out all read-only, non-$TEMPDIR access and shows only non-read-only access to paths that do not lie within the specified inactive boot environment.

# TEMPDIR=/a; export TEMPDIR
# truss -t open /usr/sbin/pkgadd -R ${TEMPDIR} SUNWvxvm \
2>&1 > /dev/null | grep -v O_RDONLY | grep -v \
'open("'${TEMPDIR}

Preventing User Interaction When Installing or Upgrading

Packages must be added or removed without the user being prompted for information when using the following standard Solaris utilities.

• The custom JumpStart program

• Solaris Live Upgrade

• Solaris installation program program

• Solaris Zones

To test a package to ensure that it will install with no user interaction, a new administration file can be set up with the pkgadd command -a option. The -a option defines an installation administration file to be used in place of the default administration file. Using the default file might result in the user being prompted for more information. You can create an administration file that indicates to pkgadd that it should bypass these checks and install the package without user confirmation. For details, see the man page admin(4) or pkgadd(1M).

The following examples show how the pkgadd command uses the administration file.

• If no administration file is provided, pkgadd uses /var/sadm/install/admin/default. Using this file might result in user interaction.

  # pkgadd

• If a relative administration file is provided on the command line, pkgadd looks in /var/sadm/install/admin for the file name and uses it. In this example, the relative administration file is named nocheck and pkgadd looks for /var/sadm/install/admin/nocheck.

  # pkgadd -a nocheck

• If an absolute file is provided pkgadd uses it. In this example, pkgadd looks in /tmp for the nocheck administration file.

  # pkgadd -a /tmp/nocheck

Example B–3 Installation Administration File

The following is an example of an installation administration file that requires very little user interaction with the pkgadd utility. Unless the package requires more space than is available on the system, the pkgadd utility uses this file and installs the package without prompting the user for more information.

mail=
instance=overwrite
partial=nocheck
runlevel=nocheck
idepend=nocheck
space=ask
setuid=nocheck
confiict=nocheck
action=nocheck
basedir=default

Setting Package Parameters For Zones

Packages have parameters that control how their content is distributed and made visible on a system with non-global zones installed. The SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES, SUNW_PKG_HOLLOW, and SUNW_PKG_THISZONE package parameters define the characteristics of packages on a system with zones installed. These parameters must be set so that packages can be administered in a system with non-global zones.

The following table lists the four valid combinations for setting package parameters. If you choose setting combinations that are not listed in the following table, those settings are invalid and result in the package failing to install.

Ensure that you have set all three package parameters. You can leave all three package parameters blank. The package tools interpret a missing zone package parameter as if the setting were “false,” but not setting the parameters is strongly discouraged. By setting all three package parameters, you specify the exact behavior the package tools should exhibit when installing or removing the package.

For Background Information

The following references provide background information about packaging requirements and specific command syntax.