STB for OpenSolaris

Why does STB for OpenSolaris contain the Oracle Explorer Data Collector application only while STB for Solaris contains many more applications?

Of all the STB components, at present, only 6.0 and higher versions of Oracle Explorer Data Collector supports the OpenSolaris platform. Other applications (such as Service Tags, Oracle Lightweight Availability Tool, SNEEP) do not support OpenSolaris. These components will be added to the STB for OpenSolaris bundle when they extend their support to OpenSolaris.

Why am I not allowed to use http://opensolaris.org as my depot server to publish the packages?

opensolaris.org is a depot server for OpenSolaris users. Only the OpenSolaris community users will be able to publish packages to this server. Hence, STB does not allow anyone to publish STB packages to opensolaris.org.

Do I need a dedicated machine as depot server?

A dedicated machine is not required. depot server is a service and it is started via the SMF actuators by the STB. The service will run on a dedicated port (chosen by the user) and the machine can still be used for other purposes.

What hardware and software features are required for a system to qualify as depot server?

The system must be running OpenSolaris. This requirement constitutes all other needs to qualify as a depot server.

I have read that Oracle Explorer Data Collector installation in OpenSolaris requires client server architecture. If I install OpenSolaris in an isolated box, can I still install Oracle Explorer Data Collector?

Yes, a local box can act as server where STB will publish the package. The same box can then act as a client and Oracle Explorer Data Collector can be installed on that box.

In OpenSolaris, why does STB sometimes prompt for the remote host login?

Installation of IPS packages require pkg service to be running on the server. If this service is not running on the server, STB will try to start it, which requires access to that machine with sufficient privilege.

Do I need to set the depot server in my authority list?

No, STB will do that for you.

Do I need an Internet connection to install Oracle Explorer Data Collector in OpenSolaris?

Unlike most packages in OpenSolaris, which requires an Internet connection to directly install from the server, STB has no such limitation. STB will set a depot server locally and then install packages from there.

I receive the following error message when I run STB: Unable to restart pkg service on <Preferred host>. What does it mean?

STB tried to start up the depot service on your preferred host and it failed, probably due to intermittent, network issues/delays. To overcome this, wait for a few minutes and then try re-running the installer on your host again. If the problem persists, contact Sun's support team.

I receive the following error message when I run STB: Unable to refresh packages in <HOSTNAME>. What does it mean?

STB tries to update the catalogs on the concerned host so as to be in sync with the packages on their corresponding depot servers. The error log suggests that this update has failed. It could have failed due to transient network connectivity issues. To overcome this, wait for a few minutes and then try re-running the installer on your host again. If the problem persists, contact Sun's support team.

I'm seeing an error message about “Refreshing the package catalog...” What does it mean and why does it occur?

The complete error message follows:

Refreshing the package catalogs..
pkg: 1/2 catalogs successfully updated:
    Could not retrieve catalog from 'opensolaris.org'
URLError, reason: (8, 'node name or service name not known')

In IPS packaging mechanism, the packages are published onto a central server (such as the depot server) and clients later download and install those packages from the server. A client maintains an 'authority list' where all these servers are listed. By default, on all OpenSolaris boxes, 'opensolaris.org' is listed as an authority.

Before installing the packages from a depot server, STB installer script has to refresh the package catalogs to check for any updated packages on the corresponding depot servers. Thus, when STB tries to update the catalogs of the listed authorities, it tries to check 'opensolaris.org' server as well for any package updates. This error occurs if the host is unable to connect to this server.

This error can be ignored as this has no effect on the functionality of STB. You can avoid this error by manually unsetting the concerned opensolaris.org authority from the authority list. Please refer to the IPS client utility: 'pkg unset-authority' for more information.

Even when I enter the correct user credentials, STB fails to start the pkg service; why does this happen?

Your login probably does not have enough privilege to start the pkg service on the server. If you had attempted logging in as root user, this may be due to security settings on the systems that does not allow direct root access.

While trying to publish packages, why does STB fail with a pkgsend error?

If STB fails with a pkgsend error, check your depot server settings and ensure that it has been configured as read only.

Also, check your network settings to ensure that the http communications with the concerned depot server are successful.