Upgrading the Oracle Solaris OS

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Refer to System Firmware Versions and Oracle Solaris OS Versions to find the Oracle Solaris 10 or Oracle Solaris 11 OS that you should use for this version of the Oracle VM Server for SPARC software, and the required and recommended patches for the different domains. Refer to the Oracle Solaris 10 and Oracle Solaris 11 installation guides for complete instructions on upgrading the Oracle Solaris OS.

When reinstalling the Oracle Solaris OS in the control domain, you must save and restore the domain autosave configuration data and the constraints database file, as described in this section.

Saving and Restoring Autosave Configuration Directories

You can save and restore autosave configuration directories prior to reinstalling the operating system on the control domain. Whenever you reinstall the operating system on the control domain, you must save and restore the domain autosave configuration data, which is found in the /var/opt/SUNWldm/autosave-autosave-name directories.

You can use the tar or cpio command to save and restore the entire contents of the directories.

Note - Each autosave directory includes a timestamp for the last SP configuration update for the related configuration. If you restore the autosave files, the timestamp might be out of sync. In this case, the restored autosave configurations are shown in their previous state, either [newer] or up to date.

For more information about autosave configurations, see Managing Domain Configurations in Oracle VM Server for SPARC 3.2 Administration Guide .

How to Save and Restore Autosave Directories

Save the autosave directories.

# cd /
# tar -cvpf autosave.tar var/opt/SUNWldm/autosave-*

(Optional) Remove the existing autosave directories to ensure a clean restore operation.
Sometimes an autosave directory might include extraneous files, perhaps left over from a previous configuration, that might corrupt the configuration that was downloaded to the SP. In such cases, clean the autosave directory prior to the restore operation as shown in this example:
```
# cd /
# rm -rf var/opt/SUNWldm/autosave-*
```
Restore the autosave directories.
These commands restore the files and directories in the /var/opt/SUNWldm directory.
```
# cd /
# tar -xvpf autosave.tar
```

Saving and Restoring the Logical Domains Constraints Database File

Whenever you upgrade the operating system on the control domain, you must save and restore the /var/opt/SUNWldm/ldom-db.xml Logical Domains constraints database file.

Note - Also save and restore the /var/opt/SUNWldm/ldom-db.xml file when you perform any other operation that is destructive to the control domain's file data, such as a disk swap.

Preserving the Logical Domains Constraints Database File When Using the Oracle Solaris 10 Live Upgrade Feature

If you are using the Oracle Solaris 10 Live Upgrade feature on the control domain, consider adding the following line to the /etc/lu/synclist file. This line causes the database to be copied automatically from the active boot environment to the new boot environment when you switch boot environments.

/var/opt/SUNWldm/ldom-db.xml     OVERWRITE

For more information about /etc/lu/synclist and synchronizing files between boot environments, refer to Synchronizing Files Between Boot Environments in Oracle Solaris 10 8/11 Installation Guide: Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning .