How to Update an Oracle Solaris 11 Boot Environment

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To update a boot environment, use the pkg update command. If a clone (new) BE is created, the changes are made in the clone and the current BE is not touched. By default, the new BE is activated. To see the changes, reboot the new BE. If you are not satisfied with the changes, you can reboot the original BE. As a best practice, use the pkg update –nv command first to determine which packages will be updated.

Caution - When you update your BE, you might need to upgrade your root pool version. Make sure you have tested all of the features and that you are satisfied with the current update before upgrading your pool version and updating the BE. For information about upgrading your pool version, see Upgrading ZFS Storage Pools in Managing ZFS File Systems in Oracle Solaris 11.3.

Display the existing BE information for your system.
```
# beadm list
```
Update the BE as follows:
```
# pkg update -nv
```
where the –nv options enable you to first determine which packages will be installed without actually installing the packages.

Then, install the packages as follows:
```
# pkg update --be-name meaningfulName
```
When naming a new BE, choose a meaningful name. For example, if there is an existing BE named solaris, a new BE called solaris-1 will be created and automatically activated after the pkg update operation completes.
Reboot the system, then, confirm the BE status.
```
# init 6
.
.
.
# beadm list
```
(Optional) If an error occurs when booting the new BE, activate and boot the previous BE.
```
# beadm activate previousBE
# init 6
```
If the activated BE does not boot, see How to Boot From a Backup BE for Recovery Purposes.