Lists the update methods and options to update these operating systems.
You will use a similar methodology and set of procedures to update your Linux and Oracle Solaris 8, 9, and 10 operating systems.
You can use the following update methods and options to update these operating systems:
Use predefined or custom profiles and associated deployment plans to update a system or group of systems.
Use a system to create a simple update job without creating a profile. Use this method to apply a single patch quickly.
Use the compliance reports output to update your OS. Use this method to make your systems compliant with newly released updates.
Use compare catalogs to roll a system back to its previous state.
Table 8-2 Methods of Creating an Operating System Update Job
| Update Method | Oracle Solaris 8, 9, and 10 | Linux |
|---|---|---|
|
Create and deploy an Update Plan |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Create a new Update OS Job |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Create Update Profile and Policy |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Modify or compare a System Catalog |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Create an Oracle Solaris Update Compliance report |
Yes |
No |
|
Create a Compliance Report |
Yes |
No |
In addition to the methods described previously, you can use Live Upgrade and alternate boot environments to update your Oracle Solaris OS with a minimum of downtime.
Creating a new update job enables you to use custom or predefined profiles. Use this method for complex update scenarios or to apply updates consistently across many systems. You can run the OS update plan in simulate or deploy mode. In simulate mode, you can choose whether to download the updates.
The New Update OS Job option enables you to create customized update jobs. When creating a job, you define how the software performs the job, set the automation level of the job, and select a policy from the list of available policies. You can run the job in simulation mode or run the actual job. Simulation mode determines the actions and results of a job, and estimates the amount of time required to complete the job. You can use a job simulation to determine if your job can succeed based on your policy and profile responses. You can run a simulation with or without downloading updates.
Note:
To use an alternate boot environment (ABE) and run ABE pre-action scripts for Solaris OS, see the procedures in Oracle Solaris Boot Environments.
Deployment plans enable you to control how the update is performed and apply updates consistently across many systems.
With this method, you can use custom or predefined profiles to perform complex update scenarios or to apply updates consistently across many systems.
You can use the following deployment plan templates to update a supported operating system:
Software Deployment/Update: Use this plan to apply script based update profiles.
Configure Server Hardware and Install OS: Use this plan to configure a service processor or a chassis, provision OS and update the OS.
Configure and Install Dynamic System Domain: Use this plan to create dynamic system domains, provision and update OS on the domains.
Install Server: Use this plan to provision and update the OS.
Procedure to use plans to update your Oracle Solaris or Linux operating system.
The settings and values in the profiles bound to each step are defaults. You can modify the settings and values when you apply the plan. The profile settings and values are constrained by the target systems to which the plan is applied. All update plans use "yes to all" policy.
A system catalog contains a list of operating system software components that are installed on a managed system. Catalogs provide the capability to directly manipulate the installed software components on a single operating system or a group of operating systems.
Updating an operating system by modifying a system catalog provides the following advantages:
Enables you to create a quick ad hoc job
Provides an easy method of applying a single patch, baseline, or package
Enables you to update an operating system without creating a profile for a one-time job
You can generate compliance reports for an operating system from which you can create an operating system update job.
The Oracle Solaris Update Compliance report is similar to a Recommended Software Configuration report. The report uses the Oracle Solaris update patch bundles as the recommended software configurations. You can use this report to check how compliant a system is with a particular Oracle Solaris update and bring the operating system into compliance.
See Create Reports for information about generating these reports. You can generate these reports for non-compliant components. The report result appears with the option to install the updates, packages, updates, and incidents.
The report results are stored in the database associated with the Enterprise Controller. The software maintains a history of the reports for analysis purposes.
From the report result, you can initiate a job to install the non-compliant component updates. The New Update OS Job Wizard starts, enabling you to enter job information and to schedule the job. The required data for profiles, policies, and targets are automatically pre-populated in the New Update OS Job Wizard.
Note:
Updating a version of Oracle Solaris is not the same as upgrading to a new version.
For example, you can run the Oracle Solaris Update Compliance reports for Oracle Solaris update releases and bring systems into compliance with those bundles. Oracle Solaris update release bundles contain the equivalent set of updates to the corresponding update. You can use them to bring pre-existing packages up to the same software level as the corresponding update. However, this feature does not perform a full Oracle Solaris upgrade from one release to another. The update release bundles do not contain additional packages that are in the update releases and they do not change the first line of /etc/release to specify an upgrade has taken place, although they do append a line to /etc/release to specify that the update bundle is applied.
A system catalog is a list of operating system software components that are installed on a particular managed system. An initial catalog is created after the system is discovered and managed.
After an operating system is available and selected, you can view and modify the catalogs and create historical catalogs (snapshots of the system).
Modifying a catalog is an alternate way to run an operating system update job to install, uninstall, or upgrade a component. Modifying a catalog does not require an update profile to run the update job and is a quick way of changing the component configuration of a system.
You can compare the system catalogs of two managed systems, view the summary of the comparison, and you can choose to make the target system the same as the source system.
Catalogs provide the capability to directly manipulate the installed software components on a single operating system or a group of operating systems. Alternatively, a catalog can be saved as a profile, and then an operating system update job can be run using this profile.
You can run an operating system update job, or you can use the simulate feature to run an update simulation before you apply updates.
You can save the catalog of a system as a profile. Using this profile, you can create the systems with the required configuration in your data center.