Group Packages

A group package specifies the set of packages that constitute a feature or tool. Installing a group package installs all the group dependency packages in that group package. Packages specified as group dependencies in a group package do not specify the package version. The group package is a content management tool, not a version management tool.

A group package delivers the packages named in its group dependencies unless those packages are already installed or are on the avoid list. See Avoiding Installing Some Packages in a Group Package for information about the avoid list of an image.

The group/feature/storage-server package, for example, delivers drivers, services, file systems, I/O components, libraries, and utilities related to storage if they are not already installed. The group/system/solaris-minimal-server package delivers the set of packages required for the minimum supported Oracle Solaris environment. See Listing All Installable Packages in a Group Package for an example of how to list all of the packages that are delivered by a group package.

Uninstalling a group package does not necessarily uninstall all the packages named in its group dependencies. Packages that are required by other software that is still installed will not be uninstalled when you uninstall the group package.