Specify a New Boot Environment

If you request a new BE or if a new BE is required to accomplish the update, you see the following message at the end of the update output:

A clone of currentBE exists and has been updated and activated.
On the next boot the Boot Environment newBE will be
mounted on '/'.  Reboot when ready to switch to this updated BE.

The current BE is not modified. All changes are made in the new BE.

Explicitly specifying a new BE is the safest way to install or update. See Boot Environment Policy Image Properties for information about when BEs are created. You should use the --be-name option to give the new BE a meaningful name.

The new BE is activated so that this new environment is booted by default the next time you boot the system. If you do not want the new BE to be the default on the next reboot, use the --no-be-activate option with the pkg update command. You can change the default boot BE at any time by using the beadm activate command. For more information about boot environment options, see Boot Environment Options.

If you are satisfied with your new BE, you can destroy your old one.

Tip:

Keep an early BE for each operating system release. If necessary, you can boot back to the older BE and use it to update to a version between that version and the next newer version that you have installed.