About Removing Packages in Zones

The pkgrm utility described in the pkgrm(1M) man page supports removing packages on a Solaris system with zones installed.

Using pkgrm in the Global Zone

The pkgrm utility can be used with the -G option from the global zone to remove packages from the global zone only. The package must not affect any area of the global zone shared with non-global zones or be installed in any non-global zone.

When the pkgrm utility is used in the global zone, the following actions apply.

• pkgrm can remove a package from the global zone and from all non-global zones, or from the global zone only when the package is only installed in the global zone.

• pkgrm cannot remove a package only from the global zone if the package is also installed in a non-global zone, or remove a package from any subset of the non-global zones.

Note that a package can only be removed from a non-global zone by a zone administrator working in that zone if the following are true:

• The package does not affect any area on the non-global zone that is shared from the global zone.

• The package is set SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES=false.

Removing a Package From the Global Zone and From all Non-Global Zones

To remove a package from the global zone and from all non-global zones, execute the pkgrm utility in the global zone. As the global administrator, run pkgrm without the -G option.

A package can be removed from the global zone and from all non-global zones without regard to the area affected by the package.

The following steps are performed by the pkgrm utility:

• Package dependencies are checked on the global zone and on all non-global zones. If the dependency check fails, then pkgrm fails. The system notifies the global administrator, who is prompted whether to continue.

• The package is removed from each non-global zone.

• The package database on each non-global zone is updated.

• The package is removed from the global zone.

• The package database on the global zone is updated.

Using pkgrm in a Non-Global Zone

As the zone administrator, use the pkgrm utility in a non-global zone to remove a package. The following limitations apply:

• pkgrm can only remove packages from the non-global zone.

• The -G option cannot be used. If this option is used, pkgrm outputs an error message and the attempted operation fails.

• The package cannot affect any area of the zone that is shared from the global zone.

• The package must be set SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES=false.

The following steps are performed by the pkgrm utility:

• Dependencies are checked on the non-global zone's package database. If the dependency check fails, then pkgrm fails and the zone administrator is notified. The check fails if either of the following conditions are true.

  • Any component of the package affects any area of the zone that is shared from the global zone.

  • The package is set SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES=true.

• The package is removed from the zone.

• The package database on the zone is updated.