System Administration Guide: Basic Administration
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Patching Diskless Client OS Services

You use the smosservice patch command to do the following:

  • Establish the /export/diskless/Patches patch spool directory on an OS server.

  • Add patches to the patch spool directory. If the patch you are adding obsoletes an existing patch in the spool, the obsolete patch is moved to /export/diskless/Patches/Archive.

  • Delete patches from the patch spool directory.

  • List the patches in the patch spool directory.

  • Synchronize spooled patches out to clients. You must reboot each synchronized client for the client to recognize the patch update.


Note - Keep your OS servers up to date by installing recommended OS patches on a timely basis.


For information on downloading patches, see How to Download and Apply a Solaris Patch.

Displaying OS Patches for Diskless Clients

Diskless client patches are logged in different directories, depending on the type of patch:

  • Kernel patches are logged in the diskless client's /var/sadm/patch directory. To display kernel patches, type the following command on the diskless client:

    % patchadd –p

    Note - You must be logged in to the diskless client when you run this command. Running the patchadd -p command on the OS server displays kernel patches for the OS server only.


  • /usr patches are logged in the OS server's /export/Solaris_version/var/patch directory. A directory is created for each patch ID. To display /usr patches, type the following command on the OS server:

    % patchadd -S Solaris_version -p
    Patch: 111879-01 Obsoletes: Requires: Incompatibles: Packages: SUNWwsr

To list all spooled patches by OS and architecture, use the smosservice command with the -P option.

How to Add an OS Patch for a Diskless Client

  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. Log in to the diskless client system and shut it down.
    # init 0
  3. Add the patch to a spool directory.
    # /usr/sadm/bin/smosservice patch -- -a /var/patches/patch-ID-revision

    If the patch to add depends on another patch, adding the patch fails with the following message:

    The patch patch-ID-revision could not be added 
    because it is dependent on other patches which have not yet been spooled. 
    You must add all required patches to the spool first.
  4. Verify that the patch has been spooled.
    # /usr/sadm/bin/smosservice patch -- -P
  5. Push the spooled patch to the diskless client.
    # /usr/sadm/bin/smosservice patch -- -m -U

    Note - Pushing and synchronizing the patch to the diskless client can take up to 90 minutes per patch.


  6. Verify the patch is applied to the diskless client.
    # /usr/sadm/bin/smosservice patch -- -P
Example 7-9 Adding an OS Patch for a Diskless Client

This example shows how to add a Solaris 8 patch (111879-01) to the diskless client's OS services on the server.

# /usr/sadm/bin/smosservice patch -- -a /var/patches/111879-01
Authenticating as user: root

Type /? for help, pressing <enter> accepts the default denoted by [ ]
Please enter a string value for: password :: 
Loading Tool: com.sun.admin.osservermgr.cli.OsServerMgrCli from starlite
Login to starlite as user root was successful.
Download of com.sun.admin.osservermgr.cli.OsServerMgrCli from starlite 
was successful..
.
# /usr/sadm/bin/smosservice patch -- -P
Patches In Spool Area
Os Rel Arch   Patch Id  Synopsis
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
8      sparc  111879-01 SunOS 5.8: Solaris Product Registry patch SUNWwsr  

Patches Applied To OS Services
Os Service                              Patch
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solaris_8                               

Patches Applied To Clone Areas
Clone Area                              Patch
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solaris_8/sun4u          Patches In Spool Area
Os Rel Arch   Patch Id  Synopsis
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8      sparc  111879-01 SunOS 5.8: Solaris Product Registry patch SUNWwsr   
.
.
.
# /usr/sadm/bin/smosservice patch -- -m -U
Authenticating as user: root

Type /? for help, pressing <enter> accepts the default denoted by [ ]
Please enter a string value for: password :: 
Loading Tool: com.sun.admin.osservermgr.cli.OsServerMgrCli from starlite
Login to starlite as user root was successful.
Download of com.sun.admin.osservermgr.cli.OsServerMgrCli from starlite 
was successful.

# /usr/sadm/bin/smosservice patch -- -P
Authenticating as user: root
.
.
.
Patches In Spool Area
Os Rel Arch   Patch Id  Synopsis
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8      sparc  111879-01 SunOS 5.8: Solaris Product Registry patch SUNWwsr   

Patches Applied To OS Services
Os Service                              Patch
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solaris_8                               

Patches Applied To Clone Areas
Clone Area                              Patch
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solaris_8/sun4u
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