Patch Installation for Solaris 9

Given procedure helpful for applying Firmware and OS patches for Solaris 9

Before starting the patching Ensure all system files have up to date backup.

I.  Installation of OBP patches:

1. Verify system hardware level.

   # uname  -a

   SunOS LABSEVER 5.9 Generic_118558-39 sun4u sparc SUNW,Sun-Fire-V440

2. Copy the appropriate OBP patches to the server under /var/tmp/OBPpatches.

3. Unzip the OBP patches

   #unzip <patch-id.zip>

4. Verify the server for existing OBP level

   #prtdiag  -v |grep –i OBP

And compare the patch level with the new OBP patch level info available in /var/tmp/OBPpatches/<patch number>/README.<patch number>. If the existing level is lower than the update available, update the server with OBP patches. Otherwise you can skip the OBP patches.

5. It is good practice to apply any OS/OBP patches in Single user mode (need console login). And must be root user.

   #shutdown   -y  -g0  -iS  (to go to single user mode)

6. Execute the following script to update the OBP patches; the script will be available in the OBP patch bundle itself.

   #./unix.flash-update.<hardware model>.sh

   Note: server will auto reboot after patch execution.

II. OS patch/Recommended patch cluster installation:

1.    If the system connected to SAN it would be better to take backup for the configuration files SCSI disk and SCSI tape.

   #cp /kernel/drv/sd.conf  /kernel/drv/sd.conf_ pre_cluster_installation

   #cp /kernel/drv/st.conf  /kernel/drv/st.conf_ pre_cluster_installation

2. Move the Patch Cluster archive onto a file system with sufficient free space in which to extract the archive. For better practice create a new directory under /var/tmp rather than using /tmp .

 Procedure for a single patch installation

1.    Unzip the patch

    #unzip patch-id

2.    Install  the patch

   #patchadd /tmp/patch-id   (To install the patch)

    Eg:# patchadd 111307-04

   Checking installed patches...

   Verifying sufficient filesystem capacity (dry run method)...

   Installing patch packages...

   Patch number 111307-04 has been successfully installed.

   See /var/sadm/patch/111307-04/log for details

3. Reboot the system

4.  Verify for successful installation of the patch.

   # patchadd -p | grep patch-id 

5.    In any worst case scenario to revert back the change, use patchrm command to remove the patch.

   # patchrm patch-id

Procedure for patch Cluster Installation

Recommended patch cluster will have an installation script (install_cluster) included in the bundle, which must be run to install 

1.  Extract the Patch Cluster archive.

    To extract a .zip file, run:

$ unzip $FILE.zip

To extract a .tar.gz file, run:

$ gzcat $FILE.tar.gz | tar xvf -

2.   View the README file before proceeding with Cluster installation.

3.   Login as the root user on the system console, and bring the system to single-user mode. Although Patch Cluster installation may be performed in multi-user mode (e.g. run level 3), it may cause problems with running programs and services.

4.  Install the Recommended Patch Cluster.

cd $PATCH_CLUSTER_DIRECTORY 

      # ./install_cluster


During Cluster installation, you may see failures when installing individual patches. 

Example:

Installation of patch failed. Return code 2.

Installation of patch failed. Return code 8.

Return code 2 indicates that the patch has already been installed. This message is common when installing the Recommended Patch Cluster on a regular basis.  

Return code 8 indicates that the patch is for a package that is not installed on your system.

Both of these return codes are common, and may be safely ignored. For information on othe return codes, examine the /usr/sbin/patchadd file.

5.  Restore the Sun SCSI disk and SCSI tape driver configuration files.

    # mv /kernel/drv/sd.conf.pre_cluster_installation /kernel/drv/sd.conf

    # mv /kernel/drv/st.conf.pre_cluster_installation /kernel/drv/st.conf



6.  Reboot the system.

   # shutdown -i6 -g0 -y

After rebooting, you may verify your new patch level with the showrev command. To list of all patches installed on your system, run the showrev -p command.




7.  Once the system is up validate the system logs and console logs.

8.  Due to patch installation if there is any problem either in system level or application level, identify the patch causing the problems and uninstall the particular patch by using the pathrm <patch-id>  command