Patch Corner: Patch news and best practice

I've updated the Solaris 10 Kernel PatchID sequence table in http://blogs.sun.com/patch/entry/solaris_10_kernel_patchid_progression with the latest Kernel PatchIDs for Solaris 10 10/09 (Update 8) and Solaris 10 Update 9.

Solaris 10 5/09 (Update 7) and subsequent Kernel PatchIDs 

The Kernel patch included in Solaris 10 5/09 (Update 7) has now been released to SunSolve.  The PatchIDs are 139555-08 (SPARC) and 139556-08 (x86).  The rest of the patches included in Solaris 10 5/09 are either released or in the process of being released over the next week or so. 

I've updated the Solaris Kernel PatchID sequence listed in http://blogs.sun.com/patch/date/20080416 to reflect this, including the PatchIDs of the post Solaris 10 5/09 (Update 7) sustaining Kernel PatchID and the Solaris 10 Update 8 Kernel PatchID.

We will be releasing a patch bundle containing the set of patches included in Solaris 10 5/09 in the next couple of weeks.  This will be available from the "Solaris Updates Patch Bundle" section on the new look SunSolve Patch Cluster and Patch Bundle page, http://sunsolve.sun.com/show.do?target=patches/patch-access, which now includes a description of the purpose, contents, and update frequency of each patch cluster and bundle.

As always, customers need to have a valid support contract in order to download Solaris patch clusters and bundles.

New PatchFinder tool coming

We plan to release a new PatchFinder tool on SunSolve at the end of May.   This leverages the patch metadata in our release database to provide a much richer customer experience to search for patches.  Further enhancements are planned after the initial deployment.  The old PatchFinder tool will remain available for a transition period.

Zones Parallel Patching Performance Enhancement

The Zones Parallel Patching performance enhancement continues on schedule.  It has been successfully beta tested by a number of key customers who confirm a 3x performance improvement patching zones.   It is on schedule to be released in a revision of the patch utilities patch (119254 SPARC / 119255 x86) in June.

Solaris 10 "Recommended" and Sun Alert Patch Clusters

Improvements to the Solaris 10 "Recommended" and Sun Alert Patch Clusters are on schedule to be deployed before the end of June.  The improvements include an improved install_cluster script (currently available in the Solaris 10 Live Upgrade Zones Starter Patch Bundle and the Solaris 10 Updates Patch Bundles) and other process improvements designed to improve quality.

Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Support Program

The Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Support Program is now up and running.  The first Vintage Solaris 8 patches have been released.

Patches which fix SunAlerts which were issued prior to the April 1 start date of the Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Support program will be released as "normal" (i.e. non-vintage) Solaris 8 patches. 

But all other Solaris 8 patches created after April 1, including patches which fix security issues, require customers to have a Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Support contract to use them.

See http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/topics/vintagepatch/  for further information.

As mentioned in a previous posting, the practice of patch "rejuvenation" to break out large complex patches (typically Kernel patches) into smaller, simpler components going forward has a side effect of making it difficult to follow the sequence of PatchIDs.  If you have the parent patch (e.g. an old Kernel patch), it's not obvious which child patches supercede the parent (e.g. what's the latest Kernel PatchID) as the parent isn't obsoleted by rejuvenation.  Instead, the children of the rejuvenation each specify a Requirement on the parent patch from which they were rejuvenated.

I've listed the Solaris 10 Kernel PatchID Sequence in a previous posting.  For the sake of completeness, here's the Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 Kernel PatchID Sequences (with the most current PatchID top of the list):

Solaris 8 Kernel PatchID Sequence

SPARC	x86
117350-01 to -xx	117351-01 to -xx
requires	requires
117000-01 to -05	117001-01 to -05
requires	requires
108528-01 to -29	108529-01 to 29

Solaris 9 Kernel PatchID Sequence

 

SPARC	x86
122300-02 to -xx	122301-02 to -xx
requires	requires
118558-01 to -39	118559-01 to -39
requires	requires
117171-01 to -17	117172-17 only
requires	obsoletes
112233-01 to -12	112234-04 to -11