Changes to 23-FEB-2011: Solaris package management is broken between r0 and r1
'''It's simple, you see -- just remove all the patches you have ever applied before installing any new packages. Duh!'''
More failure on the Solaris front. --> More failure on the Solaris front. Package management on Solaris (10 and older) systems is completely broken. If you have have to install a vendor package after the system has been installed you must first back-out all patches.
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''What ? That can't be right... I install packages all the time without backing out all my patches. You're crazy!''
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Sure, you CAN install packages without backing out all the patches but it's not a good idea. The central issues here are that:
1. A single Solaris patch provides updates for multiple packages; and
2. Solaris patches are sparse
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So when you patch a system, all the packages that are installed get patched and the bits for packages that are not installed get ignored. Thus, if you later install package that was patched by a patch you have already installed, you cannot then re-apply the patch (because you already have it, and you may even have a newer patch that overlaps some of the packages so you cannot simply re-install the patch as you may end up downgrading things that have been patched).
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''What ?''
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Let's work from a recent example. I got a request to install TFTP on 2 existing servers. These servers are running Solaris 10 Update 5. They have, of course, had all relevant patches applied to them. They did not have the `SUNWtftp` package installed.
Only in r0
Only in r1 --> Modified slightly between r0 and r1