Solaris Express 11/06 Issues

The following issue applies to the Solaris Express 11/06 release.

Using patchadd With the -R Option To Specify an Alternative Root Path From Systems That Are Not Zones Aware Should Be Restricted (6464969)

On systems running a Solaris release that is not zones aware, using patchadd -R, or any command that accepts the -R option to specify an alternate root path for a global zone that has non-global zones installed, will not work.

In contrast with the error message that is displayed by using the luupgrade [-t, -T, -p, -P] command, no error message regarding the use of appropriate command-level restrictions is displayed in this instance.

There is no indication that the -R option did not work. As a result of the failure of the command, Solaris Express packages or patches are not installed on any of the installed non-global zones.

This problem occurs while installing and uninstalling packages or patches.

Note - The -R option works if the alternate boot environment has configured non-global zones, but no installed non-global zones. However, to avoid a potential problem, or if you are not sure whether there are any installed non-global zones used as the alternate root path, restrict the use of the -R option in all instances.

For more information, see the following man pages :

• patchadd(1M)

• patchrm(1M)

• pkgadd(1M)

• pkgrm(1M)

Workaround 1: Upgrade the OS to at least the Solaris Express 12/05 release.

Workaround 2: Restrict the use of the patchadd -R command or any command that accepts the -R option to create an alternate root path.

Instead, boot the alternate root, for example, the Solaris Express release, as the active OS.