Patches and Packages

Packages - OpenSolaris or Glass Fish products...

Background

OpenSolaris packages are delivered out of a software repository that requires SSl certificates. In order to receive these certificates the following must be done.

• Get a SunSolve Online Account
• Register the on the Member Support Center
• Download and install the SSL certificates

Get a SunSolve Online Account 

Register with the Member Support Center (MSC), if you have a Sun Online Account, and you use SunSolve today, login with your Sun Online account to register on the Memeber Support Center.
If you do not have a Sun Online Account select "Create a Sun Online Account" from the MSC home page.

To complete the registration for MSC you will need:

• your company's Organization/Party ID (this was sent to the person within your organisation who
  was nominated as the Contract Owner).
• have approval from your company's representative (the Contract Owner above) once the online forms have
  been submitted.

Steps

o Go to http://ibis.sun.com/support - login with your Sun Online Account Details (you Sun login/password) details
o Complete the '4 step process'  and enter your Party number when requested. Select Knowledge or Business user, enter your party number, verify your details and select submit.

When your account is approved then you can proceed.
Once you have registered with the Member Support Center and received approval, you are ready to go to pkg.sun.com and download supported package updates from the Support Repository.

Get a Certificate from pkg.sun.com

OpenSolaris Support Repository access requires a Certificate and Key for the Support and Extras repositories. The Support Repo requires a support contract for entitlement.{

Here's how it works:

Go to http://pkg.sun.com/
Request the Certificate for the Support Repository (The Support repo only shows up in the list when the user has entitlement)

Download the Certificate & Key and follow the instructions. The recommended location is /var/pkg/ssl but can be put anywhere on the machine.

1. Issue the update command (like #pkg refresh)
2. The client software authenticates you to the pkgs.sun.com Support. Repository and checks for updated packages.
3. Packages that have updates will be downloaded and installed by the client.

Remember the Prerequisites: Contract, MSC registration & Prime User approval

Patches

Free Online Patching Training Course

Sun Learning Services has produced 10 free online Solaris 10 Patching training modules covering Live Upgrade, Deferred Activation Patching, Kernel patches, etc.

You can access the modules as follows:

Direct link to the course: Book 3-10: Solaris Patching Best Practices: https://learning.sun.com/solc/tblocontainer/1179270477

MyLearning: https://learning.sun.com/display/Courses/WS-2700-S10+Solaris+10+Patching+Best+Practices

Link to the Sun Online Learning Center (SOLC): https://learning.sun.com/solc/smartstart

I think even experienced Sys Admins will find the modules useful in clarifying patching best practices and providing context and background information on the evolution of patching technology and best practices in Solaris 10.

If you don't like the online course format, or if you want a reference document to refer back to after taking the course, please see the attached .pdf.

Patch Entitlements in more detail

Sun's Access Entitlement implementation works as follows.

There are two components:

1. Asset Entitlement: One or more "Entitlement Classes" are associated with the asset. For example, the asset may be a Patch or Image Packaging System (IPS) Repository.

2. User Entitlement: One or more "Entitlement Classes" are associated with the user based on their support contracts. Different support contracts associate the user with differ "Entitlement Classes". For example, a Solaris 10 Subscription will grant access to Solaris 10 patches but will not grant access to Solaris 8 or Solaris 9 patches.

Entitlement resolution is the lowest common denominator. If one or more of the "Entitlement Classes" associated with the User matches one or more of the "Entitlement Classes" associated with the Asset, then download access to the Asset is granted, else download access to the Asset is denied.

The following shows some of the current "Entitlement Classes" and their meanings. When you log into SunSolve and select Change Contract you will see some of these associated with your Sun Online Account (SOA):

See the relevant entries in the Patch Corner blog for further information.

Important Notes:

• It is important to note that in order to access Solaris 8 Vintage patches, users must have a Solaris 8 Vintage Patch Service plan associated with their Sun Online Account (SOA).
• A SunSpectrum support plan or a Solaris 8 Software Subscription entitles you to access non-Vintage Solaris 8, 9, and 10 patches
• A Solaris 9 Software Subscription entitles you to access Solaris 9 and 10 patches
• A Solaris 10 Software Subscription entitles you to access Solaris 10 patches
• The entitlement list can change over time to reflect the product-based entitlements available to the user.

Users experiencing difficulty with patch access should make use of the New Patch Forum, where they can read threads and post questions about patching related issues. See http://blogs.sun.com/patch/entry/patch_forums_now_available_for for information on how to access the Patch Forum.

*Warranty Customers Coming Soon..

Sun is working on implementing Knowledge entitlements for SunSolve, which allow Warranty customers access to premium content. It is important to note that Warranties provide access to Firmware patches but do not grant access to software patches as software is not covered by a hardware warranty.

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