7 Using software depots for patch management

A software depot, or simply depot, is a special type of file or directory formatted for use by Software Distributor for HP-UX (SD-UX). Depots can contain a variety of software products. This chapter focuses specifically on depots as repositories for patches and patch bundles. These depots are commonly referred to as patch depots.

Common uses for patch depots include the following:

•Patch depots are an extremely effective mechanism for managing patches. They can be especially beneficial in managing patches for groups of systems.

•Patch depots can be used as a single source of patches. This helps you to install all patches in a single installation session.

•Depots are used for software delivery. When you download patches or patch bundles from HP, you receive either a depot or a file that contains a depot.

•Patch depots can be transferred using email or file transfer protocol (FTP).

Patch depots are an extremely useful patch management tool for systems whose patching you manage as a group. For these groups, you can use patch depots to centrally manage tasks such as defining, testing, and updating patch configurations. First, you create a separate centralized depot for each group; then you manage the patches in each depot rather than on each individual system. These centralized depots, which can be accessed remotely, are used as the single patch source for patch installations on all systems in the corresponding group. This allows you to maintain the same patch level (set of active patches) on all your systems with less overall effort.

Another benefit of using depots is that they minimize the number of reboots required during patch installation. If you place all the patches to install into a single depot, you will be able to install the entire contents of the depot onto a system with a single reboot.

For information about depots beyond the scope of this guide, see the Software Distributor Administration Guide on the HP Business Support Center website at http://www.hp.com/go/ sd-docs.

Common software distributor commands for patching

Please note that use of the various SD-UX commands requires root privileges. For information on the SD-UX commands, see the Software Distributor Administration Guide on the HP Business Support Center website at http://www.hp.com/go/sd-docs.

Table 7-1 SD commands and patch tools

SD-UX Command

Description

check_patches

Check for installation problems and issues related to patches. Options allow

 

you to check for patches missing the SD-UX patch attributes, missing patch

 

filesets, patch object modules missing from archive libraries, patch filesets

 

with the incorrect patch_state, patch filesets not in the configured state,

 

and patch filesets that fail swverify.

 

This command is available on 11i v3 systems, and is available as a patch in

 

preceding HP-UX versions:

 

• PHCO_27780: 11.11 HP-UX Patch Tools

 

• PHCO_32220: 11.23 HP-UX Patch Tools

 

See check_patches(1M) for more information.

 

 

cleanup

Allows you to commit all patches that have been superseded a specified

 

number of times. You can execute this command in preview mode to see what

 

effect the command will have without making any changes.

 

 

64 Using software depots for patch management