HP Tru64 UNIX Version 5.1B-2 and Higher Patch Kit Installation Instructions (March 2009)

The installation of a patch is blocked if any of the following conditions exist:
• The underlying software product subset is not installed — for example, if the applicable
Tru64 UNIX or TruCluster software release subset is not installed.
• The setld inventory is inconsistent with the existing system files. This occurs when an
operating system or TruCluster software setld subset is installed and individual operating
system files that are part of that subset are moved, deleted, or replaced.
• The patch installation is blocked if any existing system files (files that are targeted to be
updated by a patch) have changed and cannot be related to previous versions of the patch.
This ensures that operating system files that change due to other explicit system administrator
action (for example, layered product patches or non-dupatch installed CSP installations)
are not inadvertently overwritten. You must take special action, through the baseline feature
to enable patch installation in this situation.
Patch Reversibility
By default, Release Patch Kits are made reversible during the installation so you revert your
system to its state prior to the installation. If you choose to make patch kits nonreversible, you
will not be able to uninstall the kit.
Customer-Specific patch kits are forced to be reversible when the CSP kit is manufactured. This
forced reversibility overrides the reversibility option provided by dupatch during installation.
Patch reversibility is dependent upon saving the existing system files that will be updated by
the patch. Saving these files requires the availability of adequate storage space in
/var/adm/patch/backup, which can be a mount point for a separate disk partition, an NFS
mount point, or a symbolic link to another file system. This allows you to configure your system
to reduce the impact on system disk space for the /, /usr, and /var partitions.
The dupatch utility checks for the required storage space prior to patch installation. Patch
installation is prevented if adequate backup space is unavailable.
“Performing a Patch Preinstallation Check” includes an example of the dupatch output regarding
patch reversibility.
Using the Patch Tracking Menu
The dupatch patch-tracking capability lets you view information about installed patches, such
as lists of release patches, CSPs, and ERPs installed on the system and which patch kits you have
installed.
For example, the following dupatch output shows the patch tracking menu with the List Installed
patches menu item selected:
Patch Tracking Menu:
-------------------
1) List installed patches
2) List installed patch files
3) List patch kit information for installed patches
4) Show Patch History for selected patches
5) Show System Patch History
b) Back to Main Menu
q) Quit Enter your choice: 1
Patch Tracking Selection Menu:
------------------------------
1) List Release Patches
2) List Customer Specific Patches
3) List All Patches
b) Back to Tracking Menu
q) Quit
Patch Reversibility 15