[gnu-sol-discuss] Re: dumb question

[Richard L. Hamilton]

The usual Solaris patches are for the fully supported, production level
binary Solaris distribution (_not for Solaris Express, which has to be updated
in its entirety to the latest version to pick up fixes); not just the most
current one, but a few back as well (I'll let someone else fill in
the end-of-life rules).

Usually they're mostly bug fixes, but sometimes when both demand and
practicality come together on it, they may add features or new hardware
support, too.

The patches typically update one or more of the SVR4 style packages
that compose the binary distribution, along with the associated information.
They don't replace entire packages, but individual files.  They may also run
some scripts to update or tweak config files, etc (usually very carefully).
A notable exception to that is firmware patches, which may not be part
of packages at all, and may apply to the hardware rather than to a particular
Solaris version.

One thing to keep in mind is that patches may have prerequisite patches;
the README for each patch file lists these, if applicable.  To keep life
simpler, some people prefer just to install patch clusters unless there's
some really pressing reason for installing individual patches.  OTOH, others
try to stay fairly current (with some testing regime before deploying on
critical systems), esp. if they're exposed to the outside world.

Nowadays, most of the patches (esp. security and recommended patches)
are publically available, AFAIK.  But some patches, and also early access
versions of patches, likely require a support contract.  Still, it's usually
enough for e.g. home users, small-time developers, etc to be able to
keep their systems healthy without shelling out $$.

(disclaimer: I don't work for Sun, so if I got some of that wrong, don't
blame them! )
 
 
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