1    Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the concepts and features of the patch kits for the Tru64 UNIX operating system and TruCluster software products.

1.1    Overview

A patch is a collection of files that contain fixes to problems. When possible, patches are merged together, into one patch, if they have intersecting files or codependencies. A patch may correct more than one problem.

The Tru64 UNIX and TruCluster software patch kits contain patches for critical problems for those software products. These kits, which are distributed as needed, provide interim maintenance that prevents the occurrence of known critical problems. The patch kits contain the following elements:

• Version-specific patches and patch-specific documentation

• The dupatch patch-management utility, which you use to install, view, remove, and manage patches

Patch kits are not intended to provide general maintenance and new functions; applying them to your system does not eliminate the need to upgrade to later versions of Tru64 UNIX and TruCluster software.

Patches are applicable to a specific version of the software products, unless stated otherwise in the Patch Summary and Release Notes. You cannot install version-specific kits on other software versions. HP recommends that you install all of the patches included in the kits and that you update the TruCluster software products (if applicable) at the same time you update your operating system.

To install Tru64 UNIX and TruCluster software patches, your system must meet the following requirements:

• Be running the appropriate version of Tru64 UNIX and TruCluster software

• Contain the necessary temporary and permanent storage space described in the Patch Summary and Release Notes document for the kit you are installing

After you install the patches, the following items are left on the system:

• The dupatch utility

• Patch-specific documentation that you can view with dupatch

• Optionally, the archived system files that were updated by the installed patches

1.2    Types of Patches

HP distributes three kinds of patches for its Tru64 UNIX and TruCluster software products — Release Patch Kits, Customer-Specific Patch Kits, and Early Release Patch Kits:

• Release Patches

  Release patches provide interim maintenance that prevents the occurrence of known critical problems. Release patches (sometimes referred to as official patches) are provided in kits grouped by software product versions. They are available from the Internet and on a CD-ROM you can order from HP.

• Customer-Specific Patches (CSPs)

  CSPs are provided in response to Tru64 UNIX and TruCluster software problems on specific hardware and software configurations. They are provided directly from your service provider.

• Early Release Patches (ERPs)

  ERPs provide one or more patches that will be incorporated into the next Release Patch Kit. They may be provided by your service provider or made available on the Internet. ERPs are a type of Customer-Specific Patch Kit. Most of the information about CSPs in this manual also pertains to ERPs.

1.3    Patch Kit Distribution and Naming

Tru64 UNIX patches for specific operating system and TruCluster software releases and Customer-Specific patches are packaged together in tar files. Each patch kit contains the following components:

• Patch management utility (dupatch) and other patch management tools

  Installs, removes, and manages patches for Tru64 UNIX and TruCluster software. This utility is installed and left on the system through the successful installation of a patch kit.

• Patch subsets for the operating system and TruCluster software products

• Documentation

  Packaged with Release Patch Kits is a document called Patch Summary and Release Notes, which summarizes the problems that the patches in that kit correct and provides any information you may need to know about specific patches. The information in this document also exists in separate files that you can access using the dupatch utility. (See Section 2.4.)

  Release Patch Kits also contain the Installation Instructions (the manual you are reading), which is common to all patch kits.

  Both of these manuals are provided in PDF and HTML formats. The PDF version is easy to view and print using Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is provided on the Tru64 UNIX Documentation CD-ROM, and is also available at the Adobe Web site (http://www.adobe.com/). The HTML version is viewed with your Internet browser, such as Netscape.

  Beginning with kits shipped after March 2001, the dupatch(8) reference page is installed with the patch tools. Once installed, you can view the reference page by using the man command.

The contents of the tar file varies, depending on the type of kit. For example, a CSP kit might contain patches for several operating system versions, while Release Patch Kits always contain patches for only one operating system version. Also, the tar file may or may not contain TruCluster software patches. However, the structure of the tar file is the same for each type of kit. Figure 1-1 illustrates the contents of a patch tar file.

Figure 1-1:  Structure of a Patch Kit Tar File

The following sections describe Release and Customer-Specific Patch Kits.

1.3.1    Release Patch Kits

Tru64 UNIX and TruCluster software Release Patch Kits are available from the Internet and on CD-ROM.

• Patch Kits on the Internet

  Patch kits are available publicly on the Internet through the HP Services Web page located at:

  http://www.support.compaq.com/patches/

  Release patches distributed over the Internet are provided in a tar file that you must unpack on your system or on an NFS-mountable file system. The tar file for each operating system version will contain patch kits for that version of the operating system and patch kits for the applicable TruCluster software products.

• Patch kits on CD-ROM

  The Tru64 UNIX Patch CD-ROM contains all of the latest patch kits for the supported versions of Tru64 UNIX and TruCluster software. The patch kits on the CD-ROM are provided in an expanded form (rather than a tar file) so they can be installed directly from the disk. The 00-READ-ME-FIRST file on the CD-ROM lists the contents of the disk and provides other information.

  You can order a Patch CD-ROM in the United States by calling 1-800-344-4825; customers in other countries should contact your local HP sales office or authorized reseller for pricing and availability.

Release patch kit names have the following syntax:

OS Product|Version|BaseLevel|KitType|Kit#|-MfgDate

For example, a file named T64V51B18AS0003-20011020.tar contains Patch Kit 0003, built in base level 18 for Tru64 UNIX Version 5.1 and TruCluster software Version 5.1, and manufactured on October 20, 2001.

The following list describes the attributes currently used in patch kit names:

OS Product

T64 = Tru64 UNIX

DU = DIGITAL UNIX

Version

Operating System Version

V51B

V51A

V51

V50A

V50

V40G

V40F

V40E

V40D

BaseLevel

The support pool in which the kit was built. This formerly internal number has become a common way of identifying kits.

KitType

AS = Aggregate Selective installation patch kit

SS = A patch kit containing a single patch

Kit#

The numeric identifier that HP uses to track the kit contents

-MfgDate

The year, month, and day the kit was built in the form of YYYYMMDD

1.3.2    Customer-Specific and Early Release Patch Kits

Customer-Specific Patch Kits provide interim patches for a specific customer's problem and computing environment.

Early Release Patch Kits, which provide one or more patches that will be incorporated into a future Release Patch Kit, are a type of Customer-Specific Patch Kit. Most of the information about CSPs in this manual also pertains to ERPs.

ESP and ERP kits have names similar to the following: