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System Administration Guide: Basic Administration
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Using Package Commands to Manage Software Packages

The following procedures explain how to manage software packages by using package commands.

How to Add Software Packages (pkgadd)

  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. Remove any already installed packages with the same names as the packages you are adding.

    This step ensures that the system keeps a proper record of software that has been added and removed. Sometimes, you might want to maintain multiple versions of the same application on the system. For strategies on maintaining multiple software copies, see Guidelines for Removing Packages (pkgrm). For task information, see How to Remove Software Packages (pkgrm).

  3. Add a software package to the system.
    # pkgadd -a admin-file -d device-name pkgid ...
    -a admin-file

    (Optional) Specifies an administration file that the pkgadd command should check during the installation. For details about using an administration file, see Using an Administration File.

    -d device-name

    Specifies the absolute path to the software packages. device-name can be the path to a device, a directory, or a spool directory. If you do not specify the path where the package resides, the pkgadd command checks the default spool directory (/var/spool/pkg). If the package is not there, the package installation fails.

    pkgid

    (Optional) Is the name of one or more packages, separated by spaces, to be installed. If omitted, the pkgadd command installs all available packages from the specified device, directory, or spool directory.

    If the pkgadd command encounters a problem during installation of the package, it displays a message related to the problem, followed by this prompt:

    Do you want to continue with this installation?

    Respond with yes, no, or quit. If more than one package has been specified, type no to stop the installation of the package being installed. The pkgadd command continues to install the other packages. Type quit to stop the installation.

  4. Verify that the package has been installed successfully.
    # pkgchk -v pkgid

    If no errors occur, a list of installed files is returned. Otherwise, the pkgchk command reports the error.

Example 20-5 Adding Software Packages From a Mounted CD

The following example shows how install the SUNWpl5u package from a mounted Solaris 10 CD. The example also shows how to verify that the package files were installed properly.

# pkgadd -d /media/Solaris_11/Product SUNWpl5u
    .
    .
    .
Installation of <SUNWpl5u> was successful.
# pkgchk -v SUNWpl5u
/usr
/usr/bin
/usr/bin/perl
/usr/perl5
/usr/perl5/5.8.4
.
.
.
Example 20-6 Installing Software Packages From a Remote Package Server

If the packages you want to install are available from a remote system, you can manually mount the directory that contains the packages (in package format) and install packages on the local system.

The following example shows how to install software packages from a remote system. In this example, assume that the remote system named package-server has software packages in the /latest-packages directory. The mount command mounts the packages locally on /mnt. The pkgadd command installs the SUNWpl5u package.

# mount -F nfs -o ro package-server:/latest-packages /mnt
# pkgadd -d /mnt SUNWpl5u
    .
    .
    .
Installation of <SUNWpl5u> was successful.

If the automounter is running at your site, you do not need to mount the remote package server manually. Instead, use the automounter path, in this case, /net/package-server/latest-packages, as the argument to the -d option.

# pkgadd -d /net/package-server/latest-packages SUNWpl5u
    .
    .
    .
Installation of <SUNWpl5u> was successful.
Example 20-7 Installing Software Packages From a Remote Package Server by Specifying an Administration File

This example is similar to the previous example, except that it uses the -a option and specifies an administration file named noask-pkgadd, which is illustrated in Avoiding User Interaction When Adding Packages (pkgadd). In this example, assume that the noask-pkgadd administration file is in the default location, /var/sadm/install/admin.

# pkgadd -a noask-pkgadd -d /net/package-server/latest-packages SUNWpl5u
    .
    .
    .
Installation of <SUNWpl5u> was successful.
Example 20-8 Installing Software Packages From an HTTP URL

The following example shows how to install a package using an HTTP URL as the device name. The URL must point to a stream-formatted package.

# pkgadd -d https://install/xf86-4.3.0-video.pkg

## Downloading...
..............25%..............50%..............75%..............100%
## Download Complete


The following packages are available:
  1  SUNWxf86r     XFree86 Driver Porting Kit (Root)
                   (i386) 4.3.0,REV=0.2003.02.28
  2  SUNWxf86u     XFree86 Driver Porting Kit (User)
                   (i386) 4.3.0,REV=0.2003.02.28

.
.
.

Adding a Software Package to a Spool Directory

For convenience, you can copy frequently installed packages to a spool directory. If you copy packages to the default spool directory, /var/spool/pkg, you do not need to specify the source location of the package (-d device-name argument) when you use the pkgadd command. The pkgadd command, by default, checks the /var/spool/pkg directory for any packages that are specified on the command line. Note that copying packages to a spool directory is not the same as installing the packages on a system.

How to Add Software Packages to a Spool Directory (pkgadd)
  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. Remove any already spooled packages with the same names as the packages you are adding.

    For information on removing spooled packages, see Example 20-20.

  3. Add a software package to a spool directory.
    # pkgadd -d device-name -s spooldir pkgid ...
    -d device-name

    Specifies the absolute path to the software packages. device-name can be the path to a device, a directory, or a spool directory.

    -s spooldir

    Specifies the name of the spool directory where the package will be spooled. You must specify a spooldir.

    pkgid

    (Optional) Is the name of one or more packages, separated by spaces, to be added to the spool directory. If omitted, the pkgadd command copies all available packages.

  4. Verify that the package has been copied successfully to the spool directory.
    $ pkginfo -d spooldir| grep pkgid

    If pkgid was copied correctly, the pkginfo command returns a line of information about the pkgid. Otherwise, the pkginfo command returns the system prompt.

Example 20-9 Setting Up a Spool Directory From a Mounted CD

The following example shows how to transfer the SUNWman package from a mounted SPARC based Solaris 10 CD to the default spool directory (/var/spool/pkg).

# pkgadd -d /media/Solaris_11/Product -s /var/spool/pkg SUNWman
Transferring <SUNWman> package instance
Example 20-10 Setting Up a Spool Directory From a Remote Software Package Server

If packages you want to copy are available from a remote system, you can manually mount the directory that contains the packages, in package format, and copy them to a local spool directory.

The following example shows the commands for this scenario. In this example, assume that the remote system named package-server has software packages in the /latest-packages directory. The mount command mounts the package directory locally on /mnt. The pkgadd command copies the SUNWpl5p package from /mnt to the default spool directory (/var/spool/pkg).

# mount -F nfs -o ro package-server:/latest-packages /mnt
# pkgadd -d /mnt -s /var/spool/pkg SUNWpl5p
Transferring <SUNWpl5p> package instance

If the automounter is running at your site, you do not have to mount the remote package server manually. Instead, use the automounter path, in this case, /net/package-server/latest-packages, as the argument to the -d option.

# pkgadd -d /net/package-server/latest-packages -s /var/spool/pkg SUNWpl5p
Transferring <SUNWpl5p> package instance
Example 20-11 Installing Software Packages From the Default Spool Directory

The following example shows how to install the SUNWpl5p package from the default spool directory. When no options are used, the pkgadd command searches the /var/spool/pkg directory for the named packages.

# pkgadd SUNWpl5p
    .
    .
    .
Installation of <SUNWpl5p> was successful.

How to List Information About All Installed Packages (pkginfo)

  • List information about installed packages by using the pkginfo command.
    $ pkginfo
Example 20-12 Listing Installed Packages

This example shows how to list all packages installed on a local system, whether that system is a stand-alone system or a server. The output shows the primary category, package name, and the description of the package.

$ pkginfo
system      SUNWaccr       System Accounting, (Root)
system      SUNWaccu       System Accounting, (Usr)
system      SUNWadmap      System administration applications
system      SUNWadmc       System administration core libraries
.
.
.
Example 20-13 Displaying Detailed Information About Software Packages

This example shows how to list all packages installed on a system by specifying the long format, which includes all available information about the designated packages.

$ pkginfo -l SUNWcar
   PKGINST:  SUNWcar
      NAME:  Core Architecture, (Root)
  CATEGORY:  system
      ARCH:  sparc.sun4u
   VERSION:  11.9.0,REV=2002.04.06.15.27
   BASEDIR:  /
    VENDOR:  Sun Microsystems, Inc.
      DESC:  core software for a specific hardware platform group
    PSTAMP:  leo20031003183400
  INSTDATE:  Feb 20 2004 16:57
   HOTLINE:  Please contact your local service provider
    STATUS:  completely installed
     FILES:      114 installed pathnames
                  36 shared pathnames
                  40 directories
                  57 executables
               21469 blocks used (approx)

How to Check the Integrity of Installed Software Packages (pkgchk)

  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. Check the status of an installed package.
    • To check the file attributes and contents, type the following:

      # pkgchk -a| -c -v pkgid ...
    • To specify the absolute path of the spool directory, type the following:

      # pkgchk -d spooldir pkgid ...
    -a

    Specifies to audit only the file attributes (the permissions), rather than the file attributes and the contents, which is the default.

    -c

    Specifies to audit only the file contents, rather than the file contents and attributes, which is the default.

    -v

    Specifies verbose mode, which displays file names as they are processed.

    -d spooldir

    Specifies the absolute path of the spool directory.

    pkgid

    (Optional) Is the name of one or more packages, separated by spaces. If you do not specify a pkgid, all the software packages installed on the system are checked.

Example 20-14 Checking the Contents of Installed Software Packages

The following example shows how to check the contents of a package.

# pkgchk -c SUNWbash

If no errors occur, the system prompt is returned. Otherwise, the pkgck command reports the error.

Example 20-15 Checking the File Attributes of Installed Software Packages

The following example shows how to check the file attributes of a package.

# pkgchk -a SUNWbash

If no errors occur, the system prompt is returned. Otherwise, the pkgck command reports the error.

Example 20-16 Checking Software Packages Installed in a Spool Directory

The following example shows how to check a software package that was copied to a spool directory (/export/install/packages).

# pkgchk -d /export/install/packages
## checking spooled package <SUNWadmap>
## checking spooled package <SUNWadmfw>
## checking spooled package <SUNWadmc>
## checking spooled package <SUNWsadml>

The checks made on a spooled package are limited because not all information can be audited until a package is installed.

How to Check the Integrity of Installed Objects (pkgchk -p, pkgchk -P)

This procedure explains how to use the pkgchk command to check the integrity of installed objects. The new -P option enables you to specify a partial path. This option has been added to assist you in mapping files to packages. Use this option with the -l option to list the information about the files that contain the partial path. Use the -p option to check the integrity of installed objects by specifying the full path. For more information, see the pkgchk(1M) man page.

  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. Check the integrity of an installed object.
    • To verify the integrity of an installed object for a full path name or path names, type the following:

      # pkgchk -lp path-name
    • To verify the integrity of an installed object for a partial-path name or path names, type the following:

      # pkgchk -lP partial-path-name
    -p path

    Checks the accuracy only of the path name or path names that are listed. Path can be one or more path names separated by commas. Specifies to audit only the file attributes (the permissions), rather than the file attributes and the contents, which is the default.

    -P partial-path

    Checks the accuracy of only the partial path name or path names that are listed. The partial-path can be one or more partial path names separated by commas. Matches any path name that contains the string contained in the partial path. Specifies to audit only the file contents, rather than the file contents and attributes, which is the default.

    -l

    Lists information about the selected files that make up a package. This option is not compatible with the -a, -c, -f, -g, and -v options. Specifies verbose mode, which displays file names as they are processed.

Example 20-17 Checking the Integrity of an Installed Object by Specifying a Full Path Name

This example shows you how to use the pkgchk -lp command to check the contents/attributes of an object on a file system by a specifying the full path name. The -l option lists information on the selected files that make up a package.

# pkgchk -lp /usr/sbin/pkgadd
Pathname: /usr/sbin/pkgadd
Type: regular file
Expected mode: 0555
Expected owner: root
Expected group: sys
Expected file size (bytes): 867152
Expected sum(1) of contents: 45580
Expected last modification: Jul 02 02:20:34 2004
Referenced by the following packages:
        SUNWpkgcmdsu   
Current status: installed
Example 20-18 Checking the Integrity of an Installed Object by Specifying a Partial Path Name

This example shows you how to use the pkgchk -lP command to check the contents/attributes of an object on a file system by a specifying a partial path name, such as a file or directory name. The -l option lists information on the selected files that make up a package.

# pkgchk -lP /sbin/pkgadd
Pathname: /usr/sbin/pkgadd
Type: regular file
Expected mode: 0555
Expected owner: root
Expected group: sys
Expected file size (bytes): 867152
Expected sum(1) of contents: 45580
Expected last modification: Jul 02 02:20:34 2004
Referenced by the following packages:
        SUNWpkgcmdsu   
Current status: installed

Pathname: /usr/sbin/pkgask
Type: linked file
Source of link: ../../usr/sbin/pkgadd
Referenced by the following packages:
        SUNWpkgcmdsu   
Current status: installed

Removing Software Packages

To remove or uninstall a software package, use the associated tool that you used to add or install a software package. For example, if you used the Solaris installation GUI to install software, use the Solaris installation GUI to uninstall software.


Caution - Do no use the rm command to remove software packages. Doing so will result in inaccuracies in the database that keeps track of all installed packages on the system.


How to Remove Software Packages (pkgrm)

  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. Remove an installed package.
    # pkgrm pkgid ...

    pkgid identifies the name of one or more packages, separated by spaces, to be removed. If omitted, the pkgrmcommand removes all available packages.

Example 20-19 Removing Software Packages

This example shows how to remove a package.

# pkgrm SUNWctu

The following package is currently installed:
   SUNWctu         Netra ct usr/platform links (64-bit)
                   (sparc.sun4u) 11.9.0,REV=2001.07.24.15.53

Do you want to remove this package? y

## Removing installed package instance <SUNWctu>
## Verifying package dependencies.
## Processing package information.
## Removing pathnames in class <none>
.
.
.
Example 20-20 Removing a Spooled Software Package

This example shows how to remove a spooled package.

# pkgrm -s /export/pkg SUNWaudh
The following package is currently spooled:
   SUNWaudh        Audio Header Files
                   (sparc) 11.10.0,REV=2003.08.08.00.03
Do you want to remove this package? y
Removing spooled package instance <SUNWaudh>
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