Implementation: How to Upgrade to the Solaris 10 OS

Ginny Henningsen and Karen Perkins, last updated on 2010-01-22

After you've determined the best strategy for performing an upgrade to the Solaris 10 OS (upgrading in place on existing compatible hardware, upgrading using a new Sun platform, and/or upgrading using Solaris 8 or 9 Containers), use the resources on this page to get started.

Phase 3: Implementation

The task map in the Solaris 10 10/09 Installation Guide: Planning for Installation and Upgrade manual lists typical steps for an initial installation or an upgrade. (An initial installation overwrites the system disk, while an upgrade tries to preserve configuration information as much as possible.)

When upgrading an existing platform running the Solaris OS, the optimal procedure for upgrading depends on the specific existing system configuration, in particular, the OS currently installed and whether the system is an x86 or SPARC platform.

There are generally three different methods for performing an upgrade:

• The standard Solaris OS installation program supports interactive upgrades with a graphical user interface or a command-line interface. Follow the procedures in Solaris 10 10/09 Installation Guide: Basic Installations for performing the installation from CD/DVD media or from the network.

• The custom JumpStart method, documented in Solaris 10 10/09 Installation Guide: Custom JumpStart and Advanced Installations, provides a method for automating upgrades, especially when upgrading many systems at a time.

• Solaris Live Upgrade creates a copy of the active boot environment that can be upgraded and subsequently activated as the boot environment. See Solaris 10 10/09 Installation Guide: Solaris Live Upgrade and Upgrade Planning for more info.

Solaris Live Upgrade is generally the preferred upgrade method, since it enables rollback to a previous inactive boot environment. The BigAdmin article Restrictions for Using Solaris Live Upgrade describes important restrictions for using Solaris Live Upgrade when patching the OS or performing an upgrade.

The following links point to "how-to" resources that can help you get started, including resources for getting the bits, installation instructions, and information about using Solaris Live Upgrade.

If you are installing Solaris 8 or 9 Containers on the Solaris 10 release, or you are implementing virtualization or consolidation using Solaris Containers or Logical Domains (LDoms), see the Solaris Containers web page, the LDoms web page, and the white paper How to Consolidate Servers and Applications using Solaris Containers.