Patch Management User Guide for HP-UX 11.x Systems (5900-3011, March 2013)

3 HP-UX patch overview
Patch-related concepts
Patch identification
HP assigns each HP-UX patch a unique identification or patch ID. Each HP-UX patch ID has the
form PHXX_#####, where:
• PH is an abbreviation for Patch HP-UX
• XX is replaced with one of the following values for the HP-UX area being patched:
◦ CO = command patches
◦ KL = kernel patches
◦ NE = network patches
◦ SS = patches related to all other subsystems
• ##### is replaced with a unique four- or five-digit number.
In general, the numeric portion of the patch ID is higher for more recently released patches.
HP-UX software structure
To understand some of the topics presented in this chapter, you should have a basic understanding
of the structure of HP-UX software. Patches are part of this software structure. You will also need
to use Software Distributor.
The following list provides an overview of the Software Distributor for HP-UX (SD-UX) software
objects that compose HP-UX software.
• Fileset
◦ A fileset is a grouping of one or more files contained in a product. A fileset groups a
subset of a product's files into a manageable unit.
◦ Filesets include the files and control scripts that make up a product. For more information
about control scripts, see the Software Distributor Administration Guide on the HP Business
Support Center website at http://www.hp.com/go/sd-docs.
◦ Filesets must exist within a product.
◦ Although a patch has a unique name, the names of the filesets contained in a patch match
the corresponding base filesets that they patch.
Patch-related concepts 17