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

bundle. New HP-UX core enhancements are introduced as part of the Software Pack (SPK). If
you want to install one of these new features, see the Software Pack documentation on the
HP Business Support Center website at http://www.hp.com/go/spb-docs.
• All the standard HP-UX patch bundles can be downloaded from the HPSC and are available
on media from HP. For more information, see Chapter 5: “What are standard HP-UX patch
bundles?” (page 54).
• If you have a support contract at the Mission Critical level, you are entitled to a regular customer
patch analysis from HP. This analysis results in the creation of custom patch bundles for your
distinct computing environments.
Use the HPSC Patch Database to acquire any patches that you have not yet obtained. Compare
the entire list of patches that you identified specifically for an environment with the content of the
patch bundles.
• If you are missing just a few patches, use the HPSC Patch Database to acquire them. For more
information about using the HPSC, see Chapter 6: “Using the HP Support Center” (page 57).
• If you are missing numerous patches, you should use the SWA Tool to acquire them. See
“Using HP-UX Software Assistant for patch management” (page 88).
The following details apply to patches with warnings, and security patches.
• Although HP attempts to include only the highest-quality patches in the standard HP-UX patch
bundles, occasionally a warning is issued for a patch in one of those bundles. You can review
individual patch bundles for warnings using the HPSC Patch Bundles page.
• You can acquire more up-to-date patches individually. Security patches are good examples
of patches that you might obtain individually rather than as a part of a bundle. HP-UX Software
Assistant can help you identify any security patches missing from a system. The HPSC should
be your primary resource for downloading these individual patches.
Advanced topic: HP-UX Software Assistant
HP-UX Software Assistant (SWA)
• manages a lot of the patch management complexity for you.
• does not require an upload of your information to HP – SWA runs local to your system.
For information, see Chapter 8: “Using HP-UX Software Assistant for patch management” (page 88).
Reactive patching strategy
Reactive patching involves installing patches to restore system functionality after a problem occurs.
The goal of reactive patching is to fix the problem as quickly as possible and with as little user
disruption as possible.
Because reactive patching is so disruptive, typically only the most critical problems: panics, failures,
and corruption are reactively patched. Your action depends on the software change management
strategy you use. When you use a restrictive strategy (see “Recommendations for software change
management ” (page 48)), the fewer critical problems you will need to reactively fix.
More granular changes are generally safer. While proactive patching usually involves the installation
of many patches at one time, reactive patching involves installing only the patches believed to be
necessary. Another difference between these two approaches is that reactive patching is likely to
be performed under greater pressure and urgency than proactive patching. Even customers who
typically use a proactive patch strategy might at times find it necessary to patch reactively.
The following are benefits of reactive patching:
• Timely problem resolution
• Controlled, minimal changes
Patch management and software change management strategies 51