Patch Management User Guide for HP-UX 11.x Systems

Proactive patching strategy
The goal of a proactive patching strategy is problem prevention. Many patches that provide
defect fixes are released long before you need them on your system. The crux of proactive patching
is identifying these patches and applying them in a safe manner. By definition, your starting
point for proactive patching should be a system you believe to be functioning normally. Most
proactive patching can be scheduled and carefully controlled. This is one of the benefits of this
approach. To automate the process of identifying and selecting patches, see Chapter 8: “Using
HP-UX Software Assistant for patch management” (page 85). To reduce the downtime required
to perform proactive maintenance, see Chapter 9: “Using Dynamic Root Disk for patch
management” (page 86).
As compared with the reactive patching strategy (see the following section), proactive patching
generally creates more system change and requires regularly scheduled patch installation
maintenance windows. Although the system down time associated with patch installation is a
disadvantage of proactive patching, HP highly recommends proactive patching as the strategy
of choice.
The following benefits can be achieved by implementing a proactive patch management strategy:
• Problem avoidance
• Reduced risk
• Reduced unplanned down time
• Enhanced functionality and tools
• Increased time for testing
Because proactive patching involves installation of patches before a problem occurs, this strategy
allows more time to complete sufficient testing than does reactive patching. For a flow chart of
the high-level steps suggested for proactive patching, see Appendix A (page 94).
Acquiring patches for proactive patching
Although patching is not a one-size-fits-all process, the following generic recommended strategy
embodies many of our customers' best practices:
1. Identify the patches to acquire. You can identify and track these on an ongoing basis, or you
can engage in patch analysis that targets a specific proactive patching cycle.
2. Acquire the latest Quality Pack (QPK) patch bundle and, if you are planning any hardware
changes, the latest Hardware Enablement (HWE) patch bundle.
3. Determine whether the patches included in the standard HP-UX patch bundles cover your
entire list of identified patches. Use the ITRC Patch Database to acquire any missing patches.
4. Scan the patches for warnings and run the HP-UX Software Assistant Tool.
5. Create one depot for the acquired patches and copy them into it. You can choose to copy
the latest Operating Environment (OE) products to the depot.
6. Test the depot content.
7. Create a deployment plan and roll out the new depot within your maintenance window.
The following details apply to acquiring the latest QPK and HWE patch bundles:
• The QPK patch bundle is an excellent vehicle for proactive patching and was created for
this purpose. The HWE patch bundle contains patches required by new hardware products
that HP has released. To enable or pre-enable support for new hardware, you should select
this bundle. New HP-UX core enhancements are introduced as part of the Software Pack
48 Patch management overview