Software Distributor Administration Guide HP-UX 11i v1, 11i v2, and 11i v3 (5900-2561, March 2013)

The sd, swinstall, swcopy, swlist, and swremove commands each have an optional
Graphical User Interface (GUI) with windows and pull-down menus. The GUI commands also work
on text-based terminals, providing a Terminal User Interface (TUI), which uses the keyboard instead
of the mouse for screen navigation.
You can invoke all SD-UX commands and programs from the command line. The syntax, options,
defaults and operands are similar for all commands. For more information, see “Working from the
Command Line” (page 34).
1.1.3 SD-UX Online Documentation
To view the a manpage for each command, type:
man command_name
For additional technical information, type:
man 5 sd for SD-UX overview
man 4 sd for file layouts
man 4 swpackage for packaging file layouts
1.1.4 SD-UX Support for HP-UX Containers (SRP)
When HP-UX Containers (SRP) are installed and enabled, the swinstall command behavior is
changed to support software management for system containers. For more information on HP-UX
Containers, see srp(1M) and container_system(5) manpages.
1.2 SD-UX Concepts
Understanding SD-UX concepts, terms, and model of software management will help you use the
commands and programs most effectively. For additional definitions, see the Glossary.
1.2.1 Important Terminology
Host refers to any system on which software is to be installed or managed using the SD-UX
commands. A local host is the system on which you invoke SD-UX commands.
When you have enabled remote operations, you can use SD-UX to operate on one or more remote
hosts—a host other than the system on which the SD-UX command has been invoked. (See
Chapter 7: “Remote Operations Overview” (page 119) for more information on remote operations.)
A controller is the SD-UX program or command (swinstall, swcopy, etc.) that you invoke on
your system. The controller may work with data or start processes on other systems.
A depot is a repository of software products that can be managed by SD-UX. A depot consists of
either a (specially formatted) directory, or physical media such as tapes, CD-ROMs or DVDs.
(CD-ROM and DVD depots are really just special instances of directory depots). Directory depots
are useful because you can access them via a network. They are often used to store collections of
software copied from other depots.
In general, the term target refers to either a host (specifically, the host’s file system) or a depot that
resides on a host. The term source refers to a depot from which software is being installed or copied
(sometimes referred to as a source depot).
For example, a basic install operation with the swinstall command involves installing software
from a source depot to a target location on the host itself. The source depot might be physical
media accessible from the target, or a directory depot on some server on the network. The target
host might be the same host on which the command was invoked (i.e., the local host) or, if remote
operation is enabled, some other host on the network.
A basic copy operation (using the swcopy command) is very similar, except that the target is a
depot on the host, rather than the host itself.
1.2 SD-UX Concepts 19